I guess TVNZ was too busy leading with crime stories basically every day for the last two weeks to do any actual journalism, but I would have thought questions to the government on if it has any exposure to this humdinger of a scandal involving Price Waterhouse-Coopers in Australia would have been of interest.
Basicallt, PWC worked on tax law changes for the government then passed on the details of those changes to it's corporate clients so they could get their new tax avoidance measures in place ahead of the law changes.
The Listener 3-9 June touches on the same issue. Tom Seymour and Peter Collins from PwC were named in the tax avoidance tricks. Part of an article about getting rid of consultants and investing in skilled public servants.
Meanwhile a beneficiary gets headlines for a few hundred dollars overpayments.
The rights and wellbeing of renters are supported by the Green party:
The Green Party are today launching a campaign asking for people to submit their stories of what they call subpar, substandard and downright awful experiences of renting in Aotearoa.
Data from StatsNZ's 2019 housing report shows one in three New Zealand households are less likely to be satisfied with their accommodation compared to homeowners.
Swarbrick says the campaign will "give renters a platform to tell their stories directly, to make their basic human rights impossible for Parliament and the Government to ignore".
“An affordable, warm, healthy and secure home is literally a human right. Yet it’s one denied to far too many of the 1.4 million renters in this country,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for renters, Chlöe Swarbrick.
“This is a political choice. Aotearoa New Zealand is not the first country in the world to deal with a housing crisis, but we are profoundly unique in how our economy privileges those who own property and fails to protect those who rent.
“Enough is enough. Today we’re launching a campaign to give renters a platform to tell their stories directly, to make their basic human rights impossible for Parliament and the Government to ignore.
The Government is not monitoring or enforcing the law:
Associate Housing Minister Poto Williams has revealed the Government is not collecting data on how many rentals are compliant with its Healthy Homes Standards.
Williams also revealed there is no requirement for rental properties to be assessed by third parties to verify whether the property meets the Healthy Homes Standards.
Williams made the revelations in written responses to Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick, who says it's time to start registering rental properties and their status in compliance with Healthy Homes standards in the form of a Warrant of Fitness (WOF).
"We need to get the basics right," Swarbrick, the Green Party's spokesperson and advocate for renters, told Newshub.
"That means registering rental properties and their status in compliance with Healthy Homes Standards in the form of a WOF, as well as landlords and property managers, to ensure things are up to scratch and everyone's protected and aware of their rights and responsibilities if anything goes wrong.
"We can only build decent systems when we have decent data and the ability to easily pinpoint system failure."
“We encourage all New Zealanders to hold their local supermarket to account, no matter how small the pricing mistake(s) may be.”
“While we think it’s unfair to put the responsibility on shoppers, we don’t think supermarkets plan to up their game and rectify this issue anytime soon. It’s up to us to hold the major supermarkets to account.”
Yea. The supermarket duopolists are never going to do it willingly. They could give a rats arse about people (despite their bullshit "feelgood" advertising)
So Michael Woods had a little over 1000 Airport shares in a trust fund. He took them out as a teenager – must have been 30 plus years ago. So somebody has been digging around inside his personal financial affairs. Is that legal?
Somebody talked me into taking out 500 shares (not Airport) when I was a teenager. I forgot for years they even existed. Some National luminaries, at least in days gone by, cooked their books on a regular basis but that was okay. Minor infringements usually committed unwittingly by Labour luminaries are a different story?
What National lies? Does Minster Woods own the shares – yes or no? How is this a National issue?
So Minister Woods bought the shares as a teenager and they’re held in a Trust. What teenager has a trust?
He thought he sold them? Until he didn’t.
Now we are hearing his wife has an interest in the shares (per Anne’s link above). Assuming she will recuse herself from the Auckland Council vote on said share sale later this week.
Wood has owned a completely trivial number of shares for a long time. If as Minister he was able to do something that increased the value of those shares, he stands to gain by a few hundred dollars at best. And in reality, the value of airport shares is more likely to increase if Brownie is able to sell the Council's holding – something that Wood probably opposes, and his partner Ms Fairey, does oppose.
This looks like an inconsequential and inadvertent technical breach of the rules by Wood. He should correct the record and move on.
As usual with the political right, their accusations are a form of projection. They accuse others of doing exactly the sort of dodgy things they would do given the same opportunity, or are in fact are already doing in private.
Go it. The rules around declaring financial interests, particularly when they relate to a Minister with direct portfolio responsibilities, are just there for funsies. Glad to have that sorted.
Then John Key's political career should have been over before he ever became PM. See Joe90's link below (of course I assume you do remember, and the political reporters remember, but these tedious games of fake outrage must be played).
But I don't think Key's omission was enough to make him resign, any more than Wood's is today. If that's the ethical bar, then half the National cabinet should have been hounded out of office. For example …
Today's words to Google: "Murray McCully" and "Saudi sheep".
As usual Luxon is showing poor judgement in attacking Wood, because if he really wants Wood's error to be the new resignation standard, he's going to have a very nervous caucus. Reap what you sow …
No, he won’t resign or be sacked. We’ve already hit the bottom of the Cabinet talent barrel with Tenitti.
[Please correct your e-mail address in your next comment, thanks. You might also want to tone down the increasing troll-level of your comments – Incognito]
In an interview with One News last night, Mr Key faltered when asked about the shares, initially saying his family owned 25,000-50,000 shares, then shifting to "sometimes 50,000, sometimes 100,000" then finally "yeah, sorry, it was 100,000 in total".
Asked why he had only ever admitted to the 30,000 shares owned by the family trust, Mr Key said: "No one's ever asked me the number I owned."
Yep, the Natzo underwear sniffers and wheelie bin snoopers are officially back Anne!
Ex PM Mr Key’s largish holding of rail shares, as several posters have reminded us above, was fine back in the day–nothing to see here for the media that used to give JK hot towels and back rubs. But I guess with the Supercity Airport shares up for flogging off to the nearest venture capitalist or pension investment fund, this has some further importance for certain people.
It's all about optics, everyone knows Key and the Tory's have shares in everything and will exploit every loophole, this kind of thing is expected of national.
Labour and the Greens, are held to a different standard, not just by media but by voters and their own members.
$13000 is a lot of money for most people in NZ, who can barely rub two dollars together, for many voters $13 k is not insignificant and hearing the minister responsible has undeclared conflicts looks grubby and it is inappropriate.
Im glad Hipkins acted swiftly and removed Wood while the issue is sorted turning it into a non issue.
$13 is a shit load of money to the people labour need to vote for it.
Wood was born in 1980. If anything, the Nats should be in absolute awe of his prudent investment that has grown in value over more than two decades and that shows long-term vision and patience, none of which you’d expect to find in a Nat MP.
The guy cannot hold his story – He was going to sell them in 2020 then he didn't, for some reason."There were about six times that there had been discussions between Wood and the Cabinet office about divesting his shares, Hipkins said. That was since the end of 2020 when those six instances occurred." SIX !!!! Now he acts.
He received dividends and declares the income under his tax returns & financial reports mailed under his name would that not prompt a reminder who owns them ??
again it its the ever shifting story as more details are reported- that is what is sinking him IMO
He thought they were in a trust then we find out he owns them outright. When he prepares his tax return the dividends would have been declared under his tax return.
There were dividends to declare pre 2019 no stop trying to deflect, My comment is not limited to the last few years and does hold up, I am not making anything up, perhaps some need to take a breath before firing off false accusation at others ?? If you need an English lesson "He received dividends and declares the income under his tax returns" my comments were plural, so that then covers any period, including pre 2019 !!!! When I note he was the Senior Whip and Deputy Leader of the House- A senior within the 1st Jacinda Adern govt.
And now we are told he thought he sold them "Wood said he did not disclose them as he thought they had been sold." And what about the SIX times he was asked about divesting from the shares ???
He was going to sell them in 2020 […] That was since the end of 2020 […]
And you blabbered something about declaring income from dividends on his Tax Returns when there hasn’t been anything paid since FY-2019.
Yet now you claim:
[…] my comments were plural, so that then covers any period, including pre 2019 !!!!
Do your comments go back all the way to 1998? Just asking, so that you can make up your mind what BS comment you can come up with this time, singular or plural, it doesn’t make a difference.
