Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Do we need the Government to help fund Wegovy?

From today, Wegovy is available on our shelves so you can get skinny like Oprah, if you want.

But it'll cost you - $500 per month. Which is unaffordable for most people, prompting a debate over whether the Government should fund it to reduce obesity and safe money on obesity-related illnesses and injuries.

Now on principle, this is the kind of thing I'm a fan of - a bit of money upfront to save lots of money later. But unfortunately, as it stands, this wouldn't be an example of saving money.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: There has to be a limit to funding Christchurch's Cathedral

Nicola Willis has made the right call to not give any more taxpayer money to the Christ Church Cathedral rebuild. 

It’s tough call. It's got consequences, as they’re saying, it looks like the Cathedral night be mothballed because they can’t figure out how else to raise the money.  

But frankly, the country can’t afford to give them another $60 million.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 17/1/24

Govt kicks in $3.9m to help prop a women’s rugby tour in 2027 – and score for the economy – but Lee sounds like a social engineer

The government has announced it will be spending $3.9 million (to prop up the inaugural Women’s British and Irish Lions Tour) and, more immediately, collecting an unspecified sum (from the owners of light electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids).

Clive Bibby: Government’s response to East Coast flooding is insulting

Normally, when a state of emergency is called, as it was on the East Coast last Wednesday when Cyclone Hale reached its peak, you expect all the local and government agencies who are charged with mobilising the relief effort to be operating in unison to help those in need. 

As one of those living at the epicentre of the destruction (we live on the Paroa Road inland from Tolaga Bay), l am able to give an accurate account at what happened immediately after and since the storm decimated a good portion of our rural community. 

Mike Hosking: Finally a sensible, practical use of money from the Govt

What a difference a day makes.

24 hours after the madcap nuttiness of paying out $800 million we don’t have, to people who may or may not reside here, and may or may not need any assistance at all, we then get the idea that we have $10,000 to get a nurse here.

The cost-of-living payment is well intentioned, but oh so Labour in its delivery. In other words, it’s the usual wasteful mess dreamed up by a government that time and time again shows how little real-world experience it has.

The nurse package, at least, starts off with good intentions, but also the real possibility it might play a part in solving a crisis.

Point of Order: Oh, look – Sepuloni finds some money for the arts has not been spent

But it will be put to use in a trough for cultural “regeneration”

News of the PM’s next overseas travel plans flowed from the Beehive along with a fanfaronade of self-congratulation for work coming along nicely, thank you, announcements of fresh projects and programmes for consuming our taxes, and advice aimed at enhancing our wellbeing.

The overseas travel is to Samoa – Jacinda Ardern will lead a Parliamentary and community delegation to Apia from the 1–2 August to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of “the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, between Aotearoa New Zealand and Samoa”

Guy Hatchard: How the Nz Government Misleads Us Through Payments to Msm and Others

Spot the difference between a government funded mainstream newspaper summarising a Covid journal paper and an independent physician/medical educator.

On July 14th Stuff newspaper Keith Lynch Explainer Editor and Kate Newton Senior Data Journalist authored an article “Covid-19 NZ: Why the rising tide of cases doesn’t tell the whole story”. This was a long article attempting to analyse the current Covid wave in New Zealand.

The article references a preprint study from Qatar entitled: “Protection of SARS-CoV-2 natural infection against reinfection with the Omicron BA.4 or BA.5 subvariants” which analyses Covid outcomes depending on the subject’s prior vaccination and infection history.

mRNA Vaccination Ultimately Increases Vulnerability to Covid

The real substance of the referenced large Qatar study was very interesting but simply not reported by Stuff.

Point of Order: Fonterra puts electric tanker on the road while Hyundai and NZ Post turn to hydrogen (thanks to govt co-funding)

It’s great to have Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods – while “celebrating” the launch of two initiatives for energy decarbonisation in the transport sector in New Zealand – give as an idea of what happens to handouts of government money.

Too often, the handouts are announced – and that’s the last we hear of it.

In this case Woods has drawn the public’s attention to two projects which (she contends) were

Garrick Tremain: Giving!

Here is Garrick Tremain's latest cartoon commentary!