Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, December 31st, 2011 - 140 comments
Scott at ImperatorFish has a look at the moral blame game that some use when violence is used against children. If people want to talk about a lack of values, they could start with the set of neoliberal values during the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s. We are still paying the price for the massive trauma caused to communities in the name of greed.
Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, November 22nd, 2011 - 35 comments
The Nats’ education policy came out yesterday and, predictably, it’s ideologically driven nonsense that will damage children. Worst aspects, league tables (almost universally condemned by experts and experience) and a proposal for the Nats to specify a “personality test” to select teachers.
Written By: - Date published: 6:01 pm, September 14th, 2011 - 50 comments
The guys at RSA Animate provide their illustative talents to a quite brilliant and wide ranging lecture by Sir Ken Robinson on the topic of education. In the space of just over 10 minutes, he ranges from it’s industrial beginnings to its doped out, standardised present and argues finally, that educationally we’re heading in exactly the wrong direction and suggests alternatives.
Written By: - Date published: 12:12 pm, January 21st, 2011 - 49 comments
Herald, 21 December. Paula Bennett details the hideous abuse of a 9-year-old girl found shortly before by police. Says: “As soon as this case was brought to my attention I started demanding answers.” “I hope to God justice comes.” Today revealed, the child’s mother and teacher each separately wrote to John Key months before. Letters were transferred to… Paula Bennett.
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, August 17th, 2010 - 45 comments
The legacy of the Maori Party should not be waving the seabed and foreshore legislation in the air like Neville Chamberlain and rejoicing at the sop given by the Machiavellian elite – not while another child lies dying of a brain injury. The Minister for Maori Affairs should not be working to save illegal buildings on a gang HQ when Maori children are being abused at a sickening rate.
Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, July 3rd, 2010 - 7 comments
John Key had a busy day playing rodeo-clown yesterday. Before having the Air Force fly him to Ohakune for the opening of 16 whole kilometres of cycleway Key had photo-op with children. It’s is a John Key favourite. The perfect distraction from lying in the House, the weak economy, and Anne Tolley. But the clown show doesn’t always go off without a hitch 
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, April 14th, 2010 - 44 comments
Smacking and the reform of Section 59 was one of the big political issues of the last few years. Key’s position on facing down the appallingly worded “smacking referendum” remains one of the very few things that I can respect and applaud him on. Key will not want to revisit this issue, but the evidence from a new study suggests that he should…
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, March 11th, 2010 - 3 comments
Sometimes you get a really pleasant surprise and I got one today from Garth George. Despite being a pretty old school conservative he gives a stunning rebuke of the knee-jerk authoritarianism/fascism/randianism that so often characterises the thinking of the Right these days and was recently highlighted by David Garrett’s call for sterilisation of the poor.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, January 12th, 2010 - 103 comments
The other day on the telly, Cameron Slater said why he had breached suppression orders intended to protect the identity of sex attack victims in two cases involving an alleged celebrity assailant, but not a third. ‘It involves a kid’ stated he. How noble. How fine. He’s making a point. He won’t hurt a child to …
Written By: - Date published: 2:25 pm, November 21st, 2009 - 56 comments
The pro-child assault lobby spent $500,000 trying to manufacture the biggest march in New Zealand history up Queen St today. The reports say fewer than 5,000 took part. Oh dear. What does that work out at? More than $100 per marcher? Gee, if you’d offered me that much I would have walked back down Queen St too. Update: a couple of pics. Looks …
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, August 4th, 2009 - 22 comments
Late last week households around the country received their referendum envelope that asks “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence?” Leaving aside the ambiguity and lack of clarity in that question, the lack of opinion based on fact and any semblance of common sense apart from Chicken Licken Family …
Written By: - Date published: 8:31 pm, June 18th, 2009 - 15 comments
So. There’s this dude who writes a song a day (weekdays only) and puts it on Youtube. Calls it The Daily Refrain. He’s been going three weeks now. Mostly pretty funny and well written. Great little project. Seems like he’s a Kiwi. He’s put up one about the child-beating referendum which is brilliant. Hilarious. But …
Written By: - Date published: 11:39 am, June 18th, 2009 - 22 comments
It’s hard to argue with the idea of referenda. What could be more democratic than citizens deciding precisely what issues the New Zealand public should consider, and taking a vote on them? Won’t that process get people thinking, encourage participation in the democratic process and make politics more accessible? Isn’t it the kind of democracy …
Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, May 27th, 2009 - 8 comments
Referendum 2009 – Unicef NZ The Vote Yes campaign is about preserving s59 of the Cirmes Act, which gives children the same right as adults to not be assaulted. More information here. [just a couple of quick suggestions to the Vote Yes people: ‘Vote yes, for a law that’s working’ is a bad slogan, it doesn’t …
Comments