RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.
rdytdy
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Fark My horse has gone down twice now (9 hour round float trips) for the Oaks Prelude and abandoned twice. .
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The stopper does it again!!! Super powers you have Chris. Unbelievable
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Oh no Chris This is a seriously good horse. Please don't stop her.
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I assume that this will simply reconfirm the Treaty was never a "partnership" as the current Government would want us to believe. Their narrative is completely false!!!
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And I note that the trots have also been abandoned at Hawera today on the grass track also.
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The Tauranga meeting has been abandoned prior to Race 1 due to an inconsistent racing surface. More information to follow.
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All 21 Grand Slam Titles for" The Greatest". Enjoy Pogo
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Rafa is the greatest.....No Brilliant win in the Australian Open. Hope Boris and Zelda went along to cheer him on.
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For your info Chris. Advised to stakeholders 13 December 2021 Twilight series targets wagering window A proposed schedule of twilight meetings, which was flagged in the NZTR Directions Paper released in October, will commence on Wednesday, 12 January 2022 at Matamata. The licence time changes have been approved by TAB NZ and the full schedule, which runs through to 30 March, is listed below. “NZTR had identified an opportunity to enhance our wagering footprint by broadcasting New Zealand thoroughbred races into Australia at this time of day,” NZTR CEO Bernard Saundry said. “This was supported by advice from TAB NZ and our Australian wagering partners.” “While the primary focus of the twilight series is to drive greater wagering, both domestically and internationally, NZTR clubs may also see the trial as an opportunity to create an on-course experience for customers, drive attendance and additional direct revenue,” he said. TAB NZ estimates the twilight series could provide an uplift in domestic turnover of $2million, while NZTR’s Australian wagering partners estimate an increase of around 15% in turnover. Recognising the fact that twilight meetings impact participants, specifically trainers with staff and horses having to travel back from meetings which finish after 7pm, NZTR has attempted to keep these meetings close to key training centres where possible. For the purposes of this trial there are no twilight meetings in the South Island. Submissions for the Directions paper closed at the end of November and were received from a wide cross-section of participants. This included responses to questions regarding other twilight alternatives NZTR might consider and whether twilight meetings should be more widely spread; and whether there would be support for further changes to the calendar should the twilight series prove successful. For the purposes of the trial, NZTR has worked with the meetings that were already set in the calendar for this season to avoid disruption. If the trial is successful, and considering feedback from the Directions paper, venues at which the twilight meetings would be held in future seasons could be revisited. The full schedule is: 12 January, Matamata RC 19 January, Waikato RC 26 January, Matamata RC (moved from 24 January) 2 February, Waikato RC 9 February, Matamata RC 16 February, Racing Tauranga 23 February, Auckland TRI@ Pukekohe 2 March, Hawkes Bay RI 9 March, Otaki Maori RC 16 March, South Waikato RC (Matamata)
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MEETING NEWS Matamata RC | Wednesday 26 January | RACE DAY Race Morning Weather: Cloudy Track: Slow 7 Rail: True | 10mm Rain Overnight Weather and Track updated at 6.45am Wednesday 26 January CLICK HERE TO ENLARGE Tuesday Afternoon Weather: Cloudy Track: Dead 6 Rail: True Weather and Track updated at 4.22pm Tuesday 25 January Tuesday Morning Weather: Overcast Track: Dead 6 Rail: True | 12mm Rain Last 24hrs Weather and Track updated at 7.52am Tuesday 25 January CLICK HERE TO ENLARGE Monday Morning Weather: Showery Track: Dead 4 Rail: True Weather and Track updated at 10.45am Monday 24 January Monday Morning Weather: Overcast Track: Dead 4 Rail: True Weather and Track updated at 9.06am Monday 24 January Withdrawal Morning Weather: Fine Track: Dead 5 Rail: True Weather and Track updated at 8.03am Saturday 22 January Nomination Morning Weather: Fine Track: Dead 4 Rail: True | 30mm Irrigation This Week | Irrigating 8mm Today Weather and Track updated at 7.53am Friday 21 January
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Abandoned after R1
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Opens the race wide open now.
