it would be interesting to compare the current falls in New Zealand housing prices with those of the U.S housing crash from the time America entered recession in Dec 2007. Price falls nationally Ex-Auckland are actually pretty similar. Auckland/Wellington much faster.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden leaving the offices of BlackRock. Absolutely nothing to see here whatsoever.
 

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New Zealand needs to be energy independent. The closure of the Marsden Point oil refinery signals the end of New Zealand’s only oil refinery after sixty years. The refinery is capable of processing enough oil to meet a majority of domestic demand (MBIE). Instead, we will imp...
 

 

 
Import huge amounts of oil. NZ needs fuel security and energy independence in the time of uncertainty and price increases rather than relying on imports in the name of being 'green'
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was left reeling on Friday after a High Court ruled that her vaccine mandate represented a “gross violation of human rights” for New Zealanders.
 
Justice Francis Cooke ruled that ordering frontline police officers and Defence staff to be vaccinated or face losing their job was not a “reasonably justified” breach of the Bill of Rights.

Nzherald.co.nz reports: The lawyer for the police and Defence staff at the centre of the claim is now calling for the suspended workers to return to their jobs immediately, saying many have given decades of service to their community and are still committed to their jobs.

The challenge, put forward by a group of Defence force and police employees, questioned the legality of making an order under the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act to require vaccination for frontline employees.

The challenge was supported by a group of 37 employees affected by the mandate, who submitted written affidavits to the court.

Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Wood, Deputy Police Commissioner Tania Kura and NZDF Chief People Officer Brigadier Matthew Weston filed affidavits defending the mandate.

As it stands, 164 of the overall police workforce of nearly 15,700 were affected by the mandate after choosing not to be vaccinated. For NZDF, the mandate affected 115 of its 15,500 staff.

The group relied on two aspects of the Bill of Rights – the right to decline a medical procedure and the right to religious freedom.

On the religious freedom argument, a number of those who made submissions referred to their fundamental objection to taking the Pfizer vaccine, given that it was tested on the cells that were derived from a human foetus.

Justice Cooke agreed with the claim, saying that “an obligation to receive the vaccine which a person objects to because it has been tested on cells derived from a human foetus, potentially an aborted foetus, does involve a limitation on the manifestation of a religious belief.”

However, Justice Cooke disagreed with the claimants’ broader claims that requiring vaccination is inconsistent with holding religious beliefs more generally.

“I do not accept that a belief in an individual’s bodily integrity and personal autonomy is a religious belief or practice. Rather it seems to me, in the circumstances of this case, to be a belief in the secular concept referred to in section 11 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.”

Justice Cooke also agreed with the claim that the mandate impinged on the right to decline a medical procedure.

The judge said that while it’s clear the government isn’t forcing Police and NZDF employees to get vaccinated against their will and they still have the right to refuse vaccination, the mandate presents an element of pressure.

“The associated pressure to surrender employment involves a limit on the right to retain that employment, which the above principles suggest can be thought of as an important right or interest recognised not only in domestic law, but in the international instruments,” Justice Cooke stated.

But in considering the two claims, Justice Cooke also considered whether or not the mandate fell within the definitions laid out in the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act.

The court accepted that vaccination has a significant beneficial effect in limiting serious illness, hospitalisation, and death, including with the Omicron variant. However, it was less effective in reducing infection and transmission of Omicron than had been the case with other variants of Covid-19.

“In essence, the order mandating vaccinations for police and NZDF staff was imposed to ensure the continuity of the public services, and to promote public confidence in those services, rather than to stop the spread of Covid-19. Indeed health advice provided to the government was that further mandates were not required to restrict the spread of Covid-19. I am not satisfied that continuity of these services is materially advanced by the order,” the Judge said.

“Covid-19 clearly involves a threat to the continuity of police and NZDF services. That is because the Omicron variant in particular is so transmissible. But that threat exists for both vaccinated and unvaccinated staff. I am not satisfied that the order makes a material difference, including because of the expert evidence before the court on the effects of vaccination on Covid-19 including the Delta and Omicron variants.”

An additional claim that the mandate would disproportionately affect Māori was dismissed by Justice Cooke.
 
