Latest news with #IanTaylor
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Sir Ian Taylor: Do we really need this passport debate?
OPINION: Sir Ian Taylor has penned a letter to Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Kia ora Winston , I know we still haven't managed to have that long-promised lunch to unpack the true meaning of the term woke which, given your political instincts, I suspect you secretly enjoy throwing around just to keep everyone on their toes. But before we sit down over a steaming plate of puha to have that kōrero, (see what I did there) I was wondering if I could add another topic to the agenda: the use of Māori on the New Zealand passport. It seems, somehow, that the order of two words on a travel document now ranks among the great political battlegrounds of our time. Forget the cost-of-living crisis. Forget child poverty. Forget the price of butter which, somehow, has become a handy distraction from the real costs hitting household budgets. Rent, insurance, petrol, electricity, rates. You know, those things we don't have any option about paying. And that's what's confusing me. I find it difficult to believe that in times like those we are currently facing, what matters most to you, and Brooke van Velden, is whether our passports say New Zealand Aotearoa or Aotearoa New Zealand . I know Brooke won't be coming to share kai with us (sorry did it again) but there is a bit to discuss here don't you think? You and I both travel. I've got the older passport that leads with New Zealand . My son has the updated version that begins with Aotearoa . And miraculously, we both manage to get through international border controls all over the world. In the last month that included, Dubai, Paris, Lisbon, Seville, Belfast and Dublin. No panic. No confusion. Just a couple of kiwi travellers doing what travellers do. Handing over our passports to show where we come from. So, if no one at the border seems to care which name comes first, is this really the debate we need to be having here in Aotearoa New Zealand? Maybe when we do sit down for that lunch, we could have a better one: where did the name New Zealand come from in the first place? Our national identity is quite literally borrowed from a country on the other side of the world that has no historical, cultural, or geographical connection to us, at all. When Abel Tasman who, it's worth pointing out never even set foot on these shores, spotted the coastline in 1642 he didn't ask the local inhabitants what they called the land. Those inhabitants just happened to be yours and my Polynesian ancestors who landed here hundreds of years before Tasman made it to this, the land of the long white cloud. No, instead Dutch cartographers back in Europe dubbed it Nova Zeelandia , after their own province of Zeeland. A flat, soggy region famous for its' windmills, dykes, cheese, tulips and canals. Not a single Pohutukawa tree in sight. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure windmills and cheese wheels quite capture the essence of who we are. And yet somehow, this adopted name, bestowed by men who didn't even disembark, has become sacrosanct to some, while Aotearoa , a name used to describe this land for centuries before Tasman turned up, is treated by some as irrelevant, with little or no place in our history. But I do think you and I will be able to find a few things in common when we get to this part of our korero. I actually don't know why the order on the passport was changed in the first place. I quite like the old cover on my passport, where Aotearoa sits below New Zealand. In fact, one could argue that having Aotearoa beneath New Zealand is symbolic. That it reflects the foundation, the whenua, on which this nation was built. Recognising that Aotearoa was here first and we built a new nation, together, on top of that foundation. I hope you don't think that is too woke of me. This isn't just about your argument to change it back. The same argument could have, and perhaps should have, been made when someone decided to make the first change. But now it's become an ideological battle, not a discussion. It's less about identity and more about headlines. But surely this is not a debate that belongs on the front pages, and certainly not in Parliament's time. It looks like a turf war between two minority parties fighting over the same narrow band of voters. Voters you both need to stay above that 5% barrier that, in the current MMP environment, gives minority parties, on both sides, far more power than was ever intended. A power that has led to a growing division between us that will ultimately weaken us as a nation the world looks up to. If you're looking for what a modern, unified New Zealand looks like, I suggest you go back and watch Michaela Sokolich-Beatson's post-match speech after the Northern Mystics v Tactix netball final last weekend. Michaela spoke beautifully, switching naturally between English and te reo Māori. It was moving, eloquent and powerful. It showed that both languages, both cultures, are now a part of who she is. And then her team delivered a haka. When Michaela Sokolich-Beatson and her team stood after their loss and delivered that haka, it wasn't a challenge. In Māori culture it's a gesture of honour and pride. A way to acknowledge their opponents, their teammates, and the community they represent. It was powerful because it wasn't about the scoreboard, it was about identity, unity, and respect. That haka didn't just mark the end of a match. It marked who we are now. So, Winston, about that lunch. Let's talk woke . Let's talk passports. But more importantly, let's talk about how we shift the focus back to the real work that needs doing, on both sides of the House.
