Posts by George Darroch
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Speaker: Need, in reply to Jackie Clark,
Ah, wonderful! My Mum chairs their board - they're an excellent organisation providing incredible help to people in need. I believe one of the reasons they're not part of the traditional collective is because they have a whanau-based model, which allows for reconciliation (if and when it is appropriate), and they're strong on support for the whole family.
I've also heard a rumour that a certain young female NZ pop star will be giving out gifts to women and their children next week...
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Hi Jackie, thanks for doing this. Is this Te Whare Marama o Mangere Refuge?
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The divides are soft, and narrowing. However, there's a vast difference in internet media consumption rates across individuals and this is reflected in demographic data. The high cost of data, particularly on mobile devices where it is very costly, means that actual use may be much less than some of these figures suggest.
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James Murphy should be the next Doctor. That remix adds several other dimensions to a very solid base. Rightly, I’m hearing it on the b every day.
This isn’t new, it’s been floating around for a few months now, but goodness this is goodness:
https://soundcloud.com/disclosuremusic/help-me-lose-my-mindIt’s going to be a good summer. And Lorde should play the Grammys.
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Speaker: TPP: Nearing Endgame, in reply to Sacha,
We clearly have different uses in mind.. :)
Whoops. Changed horses halfway through there, and then pressed print instead of preview.
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Cracker: Stoned in Charge, in reply to Steve Barnes,
I think we could increase the depth of driver education and testing and improve the overall standard of competence, our driving licences are as easy to get as a cold in this country.
The increased difficulty of license tests is starting to have a marked impact on both pass rates and attempts. It's the millions of New Zealanders who gained their licenses in previous decades and have never since been tested on their abilities that I'm more concerned about. Is there another dangerous machine that you would you put people in charge of without ever reviewing their ability to use it?
I'm glad we've taken down the legal blood alcohol concentration since this article was written. I think we're starting to move to a sensible arrangement, slowly. Attitudes have changed.
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I can't tell if Matthew Hooton is trolling either. And if he is trolling, is it because his clients think this is a boring agreement, or because his clients think this is an exciting agreement. I'm not going to assume anything.
I'm going to have to skim over the chapter again. There's understandable interest in copyright provisions, and access to pharmaceuticals, but the provisions would seem to go much wider than that.
I'll give my understanding of the import of the deal:
For example, say that New Zealand's condoms started catching on fire. An ordinary government would impose a regulatory solution to ensure that all New Zealanders were safe, and that poorly designed or defective petrol pumps no longer caused harm. If these requirements were seen to be onerous by US (or Australian or Malaysian et al.) condom manufacturers, they might seek to invoke the disputes resolution mechanisms of the agreement (as yet unpublished), and argue that these are conditions being imposed which make it more difficult for their businesses to operate. Tipping a 'level regulatory playing field', if you will. If the TPPA resembles other agreements, countermeasures may be imposed on New Zealand if it refuses to budge on non-flammable condoms.There are plenty of reasons for governments to regulate in the public interest and create restraints on trade. Not all of them are as dramatic as above. But they are all made by the democratic representatives of the people, in the interests of the people, and are tested through regular elections. It is this thwarting of the democratic imperative that concerns me, not least because I believe that very robust international trade flows are possible without absolute regulatory synchronicity.
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Cracker: Stoned in Charge, in reply to Steve Barnes,
Many people I know who say they are against drinking and driving actually still do it, its just that they drink less when driving plus the fact that they don’t go out much.
I drive a lot 1000+ Ks a week sometimes and the biggest problem I see on the roads is just bad, inattentive and selfish driving, not using mirrors (apart from applying make-up or just checking how good you look) and that old chestnut “I have the right of way so fk you”
Yes, to both these factors. Bad driving is defined by people who are inattentive, careless, or overly confident and not aware of their limits and the cars' behaviour on the road. Rarely is bad driving people who are pushing those limits deliberately.
Alcohol and cannabis are huge impairments, and when you overlay them on any driver the outcomes are going to be worse.
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Speaker: TPP: Nearing Endgame, in reply to izogi,
I’m not finding this totally surprising. There are obvious similarities with NZ, but it always felt like a much more Americanised culture than NZ during the few years I was living there. Maybe something about all the levels of government, the tax return process (heaps of people pay someone else to do it for them), aspects of the health system and the insurance industry, the list goes on. My experience probably varies from others.
I'd say that it has more to do with the political culture of the people in the two main parties and their affinities and allegiances and ideas, than it has to do with anything else. Interestingly, that hasn't weakened over time.
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The proposal to allow patents on medical procedures is extremely wide. Such laws cover 'any procedure not performed with bare hands', as surgeons groups have put it. They add huge costs to US medical care, and would impose those same costs on any other country that had to pay them. They stifle innovation, and harm human health.
The stifling effects on all sectors of the economy would be large. For example, long patents on chemicals would prevent New Zealand's farmers from being able to use the best and most productive products for the care and improvement of their plants and livestock. The lack of public consideration of the downstream effects across society and across the economy is concerning.