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New Zealand will send more than 50 soldiers to Europe to help distribute aid to Ukraine. A majority of them will help transport an enormous amount of military equipment being donated for the war effort. view all

DAY 86 - Today we look back at our day in D'Urville Island in the Marlborough Sounds during New Zealand's Biggest Gap Year.
 
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DAY 87 - Today we look back at our day in Nelson and checking out the geographical center of New Zealand during New Zealand's Biggest Gap Year.
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The first 'safe travel zone' flight between New Zealand and Queensland is due to arrive in Brisbane today. The agreement means travellers coming from across the Tasman won't have to quarantine for 14 days
 
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The home has a sparkling swimming pool, and the property itself is a mansion, or a step closer to a "luxury house." Imagine not having to go to a shoulder-to-shoulder public swimming pool or a dangerous seaside wild swim in the summer, but simply having a cool home and getting into the water.

But the cost of maintaining a swimming pool is not low, and every fixed time (usually three years), City Council has to carry out a safety check of the pool, after all, as long as there is water, there may be some danger.

For pool inspection, the owner (the owner of the pool, usually the owner of the property) is required to pay, the city council's safety inspection staff will be the pool equipment, pool building standards and the pool protection measures (fence) to make a decision, if qualified, if not qualified, was issued pool / poo barriers non-compliant (Notice Fix to) notice?

When notified by Notice to Fix that the owner needs to suspend the use of the pool, the most common method of City Council is to inform you in the "correction notice" that the pool must be dried and that it must be kept out of the vicinity of the pool (fence locking, etc.). Then, after a security repair (e.g. high fences, reinforced fences, pool steps, etc.) in accordance with City Council's corrective advice, ask City Council inspectors to do re-inspection again until it is passed.

If the owner ignores Notice to Fix and continues to use the swimming pool, it could result in a fine of up to NZ$5,000, with potential criminal penalties.


Of course, some Chinese owners are buying a house with a swimming pool, but they don't really need this "luxury mansion model" of the blue-rippled pool, then if you receive notice of the request for rectification, you can apply directly with Council to remove the pool (remove pool from register), and find a licensed construction engineer, reasonable removal application and building planning, including how to safely and sturdy "landfill" the pool method and so on.

When City Council agrees to the request to remove the pool and waits for the construction to be completed, the city council will go to the site of the property to check the removal of the pool, and after qualifying, the city council will have removed the "pool" project, and there will be no "pool inspection" notice in the future. However, checking the process of pool removal still has to pay. view all

If New Zealand's visa expires and the visa holder remains in New Zealand, there will be an "expected stay", commonly known as "black". There are a number of reasons why a visa may be overstated, such as illness, accident, system failure, a global outbreak, or a personal subjective reason for wanting to stay in New Zealand." Unlike the United States, New Zealand has immigration police and great powers; New Zealand has no practice of actively arresting black immigrants, and according to government data, there are only about 10,000 "black" immigrants in New Zealand, not too many. We do not say "black is not black" reason, to see if there is really overdue detention, how to do?

If your visa has expired, it means that you are now entering the country illegally (which is referred to in immigration law as having "illegal status" or "illegal" entry). Once your status is illegal, you are usually not entitled to a new visa and you may have to leave New Zealand. However, New Zealand's immigration laws and immigration protection courts do offer some options for overdue:

Under section 61 of the Immigration Act, you can apply for a visa as a special case
You can appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal on humanitarian grounds
Apply for a visa under section 61 of the New Zealand Immigration Act
If your visa has expired and you are now entering New Zealand illegally, one option is to apply for a visa under the special circumstances of section 61 of the Immigration Act. Usually this is a last-case scenario; it is mainly used in cases where you have tried all other means to obtain a visa without success. Use section 61, provided that you are in fact in good condition to stay in New Zealand, but only because of some very special circumstances "delayed" the application.

In these cases, Immigration New Zealand has "absolute discretion", which means there are few restrictions on the way they can be made, and you will not have the right to appeal if the Immigration Department refuses to consider your particular circumstances. Legally, Immigration New Zealand doesn't even have to consider your application... In practice, though, they will consider all applications at least to some extent.