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Passionate, divided response to assessment of PM's legacy unexpected
Sir Ian Taylor reflects on his recent open letters. If I had any doubts of the power of the brand that has been built around Dame Jacinda Ardern, they were well and truly put to rest following my open letter that featured in a number of publications recently. This was not a letter I had written lightly. Since Dame Jacinda had made the call to leave New Zealand to take up residency in the United States, I hadn't written a single article about her, or the choices she had made. My focus remained here, in the country she left behind. But then Dame Jacinda returned to the country on part of a world tour promoting her memoir. Her visit coincided with the Covid Royal Commission I had presented to a couple of weeks earlier. I had an opinion on the timing of that promotional tour and took the opportunity to share it. Of course, I expected feedback. What I had not expected was that the open letter would become one of the most read and commented I have ever written. The responses were passionate, divided and many were simply angry that I had questioned a legacy that I believed was built off the back of the sacrifices that had been made by an entire nation, rather than a single person. A person who had the undeniable skills to define the message of who we were as a nation, but it was our message none the less. The response on social media was also extraordinary, the second-largest I've ever received. Fittingly, the most viewed post remains one from the pandemic, acknowledging the selfless decision of three of our team members made five hours prior to the second lockdown. When government officials ruled their work in our Dunedin-based studio as "non-essential", barring them from travelling from their place of residence to our deserted office, they made a call. They shifted their place of residence — from their flat to our office. That act, technically compliant, entirely safe, and essential to our ongoing business, exposed the flaws in what we were being told daily from "the single source of truth". To save lives we had to put people's livelihoods on hold. And then, something special happened. Dunedin residents heard what they were doing and began dropping meals at the door. Others took their laundry. He waka eke noa, we truly were all in this together and kindness flowed naturally from ordinary people. But what struck me most was that more than a year had passed since the first lockdown and this second "short, sharp" version that eventually extended to more than 100 days in Auckland, costing the country more than $8billion and upending countless lives. This was when I started my open letters to the prime minister. They weren't aggressive, they weren't "whingy," they were a genuine offer of help. While the response from government was almost non-existent, an organisation called The Cross Sector Border Group contacted me. This group was made up of business leaders, health specialists, scientists, hotel operators, logistical experts, tourism organisations and health technology companies. It was this group that backed my "151 Off The Bench Self-isolation Trial". A trial designed to explore how we might get people in and out of New Zealand safely, using technologies that had been overlooked by the government. The Royal Commission has all the information and evidence from that trial, and it will be up to them to decide what, if anything, can be learned from it. As an island nation, at the bottom of the world, we had the advantage of closing our borders early in the pandemic, a move that drew global praise and made our prime minister a celebrated figure of calm kindness. What's overlooked is that other Pacific Island nations did even better. Samoa kept Covid out for 21 months after New Zealand's first case, Tonga for 20, and the Cook Islands for almost two years. Some may argue we can't compare New Zealand to smaller Pacific nations, but we're a small nation too. Just 5million people, no land borders. We had everything working in our favour: geography, control and time. Those advantages remain, and they are our greatest assets in any future crisis. We should be looking at how we use them to do what New Zealanders do the best. Think outside the box. After the first lockdown we sat on our laurels. Let's not do that again. Empathy should never be a substitute for strategy. While Dame Jacinda earned praise abroad, at home we were left waiting. Waiting between lockdowns, between waves, between decisions. There was no real plan, so when Covid returned, it found a country exhausted, divided and unprepared. That division wasn't caused by the virus; it was caused by a vacuum. It's a division that clearly remains today, long after Dame Jacinda has left the building. If we are going to come together as a country with a strategy for a potential new pandemic, then we must be willing to talk honestly about what went wrong, why it went wrong and how we ensure that next time there is more than a "single source of truth" at the table. If the past few years taught us anything, it's that pandemic planning is too important to be left to politics. This isn't about left or right. It's about the right way of doing things. We need a plan shaped by expertise, not headlines. Science, health, logistics and business all working together. The Cross Sector Border Group showed what's possible when politics steps back and people step up. Maybe that's where we start. All rowing the waka in the same direction. Let's do this. Now. ■Sir Ian Taylor is founder and managing director of Animation Research Ltd.
