INL May 15, 2020 Digital Edition

More documents

Recommendations

Info

14 MAY 15, 2020 Communitylink Healthcare workers scared of contracting Coronavirus Sourced Content Health care workers are experiencing an “almost post-traumatic stress” after feeling terrified in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, a leading anaesthetist has said. Dr Vanessa Beavis was on the frontline of the planning and preparation that took place in New Zealand hospitals as they readied themselves for Covid-19 patients. A consultant for Auckland hospital, she was tasked with preparing the staff there for the pandemic. She is the President of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA). Staff were extremely anxious about getting sick themselves, and the stress was amplified by all the planning and uncertainty involved, she told Kim Hill on ‘Saturday Morning.’ Healthcare workers terrified “[The] healthcare workers themselves were terrified that they were going to catch this bug, which was the experience from overseas and terrified that they were going to take Dr Vanessa Beavis (Picture Courtesy: Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists) it home as well. Many people have young children. “We have had people who were afraid, for example, that they were going to end up as single parents because they, their partner was one of our workers, or people who had people in the vulnerable age group that they lived with, or looking after elderly parents, something like that,” she said. Auckland DHB ramped up its Covid-19 preparation in mid-March after seeing the effect the virus was having overseas, she said. “Tales from our colleagues overseas and our formal and informal networks from UK, you know, America all over, [were] just completely overwhelming. “One morning everything looked kind of under control. And by the end of the afternoon, 18 patients had to be intubated, and overnight, another 50. And so we thought we were facing the apocalypse. And we had to start, you know, trying to get our systems in place for that,” Dr Beavis said. Tsunami of information But a “tsunami” of conflicting information from credible sources made it hard to know what to believe. Dr Beavis said it was “almost paralysing” how much work needed to go into getting the hospital ready for an influx of patients. They had to ramp up personal protective equipment (PPE) training, including making YouTube videos, in case not everyone could be trained in person, turn operating rooms into training rooms, and then also work out the logistics of where staff could stay if they had to go in isolation. While some staff had tested positive, hundreds who had been tested returned negative results. Indian Association Manukau gets new team Its Diversity Centre a great, cost-effective alternative for events Venkat Raman Members of the Indian Association Manukau New Zealand (IAMNZ) elected Dr Primla Khar was their President for 2020-2021 along with a refreshed Executive Committee. Her election was unanimous at the ‘virtual, web-based meeting’ held on May 2, 2020. She was the second woman to occupy the high office in the 41-year history of the Association. Energy and Enthusiasm Dr Khar said that the meeting was a ‘great test of the will and inclination of the members to move forward with technology during uncertain times.’ “It was heartening and encouraging to witness the energetic and enthusiastic participation of the senior and elder members of the Association,” she said. The New Committee Following are the members of the new Executive Committee: Dr Primla Khar (President); Keshav Govind, Suresh Ramji (Vice Presidents); Aman Kharbanda (General Secretary), Vasanti Govind (Assistant Secretary) Surjeet Singh Suchdeva (Treasurer) Monark Panchal (Assistant Treasurer). Arvind Patel, Bhavna Moral, Gagan Deep Gupta, Hansa Naran, Harjit Dhaliwal, Hira Dahya, Irvin Govind, Jatinder Pal Kaur Sidhu, Kailash Govind, Kokila Patel, Padma Patel, R P S Bajwa, Roy Kaunds, Sanjay Moza and Veer Khar (Executive Committee Members). A report from General Secretary Aman Kharbanda said that the meeting discussed the impact of Covid-19 on the economy, on social gatherings and the activities of the Association. Adverse impact of Covid-19 IMANZ Solicitor and Patel Nand Legal Partner Radhe Nand emphasised the need to manage the financial stress as the world in general faces uncertainty. He said that financial discipline and collective efforts of the Executive Committee and the support of the members will help the Association to tide over difficulties. Dr Primla Khar, new President of Indian Association Manukau New Zealand Mr Kharbanda said that the meeting acknowledged the progress of the Association over the past 40 plus years and said that its Diversity Centre is a landmark in Auckland. “The Diversity Centre, with its multi-layer and multiple facilities is open to all organisations and individuals for their conferences, meetings and social gatherings. The election of Dr Primla Khar as President reinforces our vision of women’s empowerment. The Meeting nominated Joel Ram as the Honorary