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Next steps for Racing under Red NZTR 24 January 2022 NZTR has met with clubs, the Racing Integrity Board, the Jockeys’ Association, and other stakeholders to determine the next steps for racing under Red in the Covid Traffic Light System. The key focus has been to ensure our participants, especially our jockeys, are provided every level of protection to allow racing to continue. It has been agreed with the Jockeys’ Association that for the next 14 days jockeys will remain in the Island in which they normally live to allow separate bubbles to be maintained. At this stage the Matamata RC and Hawkes Bay Racing Inc meetings on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, will be conducted as closed-door meetings. Trials will also be conducted behind closed doors. The Wellington RC meeting will hold its Wellington Cup meeting on Saturday with limited groups spread across the course and well-separated from industry participants. NZTR will support individual clubs making the decision regarding whether they will cater for groups of 100, or whether they will operate closed door meetings. At meetings where groups of 100 can attend protocols will include the following: Vaccination passes will be required. Masks must be worn, and people must remain seated with table service provided. No mingling of groups is permitted. Updated NZTR Protocols will be published on the website tomorrow and updates provided to clubs and the individual Sector groups. It is vital that all of us understand to ensure we keep racing going we all need to respect the protocols put in place, as they are there with the best interests of the entire industry. NZTR is aware there are varying views but on balance, for now, this is the best way forward.
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Time for a look at the 1200m start point at Trentham
rdytdy replied to Berri's topic in Thoroughbred Cafe
1975 1 10.25 1976 1 7.25 1977 1 11.5 -
Not if it is not retrospective which I cannot see happening. Winning percentage was $7187.50 Fine was $4000.00
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Time for a look at the 1200m start point at Trentham
rdytdy replied to Berri's topic in Thoroughbred Cafe
The 1200m races were all hand timed yesterday Berri. -
Won't be The race was hand timed. Stewards Report GENERAL Times recorded for 1200 metre races down the shute today were hand timed.
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Incurring an 8 day suspension and a $4,000 fine.
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Going to run R2 and reassess after that.
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And they may well be abandoned. Big wet patch in the back straight where horses dipped badly in R1 Watch this space.
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I believe that Waverley don't have an irrigation system and the track on Saturday morning was a good 2. If they got showers that were predicted on that surface it would have become a skating rink and rider and horse safety have to take priority hence the transfer. Saturday Morning Weather: Overcast Track: Good 2 Rail: True | Track Ground Hogged Yesterday | Rain Forecast This Afternoon Weather and track last updated at 9.01am Saturday 13 November Friday Morning Weather: Cloudy Track: Good 2 Rail: True Weather and track last updated at 8.20am Friday 12 November Thursday Morning Weather: Fine Track: Good 3 Rail: True Weather and track last updated at 8.53am Thursday 11 November Withdrawal Morning Weather: Fine Track: Good 3 Rail: True Weather and track last updated at 7.35am Wednesday 10 November Nomination Morning Weather: Fine Track: Good 3 Rail: True Weather and track last updated at 8.31am Tuesday 9 November
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We Don’t Love You Anymore Jacinda By Dr Muriel Newman One year into Labour’s three-year term as a majority government, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s honeymoon is coming to an end. The public now know the destination she is taking our country, and it is not where we want to go. Finally, we, the people, are saying enough is enough. The latest Roy Morgan poll shows support for Labour slipping from 50 per cent on election night to 39.5 per cent. That would result in fourteen Labour MPs losing their seats. Confidence in the Government has fallen 15.5 points to 109.5 – the lowest rating since the Prime Minister came to office four years ago. If we were to write to Jacinda Ardern, to outline why New Zealanders don’t love her anymore, we’d probably say something like this: So, what can be done? This week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator is UK based Mark Hanson, a New Zealander with a legal background and vast international experience, who is so deeply troubled by the destructive socialist agenda he sees being rolled out, that he has proposed a new type of law: Mark’s suggestion is powerful. After three years of Jacinda Ardern’s destructive agenda, the immediate repeal of their unmandated and undemocratic law changes by the next government is imperative.
