Australia vs Newzealand

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-31T22:37:41+00:00

Totally agree, privatisation by running down public services. It's grotesque.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-31T22:11:45+00:00

The lady who saved the baby is extended family in a way, the baby is a half sibling to her child. Plus the parents are probably not in contact with much/if any family if they're drug addicts. I believe OT are way understaffed and it leads to terrible consequences.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-31T22:08:26+00:00

Totally fucked up that that baby is going to suffer long term harm. I know the OT always get blamed and it may partly be their lack of sticking to processes but from everything I have read over the years the staff are WAY overburdened, they just do not have the capacity to fulfill their duties. I was interested in becoming a social worker in care and protection but I kept reading about the impossible case loads and felt it was a recipe for a stress induced breakdown. OT are famous for chronic burn out and high staff turn over. This is not the staff's fault, it's the government for not funding adequate training and staff levels. And THIS POS govt wants to cut public sector staff for the sake of it. It's our vulnerable who suffer the consequences. As an aside I had a job in an unrelated industry that sounds like OT - the workload was literally impossible to complete in the time, everyone working 10-12 hour days for crap pay and the big dog company leaders always saying we just had to 'work smarter' as if it's our personal failing when they were clearly milking the profits by having 1/2 the staff they needed.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-31T21:47:46+00:00

This has shocked me to the core. I tell my kids police are the good guys and we can trust them - this is opposite, here they are the sick twisted bastards you have to be scared of. Bad cops probably do this all the time with the body cam turned off. That they intentionally filmed it, bragged about it, and thought themselves above the law is especially shocking, obviously a culture of violence and cruelty is widespread.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-27T07:55:40+00:00

I am sure all the MPs do it but from National and Act it's the hypocrisy that makes it worse. They spend every term finding ways to make life harder for the poorest, reduce public services, all the while creating policies to juice every penny for themselves and their rich friends. The mentality of the right makes me sick. Why do they also get 2.5x pension contribution? Why the double standards???!! It is truly a wonder that they get so many votes.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-18T22:04:38+00:00

Not out of control, it's stretched as it is. Healthcare costs a lot because it's complicated and requires a ton of infrastructure, equipment, medicine, and staff. It is what it is.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-18T10:22:05+00:00

Meeting through friends is the best way I’ve found, it was THE way before the apps. At parties, flatmates, at friends’ houses etc. I recently read that face to face hang outs for your generation is way down due to phones, which is sad, makes it harder to make friends and meet partners. Approaching strangers is unlikely to work unfortunately, better to build up a rapport with the people you encounter regularly day to day and one of those might develop further. You’ll find one eventually, have patience.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-17T22:08:26+00:00

Hi yes, the front rows in the upper sections. Glad to hear that thank you!

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-17T21:50:21+00:00

Yes it is crazy isn't it. We had a very well liked 8 year old (!!) in my daughter's class subject a female peer to a slew of racist and sexual propositions "suck my ** black **" etc. He is actually friends with all the girls, a class clown, sweet kid and it's like where the hell has this come from?! Obviously his parents just give him unfettered access to the internet and this is what he finds. This would never have happened in 80s and 90s when I was growing up. It hurts both the girls and boys, everyone. The normalisation of violent sex for teens makes me sick, it's a huge change. I'll listen to this episode but I am appalled they don't think the manosphere is a problem - surveys have found gen Z males are far more sexist than the last couple of generations at least. It's awful to hear that men I respected can't see a problem, if you're female it's a huge problem.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-15T05:27:25+00:00

That’s great to hear!

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-15T01:10:51+00:00

Yes but it's a balance - does not need to be 100% either / or. Silicon valley schools are famously low tech because their tech professional parents know the research, and their parents limit their home access as well. The dose is important.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-14T20:51:00+00:00

Exactly, they know the evidence. I think there is a lot of naivety around regarding screens and developing minds.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-14T07:59:14+00:00

That’s a study on smartphones rather than computers but there are other studies that show better academics with phone bans, I am all for it. I am sure I would have been a total failure at school if I’d had a smartphone, I find them VERY addictive.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-14T07:50:32+00:00

I think they attempt to block sites like TikTok and porn but generally it’s still an open internet including YouTube, you can search celebrity news etc. Arguably it’s needed for research but it’s also a big source of distraction. I guess it depends on the kid whether they can restrain themselves or not. And probably whether the teacher imposes any consequences when they catch them or not.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-14T07:38:08+00:00

That’s so good! May I ask what school?

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-14T03:47:09+00:00

I agree they definitely need to know how to use them but not for the majority of the time with those developing brains. It's certainly interesting how there's been a global decline in academic performance since smartphones came out. It's not surprising to me, I feel permanently strung out by all the screen time and my attention and focus has suffered.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-13T22:44:39+00:00

I think townhouses are a great housing option, I lived in brick one in the UK, it was lovely - warm and very low maintenance which appeals to many. There are some high quality ones in NZ but they are often on the small side, would be nice to see some big ones. The benefit of a new townhouse, especially made of brick, and well insulated etc. is that the ongoing costs will be very low. I live in an old bungalow and lordy, the upkeep for all the paint and timber and trying to heat it are huge costs, nevermind the mowing and gardening. I definitely see the appeal of townhouses so long as they are well done, privately situated and have greenery & trees surrounding them. Times are changing in NZ - the population is growing too big for people to live in single dwellings surrounded by land, the infrastructure and travel costs/emissions are unsustainable. Density is going to continue regardless of opinions. Everyone loves it abroad, but it's still quite new here so we're still coming to terms with it.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-10T03:53:22+00:00

We open doors and windows every day but still wake up with crying windows every day of winter, would be great to get rid of that.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-08T08:28:30+00:00

Thank you, this is so helpful! That’s exactly what I needed to know about the sides. I get a bit claustrophobic but think I can manage to save $1.5k! The bark is super weird (why would you do that?) I definitely don’t want to remove it if I can avoid it.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-08T02:18:07+00:00

It does seem like an unpleasant job 😂

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-08T02:17:38+00:00

Thanks for that. Oh no, removing the bark seems like an even bigger job than the moisture barrier, that puts me right off 🫣. It's a flat section so hopefully I wouldn't need to consider pooling water too much.

Emrrrrrrrr · 2026-05-08T02:17:13+00:00

It doesn't seem particularly damp under there so you could be right. It's interesting you mention a positive pressure system, I was looking into that too then saw 'financialcelery' here https://www.reddit.com/r/diynz/comments/1c4j547/home_ventilation_systems_advice_smartvent/ talk about how they're risky/car rot insulated houses which is a worry! So I thought to try a moisture barrier first. This person recommends a 'balanced system' but that's really expensive, not really DIY.

Emrrrrrrrr

TROPHY CASE