Auditor while Mr Nand was re-nominated as the Solicitor,” he said. Dr Khar said that the first programme of the new team was ‘Kavi Sammelan,’ held as a virtual meeting on Facebook on Sunday, May 10, 2020. About the Diversity Centre Located at 25 Tui Road (off Great South Road) in the South Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe, the Diversity Centre boasts of a number of facilities and amenities that rivals some of the larger, opulent and ‘branded’ venues in and around Auckland. The property, constructed on land area of 2000 Sq Mts, owned and managed by the IMANZ, towers over four floors, with the built-in possibility of rising higher as needs grow in the coming years. Four Floors of Excellence The ground floor will accommodate offices or showrooms, lobby, gymnasium and space for up to 70 cars to park. The First Floor, accounting for about 500 Sq Mts, is an ideal venue for entertainment, cultural and social programmes seating 500 people (Theatre Style) or cater to 280 diners at their tables. As well as a modern kitchen, this floor has the latest multimedia technology. This is a self-contained area, with access to Restroom and other facilities. A meeting in progress at the Diversity Centre of IAMNZ in Papatoetoe, Auckland The new Diversity Centre (of IAMNZ in Papatoetoe, Auckland) is good for religious, social and other gatherings as well Education and Training Centre The Second Floor (400 Sq Mts) offers several possibilities. With flexible partitioning, this floor can at once be an education centre, training school, and a venue for small conferences, board meetings or lectures. Communities can conduct language and other classes for children, youth and adults if they so desire. This floor is also self-contained with kitchen, restroom and other facilities. Any event for about 200 persons can be conducted on this floor. Apartments for Visitors and Refugees The Third Floor was of special interest to us. As Mr Khar explained about two years ago, this floor would lift IMANZ into an elevated level of service, not just for the Indian community but for anyone who seeks to use the facilities. “Seven Independent Units for use as apartments for couples, shared accommodation for visitors to Auckland or for those who wish to hire them on long term basis will be the feature of this floor. This could also be a centre for refugees. We propose to discuss these possibilities with our Members of Parliament and see if they could be of help,” Mr Khar said. All the floors are served by an elevator. About IAMNZ IAMNZ has come a long way from humble beginnings in 1979 when it started, in hired rooms, as an informal school to teach Indian children their mother tongue. Then known as the South Auckland Indian Cultural Society Inc, the main aim was to preserve and promote Indian culture, hold language classes, celebrate festivals and pass this heritage on to a new generation. “The world around us, the diaspora and our original name has changed, but not our original objectives remain the same. Our Association is perhaps the only community entity that has people from all religious beliefs. This is reflected in our Executive Committee,” Mr Khar said. “The existing building of the Association (57 Hillside Road, Papatoetoe) will continue to be available for hire for various activities,” he added. Enormity of tasks Dr Beavis said that an enormous amount of work has been done to prepare for Covid-19, which will hopefully be useful if there is another pandemic in the future. Thankfully, the situation in New Zealand did not turn out to be anything like they feared it could become. “We had just been working in such a fluid environment and now it is almost like post-traumatic stress; although it is not over, the level of anxiety has gone down or frenetic activity, but people are still extremely anxious, and it’s a very fragile workforce,” she said. Fears over drug shortages While Auckland DHB had enough PPE for now, there were concerns it could run short of some drugs, Dr Beavis said. The general anaesthetic propofol and painkiller fentanyl were among the drugs that could potentially be harder to get, she said. Global shortages were a part of the problem. “We cannot manufacture because our workforces had to be in isolation. And some of it is supply chain problems. And then, some of it is because other people are better payers and bigger markets than us. But Pharmac, I have to say, is on top of it and are working really, really hard to give us a secure supply. So, if they cannot do it, it is not for the want of trying, that is for sure,” Dr Beavis said. Drug shortages were a particular concern as the hospital was trying to catch up on elective surgeries – which will take a long time, she said. “We are probably about 2000 patients behind on elective patients. If you think that we do approximately 1000 general anaesthetics a week or provide anaesthesia for about 1000 patients a week. Theoretically, that would be about two to three weeks, full time 41 operating rooms working just on the catch up numbers. Now clearly, we are not going to be able to do that