Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: What did Jacinda's latest testimony really tell us?

Jacinda Ardern is back in the news after transcripts of her behind-closed-doors testimony to the Royal Commission were published by the New Zealand Herald today.

While the contents of the testimony contain few surprises, the transcript is notable as much for what it omits as for what it includes.

Best of 2025: Ryan Bridge - The Gen Z stare

I went out for lunch to a café the other day and our table was served by a couple of waiters who all seemed to have a similar vibe about them.

They just. Did. Not. Seem. To. Care.

Ryan Bridge: How was a former Covid response lead able to steal $1.8 million?

This story should shock everybody, but it won't. Sadly.

The headline? Former Covid response lead Alister Thorby stole $1.8 million from DHBs.

From us, taxpayers.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: We need to talk about how the Reserve Bank stuffed up

Now, we need to talk about the Reserve Bank's excuses for how it completely stuffed up its job and let inflation get away on it during Covid.

We spoke about this on the show yesterday, it's done the review and it says, quote, - "in hindsight, an earlier and more aggressive tightening might have reduced inflation sooner."

Dr Will Jones: Covid Vaccines Saved Far Fewer Lives Than Claimed by WHO, Major New Study Finds

Covid vaccines saved far fewer lives than first thought, a major new analysis from Stanford’s Professor John Ioannidis and team has concluded – closer to 2.5 million than the 14 million claimed by the WHO in 2022. The Telegraph has more.

Dr Will Jones: All New Vaccines in US to Undergo Placebo Testing, Orders Robert F. Kennedy Jr

All new vaccines in the US are to undergo placebo testing instead of being tested only against other vaccines or drugs, under instructions from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Washington Post has the story.

Dr Will Jones: Here Comes the Politics of Kindness

Covid tyrant queen Jacinda Ardern is set to tour the UK and US to promote her new memoir, subtitled A Different Kind of Power. In the Spectator, Michael Jackson says Kiwis remember all too well Ardern’s use of power and are still suffering the effects. Here’s an excerpt.

Rebekah Barnett: Australia’s Covid Response Caused Significant Harm, Yet Another Official Report Finds

Five years on from the declaration of a global pandemic, I’m weary of Covid inquiries. They tend to go either of two ways. They either run through bureaucratic checkboxes and give everyone a medal for having locked down the fastest and vaccinated the most. Or, they spend months reviewing submissions and focus group transcripts to come to very obvious conclusions, like “closing schools for prolonged periods is damaging for kids” or “people don’t trust public health authorities if you attempt to force everyone to take an over-hyped vaccine“.

Lee Harding: The COVID cure was far worse than the disease

After the first of two weeks to flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases, President Donald Trump said, “We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself.” He was right, yet that ill fate prevailed in the U.S., Canada, and much of the world.

An important paper released July 19 by 3 Canadian academics Denis Rancourt, Joseph Hickey, and Christian Linard in Correlation Research proved this when looking at how many more people died than usual (excess mortality)  in 125 countries with a total of 2.7 billion people.

Matt Ridley: Virology poses a far greater threat to the world than AI

Sam Altman, the recently fired (and rehired) chief executive of Open AI, was asked earlier this year by his fellow tech billionaire Patrick Collison what he thought of the risks of synthetic biology. ‘I would like to not have another synthetic pathogen cause a global pandemic. I think we can all agree that wasn’t a great experience,’ he replied. ‘Wasn’t that bad compared to what it could have been, but I’m surprised there has not been more global coordination and I think we should have more of that.’

Mike Butler: When stupidity and pride turn deadly

Stupidity and pride turned deadly on March 2, 2022, when New Zealand politicians unleashed overwhelming force on anti-mandate protesters in front of our Parliament.

River of freedom, which documents last year’s protest, from the first truck to the last rubber bullet, captures the outrage that brought thousands to Wellington.

They sang “stick your mandates up your arse, we won’t get off the grass”, in front of a long line of posters that recorded the names and details of those killed or maimed by the Pfizer vaccine.