If you would have taken time and notice that the 2022 comment was within quote marks and there was a link ?? So I was NOT making it up, I was quoting the NZ Herald. So perhaps you need to STOP making things up ??? And how about an apology for claiming that I was making things up !!!
Your 1st comment made no reference about 2022, it related to dividends which I responded. Now it is something else, you are all over the place.
He received dividends and declares the income under his tax returns & financial reports mailed under his name would that not prompt a reminder who owns them ??
This was not within quote marks, not quoted from the NZ Herald, and indeed the NZH does not refer to dividends and Tax Returns as far as I can tell. In other words, they were your words and you made them up.
It was BS and thus you made up shit, about declaring or not declaring non-existing dividends on Tax Returns, since the end of 2020.
The only one who’s all over the place and doesn’t even realise it is you.
Well no actually. They listed on 28 July 1998 when he was 18.
It is pretty hard to forget owning shares. They keep sending you stuff, including the dividend statements that would tell him exactly who owned them and how many he owned.
The "religious right" just can't stand the competition. They are scared that one day people might work out that there is exactly the same empirical evidence for the possession of a "gendered soul" that there is for an "immortal soul".
Clarity. Stop the linguistic gymnastics that pretend that single-sex provisions are not related to sex. Clear boundaries make transgressions easier to identity and address because they are uncommon. Thereby, reducing the challenge to non-confirming people of both sexes.
Single-sex spaces are neither femininity nor masculinity testing stations.
They will however demonstrate the cognitive capacity, and/or decision making level of those that knowingly break those single-sex boundaries by prioritising personal feelings.
BTW, still not an argument for the elimination of single-sex provisions. Just a diversion.
Trans people exist. Would you have transmen in women's bathrooms too? Wouldn't they also have cops called on them, seeing that they look, for all intents and purposes, to be men? Anti-trans people already have difficulty determining 'sex' and differentiating between that and gender norms, as the above example proves.
It's interesting that you prefer to prioritise your personal feelings.
"Would you have transmen in women's bathrooms too?"
Given that they are women, Yes. But depending on their degree of transition and presentation, they should be aware that they will be challenged more often – primarily because of the lack of clarity I spoke of before that has been interpreted by many men as permission to break single-sex boundaries. It is a natural consequence of both those aspects.
"Wouldn't they also have cops called on them, seeing that they look, for all intents and purposes, to be men?"
Unlikely. Calling the police is not a response of many women and girls to men invading their spaces. They usually just get out as fast as possible, and/or report to the service provider.
"Anti-trans people already have difficulty determining 'sex' and differentiating between that and gender norms, as the above example proves."
This sentence doesn't make sense.
"It's interesting that you prefer to prioritise your personal feelings."
I understand there are differences between biological sexes in terms of practical needs, privacy, dignity, and safety. These realities are identifiable, and in cases of assault – recorded in statistical data.
Safeguarding risk assessments that resulted in single-sex provisions as significantly reducing (not eliminating) risk of harm, did not rely on my personal feelings – but robust statistical evidence.
It is the same robust statistical evidence that has to be provided in support of boundary breaking – and then weighted against – the issues of safety, privacy, dignity and consent, before considering whether single-sex boundaries can reasonably be broken.
Look to Chesterton's Fence – for where to start when you seek to dismantle existing boundaries:
"Anti-trans people already have difficulty determining 'sex' and differentiating between that and gender norms, as the above example proves."
This sentence doesn't make sense.
Anti-trans people called the police on a cisgender woman because they thought she was trans. They failed to determine her sex and assumed it based on their own interpretations of gender norms. If these anti-trans people were always capable of determining sex as is claimed, then they wouldn't have called police to eject a woman from the women's bathroom would they?
Absent a chromosome test and/or genital inspections we rely on gender and the societal expectations of such, to determine which 'single-sex' space someone should occupy. This can go wrong, as above, and in your preferred scenario would be much more common and confusing with male-presenting people in the women's bathroom and vice versa.
did not rely on my personal feelings – but robust statistical evidence.
arkie, you are focusing on one incident and extrapolating that as if it is indicative of a persuasive argument. It is not. It is a waste of my time to point this out to you repeatedly so I will not.
"Absent a chromosome test and/or genital inspections we rely on gender and the societal expectations of such, to determine which 'single-sex' space someone should occupy. "
This conflation of DSD's with gender identities is common, and along with conflation of sex with gender identities, is just poor logic.
"Please supply this 'robust' evidence."
I am surprised you are unaware.
However, a link for you. Please note the proviso, it is becoming increasingly hard to find up-to-date figures that distinguish by sex, due to the capture of statistical departments (including our own) who interchange sex and gender identity without regard to accuracy:
An estimated 91% of victims of rape & sexual assault are female and 9% male. Nearly 99% of perpetrators are male. 1This US Dept. of Justice statistic does not report those who do not identify in these gender boxes.
Did you honestly require a statistical reference for this?
If transmen are to use women's bathrooms surely that makes it easier for male predators to enter those spaces without 'pretending to be a woman' to gain that access?
90% of women survivors were victimised by someone known to them, 23% of women were assaulted by a partner or ex-partner, 24% were assaulted a family member, 44% were assaulted by "another known person". Just 9% were assaulted by strangers.
I was specifically asking for the 'robust' evidence that transwomen are a risk to women in bathrooms. This isn't actually possible because they are not.
I provided the statistics on my contribution which is based on "sex". I do not conflate sex with gender identity, and the single-sex provisions relate to sexed differences.
"I was specifically asking for the 'robust' evidence that transwomen are a risk to women in bathrooms. This isn't actually possible because they are not."
I don't need to provide it. Alongside many other males, they are included in the statistics I have given you. Along with males who are eight years old, blind teenaged boys, men with mobility issues, men and boys with cancer, men with mental incapacity – they are included.
Because you wish to extract men with gender identities from these statistics, so that they can be treated independently of their sex, you need to find the data that supports that treatment. Then any advantages to that cohort must be considered and weighted against the impact on women and girls.
Until you provide the 'robust' evidence that they are significantly different to other males, then you cannot make the second claim. In fact, you cannot make the second claim unless you provide evidence that NO harm will be enacted on women at ANY time, in ANY place by men with gender identities.
"This isn't actually possible because they are not."
You are the one making this extraordinary claim.
I wait for your extraordinary evidence to support it.
Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Laws in Public Accommodations: a Review of Evidence Regarding Safety and Privacy in Public Restrooms, Locker Rooms, and Changing Rooms
…
This study finds that the passage of such laws is not related to the number or frequency of criminal incidents in these spaces. Additionally, the study finds that reports of privacy and safety violations in public restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms are exceedingly rare. This study provides evidence that fears of increased safety and privacy violations as a result of nondiscrimination laws are not empirically grounded.
Interestingly cismen are the most concerned about transwomen's access to women's bathrooms
These statistics show that cisgender males are not only more likely to be concerned with safety and privacy surrounding transgender females in female bathrooms, but are also more likely to express that transgender females directly cause their concerns.
Unless there is a universal and comprehensive method of gathering such data, there will be no statistics proving the harm of men with gender identities. It is unlikely that females report incidents, and there is no assurance that if they do service providers record it. The escalation needed to make criminal reports – would obscure many incidents as well.
For example, I could make the same claim about male gardeners. eg. There exists no evidence to show that male gardeners are of harm to women and girls.
It is both poor reasoning and evidence.
The only comprehensive evidence we have is that based on sex.
As for the second social media analysis. I'm not really that interested in the ratio of that kind of limited analysis, which is all it offers. Counting the uninformed reckons of people on the internet is good for polling, but not for considered reasoning.
As usual I never expected you to argue in good faith. I have provided the 'extraordinary' evidence you required that your concerns are unfounded ie Not Empirically Grounded. You choose to ignore it so that you can continue your monomania. Enjoy.
"I have provided the 'extraordinary' evidence you required that your concerns are unfounded ie Not Empirically Grounded. You choose to ignore it so that you can continue your monomania. "
I do not agree about the quality of your evidence – and said why.
Instead of providing the missing methodology or responding to points raised, you seem to fall into personal insults while running away.