Perth Now
22-07-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
WA town's only GP to close after four-year search for doctor
Northampton's only general practice clinic will close its doors at the end of the month after failing to secure a new doctor, despite years of recruitment efforts. In a message to patients, Dr Tara Hamilton of Northampton Doctors Surgery said the 'incredibly difficult decision' to shut the clinic followed the July 1 Medicare funding changes, which reduced rebates and made it 'impossible to sustain the practice'. Locals now face a 100km round trip to see a GP in Geraldton. 'I have explored every option, and this is not a decision we've made lightly,' Dr Hamilton said. She said the surgery had been trying to recruit another GP for four years, unsuccessful in their attempts to attract a doctor locally, nationally or internationally to take over the role. Dr Hamilton said Northampton sits in a 'uniquely challenging position', a town that is too remote to attract staff, but not remote enough to qualify for support programs that may have kept the practice open. The loss of the clinic is expected to have a significant impact on the town's ageing population and residents with chronic illness. According to the 2021 census, the Northampton local government area has a population of 3227 people, with more than 40 per cent aged 60 or over, and nearly half living with one or more long-term health conditions. Northampton Doctors Surgery. Credit: Stuart Quinn Geraldton GP and Panaceum Group director Dr Ian Taylor said the situation was 'really quite awful', and another example of the slow but steady demise of WA country towns. 'I'm obviously concerned for the health impact, particularly for the elderly and people with chronic disease, but also for the town itself,' he said. 'It's not just the elderly — it's people with young families and children. If they haven't got access to a doctor up there, then why would you live there? Dr Ian Taylor has served the Geraldton community for more than 40 years. Credit: Matthew Paddick / RegionalHUB 'It's just another nail in the coffin of country towns trying to survive. If it's not bank closures. It's doctors leaving. It's really, really very sad.' While Geraldton clinics will try to fill the gap for Northampton residents, Dr Taylor said they were already stretched. 'Through all practices in town, I'm sure we will support as best as we can, but I'm not certain that the doctors in Geraldton — or practices in Geraldton — have got the capacity to fill in, even on a temporary basis,' he said. 'But it's not ideal. The reason is, a lot of these elderly people would find it difficult to travel — certainly the nursing home residents would find it difficult to travel.' Dr Taylor said it had become almost impossible to attract doctors to regional and remote towns. 'Particularly fully qualified doctors. In other words, vocationally registered, fully qualified specialist GPs are like hen's teeth when it comes to recruiting for country areas,' he said. 'So what they rely on is senior registrars — general practitioners in training. These need supervision, and the big problem we have is the lack of supervisors to assist. It's a Statewide problem, and unfortunately, Northampton is copping it.' Northampton shire President Liz Sudlow said the closure was 'very disappointing' and a blow to the town, despite years of council support for health services. Shire of Northampton President Liz Sudlow. Credit: Kelsey Reid / The West Australian 'The Shire of Northampton has worked for many years to assist in the provision of health services for the people of our communities,' she said. 'We have contributed to travel payments to help support doctor travel. We currently support a stay-in-place health program in Kalbarri. Local resident Sam Smith said the closure, believed to be at the end of the month, was 'kick in the guts'. 'I was a chief fire control officer here, my wife was a senior ambulance officer. We've done a lot while we've been here 20 years. It's like a kick in the guts that they'll say oh well we're not gonna supply a doctor,' he said. 'It's going to affect a lot of people. In town we've got the Pioneer Lodge which has got a lot of elderly and retired people in there, if we go to Geraldton we will have to find a doctor that we can go to, I'm sure they're under the hammer . . . we might not even be able to get in, so what do we do when we want a prescription or some advice? 