By Jenée Tibshraeny
There is no time like the present for those of us aggravated by all and sundry related to this pandemic to take a step back, cut ourselves some slack, and try to remain level-headed about what we’re going through.
I say this as someone who has struggled to walk to this talk.
On Monday I came close to confronting a protestor, sitting smugly in a fold-out chair next to police officers at the outer edge of the occupation, blasting a siren from a speaker… just because.
As a journalist who works in the Parliamentary press gallery, which is currently surrounded by people who think Bill Gates, Jacinda Ardern, and the Illuminati have paid me to lie to them, there have been a number of incidents that have made my blood boil.
But there was something about the senselessness of the piercing sound that tipped me over and almost made me cause an incident.
Anyway, I refrained, and as I walked away, I reminded myself - we’ve been through a hell of a time with this pandemic, and the reality is that some people were always going to respond badly.
We have had to forgo many of our rights and freedoms for the greater good - to keep the vulnerable safe and our hospitals unclogged.
The restrictions the Government has imposed on us have been extraordinarily heavy-handed. I think we should acknowledge this. It isn’t normal to socially isolate or be required to have a vaccination to go to work.
But was it right for the Government to implement these restrictions? I believe so - on a high level (we can debate the details).
We lost an elderly family member overseas to Covid-19 around the time Delta was spreading. She died in hospital without her family with her. Another family member in her mid-40s spent weeks in hospital successfully fighting the virus (before she was vaccinated), and a friend in his early-30s, who got Covid-19 at the start of the pandemic, is still recovering. He was only healthy enough to return to fulltime work late last year.
I’m sure people with family and friends overseas have similar stories. But for many in New Zealand, government restrictions have probably caused more grief than the virus itself.
The need is such that the Government is issuing around 30,000 food grants a week. The tourism, hospitality and events sectors are battling. The unvaccinated are largely alienated from society. The closed border has split people from their loved ones. Funerals have had to be attended via Zoom. Restrictions on visitors to hospitals and rest homes have isolated the sick and elderly.
Older asset owners have benefited immensely, while younger people are learning to accept that studying and working hard won’t necessarily be enough to give them the financial security it gave their parents.
We can all find people who are better and worse off than us, but I think we should acknowledge it has been a tough few years for everyone. Our political leaders could do more to simply recognise this.
I’ve had friends battle cancer, suffer miscarriages and traumatic births without the support of family and friends while in lockdown. A friend in Auckland, who most would deem “privileged”, said she felt like she had post-traumatic stress disorder after working a high-pressure corporate job while looking after a baby and toddler at home during lockdown last year.
General discontent and fatigue by this point of the pandemic are inevitable, as are rage and disenfranchisement among some.
In many ways, it would be weird if in a democratic country like New Zealand, there weren’t people protesting. The social progressives of Wellington central need to be realistic about this, and realistic about both the diversity and ugly parts of our society.
Authorities also need to be wary of the fact technology has evolved more quickly than the human brain has in recent decades.
Just because we’re all able to create content and circulate it online, doesn’t mean to say we’re equipped to safely manage this freedom.
Our emotions and insecurities still get the better of us. For example, we might feel more inclined to seek acceptance from a toxic group online than face loneliness. Or we might seek to validate our feelings by buying into a lie rather than confronting an uncomfortable truth.
Technology is a powerful tool that can be weaponised.
It’s worrying nefarious groups are causing instability by preying on the vulnerable, using algorithms to bombard them with disinformation.
The concept of fragmented realities - people understanding the same event or situation to mean two completely differently things - is scary.
All it takes is for one person with a deranged view of the world to inflict serious harm. Some of us in central Wellington are on high alert at the moment for good reason.
The police clearly have a tough job on their hands, allowing people to exercise their right to protest while cracking down on violent and anti-social behaviour by some.
Applying a sinking lid approach - suffocating the occupation by stopping protestors from taking new ground and preventing new arrivals from joining - seems sensible and should’ve been done earlier.
It’s difficult to see how the police can reason with a fragmented crowd, which lacks leadership. Furthermore, many protestors appear beyond reasoning with. They don’t just want the mandates to go, they want to “overthrow the government”. And then what?
Those calling for the police to use force - batons and teargas - should think through the consequences of this. Kids, cops and the elderly at the occupation would be hurt. This would also create a spectacle, which would fire-up those who already don’t trust the state and prompt them to set up camp elsewhere.
I don’t think we should look at this occupation and think vaccine mandates have divided society. They haven’t. New Zealand’s vaccination rate is remarkably high.
We can debate the merits/flaws of the various restrictions, but most people understand the response needs to evolve as the risk profile changes, and one way or another, we need to ensure we have capacity in our hospitals to care for cancer patients, etc, as well as people with Covid-19.
A destabilising event like a pandemic was always going to exacerbate existing inequities in a society; those at the fringes were always most of risk of being triggered.
The best we can do as individuals is try to be empathetic and pragmatic (I will have to keep reminding myself of this as I walk through the occupation).