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Dividing Our Nation by Dr Muriel Newman In his iconic book Free to Choose, Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman provided an insight into human aspiration: As a pioneering society, New Zealand embraced freedom. New immigrants flocked here seeking a better life for themselves and their children, many escaping from countries with hierarchical class systems. In our equal opportunity society, it didn’t matter where you were born or who your parents were. If you worked hard and did your best you could get ahead. Times have changed. It seems we have regressed almost two hundred years in the last twelve-months. Now who your ancestors are does matter – according to Jacinda Ardern’s Government. The consequences will be severe and long-lasting. As Once Were Warriors author Alan Duff, a strong critic of Maori tribalism, explained in 2006: Former US President Barack Obama was also an outspoken critic of tribalism: Tribalism is insidious and destructive. It divides families and communities, and it is dividing our nation. It’s also a class system that enriches the iwi elite, while leaving the most vulnerable mired in disadvantage. Yet this is exactly what our Labour Government has embraced and it is accelerating the pace since gaining an absolute majority in October last year. The Prime Minister’s masterplan is outlined in He Puapua, a document prepared in 2019, under the guise of implementing the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. That report is a blueprint for the tribal control of New Zealand by 2040. While the Government claims He Puapua is not policy, its objectives are being rolled out now. One key aim is to introduce “tikanga” – Maori customary values and practices – into the law. He Puapua states, “Tikanga Maori will be functioning and applicable across Aotearoa under Maori (national, iwi, hapu, whanau) authority and also, where appropriate under Crown authority.” A leading advocate is Justice Joe Williams. Appointed to the Supreme Court by Labour in 2019, the former head of the Waitangi Tribunal delivered a lecture entitled “Decolonising the Law” to the Otago Law School in April, that promoted the concept. This week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator former Judge, barrister, and law lecturer Anthony Willy, has examined the address and questions the wisdom of introducing ‘tikanga’ into the law: Another He Puapua objective is ‘Maori ownership’ of ‘takutai moana’ – the foreshore and seabed: “There will be an enlarged iwi/hapu/whanau estate supported by increased return of Crown lands and waters, including takutai moana, to Maori ownership.” By prioritising tikanga in the law, that objective is now being realised. With 200 Marine and Coastal Area Act claims covering the entire New Zealand coastline currently before the High Court, Justice Churchman’s decision in April on the first case – Edwards – which awarded tribal applicants ‘shared’ Customary Marine Title to a 40 km stretch of Bay of Plenty coastline, is having a significant precedent effect. While claimants under the Act are required to satisfy two stringent property rights tests: firstly, that they have held their claimed area in accordance with tikanga, and secondly, that use of their area has been exclusive and without substantial interruption since 1840 – the Judge ruled that tikanga takes precedent over common law requirements. The influence of this Churchman decision can be seen in last week’s finding in the Rangataua claim for an area of the Tauranga Harbour: Essentially, the Churchman decision has not only lowered the bar for what constitutes tikanga evidence, but it has also overridden the intention of Parliament, since, at the time, the National Government had assured the public that few tribal groups would satisfy the stringent property rights tests in the law, and that no more than 10 percent of the coast would end up under tribal control. The reality is that if the Churchman ruling stands, private tribal corporations will end up controlling most of New Zealand’s coastline. The Churchman decision has now been appealed to the Court of Appeal by an Interested Party in the Edwards case, who was opposing the claim in the public interest. But their right to appeal the judgment is being challenged by claimants. A decision on whether the Churchman appeal can proceed is expected before Christmas. If the decision to prioritise tikanga over common law property rights in these coastal claims is not overturned, the Marine and Coastal Area Act itself should be urgently repealed and Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed restored – I am calling on ACT and National to say that’s what they would do should they become the government after the next election. By embracing Maori tikanga – which differs from hapu to hapu and iwi to iwi – the judiciary is radically altering the meaning of the law, and undermining the foundation of certainty and codification on which the whole legal system is