The Immigration Act allows the Migration Board to grant all types of visas under section 61. Upon obtaining a visa under this section, you have the same immigration status as any other person who has obtained that particular type of visa.

Under section 61 of the Immigration Act, immigration New Zealand will focus on:

Your immigration history - for example, whether you have entered New Zealand illegally before
Your current situation - including why you need to stay in New Zealand, how long you have been in the country illegally, why you do not have a current visa, the efforts made to obtain a visa and whether you are in an illegal state is beyond your control
Your physical health and character, and even your personality
In addition, Immigration New Zealand will take into account:

Is it possible to enter New Zealand
Have you built a strong family relationship here?
Whether there is a security risk to forcibly deport or remain in the territory
Applicants will have a more robust case if:

You can provide Immigration New Zealand with details of your current situation and why you applied for a visa in exceptional circumstances, and
There is strong evidence that you contributed to New Zealand and
You have not attempted to stay illegally in New Zealand for a long time
To obtain a Section 61 visa, you don't have to show exceptional or humanitarian circumstances, but your situation usually needs to be different;

Applications on humanitarian grounds
Although immigration authorities can legally deport you to New Zealand if you are in New Zealand illegally, you can appeal on humanitarian grounds. The appeal is resolved by the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, a similar court body independent of Immigration New Zealand.

If Immigration New Zealand decides to deport you, you have six weeks (42 days) to appeal. Please note that these 42 days start when your identity becomes illegal (for example, the date your visa expires). However, if Immigration New Zealand has already rejected your visa application once, these 42 days are counted from the day the Immigration Department rejects you, even if the applicant's existing visa expired before Immigration New Zealand rejected you (e.g., the visa expired on 1 February, your application to the Immigration Department for a visa change or condition change was denied, and the Immigration Department gave "no approval" on 1 March, with 42 days to appeal from 1 March). view all

Everyone in New Zealand has the right to move freely, in other words, you have the right to go anywhere you want and live where you want to live. Unless you are in a particular situation, such as "imprisonment" and "potential criminal offences", the New Zealand Government has good reason to restrict the right to "free movement".

Although New Zealand is not "federal", regulations established by city councils (regional councils) in different parts of New Zealand may affect an individual's right to do certain things in public places. For example, begging, street art and sleeping on the street may be restricted in certain areas and under specific parliamentary regulations. In other words, the so-called "restrictions" can only be expulsion or good-said advice, respect for the individual's right to freedom of movement is very important, otherwise it may violate the law (the law is bigger than the rules and regulations of local councils);

Begging on the streets of New Zealand
In most public places in New Zealand, it is legal to beg for food or ask for money unless there is a clear prohibition; Generally speaking, beggars simply sit quietly on the sidewalk without prejudice to the position of others.

However, if the beggars are on a high road, they can be considered "minor offences" under New Zealand's Improvised Policing Act if they do not follow the advice of the police. It would constitute a minor criminal offence if beggars continued to turn a deaf ear after warnings from police officers, unreasonably interfering with passers-by and encroaching on normal passage space. The police can arrest beggars for this and take them to court. Convictions in court can result in fines of up to NZ$1,000.

Here's information on begging rules in some of New Zealand's major cities:

The Oakland City Council enacted the Public Safety and Obstruction Ordinance (2013), which prohibits begging in a manner that "may pose a threat to or disturb anyone."
Hamilton City Council has the Public Places Safety Ordinance (2014), which prohibits "disgusting behaviour", which includes begging "for unreasonable interference with the peace, comfort or tranquillity of any reasonable person who may cause harassment, alarm or distress to any reasonable person"
The City of Napier's Public Places Regulations (2014) require permission from the council to beg or sell on public roads
Wellington City Council has made it clear that it will not introduce anti-begging regulations (allowing begging in any public place)
Christchurch City Council abandoned plans to introduce anti-begging legislation in 2015 (as in Wellington, it allows begging in any public place)
Taoranga City Council regulations prohibit begging within five metres of the entrance to "retail premises" such as shops, cafes, restaurants or bars. However, the regulation was repealed on 27 February 2020 and is no longer in force.
 