"My mother is 66 years old and no shrinking violet. I have never known her in any circumstance to shy away from confrontation. In the decades she has been swimming at this pool, she has had several run-ins with the lifeguards, management, and other swimmers. From too-slow swimmers clogging up the fast lane to the Covid-related mask mandates, my mother has always fearlessly spoken her mind. During Covid, she fought back so relentlessly against having to wear a mask on the pool deck for the few minutes before entering the water that we worried she might end up in handcuffs. She wasn’t charged, but she did face a short-term suspension from the Sportsplex as a result of her protests.
Yet when a man walked naked through the changeroom while she was in her most vulnerable state, my mother went silent."
Also meant to mention, that the impact on women's and girls on males entering their single-sex provisions is significantly different than the impact on men and boys of females doing the same.
Because of the sexed differences listed above.
In terms of safety and statistics, a women entering a male single-sex provision raises the safety of the male users – and reduces her own. A male entering a women's single-sex space, statistically reduces the likelihood of harm to themselves, while significantly raising the risk for the female users.
I think Molly is prioritizing her own personal feelings and also biological reality.
Public toilets and change rooms have long been separated based on sex.
That trans people have a problem and with that, I have some sympathy for. But I am afraid there is no way I will accept as the solution that male bodied people who identify as women be allowed into womens change rooms. Nope, nada never……..And the good people of Invercargill are fighting this very issue right now.
Megyn Kelly who was initally a cheer leader for Trans rights says it very well here.
"I think Molly is prioritizing her own personal feelings and also biological reality."
Thanks for that. I agree with the second, but not with the first.
I approach this from a place of logic, and my feelings remain personal and strong, but are not put forward as an argument about the non-emotive aspects of single-sex provisions. And I don’t often talk about the comfort of such provisions, so my feelings are not often part of my reasoning.
The insistence on removing or ignoring single-sex boundaries doesn't make sense to me, which is why I'm happy to engage in discussions regarding it. With the right questions, someone may be able to come up with an explanation that does make sense, and be able to address the concerns raised with solutions – rather than a demand for capitulation.
Trans women having been using womens's spaces for decades. In the UK, it's been legal since 2010. No sex or harrassment crimes reported in the UK by trans women in womens' spaces in the 12 years since.
In the US, in 2015, the first 'preventative' legislation to ban trans women was introduced, in Louisiana, I think. 10 US states had had trans inclusive legislation for up to a decade. There were no reports from police, rape crisis organisations, etc from those 10 trans inclusive states of sexual attacks by trans women in those spaces. The legislator introducing the bill, which was passed, had no evidence of harm, he just wanted to 'prevent' trans women.
Talking about 'men in dresses who bring penises into bathrooms', is wanting to 'prevent' NZ trans women from going about their lives, as they have been doing, without proof.
Trans people exist. Would you have transmen in women's bathrooms too?
the best solution I have heard was in a recent twitter Space where transsexual people were talking about the need to go where you fit in. So a TM who has done the full works is probably going to be better off in a male toilet. A TW who has socially transitioned but still looks male, is better off in a male toilet too.
In a place like NZ we still have some choices which way this goes. But that won't last forever and the more that cross dressing and NB males push the boundaries on this, the more public backlash there will be. Most people don't care that much if fully transition TW use women's toilets where they just want to go and not cause a hassle. It's the AGPs and activists who are making a song and a dance and worse (cue references to AGPs masturbating in women's toilets and posting that online). No-one will put up with that shit because it's hugely disrespectful and it breaches social norms. (by no-one, I mean the general public).
Wouldn't they also have cops called on them, seeing that they look, for all intents and purposes, to be men? Anti-trans people already have difficulty determining 'sex' and differentiating between that and gender norms, as the above example proves.
I don't know what is going on in that video because there is no context or evidence for what it is. I can't tell if the person being thrown out is male or female, when it happened, where it happened, what prompted the scene in the first place. It's a piece of gotcha SM clickbait.
Beyond the toilet issue, it basically comes down to whether people support women's sex based rights or not. Women aren't going to back down from this, because our rights matter. How that plays out is as much on liberals as anyone else.
"the best solution I have heard was in a recent twitter Space where transsexual people were talking about the need to go where you fit in. So a TM who has done the full works is probably going to be better off in a male toilet."
The very real concern I have for this as a solution, is the added impetus it gives to young people – and others but particularly the young – to approach transition as means to get access to single-sex spaces, rather than significant interventions to be approached with caution, maturity and full understanding of impacts.
As the number of detransitioners continues to grow – particularly among the young – this concern about the added pressure on young people to pass as the opposite sex becomes stronger.
For that reason, I don't think it is a good solution in the current climate.
(It also performs the usual conflation of gender identity and sex, which at the moment, I have little patience for.)
The very real concern I have for this as a solution, is the added impetus it gives to young people – and others but particularly the young – to approach transition as means to get access to single-sex spaces, rather than significant interventions to be approached with caution, maturity and full understanding of impacts.
I don't think girls transition to gain access to men's spaces (in fact some get a shock once they do access at what that means for them). Many are transitioning to try and escape being female. Those girls are always welcome in women's spaces. But if they have fully transitioned (Buck Angel level transition), then it may work better for them to use male toilets.
AGPs on the other hand, do seem to transition to access spaces. In NZ I think the number of passing AGPs is relatively small, so I'm less concerned about this.
As the number of detransitioners continues to grow – particularly among the young – this concern about the added pressure on young people to pass as the opposite sex becomes stronger.
I'm not following you there. Can you please explain in a different way?
Basically I'm saying that TIFs should go to whatever toilet works. Same with transsexual TIMs. AGPs are a different matter and the sooner the public gets to knowing what AGP is the better (preferably without the whole groomer/pervert rhetoric)
Watching the stories from those who have transitioned, there often seems to be a number of milestones that they follow.
For females, it is puberty blockers, testosterone injections, breast removal etc. and the testing of the success of these interventions is reliant on their ability to pass as the opposite sex.
As some who later on detransition relate, that validation of being able to use a male facility or not be challenged when doing so, is already a big incentive to go on testosterone, have surgery etc. These are significant medical interventions.
If single-sex policies are rewritten to accommodate such passing – that compulsion that looks for external validation, is further supported by public policy which has an impact on decision making.
It also ignores aspects that do not have anything to do with safety. Biological differences in practical needs, dignity, privacy safety and consent.
These considerations apply to men as well. The safety factor, perhaps the one most significantly different to women.
AGP is vehemently protested because it confirms a sexual aspect and motivation to some men with gender identities. Some men, however, acknowledge their AGP openly:
It's worthwhile to research Ray Blanchard, and listen to interviews or lectures he gives. He is quite sympathetic to the patients he draws his perspective from, and worked as a clinician for many years. From a purely personal point of view, I find some of his off-hand comments to be revealing of a disparaging view of women. But that doesn't negate his experience or observations.
There is a good analysis of Charles Moser's paper here:
"Blanchard’s Typology, first developed 30 years ago, has been under constant criticism from certain MtFs who would be identified by Blanchard as AGP. This reached fever pitch when J Michael Bailey published ‘The Man Who Would be Queen’, which I wrote a retrospective review of HERE.
It is into this battlefield — and the word is not ill-chosen — that Moser forayed.
Moser employed two methods; one was a small study he designed which proposed to test whether autogynephilia, which was defined by Blanchard as ‘a man’s propensity to be sexually aroused by himself, as a woman’ actually existed. To do this, he simply asked some women academic colleagues if they would complete the Questionnaire that Blanchard had devised to diagnose autogynephilia in men.
This is where we get the first indication of the nature of Moser’s scholarship. It operates by decontextualising the subject. Blanchard was not a theoretical researcher, he was a practising clinician. He was responsible for either providing, or not providing, letters justifying MtFs’ desire to have a physical sex change, as was required by the Standards of Care.
Blanchard was concerned that many individuals were coming forward who did not fall into the Primary or Homosexual type of MtF but who were obviously still in need of help. Blanchard needed to study what he was seeing in order to be able to provide a scientifically sound basis for awarding them a recommendation for Genital Reconstruction Surgery…."
Anne Lawrence PhD – mentioned above – also has critiqued Charles Moser's work in an article that was published in The Journal of Sex Research in 2009:
As for the rest, compelled speech is abhorrent. Regardless of political position, everyone should be against such compulsions.
Correctly sexing someone remains an accurate use of language. Not adhering to demands to redefine man and woman is not harmful – it is just not compliance to excessive demands.