As for our political leaders, it’s best they acknowledge how tough it has been and focus their attentions on some of the drivers behind existing inequities. The occupation shouldn't be framed as a symbol of sudden division in New Zealand.
107 Comments
Nicely written. The disparity and ad hoc variety of the protest is unusual. Things that are bulky and slippery, like trying to shift a king sized latex mattress upstairs by yourself, are never easy. But the malice displayed towards the media has an element of this involved too.Amongst the protestors, some are undoubtedly odd if not slightly demented, As such their behaviour can over colour the protest itself and that then becomes a temptation for a journalist to highlight, if it is going to be a good headline and a sure seller. Therefore the protestors have in return their own suspicion about the media. In other words if you are going to single out us we are going to single out you.
The media don't help themselves sometimes. Some who I expect should be reporting the news in an unbiased way are at times clearly so biased even blind Freddie can see.
Having said that 100% agree Jenee. If you want to go into politics I pledge to vote for you for life!
Yes it did rather get off to a biased start. Just about the first of many number of podium addresses, the very first question from the media - something like how much is our package and when are we going to get it. Did cast something of a foreshadowing, an impression of self interest before doing the actual job itself.
Here it is in its entirety.
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0109/latest/whole.html#…
This Labour government cherry-picking the bits it will comply with is banana republic stuff.
It sets a terrifying precedent.
I don't trust officials to be able to set the terms of reference for a Constitution-writing committee without hardwiring bureaucratic dogma into it, so that even an independent, representative committee would end up giving us a constitution the bulk of New Zealanders would disagree with.
Catch 22
A good article from Sir Geoffrey Palmer on the Police, law, and government in this: https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/127844424/peace-order-and-police-powers…
Sir Geoffrey though skirts around the question of government policy or decisions to implement protection against foreseeable dangers and/or vulnerabilities and undesirables. For instance the sectioning off of central ChCh in the EQs. Same city 1999 the placement of barriers beforehand, to prevent protestors having proximity to the visiting Chinese Premier. Yes the operation of that was the duty of the police certainly but the decision to do so was that of the respective governments. Again I make the point our government had ample warning of the outcome in Ottawa that had inspired the convoys here. Surely at that point a prudent government would have decided a repeat in Wellington was highly undesirable and consulted with its police department about being preventative.As Sir Geoffrey remarks they always have the power of traffic restrictions, to close off streets. For heaven’s sake if the government has the ability to order the sealing off of entirely Auckland, our biggest city by far, and the police were able to follow that order & do so, then how big a challenge was it to simply put a protective ring around parliament, cordon it off to the vehicles that carried all the housing etc, and in advance.
Our politicians are very resistant to any erosion of their power. We also saw this in their failure to implement the Electoral Commission's recommendations for a lower MMP threshold and the introduction of a transferrable vote system. They seem to feel entitled to get rid of the smaller parties if at all possible and consolidate power in few hands if they can.
Take note divorcées, which regrettably scarcely any will, if you put your children’s well-being before anything else, then everything else will be much easier. But yes this is where the protestors lose my vote. There is no place for young minds in situations that are radical, abnormal and insecure going on fearful. This is an argument to be sorted between adults. Pushing children to the forefront is not anything any responsible parent should consider.
Great article Jenee. As usual.
Aligned perhaps with what you have said, I see this protest as not primarily about this virus and the resulting actions. I see it more as the result of the greater numbers of New Zealanders who have become marginalised with little control over their security and futures. The poor are more in number, and the middle class are finding themselves struggling. They work like dogs but don't get anywhere.
No wonder there is trouble.
As a child of the 50s and 60s in what started as a low income family we were able to live in a Mount Eden villa, with a beach house (truly - beach 20 feet away) about an hour from Auckland. Unimaginable now.
We were able to build a house at the age of 25 when I was on an office boys wage. And later with children manage on a single income. No longer possible.
The apparatus of govenment does not work for people now. It soaks their pocket and has agenda's that doesn't improve their lives. Big business is right out of control. New Zealand has low incomes and high prices. Fuel, groceries and banks. Small business is marginalised as much as individuals.
The governments we have had don't seem to see any of this as a problem.
Great comment. And unfortunately all this is happening at a time when some technology companies' business models naturally result in disaffected people being easily radicalised - as algorithms designed to maximise attention find that outrage-inducing content is best at retaining attention.
We seem to have a measure of regulatory capture by owners of assets and capital, and a lack of governance with regard for others. Spurious "wealth effect" ideology has infected too many and drives too much policy. Those who would have grown up as broad middle classes are left with little of consequence, and they're ripe ground for outrage-stoking technology and disinformation.
We need a big turnaround on policy, but also - critically - on engagement. Participatory Democracy with large groups of New Zealanders who are learning about issues alongside their compatriots, not just on social media, and who have some influence on policy. And we should consider how we could - alongside other countries - legislate in favour of New Zealanders and against surveillance capitalism and outrage algorithms.
The governments we have had don't seem to see any of this as a problem.