based. Another key concept that underpins He Puapua, is the claim that Maori are ‘Treaty partners’ with the Crown. Since it is constitutionally impossible for a subject to be partner to a Sovereign, the concept is bogus, yet it is being given official authority by the Prime Minister. This Treaty partnership fiction is driving the Three Waters proposal to give control of billions of dollars of freshwater, wastewater, and stormwater assets to iwi. In health, it underpins the planned abolition of District Health Boards, since a Maori Health Authority that gives Treaty partners veto rights over the entire health system can only operate in a centralised framework. Meanwhile, new guidelines from Pharmac reveal that as Treaty partners, “Maori are the priority population”. Essentially, those with Maori ethnicity will now be guaranteed priority treatment ahead of others with greater health needs. In education, the Tertiary Education Commission’s proposed changes to the Performance Based Research Fund – to better reflect the Maori partnership agenda – not only strengthen race-based incentives for Maori, but they change the focus from ‘research excellence’ to ‘cultural inclusiveness’. In conservation, an Options Developments Group set up by the Department of Conservation to better recognise the ‘Treaty partnership’ recommends “the delegation, transfer and devolution of functions and powers within the conservation system to tangata whenua”. One significant policy change still in the pipeline is the Government’s response to the Waitangi Tribunal’s Wai 262 report, which categorises as Maori ‘taonga’ a wide range of ‘treasures’ including intellectual property rights, genetics, and all living species in the country – both native and introduced. In 2020, $6.2 million was allocated to develop a Treaty partnership programme to ensure Maori ‘participate in, benefit from and make decisions’ over anything identified ‘taonga’. Scrutinising the bogus claim that Maori are Treaty partners with the Crown – that is being used by Jacinda Ardern’s Government to justify the transfer of significant public resources and power to Maoridom’s elite – is off limits to all media who receive funding from the Government’s $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. The reason is that under condition three, all fund recipients are required to “Actively promote the principles of Partnership, Participation and Active Protection under Te Tiriti o Waitangi acknowledging Maori as a Te Tiriti partner”. In Austria, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz recently resigned over allegations public money was used to buy favourable media coverage for his party’s policies. It’s surely not too much of a stretch to apply the same principles here as there is a direct link between the funding and the promotion of Government policy. With the Fourth Estate effectively silenced by Labour, it’s now up to every New Zealander to alert others about what’s going on. Only when everyone who is concerned “does” something to spread the word – whether sharing information around their networks, talking to family and friends, contacting MPs and councillors, writing letters to newspapers, calling talkback, delivering fliers, using social media- will the message start to hit home. Collectively we not only need to call the partnership agenda a fraud, but we also need to end the insult of being defined by race. We should demand that New Zealand follows the lead of European nations and removes race from our Statute books, so we too can become a ‘colourblind’ society, where everyone is treated as equals under the law, and support is provided on the basis of need not race. Removing all references to ‘ethnicity’ from legislation and regulation would stop He Puapua, the Maori Health Authority, Three Waters, Maori seats in local government – and Parliament – and all other race-based initiatives. With all of this in mind, George Orwell had it right – when asked whether the nightmarish future depicted in his novel 1984 could become a reality, he said: “Don’t let it happen. It depends on you.”
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The Government Needs to Start Governing This Can’t Go On. Businesses Will Be Devoid of Hope. by JC This government, like any other democratically elected government, was elected by the people to govern for the people. If the polls are to be believed, Ardern and her Government are performing this fundamental task pretty well. The polls however, do not paint a true picture of people’s universal opinion of this government’s governance: far from it. The polls are very much a reflection of how the government has handled the pandemic rather than their performance overall. They are illustrating the fear factor that the government has continued to push since March last year. This suits the Government rather well. It provides a coverup for all their inadequacies and allows them to introduce policies and laws that were not mentioned in the lead-up to the last election. In other