I don't know what is going on in that video because there is no context or evidence for what it is. I can't tell if the person being thrown out is male or female, when it happened, where it happened, what prompted the scene in the first place. It's a piece of gotcha SM clickbait.
Right so this is a problem. You dismiss this but are perfectly accepting of the equivalent if it supports your ideological position.
It's deeply ironic to me that the calls for everyone to 'Listen To Women' necessarily involves not listening to trans people.
Right so this is a problem. You dismiss this but are perfectly accepting of the equivalent if it supports your ideological position.
Please give me at least two examples where I have done this.
I spend a large amount of my online time fact checking. For instance, this morning someone posted a snip of a KJK video. KJK is good for taking out of context because of her hyperbole, she makes good inflammatory clickbait. I went and found the original video, set the start time for the relevant bit and posted it in several places on twitter where I knew people were reacting to the snip. This is my kaupapa. So if you want to suggest I routinely don't do this when it happens to be something I agree with, I'd like some evidence so I know what you are talking about.
It's deeply ironic to me that the calls for everyone to 'Listen To Women' necessarily involves not listening to trans people.
What are you on about? I literally just referenced a group of transsexuals in the point I was making. It's the GI side that thinks listening to women and trans people is somehow incompatible, hence No Debate.
and, any time you see me using low quality, out of context material to support an argument, please pull me up on it. Joe90 has done this once or twice, I’m not perfect.
It's a waste of my time trying to pull you all up on this issue, it's never-ending, especially seeing that many will not change their minds no matter the evidence or lack thereof… Nope, nada never.
It’s not just you, the use of overseas social media sources in this issue is frequent by the regular commenters. A quick sampling of your posts:
I didn’t object to the use of overseas social media sources. I objected to a random video that had no context.
If we look at your first example, it’s a link to a quote by Ani O’Brien, where she posts a photo of a stick on a pole saying “hate trans people? kill yourself”. She says it’s been posted in Wellington, and gives her analysis and opinion about it.
What exactly is wrong with that? There is context, explanation of the issues, a clear image. Is your objection to Ani? The quality of information in the tweet? What?
You seem to be objecting to me posting negative things about gender identity ideology. But you miss the point. Your video would have been an excellent conversation starter if we knew more about it.
I’m not dissing the content, I’m saying it’s poor quality material for a decent debate (and tbh I was surprised you posted it because you are usually better than that).
Yes you did, and we had a conversation about it. Again, what is the problem specifically? Rereading it now, it appears you didn’t realise that there are people actively saying there is a trans holocaust and that feminists are part of the cause. That’s the context of Nutmeg’s tweets. She was pointing out that the comparison between what happens to trans people and the Holocaust is nauseating. It’s the kind of stupid, propaganda hyberbole that KJK uses on the other side.
What’s really happening is that trans people are one of the groups most at risk of rising fascism. That’s different to them being murdered in large numbers by the state. I believe The Disinformation Project that there is a rise in rhetoric from the far right online that is aimed at trans people and wanting them killed or eliminated. This is serious enough without calling it a holocaust or genocide. It seems to me there is a general conflation between genocide rhetoric and murder rates of trans people (the latter being majorly misrepresented in scale and cause. It’s not feminists murdering trans people, it’s usually domestic violence, or in places like South America it’s associated with the sex trade. All wrong and all needing attention but not via bullshit ideologically driven rhetoric).
The Holocaust analogy is, in fact, particularly valid. The virulent anti trans (and now anti rainbow) propaganda, some of which finds its way to The Standard, follows closely the 'degenerate' labelling by nazis of homosexuals and the jewish and romany peoples. Which certainly is well on the path to genocide x. Making trans women out to be predators and groomers without solid evidence is othering and dehumanisation.
As I posted here today, all trans people in Florida have lost their right to healthcare affirming their trans identity, not just minors. It affects around 90,000 people. That was quick. Foment enough fear and hate and you'll see how quickly nasty/nazi shit can happen without pushback.
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
Killing members of the group;
Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Genocide can be any of the above acts, not just mass killing.
You posted this after the SUFW event in Naarm/Melbourne that was attended by neo-nazis. It's specifically about those in attendance being called nazis and 'nutmegs' discomfort with the term and it's an attempt to call those protesting the event holocaust-deniers. It still disgusts me that this was posted.
thanks, that’s substance we can get our teeth into.
Which of those four categories of people do you feel trans people fit into?
Which of those acts apply to trans people, and which groups of people are intent on destroying them?
You posted this after the SUFW event in Naarm/Melbourne that was attended by neo-nazis. It’s specifically about those in attendance being called nazis and ‘nutmegs’ discomfort with the term and it’s an attempt to call those protesting the event holocaust-deniers. It still disgusts me that this was posted.
It wasn’t a SUFW event, that’s a NZ group. It was a Let Women Speak event. Two weeks before I made my comment. I can’t see how BabyBeginner’s tweet is specifically about Melbourne. Her tweet appears to be in response to ongoing issues with conflating trans issues with genocide rhetoric and blaming women for that. That was happening before Melbourne.
As I said at the time, ‘denier’ isn’t a word I would have used. But there is no doubt that there are lots of people misrepresenting what is happening to trans people eg talking about a high trans murder rate is common, but it’s just not true.
If you don't see it then I can't ever convince you. You are prepared to take a charitable interpretation of those echoing GCF talking points but dismiss and tone police those who disagree with the framing and terminology around this topic. I provide scientific papers that are 'countered' by opinion pieces. And the pile-ons! Look around you, look at what you have made. The sheer number of regular voices that have left or forgone commenting at all because of disagreements over this issue. It's sad, and tiring.
If you don’t see it then I can’t ever convince you
See what? If you think there is a trans genocide happening, then step up and do the mahi to convince people. I’ve already told you that I think trans people are at risk in places like the US, this is bloody obvious. I also don’t agree that what is happening to trans people fits the definition of genocide. You do, but you won’t make the argument, so 🤷♀️ You know how things go here, people explain their thinking, but you won’t on this issue. Why is that?
You are prepared to take a charitable interpretation of those echoing GCF talking points but dismiss and tone police those who disagree with the framing and terminology around this topic.
I don’t dismiss and tone police, I make strong arguments against other people’s position. This isn’t a liberal hand holding space. People argue robustly on all topics. You already know this.
And yes, I don’t really rate the argument that I shouldn’t use the term TIM, when it’s not actually an argument but rather someone telling me how to speak and think.
I provide scientific papers that are ‘countered’ by opinion pieces.
This is always a problem here, it’s just part of the work. We make the arguments over time, and some people have better evidence for their views than others. It’s not possible to moderate that any more than we do, but you can always bring this to the attention of moderators.
And the pile-ons! Look around you, look at what you have made. The sheer number of regular voices that have left or forgone commenting at all because of disagreements over this issue. It’s sad, and tiring.
Pile ons? There is definitely an imbalance in the sense that there are more gender critical people here than there are people that support gender identity ideology. But how is this different than all the times women are outnumbered here?
I left the site for 15 months because two male authors trashed the women’s project that a group of women had been working on for a long time. Nothing to do with the sex/gender wars. I can easily count 5 feminist authors that have left here over similar issues, and more women commenters. Again, nothing to do with the sex/gender wars. People come and go, for all sorts of reasons, and some of that is unfair. There are people I miss too.
It’s hard work commenting here. It always has been for those of us that are serious about the politics.
To correct you weka: only 'some' women 'are not going to back down from this'. Count me and many, many other women out of this anti trans crusade.
The ‘count me out’ women include the 30-40% of 'real' women in the 2000-4000 people opposing Posie Parker in Auckland. There were more 'real' women than trans women on the organising committee for the Wellington anti-Parker rally. There were 'real' women who directly opposed Posie Parker's message, like Senator Lidia Thorpe, manhandled in Canberra; and the women who was grabbed around the throat by security and removed from the microphone when she began to speak in opposition at Parker's Melbourne rally.
Weka, I think/know that some want to frame the concern about access to women's safe spaces as being anti-trans when it is nothing of the sort. I am resolutely pro women and my stance comes from this perspective.
As far as trans argument it is live and let live, though I do have concerns about child safe guarding, making decsions while too young to make them and the irrevocable nature of some of the decisions but my overriding concern is that women remain able to access safe spaces. To determine what constitutes a safe space for women obviously means that we ask and are guided by what women say, not men.
