I’ll tell you who the indisputable New Zealand Man of the Year is, indeed he’s the top contender for Man of the Decade.
His name is Steve Elers. He, believe it or not, is a Massey University academic and a month back began writing a weekly comment piece for our major newspaper chain Stuff. As an aside, publishing his comments is further testimony of the point I made recently about our newspapers expressing different viewpoints.
For example, Elers asked the question, doubtless crossing most New Zealanders minds but too afraid to mention, why was there a special coronavirus fund for Maori? Like I suspect everyone he found that patronising, more so as he’s Maori.
He writes well, his latest contribution not pulling its punches about Jacinda. He slams our journalists for their failure to investigate her outright misrepresentations and simply “regurgitating her plainly false assertions to the masses”.
He wrote; “We have one of the highest testing rates per capita in the world,” she asserted.
“Wrong. At the time we were 31st in the world for testing rates per capita. I don’t think 31st can be considered “one of the highest” in the world, unless, of course, we have turned into a society where we believe everyone a winner”.
In a sycophantic, easily bullied nation which New Zealand has always been, Steve Elers is a wonderful breath of fresh air, although given its form, Massey’s wokish administration will be outraged.
I look forward to his future commentaries.
16 Comments
For the past few years little of the NZ commentary worth paying for has been written by journalists.
I would rather pay for young girls drinks
Thanks Bob for this reference. I had largely left visiting the Stuff site due to the number of pro government articles, or else I had already read the article on an overseas site. A full list of Elers articles can be found on his Steve Elers website.
I have no love for this present government and think our illustrious prime minister is nothing but a puppet of the un and Hellen Clarke after a few comments to stuff comments I was banned and my profile etc expunged but amazingly certain commenters on that particular website can spout any dribble they want supporting this government and there remarks all ways make it through moderation the left leaning media in this country are trying to make the news not report the truth thank goodness for this blog
I too read Steve Elers article and very strongly endorse Sir Bobs comments. I just thought he was outstanding. Equally I think Paul Henry this week has drawn our attention to several other outstanding New Zealanders. Nic Mowbray, Sir Peter Glutman, Vic Crone (Callaghan Innovation). Add names like Rob Fyfe, Ashley Bloomfield, Rod Drury (Xero), John Luxton, Peter Beck (Rocket Lab) & there are no doubt dozens more (Including Paul Henry himself ). If this Labour Government is prepared to bring them and the dozens more like them into the Mix then this country has a great future.
I was just thinking about ANZAC Day. This nasty flu would have been very useful then.
General to troops in trenches:
“Okay chaps, the wars over. Pack up your stuff. We’re abandoning the trenches. We’re off to hide under our beds for a few months. There’s a nasty flu about.”
Silver lining?
Saw that article. Yes our testing is insufficient.
The reason we all agreed in principle to the lockdown was to save 10s of thousands of lives. Are we really saying now that 19 people have passed all with under lying health issues ( 1 apparently with stage 4 cancer) that this low number is solely a result from Jacindas decisive decision. Hmmm I think not – as you would still imagine a reduced number of say a couple of thousand. ( I am of course glad we did not see this) Given such a low number and the demographic of the people effected, one needs to ask why the Government is persisting with such harsh measures with enabling people back to work. Could it be in part that they realise they made a mistake and acted too fast – to admit this would be potentially political suicide given it has ONLY take 4 weeks to collapse our economy not to mention the on the ground hardships imposed onto individuals and families. Extended ques at food banks – Qtown all but broke – Rotorua not far behind – 1000s now on doll Que – potential 30% reduction in GDP and all the while giving handouts. The Warehouse group said yesterday that their $62 mill wage subsidy was $192 mill short of their monthly wage bill – how long are the expected to pay this for?? And now looking to give each NZer a $1500 payout??? 6 Billion dollars? Would this not be better spend in pulling forward some major projects in NZs infrastructure say Roading – Schools – Hospitals etc so that big companies can continue surviving and paying wages instead of the doll que getting longer. Grant Robertson needs to his head read.
Hooray, Andrewchch
What percentage of Kiwis have the logic and the maths to get this??? Is it as high as one percent? If the modelling wasn’t garbage, then yes we should have seen the curve finally start to come down after an exponential increase in deaths for at least the first three weeks of lockdown. 10, 20 deaths per day, coming to a few hundred before the curve turned. The fact that the death rate just sputtered along in the ones and twos is proof that the modelling was based on “garbage in” assumptions. But no-one is going to be sacked or prosecuted over this? Heck, the little guy making a professional blunder gets done like a dinner but you can destroy a national economy for nothing with total impunity?
He may not have many future commentaries
Remember his ultimate boss is Jacinda and she is very good at subtlety getting the message back down
Disagree with me and you will lose access, funding, jobs and the message filters from the head of government dept down
My mind drifts back to the Tiananmen Square massacre.
The Chinese government sent their top officials to reason with the students.
The students responded with shouts of:
“Who elected you?”
The communist government was enraged. They sent in the tanks.
Here, we have some guy who the media named “New Zealander of the Year” whose name escapes me. Ashley, I think. He now apparently runs the government.
Who elected you?
Grant cant get his head read as its too far under ground, somebody please yank on his tail feathers so to remove his appendage then if he’d remove his hand bag could start hen pecking JA until she wakes up and sees the ruins she continues to fraudulently impose on the masses for the sake of a few.
Keep up the good work Bob.
No Elers reference here but… Imagine some elderly person with major health issues plus dementia, being confronted by a nurse/carer in full PEP garb. They would look like an alien being to the patient. The ensuing freaking out panic would certainly hasten their demise. Cause of death? Covid 19 by default?
The Covid-19 HOAX can be seen in the way Covid-19 spread.
It spread to the whole world but jumped over the major Chinese cities.
You know Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, etc. On March 16, more than 3 weeks after the lockdown,
Beijing Municipality had 442 confirmed cases of Covid-19 (population 20 million),
Shanghai Municipality had 353 confirmed cases of Covid-19 (population 23 million),
Guangdong Province had 1,357 confirmed cases of Covid-19 (population 104 million),
Hong Kong Region had 141 confirmed cases of Covid-19 (population 7 million).
Get that… it didn’t appreciably spread (before or after the Chinese lockdown) to any of the major Chinese cities.
But it massively spread (before the Chinese lockdown) to Iran and Italy.
How’s that?
Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong Province.
The Washington Post reported that 5 million people left Wuhan between January 10, i.e., the start of the Chinese New Year travel rush, and the lockdown.
Get that… five million leave Wuhan for elsewhere, but do not appreciably spread the disease.
How’s that?
And what about Africa?
As of April 16, there were only 16,500 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in all of Africa.
Get that… only 16,500 cases in all of Africa.
Africa, which has seen massive Chinese investment accompanied by over a million Chinese workers.
How’s that?
http://www.preearth.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1184
For only the second time in my life.(I am a young 73)- I have written to a “journalist” newspaper columnist.
This was to to Steve Elers for the column you mention.
Brilliant! Of course he didnt point out the other “hyperbole/BS”” in that speech of Jacindas. But it sure made the point that either Jacindas script writers are full of self importance/BS or that nobody does any fact checking before giving it to the Fairy Princess…..
Maybe she should get an independent fact checker before she gets caught short again….
This is of course the same Jacinda that said
“I believe that it is possible to exist in politics without lying and by telling the truth”
Leaders debate September 20187.
In addition to covid19,there are two other afflictions affecting our country,group think and it’s insidious stablemate,collective emotion.