words, with the Covid mandate they were given, they can govern largely for themselves. If you recall, all Ardern spoke about in her election commentary was Covid. No policy of any consequence was discussed. To this day a significant portion of the population is so afraid of Covid that they are continuing to support her on that issue alone. However, since last year’s election, the polls show a closing of the gap between left and right, from 19% to 12%. There are two years to the election and as Covid fades, I’m picking that so too will Ardern’s popularity. As the voters start to focus on the real issues, this government’s lack of success in areas that really matter will become strikingly apparent. Only yesterday the inflation rate was announced at 4.9%, the highest in a decade. Take out the GST component and it’s the highest quarterly increase since the eighties. This is going to hurt Labour’s core support, most of whom sadly will keep voting for them. There are others, though, who will be looking at it along with the government’s overall achievements: Outside of Covid – virtually none. When it comes to governing on things that matter to voters, this government has been a total failure. Rather than concentrating on delivering in areas with huge problems, they have done nothing. Partly because they are incapable but equally, they have been too busy implementing their own agenda, which will do nothing to improve people’s lives. Housing is an out of control shambles with an out of control market and supply chain problems holding up the building sector. Transport is turning into a debacle, with nice-to-have toys like trams, trains and a bike bridge all having millions of dollars spent on pipe dreams. Education is on an ever-accelerating downward slide, not helped by Covid closures of schools. Local government has been reduced to an argument over water rights. Child poverty under the Prime Minister is a complete disgrace and, with inflation on the rise, is set to get worse. While all of this is going on, what is Ardern up to? Having an argument with the owner of what was to be her wedding venue. When the prime minister proves incapable of planning her own wedding it’s no wonder there’s no plan to deal with Covid. There is no pathway, no dates, nor any semblance of a time-frame. Businesses are left in ignorance, with no help from the government despite Grant Robertson saying otherwise. He seems to think a plan is turning up at the ‘pulpit of truth’ and lecturing us like naughty children for breaking the rules. His other plan of course is printing money. I wonder if he thinks that has anything to do with a 4.9% inflation figure. He paints a glowing picture of the economy while racking up over $100 billion in debt. A reasonable question to ask is where has all the money gone? The answer is nowhere, at least nowhere to assist the economy. There’s nothing to show for it except wage subsidies and increased monetary sweeteners to encourage more people to have babies and end up under the umbrella of the useless Minister for Child Poverty. This underwhelming pack of no hopers’ idea of governance, is to buy off the media to keep the Covid fear factor going and have every second word spoken or printed in Maori. Then it’s to strip councils of their water assets and give control to Maori. Next is to rewrite the school history curriculum in such a way that it tells only part of the story in relation to Maori, leaving out that which is unpalatable. Maori wards are being foisted on councils who don’t want them. A Maori Health Authority is being set up as part of the ridiculous centralisation of Health. Having some form of Maori ownership in your business will help you win a government contract. We are increasingly being governed along racial lines. This will see the country in a parlous state if it is allowed to continue. It is in this environment that the government proposes introducing laws regarding hate speech. Heaven knows what they will entail. This Government is focused on all the wrong things. The economy doesn’t seem to matter to them. Here are some questions we need answered: Where is the pathway out of Covid? Where is the pathway to businesses opening up? Where is the financial assistance for businesses beyond an employee’s wage subsidy? Where are the infrastructure projects as a result of the printing machines going full tilt? What is the time frame for opening Auckland up to the rest of the country? What is the time frame to get Kiwis home for Christmas? When can we restart international travel? None of these questions can be answered without a plan. There is no plan and therefore there are no answers. At the ‘podium of truth’ yesterday it was just more of the same. As a result, we, the population, are left like a lot of Alices in Wonderland, waiting for some action from the Queen of Hearts. Until then the country is fast disappearing down the rabbit hole while the government continues to act like it’s permanently at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.