I also realise that even though the argument is pro women rather than anti trans and this is not a nuanced view ie it is a clear, palin ad simple one, it seems difficult for some to understand. Why is this I wonder?
What would happen if we actually put this view to the forefront?
Would we get better decison making re safe spaces for women and trans people?
To answer my own question I believe if we looked at it from the point of view of maintaining safe spaces for women, access to sport for women while asking ourselves what we can do to make safe spaces for transwomen then we would have been much further forward.
The reason we are not and there is suspicion and vitriol, is that we were presented with the need to deny biology, our own eyes and agree to the 'Emperor has no clothes' mantra of transwomen are (real) women. Pushback was inevitable.
Yes Weka, some of these quotes/opinions are bare faced misogyny/sexism. Having been around for a while, years-wise and fought a few battles for womens lib back in the day, and having had a mother and grandmother whose 'spidy' sense could pick a sexist at a 1000 paces I can pick the dudes wanting to deny women.
Strangely or not they seem to be the same and hold the same sexist views as their predecessors. Though they are able to dress it up as mysterious and new as it relates to poor hard done by men (though disguised)
I realise that perhaps my words are tough. Where and how did we get to have these unseeing, uncritical people who think biological sex can be changed and who inflict court/tribunal cases on people for such felonies as pronouns, dead-naming.
I am glad that some jurisdictions are pulling back on the child transitions. Why would we let a child or their parents make a decision that can mean an inability to father/bear a child or, fundamentally, to have a sexual relationship that involves orgasm. Who are these cruel people and who gives them the right to do this to others?
Gosh, resorting to hairsplitting about terminology. To paraphrase you Shanreagh:
'I don't agree with arkie's vocab, it doesn't fit with my GC ideology – therefore none of arkie's points are worth considering'
Cis woman and cis man are terms that trans inclusionary feminists, rainbow supporters, and many men are quite comfortable using to describe themselves in context, eg, when talking about trans issues.
'Karen' is a meme. Here is what is considered to be a classic 'Karen ' example, a young woman who uses her white woman privilege to falsely accuse a black man of assault after he asks her to put her dog on a leash in a designated bird nesting area.
No I was not looking looking at it from a GC point of view but from a student of the English language and linguistics.
Of course groups have their own 'in' words and sayings and this serves as an inclusionary purpose. The words used in Govt circles, economics are shorthand and inclusionary or exclusionary depending on which side the group you stand.
One of the hallmarks of this trans movement is the erasure of language about those who are the targets. So women and women's spaces are the targets for males wanting to access females safe spaces. So we don't have breast feeding but chest feeding…..
We have males trying to gate-crash lesbian groups, we have males asking the authorities to censure lesbian groups under rights legislation. These men do not seem to grasp that lesbians care not for the male body, even when it has been tweaked and 'chemicalised'. They are what is called same sex attracted and that same sex is women ie those who are and remain women.
So we find also that words describing 1-5% of the community need to influence words describing 51%. So instead of the wider word being reserved for the majority we now find that the wider word 'women' has to have an unneeded, additional and uneuphonious (if that is a word – I mean hard on the ear) word added and this is 'cis'. Surely there are bio women and trans women or women and trans women.
We have the OTT use of the word 'genocide', this truly horrifies me that people in this movement truly believe that what they have essentially brought/wrought on themselves (ie there is a choice about taking drugs or embarking on surgery) is in any way the same as a state/Nazi sanctioned abuse wrought on others such as travellers, Jews, intellectually impaired etc etc. who had no means ie choice to avoid the stigma.
My distaste for the Karen slur surely needs no explaining. It is ageist and sexist.
My takeaway from the wider trans movement has been the intense dislike/hatred of women, it seems to be an intensely misogynistic movement, as befits a 'boys own/man's own' adventure.
I do feel that there are those with gender disphoria and the phrase 'watch-ful waiting' is surely a good one here…..care for the soul/psychiatric help until children reach past puberty and have the mind/experience and tools of life on which to base decisions on whether to take action that may be irrevocable.
Do you think this result may have been foreseeable (and is justified) by the legal actions of WPATH, the AAP and the Endocrine Society who not only failed to provide the clinical evidence requested by Florida to support their proscribed methods of care, but joined together to attempt to legally avoid having to do so?
Edit: Link to court document appealing the subpoeana for data – “JOINT MOTION OF NONPARTIES AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, WORLD PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR TRANSGENDER HEALTH, AND ENDOCRINE SOCIETY TO QUASH RULE 45 SUBPOENAS “
I have a suspicion that the main difference is that in the past, the vast majority of trans identified people were same sex attracted.
These days it is not so easy. I have been in the same Ladies Toilet facility with Georgina Beyer a couple of times at Labour Party Conferences. We were both there for the same reasons, use the facilities, flush, wash our hands and depart. We were not there to snap "bathroom selfies" with a bunch of schoolgirls, to achieve our "gender euphoria" or to steal used sanitary products for menstrual fetishes.
Nobody then was demanding a right for male bodied people to use changing rooms or locker rooms where women get undressed, or to use the women's section of a Spa. The person in the Wi Spa incident – although vigorously defended by Trans Rights Activists, got dropped like a hot brick when it turned out he was a registered sex offender with past convictions for displaying himself in women's spaces.
Remember – with self ID – any man can say he is trans.
The accommodations made in the past for transsexuals – was legislatively enacted, and required legal recognition based on GRS.
As you mention that distinction no longer is in place with current interpretations of the law, and the introduction of Self-ID.
However, I would like to point out that there would have been women that self-excluded – for whatever reasons – when they became aware they were expected to share single-sex provisions with a male. We will never know how many did this.
It is also worthwhile to consider that consent of all women was assumed – when this provision was passed into law. And consent – above all – is not transferable when it comes to adults.
Our admiration for individuals such as Georgina Beyer, should not overcome basic safeguarding principles that apply to all. It is an uncomfortable position but a necessary one, because good safeguarding practice is not based on emotion.
Oh gosh, Visubversa, maybe the US Wi Spa was not a trans issue, because the person involved was a predator who happened also to be trans.
One reason it was taken up by the trans community at first was because a perfectly innocent trans woman was incorrectly identified as the predator, after which she was mobbed online from all over the world.
There are around 100, 000 trans women in California. Are there 100, 000 trans predators in California?
Oh yea…and deny climate change..and dairy NZ contributions to
On that. I see ex Fed Farm spokes mouth Andrew Hoggard has nailed his dairy shit brown colours to acts mast
Federated Farmers' president Andrew Hoggard has stepped down from the top role in order to contest this year's election as the ACT party's Rangitīkei candidate.
People whorry about how many billboards all that billionaire dosh buys National and ACT. What they should be worried about is how many nasty little right wing shits with comms skills it buys to spend endless days digging for dirt that can be then laundered through the Herald.
More than anything, potential MPs really should be over their investments and potential conflicts before being elected. As you say, could all be easily avoided.
" I would donate the money to a charity and do a mea culpa."
My bet is, that is what he will do.
As a minister who has one of the heaviest workloads, it is unsurprising he never got around to it. He put his portfolios before a handful of shares he bought nearly 40 years ago!
It reminds me of the petty-fogging, officious senior public servants I encountered who were more concerned about somebody arriving to work a few minutes late (usually for good reason) than they were on the person's excellent out-put during working hours.
Friggin annoyed at Chris Hipkins knee jerking to the trifling issue of old shares. Michael Wood should have been spoken to, and his reasons for forgetting to follow up his initial action to sell shares listened to. And then just let him do just that. Sell them. Probably the same reason John key reasoned that he didn’t remember. But then maybe not. Key out and out lied to his tame media and they accepted it Just like that. Super annoyed. Michael Wood is one of the best that Labour has. He stays! However, I am betting that Chris Lux isn’t going to be keys favourite person for a while.
I'm annoyed with Hipkins too. I don't mind Wood being temporarily stood down but I do get impatient with this "deer in the headlights" acceptance of opposition framing. He has to counter-attack. Control the narrative. Challenge Luxon with language like this …
"I warn the leader of the National party that to play holier-than-thou is a game no politician should play, unless he is surrounded by saints. And he knows he is not."
"If Mr Luxon believes that making a mistake is a sacking offence, then Mr Luxon should have sacked Mr Luxon by now. He has blamed his own staff for everything from his own social media to candidate selection to campaign tactics. Apparently Mr Luxon is responsible for nothing."