Because they are really not affected by it. What's a 5-7% increase in food prices to someone in power or wealth? What's a 20% increase in fuel costs to those earning six or seven figures? Inflation hurts the poor and impoverishes the middle-class but does nothing to the rich... so why should they care?
Productivity has been going up strongly over the decades, but wage only creeped up. There's such a big disconnect between the two, as well as between the ruling class and the people.
Suggest a PM such as Muldoon, Lange, Clark, Key would have involved themselves and not just bailed out & said it’s up to the police. Before anything else a PM should act immediately if there is potential that parliament, democracy itself, is being threatened. It is the responsibility of the PM to convene & consult with all government agencies over all issues important enough is it not. In that regard, seeing how NZ’s convoys were copying those of Canada, there was more than ample warning & time to prepare to prevent the same outcome in Wellington that had occurred in Ottawa. Secure the perimeter, so that vehicles could not get close and work with residents to allow them to pass. Allow protestors through but not carrying anything that enabled setting up residence, tents etc. And then, once that opportunity had been lost, immediately go to a plan B. Again secure the perimeter. Allow vehicles out but not in, allow day by day food, knapsack stuff, water etc, medicines, portaloos etc etc, after a while let protestors out but not back in. Without sufficient tents etc the weather would have sorted it. Plan B is getting underway more or less now, but it should have been implemented third day at latest. The Prime Minister has demonstrated here a total lack of either perception of the potential problem and any leadership to do anything about it. To my mind weak, indecisive and lacking in fortitude.
You are transferring onto the Prime Minister the Police's very poor assessment of the convoy while it was still heading for Wellington. On the second day, you may recall, the police commander at the occupation was saying there is no evidence of extreme right or white supremacists present.
And I do not want a Prime Minister giving police operational instructions - that is an easy path to corrupt abuse of power.
BS. The government tells a department what needs to be achieved not how to do it. That is policy over operation, ie to achieve a status or result. It is as I said the duty PM & ministers to communicate & liaise all government agencies in order to provide both protection & service to the citizens. That is not giving operational instructions, this is ensuring that measures are in place adequate at least to keep sufficient precaution & control in place. The fact that it took the second day means that the trucks that jammed everything up, and carried the housing were already on the road. . Had that that been properly considered in light of the example that Ottawa provided, the depth and detail of occupation too would have been prevented. This is no different to the police engaging in crowd control for other large gatherings with which they engage with both government & local councils. And this is exactly what the police were asked to provide in 1999 when the Chinese Premier visited Christchurch. The government said we want protestors kept at a distance. It is simply stupid to claim that the government had no ability to consult with the police that they didn’t want an Ottawa. Keep vehicles out, restrict what people can bring in to, food, water other personal essentials.
Thirded. It's essential to keep the level head that Jenee displays here. I think there are a lot of essentially good people who have been sucked into an alternate reality because they are too trusting of social media. For now, I prefer not to write them off as contemptible human beings but rather hope they rejoin consensus reality soon. (Except for the ones who throw shit, they can stay well away...)
Clearly and gratefully I live in the alternate reality. Your guys reality scares the bejesus out of me. Jenee does the platitudes ok I guess, I have heard better, heard worse. Everything is pre empted with the statement that of course we are mad but forgive them their sins. How arrogant is that.
One thing I'm frustrated by is the laziness of the MSM here in New Zealand. No one seems to double and triple check their facts before publishing, and too many like to give their opinions and come across more as pundits and activists than reporters.
Take the reports of faeces and acid allegedly being thrown or sprayed at police by protesters. That's now apparently been debunked - it was apple juice and a case of friendly fire (police's own pepper spray) respectively.
Yet some many reporters expressed their disgust at the protesters, throwing labels and misinformation about without thought or responsibility.
I'm sorry but your job is to report and if there's more than one side of the story, you should showcase both sides fairly. Reserve your own judgements to yourself or your circle, and just present us the facts and not tell us what to think. Otherwise you're just a government or party mouthpiece and frankly, you shouldn't be in the job.
Journalists like first responders have a duty to be neutral and do their jobs even under fire. If you can't be like that, then don't be a journalist. Be a blogger, vlogger, influencer, etc instead.
"unknown material" should have sufficed. Naming it as faeces is speculation and fabrication.
Even if the police erroneously reported it as such, as the reporters were not there, they should have double- and triple-checked before reporting it as such, and then a number allowing their personal opinions to be mixed into their reports, in particular on Twitter. And if you don't know or cannot be sure, don't report it as fact.
I realise Twitter is a cesspool but as Trump demonstrated, it is a fast-spreading and effective albeit damaging medium.
There is a video now circulating of the "acid spray" incident and it clearly shows a police officer spraying, and colleagues next to him moving away while shielding their faces.
Belle, I see a pattern where people have a mix of legitimate concerns (under what circumstances, if any, are mandates justified? How do we know they'll be rolled back? et cetera) with a willingness to believe and spread absolute nonsense (Andrew Coster is Jacinda's cousin! Clarke Gayford is secretly under house arrest for meth importation! the Government is about to ban organic food!). The problem is that once you've decided you don't trust the govt/MSM -- which is understandable insofar as they are sometimes biased, and do sometimes get the facts wrong -- who do you trust? As far as I can see, the alternatives are less truthful, not more. Demanding higher standards from the MSM is better than deciding that the truth must be the opposite of whatever they say.
