TLDR & TLDL: The deep divisions now between rich and poor, vaxxed and unvaxxed, disinformed and the rest were on full display at yesterday’s march of around 3,000 protestors from Civic Square to Parliament yesterday. Not a single MP or minister (and definitely not the PM) went out to greet the masses, a first for such protests.
Almost all the marchers were unmasked and many had travelled from areas such as Taranaki, Gisborne, Hastings and Whanganui, where double vaccination rates are not expected to reach 90% until late January or February. Soon, the unvaccinated will not be able to fly domestically or internationally, get or keep a job (over 60% of jobs are expected to require vaccination), visit a pub, bar, cafe or restaurant, or go into enclosed public places. That would include Parliament within a month, although none were allowed in anyway yesterday.
Elsewhere in the news overnight:
a new Punaha Matatini study shows a dramatic increase in the spread of disinformation via social media in New Zealand in the last three months;
councils are stepping up their campaigns to stop the Govt’s Three Waters and Three Storeys policies; and,
the US 10 yr bond yield fell to 1.42% overnight on growing hopes/fears of an uber dove may be appointed US Federal Reserve Chair.
Coming up later today:
REINZ house sales prices and volumes for Oct are due after 9am;
I’ll be watching US CPI inflation data for Oct tonight (markets expect annual inflation rose to a 30 year high of around 5.9% and 0.5% for the month);
also, the PM is in Auckland today to meet the locals for some cups of tea and chat; and,
keep an eye out for whether Joe Biden reappoints Jerome Powell as Fed Chair, or picks Lael Brainard, who is seen as much more dovish, over the next couple of days.
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