'The farmers and people further out, like at Horrocks, they're going to have a long drive to go to Geraldton, they might be driving well over 150 to 200km to go and get a script or see a doctor, it's ridiculous.' The WA Government announced on Monday that eligible pharmacists will be able to apply for the enhanced access community pharmacy pilot — an initiative set to make it easier for WA residents to access treatment for everyday conditions without having to see a GP. The training program — set to commence in September — would equip pharmacists with the knowledge and skills to diagnose and treat a range of common conditions, with eligible rural and remote pharmacists able to attract a higher subsidy for the program. However, Dr Taylor said the Federal Government was not 'pulling their weight' when it came to GPs in small WA towns. 'To me, it is disgraceful — it's outrageous — that towns throughout WA have to rely on ratepayers and their local government to support general practice, which is a federal responsibility,' he said. 'There needs to be something done to support the single-doctor practices in country towns that must have a doctor to be able to function.' Member for Geraldton Kirrilee Warr MLA said she was working with relevant stakeholders to find a solution. 'It is clear more needs to be done to support rural doctors to ensure they remain situated within their local communities,' she said. 'I'll be raising this urgently at every level of government to advocate for a solution. 'People living in the regions deserve the same access to basic healthcare as the rest of the State.'
Otago Daily Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Letters to the Editor: City costs, open letter, first responders
Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including the cost of a city, Sir Ian Taylor's open letter and praise for first responders. It costs what it costs, be honest about that In recent months, I have been involved with an issue that relates to present and future demands on Dunedin's infrastructure. At the same time, we are coming up to local body elections and I am seeing would-be and present members of council touting their wares, sometimes in impressive full-page advertisements. It looks as though some candidates are trying to ''blow each other out of the water'' with copious lashings of money, but the message I see implies huge confidence - accompanied by poverty of real understanding of what it takes to run a city with creaking infrastructure and a lack of money to meet present and future needs. My vote would go to any candidate who openly says that rates will need to increase because past councillors have tried to keep rates down to the detriment of necessary infrastructure work. A candidate who says that it's time to face reality and stop blathering about efficiency gains and making the dollar go further. The ''bottom line'', for the benefit of those candidates who are silly enough or duplicitous enough to imply that a local body can be run like a business, is that it costs what it costs and cost cutting, over many years, has left Dunedin's infrastructure unfit for purpose. Glen Morgan Halfway Bush Fear and loathing My thanks for Steve Braunias' weekend column which alerted me to Sir Ian Taylor's open letter (which I had missed when published). Freedom of speech is essential to democracy, no matter how much one may disagree with the opinion expressed. Well done the ODT for publishing what has proven to be a contentious opinion - judging by today's letters. I sympathise with Sir Ian's chagrin at the betrayal of his hopes in PM Ardern, but therein lies the danger of pinning one's hopes on a leader. Having emigrated from the UK because of the duplicity, barefaced lies and amorality of PM, Tony Blair - I was very concerned when we first heard that Ms Ardern had worked for Blair. Like Ardern, Blair came to power on a tidal wave of hope and dreams which in due course he turned to dross. Though internationally acclaimed, Blair is loathed by the average Brit. Mark Twain: ''History may not repeat, but it sure does rhyme''. Hugh O'Neill Dunedin Short term'ism Re Sir Ian Taylor's letter. We seem to have short memories around Covid-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Ardern's Labour government had, out the blue, an impossible scenario presented of a pandemic of such proportions that had not been seen since the Spanish Flu in 1918-19 which in a world population at the time of 1.8 billion killed an estimated 20 to 60 million people. Equate that in 2020 with a population of 8.2 billion: you do the maths. The very hard decision to go to restrictions of immigration and then lockdowns could not have been easy. To say that Ms Ardern had some kind of ulterior motive is plainly untrue. Sweden