Karl du Fresne: I defended the media then; I wouldn't now

In his media column in the New Zealand Herald today, Shayne Currie reports that media organisations are having to think about security arrangements for journalists covering the election campaign. TVNZ went to the extent of hiring security staff for its news team at the National and Labour campaign launches, both of which were disrupted by protesters. Currie quotes TVNZ executive editor Phil O’Sullivan as saying: “Globally we’ve seen an increase in anti-media sentiment. We’re now seeing this in New Zealand too, with an increase in abuse directed towards our reporters while out in the field, and threatening behaviour in online spaces disproportionately impacting our female reporters.”

Sir Bob Jones: COVID Hysteria

To date over 40% of our population have now been infected with covid and circa 1500 currently cop it each new week. Some die, some suffer a nasty flu-like reaction, others are virtually unaffected. Mask-wearing is now almost unknown.

As with the rest of the civilised world, we’ve learnt to live with it and get on with life, just as we’ve always done with numerous life-threatening risks, be it driving, swimming, physically demanding sport and so on.

Point of Order: The Govt is keeping us safer in the water, protecting us from bad drugs, the PM is talking of a country called New Zealand

Our lifestyles have not been unduly constrained by do-gooder cabinet ministers since Christmas Eve, a reflection – presumably – of the Beehive’s inhabitants taking a holiday break. Hurrah.

But the Government does have its sights set on reducing the numbers of young people who get their buzz from vaping.

It also has been reminding us of its concern for the wellbeing of some of us by keeping us safe in the water and enabling us to have our drugs tested before we take a deadly dose of something nasty.

Point of Order: Hipkins enthuses about the Fourth National Action Plan......

.....but who remembers the first three?

Just two statements had been posted on the Beehive website, when we made our daily check this morning. This suggested the PM and her ministers were easing up on their workloads as Christmas Day nears.

But two more statements have been posted since then, one of them grandly headlined:

Kate Hawkesby: Covid back on the rise

 

It’s annoying to see reports that Covid cases are on the rise again – although I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.

Open border equals case numbers up. That’s basic maths. But I think there’s a certain degree of PTSD for us seeing those headlines. Yesterday’s headline by the way if you missed it, was that “Covid infections jump by 1500 in 24 hour period.” The PTSD creeps in particularly for those of us who had Covid quite badly.

Point of Order: How planning for the next pandemic can only be improved if we probe the Ardern Govt’s handling of Covid-19

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, basking in the headlines generated by being New Zealand’s mourner-in-chief for our late monarch, may find it has halted the slump in Labour’s polling.

Or, at least, she may be hoping it has done so.

Kate Hawkesby: Another public holiday is a bridge too far for some small businesses

What a relief and not before time that we’re waving goodbye to the traffic light system. Big raps to the Government for getting their heads around that.

We’ve moved on, and so should they. It was apparent yesterday when Grant Robertson said to Mike Hosking that they’ll ‘still take Covid seriously’ that they were laying the ground work for the naysayers, the panickers, those who’d freak out, that they were ‘still taking it seriously’, even though they were heaving the system out. 

David Redman: The People Must Say No to Failed COVID-19 Strategies

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article by John Tierney (see Fauci and Walensky Double Down on Failed Covid Response, August 18, 2022) on the failed response to COVID-19 in the United States and in most western democracies.

The article was totally in keeping with what many have been saying for the past 2 1/2 years. That the response to COVID-19 was unprecedented, not in keeping with all the hard documented lessons learned from previous pandemics. In addition, it was both dangerous and deadly.

Heather du Plessis Allan: Lowering the UE threshold was the right thing to do

 

So you’ll have caught up on the news now that the government is making it easier for teenagers to get NCEA qualifications this year, for the third year in a row.

They’ve lowered the standards, schools are again allowed to award extra credits called learning recognition credits and they get one for every 5 credits that the students achieves. The threshold for University Entrance has been lowered as well. So, instead of needing 14 credits in 3 different approved subjects, the kids can get by with 14 credits in 2 subjects, and then 12 credits in a third.