Sam you have a point, there are always those that get the tinfoil out shut their eyes and hum. Thats what the likes of myself are portrayed as. Thats not me. Thats not most of us. Yet the media damns us as that. Which in turn encourages their readers to as well.
Its not an easy position to take, to one day think the msm govt etc is lying. That my friend took a lot of angst. But I will tell you what did it for me. Short version. Daughter pregnant. Ads on tele, vax safe and effective for pregnant women. Me, go to govt website to learn about it. Horror, Pfizer did no testing on pregnant women. Me, frantically dig everywhere thinking this gotta be wrong. Check all big countries health dept websites. All say same thing. Never tested on pregnant women. This was May 21. Not even tested on pregnant animals. Nufn. Zilch.
The internet is a powerful tool. It avails the average Joe to fact check.
Anyway. Healthy baby born. None of us jabbed. Never asked once for vaxpass through all our many family visits to hospital, maternity, etc etc. All a lot of hoohaa over nothing. Now thanks to border closures, we had safety until the virus mutated to something less dangerous. Never needed a jab. I look at everyone who did, as not trusting the science. The science always said it would mutate itself to this.
Enjoyed the article.
When I reflect on what the "greater good" is I think my views have changed over the course of events. A lot of focus had been on public health in a physiological sense but what I came to appreciate last year was that actually there is far more to a healthy society than just the preservation of life.
Thinking about the "greater good" in some narrow context as measured by transmission, hospitalisation and deaths we succeeded but more broadly we failed at what we where not measuring. I'm reminded of Goodhart's law: “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”
Knowing what I know now if events where to be repeated I think the Swedish approach of informing people of the personal risk they faced and then allowing them to accept a level of risk they where comfortable with, while heavily criticised at the time, was probably a much better solution.
Right from the beginning of this pandemic, governments distrusted their citizens and expected social unrest - hence the emergency measures. At first they were surprised they actually got away with Chinese-style lockdowns in the West. Then it became a slippery slope of ever-increasing violations of hard-won democratic rights and freedoms (in some countries culminating in forced injections). Seems mandates were the last straw for many. And so the government's fear of social unrest has become a self-fulfilling prophecy - precisely because of the way they've treated their citizens.
Now the people are finally standing up against the swift rise of authoritarianism in the West...yet it seems the majority are still so blinded by their fear that they meekly agree with and accept the shocking and abhorrent way our government (and Canada's) are reacting to peaceful protests (as opposed to the "mainly peaceful protests" we saw a while back involving widespread violence, arson, and looting).
My thinking is that NZ is a front runner in terms of treating marginalized people (LGBT) and the protesters who refuse to be vaccinated are also a form of marginalized people. so, why no treating them equally?
my experience of vaccination policies in China is that people have freedom to be vaccinated to not and their movement is not bounded by it. People have their own health QR code and as long as it is green people can move freely.
I do think the vaccination mandates in NZ could be improved alot with better technology.
Nice Jenee. We're all in this together whether we like it or not. Obviously some don't. However, there is a lot of anger on the streets & not just in Wellington. I saw it in Hastings just before Christmas when visiting. We're all trying to cope. For us, as small family business owners it has cost us between $250,000-$300,000 over the last two years. We've been lucky all our family are close by, but have missed a funeral of a favourite aunt & a couple of trips out of the country thus far. We didn't want to be vaxxed but we did, but we haven't had the booster yet. Covid arrived at my gym this week. Twice in fact. Masks everywhere. But we are okay. We are frustrated as we are in the events industry, but we're not working for $4 a day, like some are in India. And we're not refugees trying to escape brutal autocracies in Africa either. We're okay. Our government has a lot to learn. They are young. Real wisdom doesn't come until later. Sometimes much later. Jacinda has stuffed up the last fortnight. Her arrogance & her ignorance is showing. She will learn. Probably the hard way, like most of us. It seems to be a part of our character. Sigh. But we are okay. Okay?
We know vaccination saves lives, reduces hospital admissions, and reduces the risk of severe illness. The science is solid, the evidence is there, it is not up for debate.
But does the same hold for the Mandates. Do they make us any safer? What science were they based on? and what benefits did they convey?
We don't know how many got vaxxed solely due to the mandate. But with over 80% vaxxed and increasing steadily at the time of the mandate's announcement, you would have to think it didn't add too many more to the total. So no real benefit in terms of numbers.
The 3k cases a day (and climbing) suggests the vaccine does little to halt transmission. So the primary driver of the mandate (to protect the vulnerable) doesn't hold.
With no exemption from a) mask wearing, or b) isolation, or c) testing, or d)MIQ due to vaccination, then the mandate is not lessening the impacts of the "Pingdemic" or lessening the load of the clearly under strain testing.