"If Mr Luxon has already forgotten his own MPs' sins perhaps he would like a list … [provide long list of MPs …]
And so on, and so on. Who is writing Hipkins' lines? They are weak. FFS, fight back.
For example, does anyone remember this "mistake"? Of course not, because Labour never talk about it but if the roles were reversed National would be all over it. And the media would follow …
I get sick of this pussy-footing around. Michael did nothing much wrong. It seems he requested a stockbroker sell the shares then forgot about them…until he later discovered the stockbroker didn't sell the shares.
If I recall correctly my 'teenage' shares tanked not long after I bought em and never recovered. Dunno what happened to them but never ventured onto the stock-market again. Life is too short to be f****d about a handful of shares.
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It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the Māori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Government’s decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield – demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workers’ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Government’s blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? – W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Let’s explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last November’s 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Eden Denyer, bookseller at Unity Books Auckland.Weirdest question/request you’ve had on the shop floorA mother came in looking for anything we might have on Alaskan bison as that was her little boy’s ...
NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s hyperbolic presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they don’t care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didn’t give a “rat’s derriere” about a TVNZ ...
Asia Pacific Report Ngāti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous Māori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a “ceasefire in Palestine”, reports Te Ao Māori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te Otāne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
By Dale Luma in Port Moresby “We want grants and not concessional loans,” is the crisp message from Papua New Guinea businesses directly affected by the Black Wednesday looting four months ago. The businesses, which lost millions after the January 10 rioting and looting, say they need grants as part ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: What’s worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are “heartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year – why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi Tū discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealand’s media industry. The principal’s key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? That’s how it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury The Conversation It seems to be a time of old favourites. This month our experts have recommended two new seasons – the second season of Alone Australia (although ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland A bright Eta Aquariid meteor photobombed this photo of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in May 2020.Jonti Horner Meteors – commonly known as shooting stars – can be seen on any night of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Current concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Earth’s atmosphere are unprecedented in human history. But CO₂ levels today, and those that might occur in coming decades, did occur millions of years ago. ...
Winston Peters has been keen to dismiss speculation on our involvement in Aukus but will give a speech tonight on the direction of our foreign policy, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Usmar, Lecturer in Critical Media Literacies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With the coalition government’s ban of student mobile phones in New Zealand schools coming into effect this week, reaction has ranged from the sceptical (kids will just get ...
Hospitals around the country are not allowed to make a single hiring decision without the approval of Te Whatu Ora's head office, including for cleaners and administration staff. ...
A new report on protecting journalism and democracy in New Zealand recommends a levy be charged on global platforms like Facebook and Google to fund media firms undertaking public interest reporting. It also calls for the reinstatement of a powerful Broadcasting Commission to distribute public funding for journalism and other ...
On International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi and the wider union movement are celebrating the proud history of the labour movement during a tough time for working people. ...
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I guess TVNZ was too busy leading with crime stories basically every day for the last two weeks to do any actual journalism, but I would have thought questions to the government on if it has any exposure to this humdinger of a scandal involving Price Waterhouse-Coopers in Australia would have been of interest.
Basicallt, PWC worked on tax law changes for the government then passed on the details of those changes to it's corporate clients so they could get their new tax avoidance measures in place ahead of the law changes.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/05/pwc-australia-names-former-partners-it-says-misused-confidential-information-in-tax-scandal
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/pwcs-future-in-australia-under-threat-as-crisis-grows/ZGMBIS6CW5BMVJ77M2OVT4E4UM/
The Listener 3-9 June touches on the same issue. Tom Seymour and Peter Collins from PwC were named in the tax avoidance tricks. Part of an article about getting rid of consultants and investing in skilled public servants.
Meanwhile a beneficiary gets headlines for a few hundred dollars overpayments.
The rights and wellbeing of renters are supported by the Green party:
Listen to the interview with Corin Dann: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018893147/greens-say-it-s-time-for-renters-to-tell-it-like-it-is
Submit your story here: https://www.greens.org.nz/greens_launch_rental_stories_campaign
The healthy homes standards became law on 1 July 2019.
So what is the actual aim of this new Green campaign?
Many landlords are failing to meet those standards:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/07/renters-stuck-in-draughty-mouldy-homes-as-landlord-compliance-with-healthy-homes-standards-lags-advocates.html
The Government is not monitoring or enforcing the law:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/03/government-not-collecting-data-on-healthy-homes-standards-compliance.html
So they are seeking more enforcement of compliance? Such as a WOF for rentals?
This will seemingly add further costs to landlords, thus tenants.
Do the Greens have something in mind to overcome this?
Yea. The supermarket duopolists are never going to do it willingly. They could give a rats arse about people (despite their bullshit "feelgood" advertising)
Good on Consumer…fighting for NZ consumers.
The 2023 version of Dirty Politics is in progress:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/transport-minister-michael-woods-wife-julie-fairey-has-a-separate-interest-in-auckland-airport/RXHISVIZQBG2ZAAMXFEWORVTGA/
So Michael Woods had a little over 1000 Airport shares in a trust fund. He took them out as a teenager – must have been 30 plus years ago. So somebody has been digging around inside his personal financial affairs. Is that legal?
Somebody talked me into taking out 500 shares (not Airport) when I was a teenager. I forgot for years they even existed. Some National luminaries, at least in days gone by, cooked their books on a regular basis but that was okay. Minor infringements usually committed unwittingly by Labour luminaries are a different story?
When have National EVER contested an election without resorting to lies and dirty tricks?
Answer: not in my lifetime at least.
What National lies? Does Minster Woods own the shares – yes or no? How is this a National issue?
So Minister Woods bought the shares as a teenager and they’re held in a Trust. What teenager has a trust?
He thought he sold them? Until he didn’t.
Now we are hearing his wife has an interest in the shares (per Anne’s link above). Assuming she will recuse herself from the Auckland Council vote on said share sale later this week.
This story has quite some way to go I suspect.
Wood has owned a completely trivial number of shares for a long time. If as Minister he was able to do something that increased the value of those shares, he stands to gain by a few hundred dollars at best. And in reality, the value of airport shares is more likely to increase if Brownie is able to sell the Council's holding – something that Wood probably opposes, and his partner Ms Fairey, does oppose.
This looks like an inconsequential and inadvertent technical breach of the rules by Wood. He should correct the record and move on.
As usual with the political right, their accusations are a form of projection. They accuse others of doing exactly the sort of dodgy things they would do given the same opportunity, or are in fact are already doing in private.
Go it. The rules around declaring financial interests, particularly when they relate to a Minister with direct portfolio responsibilities, are just there for funsies. Glad to have that sorted.
Then John Key's political career should have been over before he ever became PM. See Joe90's link below (of course I assume you do remember, and the political reporters remember, but these tedious games of fake outrage must be played).
But I don't think Key's omission was enough to make him resign, any more than Wood's is today. If that's the ethical bar, then half the National cabinet should have been hounded out of office. For example …
Today's words to Google: "Murray McCully" and "Saudi sheep".
Ever heard the words "Family Trust"? Many couples have their house etc in a Family Trust. My parents did.
See also David Seymour … which is why he has been careful not to start throwing stones on this matter.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/act-leader-david-seymours-embarrassment-cant-afford-to-buy-guy-has-an-interest-in-three-properties/H6PC3IOARTNTLTIKGBZP3NN34I/
As usual Luxon is showing poor judgement in attacking Wood, because if he really wants Wood's error to be the new resignation standard, he's going to have a very nervous caucus. Reap what you sow …
No, he won’t resign or be sacked. We’ve already hit the bottom of the Cabinet talent barrel with Tenitti.
[Please correct your e-mail address in your next comment, thanks. You might also want to tone down the increasing troll-level of your comments – Incognito]
Mod note
The Rimmer effect…
But did anyone ever ask?
In an interview with One News last night, Mr Key faltered when asked about the shares, initially saying his family owned 25,000-50,000 shares, then shifting to "sometimes 50,000, sometimes 100,000" then finally "yeah, sorry, it was 100,000 in total".
Asked why he had only ever admitted to the 30,000 shares owned by the family trust, Mr Key said: "No one's ever asked me the number I owned."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/key-caught-out-over-rail-shares/6USXEACH6DEXR3FAI4V2SD5RQE/
Yep, the Natzo underwear sniffers and wheelie bin snoopers are officially back Anne!
