Virtual Insanity
Michelin stars, cervical screening, and Jacinda.
Futures made of virtual insanity, now
Always seem to be governed by this love we have
For useless twisting of our new technology
Oh, now there is no sound, for we all live underground
Songwriters: Simon Katz / Stuart Zender / Toby Smith / Derrick McKenzie / Jason Kay / Wallis Buchanan.
The news can be pretty depressing, and last night’s episode really summed things up.
There was National, pumping money into having critics review our high-end restaurants. At the same time, Labour focused on cervical screening plans - it was all so bloody typical and depressing, and then a breath of fresh air.
Our Jacinda.
Amid all the gloom over inaction on climate change, there was a leader who spoke positively at the Earthshot event, which precedes the COP 30 summit and celebrates tangible actions related to Climate Change.
A leader who used to be ours before we traded in one of the best PMs in our history for the worst, because some people got the ick hearing about kindness.
Dame Jacinda said, “The Earthshot Prize is a platform, not just to share a message, but to find investors and to scale up their solutions. You scale up the impact for the planet: the amount of CO2 removed, waste reduced, and land and ocean protected... It’s all significant.”
There she was, so positive, and boy, some optimism is required when considering climate change, as developed nations do little to stop it, as if they were somehow immune to the consequences.
You forget what it’s like to have a leader who uses their position on the world stage for good rather than enhancing their personal status. I’m pretty sure you all know who I’m referring to.
Back home, our Prime Minister was laser-focused on high-end tourism and made a questionable investment of over $6 million, hoping that the Michelin folks would deem our restaurants worthy of inclusion in their esteemed guide.
Food reviews.
I posted, nonsensically: Does anyone remember that movie, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover? It’s the one where the guy with the rat under his hat bribed the food inspectors $6 million for favourable reviews.
Maureen said, “What a fking waste of $6 million, a mention in the Michelin guide for food no one can afford to buy, not unless you are rich and sorted. Just another of the selfie king’s vanity projects.”
Les noted, “$6 million for Stars, nothing for Lifeline. There are just no words! Despicable Egg.”
In case you didn’t see the news, Lifeline is having to reduce hours and will no longer provide support through the night, a fact that seemed to catch Minister Matt Doocey by surprise.
Stefan wrote, “6 million bucks to bring Guide Michelin to NZ. In Switzerland, in recent months, four three-star chefs closed due to a lack of staff and customers. Loads of other Michelin chefs are struggling. Whilst we have lots of wealthy people here, relying on them and tourists isn’t going to pay your bills.”
Like others, Rob knew the movie and said, “It was a visually beautiful piece of arthouse movie-making. The image you posted falls a little short by comparison.”
It’s not that I don’t want our restaurants to be successful, and high-end tourism is a valuable market, but seriously, how many people are going to come to Aotearoa because we have a Michelin-starred restaurant? You’d need a lot just to recover that investment, and the projected numbers sounded like someone had worked them out on the back of a fag packet, as seen in this National Party advert:
Over at ZB, they saw things differently…
Heather begins, “How good is this idea of bringing Michelin to New Zealand in the hope that some of our restaurants will get some stars awarded?”
I don’t know; it seems like a poor investment to me if we’re just hoping for an award, and surely it degrades the awards if they’re influenced by governments that expect a result for their money.
Heather compared us to Australia and said, “They were going to have to fork out to Michelin about $40 million. Aussies looked at it, said, nah, but we’ve said yes, and I reckon we are doing the right thing.”
So the Aussies refused to pay for reviews, but Heather reckons we’re doing the right thing and said, “This is grown-up, first-world tourism.”
By which I assume she means things that appeal to those with power and/or money, such as conference centres, Michelin starred restaurants, and attractions that cater to those arriving by Cruise ship.
That might appeal to people like Luxon, but is it really a key influencer for many tourists considering NZ as a destination? It also seemed especially gross juxtaposed against the government’s evolving plans to remove the homeless from sight. I had a lot of sympathy listening to the lady from the City Mission talking about that.
Cervical Screening.
While Luxon was worried about upgrading his dining options, Labour put out a policy that makes a great deal of sense.
I posted, saying, “From the age of 25, this is brilliant, it will save lives and reduce the cost of specialist treatment. Good stuff, Labour.”
Spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said, “Cervical screening is an incredibly cost-effective intervention. For every dollar you spend, you save three, in some research.”
She added, “Each year, 175 New Zealanders are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 55 die from it. Almost every case is preventable with better uptake of cervical screening and vaccination. Adding free cervical screening to Labour’s Medicard will prevent cancers and avoid costly hospital treatments.”
I felt a bit emotional, as I’ve written about before, one of the IT projects I managed that I was proud of involved tracking women who required specialist Colposcopy follow-up. The contrast between Labour wanting to save lives and National focusing on better dining for the wealthy couldn’t have been greater.
Renee wrote, “Now they’re onto it. Well done, Labour! Take that, New Zealand National Party.”
Sue said, “As a survivor of cervical cancer, which was picked up fairly early and treated due to having regular free smear testing, I fully support this 100%”
My cousin Nikki, who works in the sector, said, “Excellent move. Keep ‘em coming, Chippy.”
Hear, hear, I’m excited to see what comes next from Labour; they seem to have their finger on the pulse.
It’s virtual insanity that we have a government that is more interested in Michelin stars than in saving lives, and that our country drove away a leader of such integrity and authenticity, who is revered on the world stage.
Have an excellent Friday, everyone. To end today, here’s Jamiroquai with Virtual Insanity. You might want your dancing shoes.
It’s fabulous to see Jacinda looking alive and healthy again. I wonder how many of those who were so scathing about her leadership here are now wishing we had someone with her honesty, integrity and intelligence at the helm of the good ship AotearoaNZ?
Coincidentally, I sent this to the Herald last night. It’s bloody disgusting and can’t go unchallenged. Whether or not the Herald agrees will be borne out in the next couple of days.🤞
Three articles on TVNZ1 news this evening caught my attention. First, the government is considering measures to “clean” the Auckland CBD of rough sleepers, having cut funding to the City Mission and other providers of shelter for those unfortunate enough to suffer the conditions they are living under.
Second, Lifeline Helpline Mental Health Services has to cut the number of hours they can work, trying their hardest to help people in great distress urgently needing to talk to someone about their needs. Again because the government has cut funding to another essential service.
Third, Christopher Luxon showed where his loyalties lie, by spending over $6 million taxpayer dollars to bring Michelin Guide to AotearoaNZ to rate restaurants around the country and hopefully get the glory of earning a star or three for their efforts. What hypocrisy from someone who, as an alleged follower of Christ, who cares for all New Zealanders. To be blunt, Luxon is an absolute disgrace to the thousands of Kiwis who can’t afford to buy food for their families, or find a home to feel safe in, at least for a night. He doesn’t deserve the position he holds or the seat from which he yells at the opposition, and should be removed as soon as possible.
Thank you again for nailing it. 6 million for a European centric star system for our restaurants- unbelievably culture cringe worthy and elitist. While under funding mental health groups shown to be working and potentially criminalising homeless people who can’t get houses because there aren’t enough and the rules have changed for those there are. And decimating climate policy And going against all expert opinion about Atlas David’s Regulation Act. It’s enough to make you really angry … and vote the f… s out.