It is likely to reduce hospitalisation (But to claim that as a benefit, then the wider population should have been mandated, not just a couple of industries) So a half point in favour there.
But on the whole did the mandate make us any safer? I would say no.
What it has done though, is divided a nation and wasted numerous time and resources on a battle that no-one will win, and didn't really matter anyway.
People have lost jobs, loved ones, self-respect, hope, joy, and more... It's no wonder there's anger and frustration.
For some of us, we can handle it, think it through, rationalise it and make peace with it. Some will and are taking longer to get there.
I think a little of the same frustration and anger is in all of us, and for those who can't handle it, they need more help, not rejection, ridicule and demonisation. After all, with lockdowns, levels, phases and traffic lights, wouldn't anyone be confused and frustrated?
Hats off to most of the police who have handled this tough and unprecedented situation well. Hats off to Coster.
Sorry to the politicians though, they dropped the ball on this one and failed in their duty to represent us. To engage, listen and de-escalate, but also to represent the rest of us. I doubt they will survive the next election after this.
The only positive for them so far is they did not resort to the foolish actions that Canada did but who knows what they are thinking, maybe they considered it. Probably Mallard did...
Really good article and nicely reasoned and balanced.
However, I disagree that the high vaccination uptake means that the mandate system hasn't caused division.
If we had got to 95% vaccination without the mandate, then I'd wholeheartedly agree. But that didn't happen, and instead a not insignificant number of people felt forced to comply.
There are also those - primarily younger people from what I can observe - who bought into the "two shots for summer" messaging and are now feeling a bit ripped off that the biggest, and only, festival in the country is the occupation of parliament's front lawn. Sure, Omicron was a game changer, but I don't blame people for feeling a bit hard done by. They did what was asked of them, and don't seem to have received much in the way of tangible benefit.
I think better to say that the mandate system - rightly or wrongly - got us to a very high vaccination rate ... on the proviso that the end justified the means from a public health perspective, and we should not overlook the fact that on simple math there are many hundreds of thousands, if not into the low millions, who may feel a sense of division on this matter.
It worked, but was the juice worth the squeeze? (and will it continue to be worth the squeeze if mandate restrictions continue into the future) Hopefully sensible action is taken to wind the mandates back as soon as practically possible, so we can move past this point of tension.
I agree with many here who find this article refreshing. I have printed it out and will refer back to it when i feel like sending in the SAS!
I thought that Emmerson's cartoon today just hit the mark. If i were feeling charitable I would put it down to naivety on Luxon's part.
As for Peters, as usual, he crawls along the political gutter.
Not once have I seen the people (some on here...) who rail against the "MSM" describe what they want to replace it with.
Our media (in the "west") are definitely not perfect and there are certainly biases and political interference, but there are some standards that they have to adhere to and if you read more than one source it's possible to see through the biases etc to get a clearer view of the facts. (I should add that the press in NZ is nowhere near as biased as some other countries)
Those wishing to destroy the MSM should be careful what they wish for....
Yes. In the age of misinformation, it's become clear that the only thing worse than the mainstream media (inevitably biased) is not having mainstream media. We're in a dangerous era of politics - we used to agree on facts (mostly) but disagree on their interpretation, now we can't even agree on facts, and that makes dialogue impossible.
We already trust state media (RNZ and TVNZ) as much or more than the rest of MSM and the non publicly funded alternatives are already in existence. There is no replacement needed for the MSM it could just go away. Society is perfectly capable of finding a new business model, if all the free news disappears I believe we will start paying for it again.
Just stop providing MSM money (such as program subsidies, free content and excessively frequent advertising) and direct it all through RNZ. If they can stay afloat on their own that's fine, as far as I know Interest achieves this feat. Private news is a capitalist concept and it should be subjected to creative destruction.
Agree that RNZ and TVNZ provide a valuable public service (just as they did in the past) and we should support them. It's not ideal to have journalists dependent on clickbait for the security of their income and job. Funding should be incredibly secure regardless of the stripe of government in power.
I am loathe to get into this argument, but I can't let it be said TVNZ and RNZ are unbiased. But being taxpayer funded they certainly should be above reproach.
Recent examples from the protest (which I don't condone at all) are referring to "protesters" throwing faeces...the fact is it was 1 person (wearing a balaclava) that did it. A subtle but important difference. And another..RNZ repeatedly said "the Honda hurtled into police" ....that poor choice of words is misleading. Worse, TVNZ edited the video to misrepresent the speed of the car. It is these things that increase polarization of each side. I would love Kim Hill to interview the editors as to why they did that.
Not me. All humans are human and have their biases. (Coincidentally, research suggests the stronger our own political biases and the more limited our circles of interaction to like-minded folk, the more biased we perceive media to be.)
But that's why funding should be incredibly secure regardless of the stripe of government, so journalists can be freer to report without fear of funding being removed or feeling the need to curry favour to get increased funding.
I have not seen better results from media funded by advertising from real estate, oil, pharmaceutical companies etc.