Ex PM Mr Key’s largish holding of rail shares, as several posters have reminded us above, was fine back in the day–nothing to see here for the media that used to give JK hot towels and back rubs. But I guess with the Supercity Airport shares up for flogging off to the nearest venture capitalist or pension investment fund, this has some further importance for certain people.
Agee 100% Anne
It's all about optics, everyone knows Key and the Tory's have shares in everything and will exploit every loophole, this kind of thing is expected of national.
Labour and the Greens, are held to a different standard, not just by media but by voters and their own members.
$13000 is a lot of money for most people in NZ, who can barely rub two dollars together, for many voters $13 k is not insignificant and hearing the minister responsible has undeclared conflicts looks grubby and it is inappropriate.
Im glad Hipkins acted swiftly and removed Wood while the issue is sorted turning it into a non issue.
$13 is a shit load of money to the people labour need to vote for it.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/491423/transport-minister-michael-wood-stood-down-after-airport-shares-controversy
Wood was born in 1980. If anything, the Nats should be in absolute awe of his prudent investment that has grown in value over more than two decades and that shows long-term vision and patience, none of which you’d expect to find in a Nat MP.
The guy cannot hold his story – He was going to sell them in 2020 then he didn't, for some reason."There were about six times that there had been discussions between Wood and the Cabinet office about divesting his shares, Hipkins said. That was since the end of 2020 when those six instances occurred." SIX !!!! Now he acts.
He received dividends and declares the income under his tax returns & financial reports mailed under his name would that not prompt a reminder who owns them ??
again it its the ever shifting story as more details are reported- that is what is sinking him IMO
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/prime-minister-chris-hipkins-to-face-further-questions-over-michael-woods-auckland-airport-shares-controversy/FOHZP2TOBNDRRI7NHTRKRUPEGU/
He thought they were in a trust then we find out he owns them outright. When he prepares his tax return the dividends would have been declared under his tax return.
The last Financial Year in which those shares paid dividend was 2019.
https://corporate.aucklandairport.co.nz/investors/shares-and-bonds
In other words, there was nothing to declare on his Tax Return.
Please stop making up shit, thanks.
There were dividends to declare pre 2019 no stop trying to deflect, My comment is not limited to the last few years and does hold up, I am not making anything up, perhaps some need to take a breath before firing off false accusation at others ?? If you need an English lesson "He received dividends and declares the income under his tax returns" my comments were plural, so that then covers any period, including pre 2019 !!!! When I note he was the Senior Whip and Deputy Leader of the House- A senior within the 1st Jacinda Adern govt.
And now we are told he thought he sold them "Wood said he did not disclose them as he thought they had been sold." And what about the SIX times he was asked about divesting from the shares ???
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/491423/transport-minister-michael-wood-stood-down-after-airport-shares-controversy
Of course, you were making up shit.
You wrote this:
And you blabbered something about declaring income from dividends on his Tax Returns when there hasn’t been anything paid since FY-2019.
Yet now you claim:
Do your comments go back all the way to 1998? Just asking, so that you can make up your mind what BS comment you can come up with this time, singular or plural, it doesn’t make a difference.
If you would have taken time and notice that the 2022 comment was within quote marks and there was a link ?? So I was NOT making it up, I was quoting the NZ Herald. So perhaps you need to STOP making things up ??? And how about an apology for claiming that I was making things up !!!
Your 1st comment made no reference about 2022, it related to dividends which I responded. Now it is something else, you are all over the place.
"Wood said he did not disclose them as he thought they had been sold."
"Having indicated back in 2020 that he was intending to dispose of them, he should have done that."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/491423/transport-minister-michael-wood-stood-down-after-airport-shares-controversy
Oh dear, we have a live one here!!!!!!!!!
Firstly, there is no “2022 comment”.
Secondly, you wrote:
This was not within quote marks, not quoted from the NZ Herald, and indeed the NZH does not refer to dividends and Tax Returns as far as I can tell. In other words, they were your words and you made them up.
It was BS and thus you made up shit, about declaring or not declaring non-existing dividends on Tax Returns, since the end of 2020.
The only one who’s all over the place and doesn’t even realise it is you.
"must have been 30 plus years ago".
Well no actually. They listed on 28 July 1998 when he was 18.
It is pretty hard to forget owning shares. They keep sending you stuff, including the dividend statements that would tell him exactly who owned them and how many he owned.
Associated Press reports law against trans affirming care in Florida also applies to ongoing treatments for trans adults
The covert agenda of the US right becomes clearer.
The "religious right" just can't stand the competition. They are scared that one day people might work out that there is exactly the same empirical evidence for the possession of a "gendered soul" that there is for an "immortal soul".
Brilliant Visubversa!
They can always tell /s
https://twitter.com/KarbonSays/status/1659966632926801920
That's a foreseeable additional harm to women, from the threat of men using single-sex spaces.
It is not a reasonable argument for the abandonment of single-sex provisions.
How do you propose to enforce 'single-sex provisions' in bathrooms that do not result in this 'additional' harm to women?
Clarity. Stop the linguistic gymnastics that pretend that single-sex provisions are not related to sex. Clear boundaries make transgressions easier to identity and address because they are uncommon. Thereby, reducing the challenge to non-confirming people of both sexes.
Single-sex spaces are neither femininity nor masculinity testing stations.
They will however demonstrate the cognitive capacity, and/or decision making level of those that knowingly break those single-sex boundaries by prioritising personal feelings.
BTW, still not an argument for the elimination of single-sex provisions. Just a diversion.
Trans people exist. Would you have transmen in women's bathrooms too? Wouldn't they also have cops called on them, seeing that they look, for all intents and purposes, to be men? Anti-trans people already have difficulty determining 'sex' and differentiating between that and gender norms, as the above example proves.
It's interesting that you prefer to prioritise your personal feelings.
"Trans people exist."
Where have I implied otherwise?
"Would you have transmen in women's bathrooms too?"
Given that they are women, Yes. But depending on their degree of transition and presentation, they should be aware that they will be challenged more often – primarily because of the lack of clarity I spoke of before that has been interpreted by many men as permission to break single-sex boundaries. It is a natural consequence of both those aspects.
"Wouldn't they also have cops called on them, seeing that they look, for all intents and purposes, to be men?"
Unlikely. Calling the police is not a response of many women and girls to men invading their spaces. They usually just get out as fast as possible, and/or report to the service provider.
"Anti-trans people already have difficulty determining 'sex' and differentiating between that and gender norms, as the above example proves."
This sentence doesn't make sense.
"It's interesting that you prefer to prioritise your personal feelings."
I understand there are differences between biological sexes in terms of practical needs, privacy, dignity, and safety. These realities are identifiable, and in cases of assault – recorded in statistical data.
Safeguarding risk assessments that resulted in single-sex provisions as significantly reducing (not eliminating) risk of harm, did not rely on my personal feelings – but robust statistical evidence.
It is the same robust statistical evidence that has to be provided in support of boundary breaking – and then weighted against – the issues of safety, privacy, dignity and consent, before considering whether single-sex boundaries can reasonably be broken.
Look to Chesterton's Fence – for where to start when you seek to dismantle existing boundaries:
https://fs.blog/chestertons-fence/
Anti-trans people called the police on a cisgender woman because they thought she was trans. They failed to determine her sex and assumed it based on their own interpretations of gender norms. If these anti-trans people were always capable of determining sex as is claimed, then they wouldn't have called police to eject a woman from the women's bathroom would they?
Absent a chromosome test and/or genital inspections we rely on gender and the societal expectations of such, to determine which 'single-sex' space someone should occupy. This can go wrong, as above, and in your preferred scenario would be much more common and confusing with male-presenting people in the women's bathroom and vice versa.
Please supply this 'robust' evidence.
arkie, you are focusing on one incident and extrapolating that as if it is indicative of a persuasive argument. It is not. It is a waste of my time to point this out to you repeatedly so I will not.
"Absent a chromosome test and/or genital inspections we rely on gender and the societal expectations of such, to determine which 'single-sex' space someone should occupy. "
This conflation of DSD's with gender identities is common, and along with conflation of sex with gender identities, is just poor logic.
"Please supply this 'robust' evidence."
I am surprised you are unaware.