Selling art on the streets of New Zealand
Street performances are allowed in most parts of New Zealand (i.e. in public and as a means of "getting rich"), but there are usually some restrictions on this in different regional regulations. These rules are usually about how long you can stay in one place, when you can sell art in a day, and where you can sell art. In addition, some potentially dangerous selling to the public is banned, such as performing "Spitfire", which must be a fire hazard, or performing "Swallowing the Sword", which would cause Health and Safety Issue to do the same.

If artists need to "change their skills for money", make sure you don't put pressure on onlookers or hinder those watching them, let's not insult those who don't give money to see them in vain; New Zealanders are usually friendly, tolerant of street performers, and willing to give a few copper plates or even paper tickets as an incentive. In addition, "child labor" is not allowed, under the age of 14 artists, need to obtain permission from their parents (guardians) to legally "sell art", but onlookers may call the police to report.
 

 
 
Sleeping on the streets of New Zealand
New Zealand law gives people the right to sleep on streets, parks, covered passageways, etc. if homeless, and only a handful of district councils prohibit sleeping in specific places.

Nelson, for example, has a rule that no one can sleep on public trails or roads at night. In Hamilton, North Island, street sleepers are not allowed to use public footpaths or fall asleep in places that can "cause obstacles".
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Fool means "stupid, stupid" in English, proof means "evidence, proof", so what does it mean to have the two words together?

In New Zealand, there are actually a lot of places to see the word, it is used to describe something, or a tool, a software, etc. , it is particularly simple to use, there is no possibility of doing wrong.
 


For example, to teach locals to cook Chinese food, then tomato scrambled eggs can be said to be a relatively foolproof dishes, first scrambled eggs and then fried with tomatoes, as long as put some salt (or can also put some sugar) is very delicious, it is difficult to make dark dishes, this is a foolproof dish.

Next time you see the word, don't think you're swearing or you're stupid. view all

 
 

 
 
At least 400 people lined up outside a Christchurch supermarket on Friday to get tested for Covid-19 - part of a targeted network of testing stations set up in New Zealand. 

In addition to Christchurch, the Ministry of Health has so far set up stations in five Waikato locations, and one in Queenstown. 

Many of those who lined up say while it was a long wait and a rather uncomfortable swab up the nose, it was all worth it for their health. 

RNZ Christchurch reporter Anan Zaki and cameraman Nathan McKinnon went to talk to those getting tested. view all

 

 
 
 
 
Living in the Jenkins household at Ōhope beach is like living in the land of the giants. 

Those are the words of Mark Jenkins whose three sons - all rowing champions - had to rush home from their universities in the US when Covid-19 panic hit. 

And the travel dramas didn't stop there - parents Mark and Mia were mid-flight as the global crisis unfolded. 

Now they are all home they have settled into a routine that involves a lot of eating, study and exercise.

Sharon Brettkelly reports. view all

 

 
 
How much has our life changed in 50 days? That's how long New Zealand has been living with Covid-19. 

Since our first confirmed case at the end of February, we've seen a rush on supermarkets, the stockpiling of hand sanitiser, cleaning products and toilet paper, our borders closed, airlines have stopped carrying passengers, an unprecedented economic bailout package and a four-week nationwide lockdown. 

As of April 17 we have 1,409 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths. We've learned to live life the best we can in our bubbles. 

Lydia Batham takes a look back at the past 50 days. view all

 
 
 

We head into Doubtful Sound for a mission with the lads. Scare a few deer, catch a few crayfish and get a good feed of Venison to take home.  Thanks heaps for all the help and advice from the many people that helped out on this adventure. We will be back view all

 

 

 

 
 
A few things that help me get through times of struggle and things that help me to change who I am, what I do, how I act and the way I feel. Im not a trained professional by any means but these little things sure do help with life. I wish I had known this information years ago instead of stumbling upon it recently. Please share what works for you, and let us know of any tips and tricks that you know of, to make life easier and more enjoyable. view all

 

 

 

 

Josh James New Zealand ADVENTURE FLOG 115 - shortened version