It would be nice if public journalism was a best effort to serve the public interest but this is not realistic just an ideal. RNZ is only accountable to government (and if publicly funded journalism is accountable to no one you get the BBC). This is obvious to most of the readers and those who care, can figure out when the reporting might be crossing over into propaganda.
MSM are currently still accountable to the government for their funding but also banking, real estate, google and maybe the reader and normal ad buyers as well. Still being accountable to government just makes them redundant and unneeded. There are too many conflicts of interest here as well, you can't be sure if the article was written for your interests or for one of their big contributors.
I think private media should ideally be funded by the reader and "blind"/bidden ad buys. It is obviously possible (see below) and would be even easier if the MSM were not subsidized. I have donated to Interest because they do journalism that I would like to see more off (but adblock on for Stuff put a paywall up if you don't like it). Edit: some bad typos
The big problem then is that if private media is only funded by private individuals then it will primarily present the views of those with more money. Other voices will be drowned out. All you will ultimately end up with is another version of Murdoch media.
Rather than the cost being spread across more people and chartered to be free of interference and insecurity and to report as freely as possible, reportage will be swayed by the need to survive - to get as many donations as possible.
What's the difference?
as far as I know Interest achieves this feat
Yes, that is correct. We do not receive any amount from the Government's $55 mln Public Interest Journalism fund of which most of the media in NZ receive hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
Our model is 'free to read' along with the charts and tools like mortgage calculators, and if you wish to enable that to continue for the tens of thousands of Kiwis who come to our site every day, please support us.
We don't force you to pick prepared amounts, you choose what you want to give - per month, per year or one-off. Link at the top of the page...
Why do journalists always seem to assume that if the information isn't published by a "reputable" outlet, then it must be dis-information or inaccurate?
I have read analysis and opinion, from experts in their fields, that is light years ahead of anything the normal media produce. The internet has allowed us all to access quality writing on just about any topic you like. For sure, if you are relying on Facebook or Twitter then you might want to take the time to find trusted sources and not accept everything without some critical thought, but I have also read too many complete lies from so called "journalists" to take anything they say at face value. Maybe they should look within as to why people are looking elsewhere for their facts.
Why do journalists always seem to assume that if the information isn't published by a "reputable" outlet, then it must be dis-information or inaccurate?
Why do you think they do? Usually people can pretty simply point to inaccuracies and clear elements of disinformation.
I dont know where to start. My partner is in the thick of it in Welly. He has a possie under some shade in front of a certain balcony. If a certain duck pokes his head out he has a duck caller and quacks vociferously. Plus he yells out the funniest lines he can think of. The line up of cops in front of him chuckle and laugh.
This is the reality of this protest. Policemen dont really want a part of it. They play hopscotch with the kids. One rushed for roadcones as supplies were delivered so the old coot had fuel for his generator.
The old coot is 69. He has two metal hips, one metal knee and another rooted one, 3 missing fingers and a herniated spine. He can still dag our ewes and lambs, and fences for the big Landcorp and maori blocks next door.
Salt of the earth, call it how it is, he is ensconced in Welly doing his bit to dislodge the suits in the ivory towers from their leather chairs. To get them to think about how they are destroying the very fabric of our nation.
But to Luxon Ardern Robertson he is scum. Well that scum has worked his heart out for this nation. Shorn, fenced, farmed, til his body was rooted. The doctors saw he was a worker and did their best to fix him every time. No one ever asked was he vaxed. No one cared.
Those idiots in those big buildings need to understand people like him. Sadly I dont believe they could.
Some of the behaviour has been despicable, harassing school children and passers-by for one. And the "rivers of filth" refers to the over-flowing portaloos, pretty accurate.
Everyone has the right to protest, my opinion is they can camp there as long as they like as long as it's civil, hygienic and not blocking the roads.
And as much as you might deny it, 69 is right in the high-risk age group for a bad Covid outcome even if you are fit.
I've become so disillusioned with the MSM I drove 8 hours to Wellington to see the protest with my own eyes. It really needs to be experienced to understand the atmosphere - there is such a strong feeling of connection and determination in spite of people coming from all walks of life. I believe the powers that be have seriously underestimated peoples resolve. Some 'scum' cannot be washed away.
I heard the duck caller!
Much of the present inequalities being discussed, were brought about through Govt mandated segregation. It's the mandates that are being protested, not inequalities. Segregation, I emphasize, simply doesn't belong in NZ. Kiwis have resisted segregation before 41 years ago, as they are resisting it today. This time it's closer to home, in their own land. If segregation is seen as a solution, another solution needs to be found. If these mandates aren't lifted, many will be surprised at the growing extent of civil disobedience throughout NZ over the coming weeks. Much is currently being planned, in a decentralized manner
Jenée, you've got to keep this a secret or you will lose your job.
COVID-19 vaccine weekly surveillance reports -
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-surv…
I'll sum it up for you .....
All vaxed people have next to no immunity from catching omicron.
If you have two doses or less of the vaccine you're toast .... your chances of being hospitalized is higher than that of an unvaxed person.