did not use lockdowns and as a consequence with of population or 10 million people had 23,800 deaths. New Zealand, with 5 million people, 3000 deaths. How many New Zealanders are alive today because of Ardern's government response? Let's stop the Jacinda witch hunt please. Ian Davie Careys Bay Pithy observation An open letter to Sir Ian Taylor (ODT 9.7.25). Dear Sir Ian. Let it go. Max Reid Mornington First responders in our small towns praised Our small community was shocked at the loss of the Roxburgh Town Hall and Entertainment Centre earlier this year. It was a massive job for the firefighters and others involved. Now, in the space of four weeks, there have been four vehicle accidents around Roxburgh, with three of them being fatalities. We want to extend our sympathies to the families involved. This has been very sad and we presume very hard emotionally on the personnel who attended these incidents. Thank you to Hato Hone St John, firefighters from Roxburgh and Millers Flat, police, traffic management, and others who assisted at the scenes. We are so grateful for the rapid response from the volunteers that make up the Roxburgh and Millers Flat brigades. When the siren wails, it's only a matter of a few minutes before the truck is on its way. Our community has taken a hit, but it is pleasing to know of the rebuilding plans for the Town Hall. However, three lives have been lost in accidents, and they can never be replaced. Think about that next time you are driving. Ruth and David Clarke Roxburgh Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@
Otago Daily Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
No longer a waka for everyone
Former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern was once celebrated around the world, but now only brand Jacinda remains, writes Sir Ian Taylor. Dear Jacinda, This is not the first open letter I have written to you. You may recall there were many during the Covid pandemic. This, however, is by far the most difficult. I recently appeared before the royal commission charged with looking into the handling of the Covid pandemic in 2021-22. It was an opportunity to revisit all the correspondence I shared with you, and government ministers, at the time. I also re-read the many emails and letters I had received from people who found themselves locked on the wrong side of "be kind", cast adrift from the "waka" we were all meant to be on board. The commission will deliver its report, undoubtedly with the benefit of a lot more evidence than I shared, and that's as it should be. But, as I passed through Auckland Airport this week on my way to Europe, your memoir A Different Kind of Power was front and centre. The 22-hour flight seemed the perfect time to address the personal dilemma I am faced with, every time I see the cover of that memoir. In March 2019, when you stood before the world following the Christchurch mosque attacks, wearing a headscarf and offering the words "They are us", I believed I was witnessing something extraordinary. A leader who not only spoke with compassion, but who seemed to embody it. The world noticed, too. In Dubai, your image, projected on to the world's tallest building, went viral. It sent a remarkable message to the world. Here was a woman, a working mum, a world leader, our prime minister, being honoured in a way few other world leaders had ever been. It was here that the "Jacinda" brand was born. "They are us." Just three words, but the world took note. I was travelling a lot at the time. Covid still lay in wait in a place called Wuhan. I had never been prouder to claim I was a Kiwi. Where once the questions were about the All Blacks, The Lord of the Rings or how many sheep we had, now all anyone wanted to know about was our Jacinda. You had become a symbol of enlightened leadership and, I confess, I basked unashamedly in the glow of that recognition. You were us. My belief, my pride, held strong through the early months of the Covid pandemic. Your calm demeanour, the repeated calls to "be kind" reassured a nation facing the unknown. When you told us we were "a team of five million", and that "he waka eke noa — we are all in the waka together", I trusted you. I believed you. And that's how we went into our first lockdown, one of the strictest in the world and, at the time, arguably one of the most effective. For a short period of time we reconnected, not just with each other but with the world around us. The sound of early morning traffic replaced by the sound of tui and bellbirds. Strolling down streets, greeting neighbours, a simple act we had forgotten how to do. Now we