Kerre Woodham: How do we heal our country's divisions?

I remember back when I first started talkback, a million years ago at nighttime, it must have been the semicentennial of the waterfront workers strike of '51, or the lockout, depending on which side you're on. It was the biggest industrial confrontation in New Zealand's history for those who don't know of it. It was 151 days from February to July, and at its peak, 22,000 waterside workers, or wharfies, and associated unions were off the job, out of a population of just under 2 million.

Dr James Allan: The Trudeau Disaster

In 1931 the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster. For all practical purposes this statute granted legislative independence to the self-governing Dominions of the British Empire, which at the time basically meant Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State and Newfoundland. The gist of this very famous statute was that the UK Parliament could no longer legislate for a Dominion without its consent. They were of equal status to the UK.

Graham Adams: Hipkins’ role as Covid czar thrust into spotlight

When Chris Hipkins replaced Jacinda Ardern as Prime Minister in January 2023, the legacy media preposterously promoted him as a new broom. By promising a “policy bonfire” of some of the issues that had led to Labour’s plunging popularity, he somehow persuaded journalists to overlook the fact he had been Jacinda Ardern’s faithful lieutenant and confidant for five years in government.

Eliora: Gen Z Men Are More Conservative

Young peopl6 traditionally vote for Democrats in elections, but a conservative shift among Gen Z voters helped President Donald Trump secure the keys to the White House in November 2024. If this trend is sustained, partisan realignment could hamper the Democrat's chance of success in future elections and bolster the Republicans instead, reshaping American politics.

Richard Eldred: It’s Time for the Truth. Here’s the Covid Paper They Don’t Want You to Read

On his Rational Optimist Society Substack, Matt Ridley presents compelling evidence that a lab accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology likely triggered the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s an excerpt:

Suze: All Aboard the Trump Train!

Politicians on the left are stunned into silence watching Donald Trump’s juggernaut train mow down everything in its path in the quest to remove Deep State corruption and interference from the American Government and restore democracy, national security and freedom of speech to the people.

Michael Reddell: Reviewing Covid experiences and policies

I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand.

What we do have is the Phase 1 report of the Covid Royal Commission which was released by the government at the end of November. You can find the full 700+ page report here. I haven’t read the full report but did read Chapter 6 on “Economic and social impacts and responses” (which starts on page 242 of the Report itself, or page 285 of the pdf). It was, frankly, a pretty disappointing read.

Suze: What Next for the NZ Medical Council?

How the Medical Council NZ (MCNZ) behaved during Covid is now clear: it acted on unreliable health advice from the WHO.

It’s not believable to claim the MCNZ did its best with what it knew at the time. If it was good enough for some members of the public, and doctors, nurses and medical specialists, to question the government’s Covid narrative, it should be expected that MCNZ would do the same.

Dr Clare Craig: Asymptomatic Spread is Still a Myth

In 2020 and 2021 anyone claiming Covid was like influenza was dismissed as a conspiracy theorist. In 2024, the NHS is trying to treat influenza with all the crazy superstitions used for Covid. The concept of asymptomatic influenza and the blind faith in masks would, in any other time, have been laughed at. Yet, here we are, drowning in these myths, perpetuated by authorities and swallowed whole by the public. These ideas were crazy for Covid and they are crazy for influenza.

Damien Grant: New Zealand is ashamed about what happened in the Covid years

The Royal Commission has dropped its first 716 page report into the ether.

It will not be read. So comprehensive is our collective amnesia over Covid that it has provided herd immunity around Chris Hipkins’ ministerial career. If we could remember, he’d be answering the phones at Arden’s Christchurch Call make-work-scheme and the leader of the Opposition would be the Honourable Michael Wood.

But, here we are.

Toby Rogers: Hypnosis, Stockholm Syndrome, and Hegemony

I. A New/Old Theory of the Case

As you know, here on my Substack I’ve been trying to understand why the last four and a half years have felt so incredibly weird. I agree with Debbie Lerman that we are in uncharted territory. But I’ve struggled to define the psychodynamics of this strange new society we are living in.

I haven’t written for a couple of weeks because I was traveling to participate in a small gathering of dissident scholars (and then recovering afterward). At the meeting, I had a fascinating short conversation with two fellow writers that provided a plausible explanation for what we are all seeing:

Jeffrey A. Tucker: Lockdowns Codified a World of Violence

During the misnamed and mostly preposterous debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, a moderator fact-checked Trump’s claim that crime is up. In contrast to his claim, he said that the FBI reports that crime is down, a claim that likely struck every viewer as obviously wrong.

Shoplifting was not a way of life before lockdowns. Most cities were not demographic minefields of danger around every corner. There was no such thing as a drug store with nearly all products behind locked Plexiglas. We weren’t warned of spots in cities, even medium-sized ones, where carjacking was a real risk.

Dr Guy Hatchard: Action to Face the Medical Crisis Can No Longer Be Postponed

Government inquiries seldom change reality. Public submissions to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned are now closed and the Commissioners blandly note on their website:

“The submissions we have received will be considered alongside other interviews conducted and evidence received to form the Inquiry’s final report.”

Mike's Minute: It was our fault Covid turned into a "thing"

I watched an interview the other week with Marama Davidson.

It came after the elevation of Chloe Swarbrick to the leadership. Davidson wasn’t at the press conference, Chloe told us, because it turns out she had Covid.

In watching the interview, although Covid ridden, Davidson looked and sounded perfectly well, although she was isolating, which is what we do, isn't it?

Kerre Woodham: We have to manage our own health

Just when you thought it was safe to turn on the radio... Covid.

We're experiencing a fifth wave of Covid-19 infections, with an increase in the number of infections. The officials are going by wastewater testing, which gives us a far better idea of the levels of Covid within the Community than the self-reporting numbers.

Ananish Chaudhuri: Claims about New Zealand saving 20,000 Covid lives are inaccurate and meaningless

In a recent article in the New Zealand Medical Journal, Michael Baker and his co-authors claim that New Zealand saved at least 20,000 lives from Covid death. This article has received a fair amount of media exposure. 

Given that this is a “viewpoint” article, I am not sure whether the paper went through peer review or not.

The article provides an overview of the progression of the Covid pandemic and various associated issues. Most parts of the article are uncontroversial as it presents a series of facts. There are bits of opinion thrown in that might raise some eyebrows such as:

Suze: The MSM Is Tiptoeing Around This

Two weeks out from a general election and major parties are dropping like stones in the polls while small parties rise: NZ First hitting the magic 5% as Cam Slater predicted. MSM are doing their very best, but failing, to convince voters whom to vote for.

Garrick Tremain: Chippy's tests

 Here is Garrick Tremain's cartoon commentary on Chris Hipkins' two tests! 

Guy Hatchard: What Just Happened to New Zealand? Apparently It is All Our Own Fault

In the short space of three years, New Zealand society has been transformed. Our economic circumstances, our health landscape, our political ideas, our attitude to the rest of the world, and crucially, our social cohesion have undergone a sea change. This change has not been a positive step of progress. How was this allowed to happen? Was this imposed on us, or did we do it to ourselves?

Peter Williams: The Ivermectin Scandal

What was safe, then banned, is now safe again

Remember Ivermectin?

Of course you do. It’s history in the last three years is just bizarre. But it illustrates how the pharmaceutical industry captured governments all around the world during the Covid years.