it will just be a question of expanding what we already do. So it is going to take some time,” Dr Beavis said. Published under a Special Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz Sanjay Badakere passes away in Auckland Body donated for medical research Venkat Raman It is with great regret that we report the passing of popular community man Sanjay Badakere at the Hospital in West Auckland on May 5, 2020. He was 68 years old and fought a brave battle against odds. There was no funeral service since Mr Badakere has donated his body for medical research. He left behind his wife Sandhya Rao Badakere (a popular Hindustani Music Teacher and performer at concerts), their daughters Priyanka and Ritika and their respective husbands Siddharth and Jatin Puri. Priyanka and Siddarth live in the US. Disciplined accountant The Reporter has known the members of the Badakere family since their arrival in New Zealand about 17 years ago. Mr Badakere is a qualified accountant who worked in a number of commercial establishments, before establishing franchise offices of SBA Small Business Accounting in Mount Roskill and Pakuranga about ten years ago. Soft and extremely gentle in his manners, he was known for choosing his customers and keeping them ‘clean and disciplined.’ His forgiving approach and affable manners endeared him to colleagues and a large circle of friends in New Zealand and India. His life would be a model for those seeking finesse and high values. Artistic proclivities Mr Badakere was an ideal husband and father, and encouraged Sandhya to establish her Swar Sadhana Academy of Indian Music, which today has three branches in Auckland conducting Sanjay Badakere musical classes, voice training and other forms of performing arts. He personally chose the songs for the annual programmes conducted in the ‘Suneheri Yaadein’ series, the last of which was held as at tribute to Rahul Dev Burman on May 25, 2019. He had selected the songs for this year’s programme (Tribute to Shankar Jaikishan), which has been postponed to 2021 in view of Covid-19 lockdown. Mr Badakere’s gesture of donating his body for medical research is considered noble. Five years ago, Sandhya’ mother Sudha Rao also donated her body for medical research following her death on April 25, 2020 (ANZAC Day). Sanjay had always adopted a philosophical approach to life. “Do not pause to mourn. The world must go on. Forget all the harm that anyone could have caused to you or to someone known to you. Everything is a part of life,” he would say. Indian Newslink conveys its heartfelt condolences to Sandhya, Priyanka, Ritika and their respective families on this loss. We stand by them in their bereavement. We pray that the departed soul should rest in peace. Sanjay Badakere was one of a kind.
MAY 15, 2020 As the world comes to grips with the “new normal” that Coronavirus has wrought on our towns, cities and communities, society faces the challenge of figuring out how to talk about the impact the virus is having on our everyday lives. Coronavirus has led to an explosion of new words and phrases, both in English and in other languages. This new vocabulary helps us make sense of the changes that have suddenly become part of our everyday lives. Established terms such as “self-isolating,” “pandemic,” “quarantine,” “lockdown” and “key workers” have increased in use, while Coronavirus/Covid-19 neologisms are being coined quicker than ever. These include “covidiot” (someone ignoring public health advice), “covideo party”(online parties via Zoom or Skype), and “covexit” (the strategy for exiting lockdown), while Coronavirus has acquired new descriptors – including “the ‘rona” and “Miley Cyrus” (Cockney rhyming slang). Metaphors galore Other terms deal with the material changes in our everyday lives, from “Blursday” (an unspecified day because of lockdown’s disorientating effect on time), to Communitylink Neologisms and metaphors emerge from the global pandemic Coronavirus brings forth ‘Covidiots,’ ‘Covideo Parties’ and more Robert Lawson “zoombombing” (hijacking a Zoom videocall). “WFH” (working from home) and “quaranteams” (online teams created during lockdown) are helping people deal with changing work circumstances. This is to say nothing of the metaphors people are using to talk about our response to Coronavirus, from war metaphors – for example, Boris Johnson’s briefing where he stated that: “This enemy can be deadly, but it is also beatable” – to sports, storms, monsters, natural disasters, and more. Linguists are already starting to analyse these metaphors, while Veronika Koller of Lancaster University is crowdsourcing the non-war metaphors that people use (readers can contribute to this repository via Twitter using the #ReframeCovid hashtag). Attention has also been paid to how effective different metaphors are in encouraging compliance with public health advice, as well as issues of translation, interpretation and access to healthcare. The language of social crises While the scope of lexical innovation in relation to coronavirus ANZ Increases donation to Community Law special