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COVID Wins by Dr Muriel Newman US President Ronald Reagan’s famous expression, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help” used to bring a chuckle from New Zealanders, who traditionally regarded ‘The Government’ as benign. Not any more. One of the first warning signs of Jacinda Ardern’s totalitarian tendencies came after the Christchurch Mosque attacks when the rights of law-abiding firearm owners were abolished without warning or consultation. Then, in March last year, in an unprecedented response to the global pandemic, the whole country was forced into a lockdown. For the first time in our history, those fundamental democratic freedoms protected by the New Zealand Bill of Rights – including our freedom of association and movement – were suspended. In an article, What Price Liberty and the Virus, written at the time, former Judge and law lecturer Anthony Willy expressed his concerns: “In a sinister twist loss of these rights is backed by an apparently highly popular government encouraged scheme of dobbing in one’s neighbour for possible infractions. At the time of the fall of the Berlin wall it was estimated that the membership of the Stasi was about 80,000 but that many times this number were unpaid informants assisting the Stasi to protect the state from infection with the very ideas and principles the government has suspended.” We now have new vaccine mandates for teachers and health workers. That mandate renders meaningless clause 11 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights, which says: “Everyone has the right to refuse to undergo any medical treatment”. Vaccinate. Cartoon credit SonovaMin. The BFD. The mandate also represents a total reversal of the pledge the Prime Minister made before the 2020 election. When asked by AM Show host Duncan Garner whether penalties would be used to force vaccines onto New Zealanders, the PM said, “No, and we haven’t for any vaccination in New Zealand applied penalties in that way… I see no reason to have penalties.” Jacinda Ardern’s broken promise was largely unreported by the mainstream media. In fact, it’s hard to imagine any “free world” country having a more compliant, pro-government media than New Zealand has at the present time. Let’s examine how we have arrived at this point where medical mandates overrule human rights. Covid emerged early in election year, and the Ministry of Health guided New Zealand’s response, through the National Pandemic Plan. That plan was developed to deal with highly contagious airborne viruses, and was successfully used by John Key’s National Government during the 2009 swine flu pandemic. The Plan involved managing the spread of infection, so as not to overwhelm health services, with the goal of developing natural population immunity – aided by vaccines, if and when they became available. In March, assisted by some alarmist modelling and a $16 million budget for PR and communications consultants, Prime Minister Ardern took command. She ordered everyone into that first lockdown and changed New Zealand’s goal from managing the virus to ‘eliminating’ it. Attempting to eradicate a highly contagious airborne virus, that was never going to be exterminated globally, was a contentious decision. Nevertheless, the harsh lockdown worked and not only was Jacinda Ardern celebrated around the world for “saving New Zealand”, she was re-elected with an absolute majority – something never before achieved under MMP. But as predicted, the virus mutated, and Delta penetrated through the Government’s shambolic border security system. The going “hard and early” mantra had not been applied to the vaccine rollout, and New Zealand ended up with the lowest vaccine rate in the OECD. As a result, the country is vulnerable to the virus, and on-going lockdowns are crippling small business. Following these developments from the UK is this week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator, journalist and author Ross Clark, who shares with us a critique of our PM’s performance that he wrote for the Daily Telegraph: “New Zealand now is pretty well in the same position as Britain was in March 2020, with pockets of cases erupting into what threatens to become one large outbreak. What New Zealand has done for the past 18 months – attempt to become a Covid-free island by sealing its borders – never was an option in Britain’s case, just as continuing with a zero Covid policy is no longer a choice for New Zealand. “Was New Zealand’s experiment worth it? If the country can get its vaccination rate up quickly it might very well be possible to argue that yes, it was – although the economic damage will still be massive. Unfortunately, however, Ardern’s government has not used its extra time to get ahead with vaccinations. “That puts it among the very lowest of developed countries. Moreover, because Covid has been largely absent, very few people have acquired immunity through natural infection. The country is vulnerable, therefore, to the kind of explosive epidemic that Britain saw early on in the crisis. “The world can finally see that zero Covid was a dead end which delayed but did not eliminate Covid, while drawing out the economic damage from repeated lockdowns as far as the eye can see.” Ross describes and explains the vitriolic abuse he received when questioning our Prime Minister’s strategy: He then points out the reality: Here are some facts about the Pfizer vaccine – the only one available to New Zealanders. While traditional antigen vaccines inject inactivated virus material into the body to trigger the production of antibodies to fight the disease, Pfizer uses gene technology. The messenger RNA – part of the genetic code of the virus – that is contained in the vaccine instructs the body to make the viral spike protein, which then trains the immune system to identify and attack Covid-19. The Pfizer vaccine has been given “provisional” approval by Medsafe to be used in New Zealand. The website