took the time to notice each other, respectfully distanced, of course. We came out of that first lockdown the envy of the world. As pictures of the America's Cup in Auckland were beamed to almost a billion people globally, I was inundated with messages from international colleagues asking if they could have Jacinda come take care of them. My response was always one of pride: "Nah mate — she's ours!" But as time passed, the reality began to fray around the edges. The PR slogans "be kind" and "we're all in this together", felt increasingly hollow as divisions deepened and the promises faded into spin. My first open letter to you was an urgent plea. We had done incredibly well, but now was the time to move the focus from saving lives to saving lives and livelihoods. It was not a matter of if, but when, coronavirus would break through our seriously flawed MIQ blockade. We had the skills, we had the knowledge, we had the opportunity to really lead the world when that happened. People put politics aside and tried to help. Offering real solutions, safe, proven ways to save both lives and livelihoods. Business-led initiatives, technology-enabled tracking, controlled pilot programmes. These were not abstract ideas. They were tested, they were ready, and they were offered in good faith. But they were dismissed. Not because they didn't work, but because they didn't fit the narrative. That was the moment I realised, this wasn't leadership any more. It was brand management. The turning point came for me on the day you featured on the cover of the New Zealand Woman's Weekly, in designer clothes, smiling, styled and celebrated. On that same day, I received a heart-wrenching email from a father who had yet to meet his 7-month-old son. He had been brought to New Zealand to contribute his much-needed technical expertise in challenging times for Aotearoa, but the border closed behind him, stranding his pregnant wife overseas. In the same week, I had another message from a son trying to leave MIQ to be with his dying father. He had tested clear three times. The system still said no. And these weren't isolated stories. They were everywhere, if you took the time to listen. People reaching out for someone, anyone, to hear their call. Someone to be kind. These were New Zealanders, or people who had made this country their home, asking only for the chance to be with their families. To do what any of us would hope to do in a time of crisis. Their pain was real, and avoidable. But we were no longer all in the waka together. Thousands had been cast adrift. Fathers kept from the birth of their children. Dying loved ones left without final goodbyes. Families cruelly separated by a system that, even when shown better ways to operate, refused to budge. The brand that was so carefully nurtured at those 1pm "single source of truth" press conferences, reinforced internationally by features like your Vogue cover story, had matured into a global product, ready for sale. Reports say you received over a million dollars in advance for your memoir, A Different Kind of Power . It's a striking figure, especially for someone who once made child poverty her personal mission. You didn't just speak about it, you took on the portfolio yourself, armed with the unprecedented power of a parliamentary majority and the goodwill of a nation ready for change. You had the platform. You had the mandate. And yet today, child poverty remains largely unchanged. The capital gains tax was another moment you could have seized with that majority. But the brand shifted and, somewhere along the way, so too had the ideals that once gave me hope. Children are still suffering from poverty; guns remain in the hands of those who used them to cause the most harm. The Christchurch Call has failed to limit online violence and hate, and Brian Tamaki and his Destiny Church still feel free to march in Aotearoa spewing their anti-immigrant vitriol. "They are us" has disappeared down the same dark hole as "be kind", "the team of five million" and "he waka eke noa — we are all in the waka together". Now, only brand Jacinda remains, and you are back on the cover of those lifestyle magazines, interviews on radio and TV, and there — that image that has weighed on me over the past few weeks. The cover of A Different Kind of Power . "He waka mō ko tahi". The journey is complete. The waka is now the waka for one. ■Dunedin businessman Sir Ian Taylor is the founder and managing director of Animation Research. He was named the 2019 New Zealand Innovator of the Year and in 2020 was named the Deloitte Top 200 Visionary Leader. He was knighted in 2021.