fund Staff Reporter ANZ Bank has announced an increase in the proportion of its donation over the next few months to the Lawyers and Conveyancers Special Fund. The Bank will provide 35% of the interest it earns on licensed conveyancers’ nominated trust accounts held by ANZ to Community Law, up from 20%, according to about $270,000 based on current interest rates and economic activity. ANZ donated more than $920,000 between March 2019 and February 2020 to Community Law. About the Fund The Fund, vested in the New Zealand Law Society and the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers, collects interest from the nominated trust accounts of Solicitors and Licenced Conveyancers. The Fund is governed by the Law Practitioners Act 1982 and helps run 24 Community Law Centres, which provide service in about 140 locations throughout New Zealand. The Community Law Centres can be accessed by all residents in the country and is rendered free. Community Law Chief Executive Sue Moroney said that the increase will help Community Law to sustain free legal support to communities as they battle the impact of Covid-19. ”While it is likely that the overall value of the Special Fund donation from five banks will suffer because of economic conditions, ANZ’s offer to lift the proportion it donates Community Law Centres o Aotearoa CEO Sue Moroney to fund our services will help to mitigate this,” she said. Surging demand Ms Moroney said that Community Law has already seen a surge of people needing employment law support about their jobs, even though they have only been able to offer services remotely since Alert Level 4 came into force. ”We expect to see this increase substantially when Community Law Centres open for face-to-face services again. Sadly, even more people will be eligible for our free legal services because they have lost their income. They are likely to need help with employment law and then because of their new financial position they may have landlord problems, WINZ issues and debt problems they need legal support with too,” she said. Ms Moroney said that Community Law needs increased funding to support those affected by the epidemic response and ANZ’s increased support will help us is unprecedented, we only need to look to other periods of history to see how such linguistic creativity manifests itself in times of serious social crisis. World War II gave us “radar” (RAdio Detection And Ranging) as well as “fubar” (F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition), “snafu” (Status Nominal: All F***ed Up, although Situation Normal All F***ed Up is also a common interpretation). From Vietnam we got both “clusterf***” (a mishandled or disorganised situation) and “fragging” (the deliberate killing of an unpopular member of one’s own fighting unit, from the shortening of fragmentation grenade). More recently, the UK’s departure from the EU (colloquially known as “Brexit”) gave us a variety of terms including “brexiteers”, “remoaners”, and “regrexit” – while conversations were dominated by new concepts such as “backstops”, “hard borders”, and “cliff edges.” Lasting effects For major health pandemics, the lasting effect on language is usually that the name of the disease enters common parlance, as happened respond to community needs. Despite the challenges, Community Law has continued to provide access to justice while the country battles Covid-19, she said. “I am proud that 24 Community Law Centres made a quick pivot to remote services, while keeping up to speed with rapidly-changing laws and taking on complex cases. Supporting people to keep their jobs, their homes, their families and their livelihoods is our priority right now,” she said. ANZ initiative ANZ New Zealand Chief Executive Antonia Watson said that many New Zealanders were experiencing hardship and changes to their circumstances as a result of Covid-19. “ANZ has supported the important work of Community Law for many years. As the effects of Covid-19 reach into the lives of so many people, it is more important than ever for them to have access to legal support and services,” she said. About Community Law Centres Twenty-four Community Law Centres work out of over 140 locations across New Zealand to provide free legal help and advice to those who are unable to pay for a private lawyer or who do not have access to legal aid. This advice covers all aspects of New Zealand’s legal system, including family law, employment issues, housing problems, consumer advice and criminal law. As well as around 170 staff, Community Law’s services are boosted by over 1200 volunteer lawyers who run clinics and deliver free advice and assistance. with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Spanish Flu (1918-1920), SARS (2002-2004), Swine Flu (2009) and others. But Coronavirus has flipped the script and appears to be influencing public discourse beyond simply adding a new disease to the dictionary. Given this process of lexical innovation, there are two questions worth asking: why are new Coronavirus-inspired terms coined in the first place? And why have these