documentation acknowledges the vaccine’s experimental status, with many key matters such as the duration of protection provided, still being determined through “ongoing clinical trials”. As with any immunisation programme, information on any adverse events reported after vaccination is collated by Medsafe. Their website shows that by the end of September, over 5 million vaccinations have resulted in 22,832 adverse reactions, with 838 deemed to be “serious”. In addition, of the 75 deaths that have occurred following vaccination, investigations to date have attributed only one directly to the vaccine. Medsafe’s risk management plan for Pfizer indicates the need for more safety data for those who are pregnant or have underlying health conditions. It is uncertainties such as this that have resulted in some Kiwis being extremely concerned about the Pfizer vaccine. Given their hesitancy, it would clearly be advisable for an alternative to be offered. Since the Government has announced its intention to purchase Novavax – a traditional antigen vaccine – as a booster, surely it would make sense to introduce it as soon as possible as an alternative to Pfizer. Vaccines normally aim to achieve two goals: firstly, to protect the vaccinated person from the disease, and secondly, to prevent the spread of infection. The Delta variant, which originated in India late last year and is now surging around the world, generates a far higher viral load and greater infectivity. Because Pfizer was developed for the Wuhan strain of Covid-19, while it helps reduce the severity of infection in most people, it will not prevent the transmission of Delta. So, knowing that, what advice does the Ministry of Health provide for Kiwis wanting to protect their families from Covid? Very little, it seems. A comprehensive Ministry of Health report on potential Covid-19 therapeutic treatment options, concludes, “There are no therapeutics currently approved in Aotearoa New Zealand for mild or moderate COVID-19 disease.” In response to growing public concern about this lack of early treatments for Covid, Pharmac recently announced it has secured 60,000 doses of an experimental anti-viral medication called ‘molnupiravir’. In spite of limited safety trial testing, the drug will be made available to at-risk people with mild to moderate symptoms. The Director General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield has also discussed some early intervention options being considered by the Government, explaining that if drugs used for other purposes are found to have therapeutic benefits for treating Covid, they “can be prescribed to a Covid patient by a doctor, despite the drugs not being officially approved for that use.” An exception is Ivermectin, a drug with known antiviral prophylactic and therapeutic qualities, that has been safely used all around the world for the past 30 years, but which New Zealand doctors have now been banned from prescribing for Covid. With the Government now predicting thousands of community cases of Delta, with hospitals unable to cope, it’s important to be aware that both India and Indonesia, which recently experienced unprecedented Delta outbreaks, successfully brought the virus under control. Since neither case has been widely reported in the mainstream media, it is worth noting the details here. When a Delta outbreak hit Uttar Pradesh, an Indian state of 240 million people, in early April, with cases growing exponentially and hospitals unable to cope, medical authorities added Ivermectin to India’s National Health Protocol, resulting in a dramatic decline in case numbers. It was a similar story in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country. Faced with a massive spike in Delta cases swamping hospitals in July, the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency granted Emergency Use Authorization for Ivermectin. The Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered the National Defence Forces to distribute free health packs of Ivermectin and vitamins to vulnerable populations. From a peak of 57,000 new cases in a single day, cases declined sharply. In spite of these results, and dozens of trials that are taking place around the world, the current advice from our Ministry of Health is: “The Australian Guideline, ISDA, and WHO recommend not using ivermectin outside of clinical trials as there is insufficient evidence to make a recommendation.” Meanwhile our Government is racing to lift the vaccination rate before Delta becomes uncontrollable. In January, the Director-General of Health said the aim should be to have at least 70 per cent of the population vaccinated against Covid: The percentage of people who need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity varies with the disease. According to the World Health Organisation, herd immunity against measles requires a 95 per cent vaccination rate. For polio, the threshold is about 80 per cent, and for Covid, between 60 and 70 per cent of a population needs to be immune to “really break the chain of transmission”. But Jacinda Ardern is pushing for “90 per cent”. Does she see this as a pathway to again become a world leader in the fight against Covid? Is 90 per cent more political than medical? Delta is here, and most now accept it is here to stay. That requires a much more considered response than confining people to their homes. It also needs a much more reasoned approach to finding solutions for those who are hesitant about the Pfizer vaccine. Instead of villainising them and dismissing their concerns as misinformed, a better approach is to find solutions. One would have thought a Prime Minister who claims to be caring would have done this already. The situation New Zealand is now in represents a real test for our Prime Minister. Will she continue the authoritarian divide and rule approach that Ronald Regan warned about, or will she finally realise that in a democracy true leadership involves protecting rights, not trampling them into the ground.