If you have a booster you've got maybe 12 weeks (????) protection and then you'll be in the same boat as the doubly vaxed now find themselves in.
Hypothesis -
Everyone who has been vaxed will have to decide at some point in the future whether to get off this vaxed train and join the people like the "dirty low life" outside parliament you so despise.
So, now you know this information and realize you too one day may be unvaxed, you'll have to develop your conspiracy skills .... so watch Boris Johnson's speech the other day with new informed amazement -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31iCCOek08o
So Jenée, to conclude -
Every scientist who believes in a scientific consensus is a fool. Science is not a democracy...... How foolish have you been I wonder!!!!
This looks odd. Reading the source you link to, it completely contradicts your claims. Stating, in actual fact:
- "Vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease with the Omicron variant is substantially lower than against the Delta variant, with rapid waning. However, protection against hospitalisation remains high, particularly after 3 doses."
- "Two to 4 weeks after a booster dose of...the Pfizer...vaccine, effectiveness ranges from around 60 to 75%, dropping to 25 to 40% from 15+ weeks after the booster."
- "After a Pfizer booster...vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation started at around 90% dropping to around 75% after 10 to 14 weeks."
UK data is now next to useless because almost everyone there has immunity. The unvaxxed have been vaxxed by catching Covid. 98% of people have antibodies.
The Australian data is showing even double vaxxed stops about 90% of omicron hospitalisations.
https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/698804/202201…
Well, if you claim things to be true and post sources to support your claims then it'd be good to use sources that don't completely and utterly contradict your claims. It makes you look...strange. As if your feelings are more important than the facts you've provided.
As you say, the data speaks for itself.
I admit it's going to take a lot of research and it's all a bit of a mess so if people want to do more research, to get a more accurate number of doses for each age group, check out -
National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports: 2021 to 2022 season
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surv…
Table 9: Provisional cumulative COVID-19 vaccine uptake by age in England
Good luck .... and thanks for your curiosity.
It’s probably true that some of the anger on both sides is making way for regrets…such an unfortunate debacle that should have been de-escalated through peaceful consultation. Winston may be an opportunist but it’s the obvious political approach to resolving a protest before resorting to mass enforcement.
"New Zealand’s vaccination rate is remarkably high." You get that with vaccine mandates, riding roughshod over the Bill of Rights, and forcing people out of their vocations and jobs.
"As for our political leaders, it’s best they acknowledge how tough it has been and focus their attentions on some of the drivers behind existing inequities." No, the best things politicians is remove mandates immediately. There is no downside and only upside. The only reason they are there is the Marcellus Wallace dictum - Jacinda's pride. "Pride only hurts, it never helps."
UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights
Article 6 – Consent
1. Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information. The consent should, where appropriate, be express and may be withdrawn by the person concerned at any time and for any reason without disadvantage or prejudice.
Jenee, I do not understand the point of your article.
Right from the start you mention the guy blasting the siren over a speaker and suggest its stupid.
You could have been a real journalist and asked him why. Why did he come to parliament to do that. Where did he come from. Who did he come with. How does he expect to change things with his siren.
Thats your story. Not some piece trying to minimise what people have gone through by relating it to friends and relatives that have had covid.
What made a bloke feel so strongly he is out there with a siren doing his damndest to annoy the shite out of parliament?
And it is division. We are divided. Until you are the one shut out, what would you know or understand? Try asking some of them.
Being told I am 'triggered' because I cant do my job due to mandates is kinda pompous.
Great article! However it fails to recognise that where we are NOW is very different to where we were even a year ago. With a more transmissible and less deadly variant of the virus, plus an almost fully vaccinated population, we shouldn't be applying the same restrictions. That's what a lot of people seem to be missing.
Also, you could get rid of 80-90% of those protesters by dropping mandates quickly. They would declare success and remove themselves from the now confirmed super spreader event. You would be left with the nutters, but those nutters would no longer have a hyped up audience to radicalise and turn violent. Instead, the government illogically keeps the mandates, paints everyone with the same brush strokes of "deluded" and continues to grow the super spreader as a result.
We are in an evolving situation, our thinking must also evolve as must our policy. I don't see enough of that from the current situation. The virus is out of control, spreading uncontrollably. We will all get it now, it's just a matter of time, but we are in our strongest position to handle it before vaccination wanes. There simply won't be a better time to drop the mandates.
Interesting that more people in the US have died from Omicron, than Delta. Even though Omicron is supposedly less deadly, it is making more people dead. Mainly beucase more people are getting it. So it is debatable whether it is actually less deadly if more are dying from it.
Yeah it's pretty simple. Omicron is more transmissible, more people will catch it. And its happening as countries open up, so will amplify the numbers.
But it's important to realise we were never going to escape from COVID once it is out in the world. The delaying tactics have been pretty good, especially in NZ, to allow most of us to only experience the less severe form of the virus. And since we are mostly vaccinated against it, we can't be in a better position to handle it (minus the hospital bed ICU fiasco).