terms found purchase in our lives so quickly? After all, new words are introduced all the time, but few of them enter the wider public consciousness in the way we’ve seen with coronavirus terminology. Language unites In his widely cited article on linguistic creativity, Ronald Carter, former Professor of Modern English language at the University of Nottingham, makes the point that “verbal play is often undertaken for humorous purposes, serving in part to bring people closer together,” as well as challenging the “normal” view of things. Carter goes on to argue that inventive language is not just ornamental, but practical. In a mere three months, Coronavirus has fundamentally changed our ways of living. It has closed businesses and transformed our working patterns. This new vocabulary has come to be a utilitarian shorthand for talking about Coronavirus-related issues – from the impact the virus has had on our working lives, to the influence of the lockdown measures – or even just a way to poke fun and laugh at the world around us. The outpouring of metaphors, neologisms and lexical innovations we have seen in the past few months 15 points to the fact that linguistic creativity is a key part of language, reshaping our ways of engaging with the world. This new vocabulary also helps people articulate their worries about the biggest health crisis we have seen in generations. Collective cultural references It brings people together around a set of collective cultural reference points – a kind of lexical “social glue”. In the absence of the regular social contact, shared talk is an important part of helping people feel connected to one another. Perhaps one of the biggest factors in the spread of Coronavirus terminology is the fact that we are more digitally connected than ever before – in a way we were not during the SARS outbreak in 2002 or the Swine Flu outbreak in 2009. Instant access social media is now an integral part of our lives – and we share content with friends and family through a variety of social media outlets. The scale of our online connections means that there are now far more opportunities for individuals to coin a new term and share it beyond their immediate local communities. In times of significant social or civic change, linguistic creativity not only reflects the major preoccupations of the time, but also shows how people gather to talk about new challenges and contexts. As Coronavirus rages on, understanding the language surrounding it will be ever more important. Robert Lawson is Associate Professor in Sociolinguistics at Birmingham City University, Birmingham, United Kingdom. The above article and pictured have been published under Creative Commons Licence. Accountant jailed for defrauding $1 million Supplied Content A former chartered accountant has been sentenced to three years and nine months’ imprisonment for stealing approximately $1.01 million from his clients. Christopher George Wright (64) misappropriated refunds from his clients on whose behalf he filed tax returns and received refunds. The tax refunds intended for Mr Wright’s clients were deposited in his accounting practice’s trust account. He spent the refunds on gambling, friends and family, school fees and loan repayments. He defrauded about 245 clients over a six-year period from January 2010 to April 2016. Mr Wright was sentenced today (May 13) at the Auckland District Court. He had pleaded guilty previously to one representative charge of ‘Theft by person in special relationship’ brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). SFO Chief Executive Julie Read said, “The sentence reflects the seriousness of offending, which was premeditated, repetitive and long running. Mr Wright breached his professional duties and deceived his clients for personal gain of more than $1 million. His offending was a significant breach of trust and he will now suffer the consequences of his actions. The prosecution of such matters is an important aspect of protecting New Zealand’s reputation as a safe place to invest and do business.” The investigation Following a complaint made to New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA), Christopher Wright’s membership of the institute was suspended on April 26, 2016. The Professional Conduct Committee subsequently filed charges alleging ‘professional misconduct’ and ‘negligence or incompetence’ that where heard by NZICA’s disciplinary tribunal in December 2016. Mr Wright pleaded ‘guilty by correspondence’ to those charges brought before the disciplinary tribunal. The disciplinary tribunal removed Mr Wright’s name from the register of NZICA members and imposed costs of $56,853.
Page 1 and 2: The English Fortnightly (Since Nove
Page 3 and 4: MAY 15, 2020 Government-assisted fl
Page 5 and 6: MAY 15, 2020 Restrictions reflect W
Page 7 and 8: MAY 15, 2020 Priyanca Radhakrishnan
Page 9 and 10: MAY 15, 2020 I saw 33 Budgets and m
Page 11 and 12: MAY 15, 2020 Businesslink 11 Playin
Page 13: MAY 15, 2020 Businesslink 13

INL May 15, 2020 Digital Edition

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?