Here is a paper examining that very question Delta vs Omicron in the US.
Clinical outcomes among patients infected with Omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant in southern California
52,297 cases with Omicron variant infections
Hospital admissions – 235
ICU – 7
Ventilated – 0
Deaths – 1
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.11.22269045v1.full
Just thought I would add, still very grateful to Jenee for her articles. Just a bit over the condescending manner from every opinion article I read these days. Interest is the only place that will print a retort from me. Good god I am nearly 60, surely I can decide for myself if I am a suitable candidate for an experimental medicine. And that decision should not be a reason to denigrate me at every opportunity by every man and his dog that seems to be important enough to get an opinion printed on the msm.
IMO the protests are now being handled correctly . They will burn themselves out or Covid will and police will reduce the size of it. But IMO the NZ media need to stop publiscing it on TV, it is just fueling the fire. They want that publicity. Ignore them, and they will go back to the holes they crawled out from. One newspaper is running a live facebook feed of it, I mean why?
I think protests like this give the extremists a chance to get involved however I believe they are the smaller but more vocal part of the protest. The digital era actually helps these people expose themselves rather that stay in the shadows and that is why free speech is important, it invites healthy debate
I have been watching Chantelle Bakers live streams on facebook and a lot of the interviews are with normal middle class kiwis that have been injured by vaccines, been mandated out of work or just believe in the right to make their own decisions.
The legitimacy of their concerns are just ignored by the govt and as we have found out if you don't agree with them you are omitted from the team of 5 million.
The rise of distrust in government is entirely unsurprising, given that the govts around the world now more easily exposed for the spin and propaganda they gleefully serve up aided by the only too willing media and big tech.
When facebook and twitter get to decide what is "disinformation" and get to censor some and control what "news" people get, there is a real problem.
Although we have a high vaccination rate we need to remember that a lot of those vaccinated where blackmailed into doing so to be able to keep their jobs, participate in society and compete in sports, a lot reluctantly and this is why you see 30% of people supporting the protesters, because they themselves have felt squeezed.
Mandates across the world are measured for success based on how many people they coerce into getting vaccinated and many studies have proven that having mandates make no difference to the infection rate.
Adding to that it seems that Omicron is more infectious amongst the Vaccinated and there is the possibility we are seeing ADE be come apparent in the vaccinated.
Some of the rules put into place are just plain ridiculous and you only need to go to the ministry of health to determine how a "close contact" is now defined. A mixed classroom of years 3 and years 4 has half the class wearing masks and half not. 12 year olds can participate in sports unvaxxed 13 year olds cannot.
Finally, I think its fair to say that this pandemic was never about vaccinated vs unvaccinated, but rather the healthy vs the unhealthy and this is why the case fatality rate in under 17 year old is 3/1000000, because their immune system is robust and their organs untainted from abuse. And at the other end of the scale 99.3% of deaths in the US had at least 1 comorbidity and 2/3 of those had more than 6 comorbidities.
If the govt wants to be trusted, maybe they could be more transparent, answer the questions that the public are asking, show the references to the information they are using to make decisions. Be more inclusive and make decisions based on good data
Fair article Jenee but I feel this may just be the start of things to come in godzone unless the media and government change their ways of thinking that they know best what we need to see and know.You are correct in that lots of us have lost jobs and income and families for what we have been told is the greater good and that we are nearly there but what concerns me is what the Government is driving through while this is all happening in particular in regards to 3 waters assets and their theft from ratepayers to co governance yet this barely raises a mention in our media as we create 4 of the largest entities known in NZ that will go nowhere.
Centralisation of the Health system,Education and now Council assets back to Government indicates a lack of trust and initiative from our current politicians.
'On Monday I came close to confronting a protestor, sitting smugly in a fold-out chair next to police officers at the outer edge of the occupation, blasting a siren from a speaker… just because.'
I'm sorry, but this is not a neutral piece of Journalistic writing.
You know there is more than just one voice there than a protestor with a siren. Why have you not taken the time to cover some of those stories?
How can you be so close to the center of something and yet only see the fringe?
You know or should know there is a stage there where individuals have gotten up and shared many stories about how this mandated system of the Govt. has cost them their home, jobs, and health, even while fully vaccinated.
I know of individuals (fully vaccinated) who, knowing that they can't trust MSM reporting of 'the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the trust,' have gone for a walk around the protest camp, on numerous occasions, and found the atmosphere friendly, enjoyable, safe, and very informative on hearing the many legitimate reasons these people feel they needed to be here. None of this has been reported in MSM, or in your article.
And yes they also saw the occasional idiot, but, like interpreting statistical data, you have to be able to identify the outliers, cut through the 'noise' (in your case literally) in the system, to get to the real facts, which may be to behind the front numbers.
But for whatever reason, as big as the camp is, you only saw and heard a person with a siren and speaker.
The old sayings:
You are known by the friends you keep.'
'Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas,'
'Tarred with the same brush.' etc.
Jordan Petersen explains the Journalists' dilemma here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWkx6MghFDc
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