However, a link for you. Please note the proviso, it is becoming increasingly hard to find up-to-date figures that distinguish by sex, due to the capture of statistical departments (including our own) who interchange sex and gender identity without regard to accuracy:
https://supportingsurvivors.humboldt.edu/statistics#:~:text=An%20estimated%2091%25%20of%20victims,identify%20in%20these%20gender%20boxes.
Did you honestly require a statistical reference for this?
Looking forward to reading yours.
If transmen are to use women's bathrooms surely that makes it easier for male predators to enter those spaces without 'pretending to be a woman' to gain that access?
90% of women survivors were victimised by someone known to them, 23% of women were assaulted by a partner or ex-partner, 24% were assaulted a family member, 44% were assaulted by "another known person". Just 9% were assaulted by strangers.
I was specifically asking for the 'robust' evidence that transwomen are a risk to women in bathrooms. This isn't actually possible because they are not.
@arkie
I provided the statistics on my contribution which is based on "sex". I do not conflate sex with gender identity, and the single-sex provisions relate to sexed differences.
"I was specifically asking for the 'robust' evidence that transwomen are a risk to women in bathrooms. This isn't actually possible because they are not."
I don't need to provide it. Alongside many other males, they are included in the statistics I have given you. Along with males who are eight years old, blind teenaged boys, men with mobility issues, men and boys with cancer, men with mental incapacity – they are included.
Because you wish to extract men with gender identities from these statistics, so that they can be treated independently of their sex, you need to find the data that supports that treatment. Then any advantages to that cohort must be considered and weighted against the impact on women and girls.
Until you provide the 'robust' evidence that they are significantly different to other males, then you cannot make the second claim. In fact, you cannot make the second claim unless you provide evidence that NO harm will be enacted on women at ANY time, in ANY place by men with gender identities.
"This isn't actually possible because they are not."
You are the one making this extraordinary claim.
I wait for your extraordinary evidence to support it.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-018-0335-z
Interestingly cismen are the most concerned about transwomen's access to women's bathrooms
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12147-016-9181-6
@arkie
Paywalled, so I can't read methodology.
Also, a couple of points:
That statement is negated by the existence of one such incident. I'll choose this one from many I am aware of.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/oklahoma-transgender-student-charged-assaulting-female-high-school-classmates-bathroom
For example, I could make the same claim about male gardeners. eg. There exists no evidence to show that male gardeners are of harm to women and girls.
It is both poor reasoning and evidence.
The only comprehensive evidence we have is that based on sex.
As for the second social media analysis. I'm not really that interested in the ratio of that kind of limited analysis, which is all it offers. Counting the uninformed reckons of people on the internet is good for polling, but not for considered reasoning.
As usual I never expected you to argue in good faith. I have provided the 'extraordinary' evidence you required that your concerns are unfounded ie Not Empirically Grounded. You choose to ignore it so that you can continue your monomania. Enjoy.
@arkie
I always engage in good faith, and with honesty.
"I have provided the 'extraordinary' evidence you required that your concerns are unfounded ie Not Empirically Grounded. You choose to ignore it so that you can continue your monomania. "
I do not agree about the quality of your evidence – and said why.
Instead of providing the missing methodology or responding to points raised, you seem to fall into personal insults while running away.
That's OK. Catch you another time.
Trans women are men :: all men rape :: transwomen using womens's toilets rape.
Molly, this is how your argument develops.
@tWiggle
"Trans women are men :: all men rape :: transwomen using womens's toilets rape.
Molly, this is how your argument develops."
No. It does not.
(Despite how much you may want it to – in order to justify your inability to provide a good argument for your perspective.)
If you want to link to where I have said this – go ahead.
I'll wait.
An article relating the second point made in this comment:
.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-06-06-2023/#comment-1952846
https://www.feministcurrent.com/2023/06/06/my-mother-is-courageous-but-faced-with-a-man-in-her-change-room-at-ottawas-nepean-sportsplex-she-went-silent/
Also meant to mention, that the impact on women's and girls on males entering their single-sex provisions is significantly different than the impact on men and boys of females doing the same.
Because of the sexed differences listed above.
In terms of safety and statistics, a women entering a male single-sex provision raises the safety of the male users – and reduces her own. A male entering a women's single-sex space, statistically reduces the likelihood of harm to themselves, while significantly raising the risk for the female users.
Because of the sexed differences listed above.
I think Molly is prioritizing her own personal feelings and also biological reality.
Public toilets and change rooms have long been separated based on sex.
That trans people have a problem and with that, I have some sympathy for. But I am afraid there is no way I will accept as the solution that male bodied people who identify as women be allowed into womens change rooms. Nope, nada never……..And the good people of Invercargill are fighting this very issue right now.
Megyn Kelly who was initally a cheer leader for Trans rights says it very well here.
Why can't you accept no for an answer Arkie?
Hey, Anker.
"I think Molly is prioritizing her own personal feelings and also biological reality."
Thanks for that. I agree with the second, but not with the first.
I approach this from a place of logic, and my feelings remain personal and strong, but are not put forward as an argument about the non-emotive aspects of single-sex provisions. And I don’t often talk about the comfort of such provisions, so my feelings are not often part of my reasoning.
The insistence on removing or ignoring single-sex boundaries doesn't make sense to me, which is why I'm happy to engage in discussions regarding it. With the right questions, someone may be able to come up with an explanation that does make sense, and be able to address the concerns raised with solutions – rather than a demand for capitulation.
Till then…
Trans women having been using womens's spaces for decades. In the UK, it's been legal since 2010. No sex or harrassment crimes reported in the UK by trans women in womens' spaces in the 12 years since.
In the US, in 2015, the first 'preventative' legislation to ban trans women was introduced, in Louisiana, I think. 10 US states had had trans inclusive legislation for up to a decade. There were no reports from police, rape crisis organisations, etc from those 10 trans inclusive states of sexual attacks by trans women in those spaces. The legislator introducing the bill, which was passed, had no evidence of harm, he just wanted to 'prevent' trans women.
Talking about 'men in dresses who bring penises into bathrooms', is wanting to 'prevent' NZ trans women from going about their lives, as they have been doing, without proof.
the best solution I have heard was in a recent twitter Space where transsexual people were talking about the need to go where you fit in. So a TM who has done the full works is probably going to be better off in a male toilet. A TW who has socially transitioned but still looks male, is better off in a male toilet too.
In a place like NZ we still have some choices which way this goes. But that won't last forever and the more that cross dressing and NB males push the boundaries on this, the more public backlash there will be. Most people don't care that much if fully transition TW use women's toilets where they just want to go and not cause a hassle. It's the AGPs and activists who are making a song and a dance and worse (cue references to AGPs masturbating in women's toilets and posting that online). No-one will put up with that shit because it's hugely disrespectful and it breaches social norms. (by no-one, I mean the general public).
I don't know what is going on in that video because there is no context or evidence for what it is. I can't tell if the person being thrown out is male or female, when it happened, where it happened, what prompted the scene in the first place. It's a piece of gotcha SM clickbait.
Beyond the toilet issue, it basically comes down to whether people support women's sex based rights or not. Women aren't going to back down from this, because our rights matter. How that plays out is as much on liberals as anyone else.
"the best solution I have heard was in a recent twitter Space where transsexual people were talking about the need to go where you fit in. So a TM who has done the full works is probably going to be better off in a male toilet."
The very real concern I have for this as a solution, is the added impetus it gives to young people – and others but particularly the young – to approach transition as means to get access to single-sex spaces, rather than significant interventions to be approached with caution, maturity and full understanding of impacts.
As the number of detransitioners continues to grow – particularly among the young – this concern about the added pressure on young people to pass as the opposite sex becomes stronger.
For that reason, I don't think it is a good solution in the current climate.
(It also performs the usual conflation of gender identity and sex, which at the moment, I have little patience for.)
I don't think girls transition to gain access to men's spaces (in fact some get a shock once they do access at what that means for them). Many are transitioning to try and escape being female. Those girls are always welcome in women's spaces. But if they have fully transitioned (Buck Angel level transition), then it may work better for them to use male toilets.
AGPs on the other hand, do seem to transition to access spaces. In NZ I think the number of passing AGPs is relatively small, so I'm less concerned about this.
I'm not following you there. Can you please explain in a different way?
Basically I'm saying that TIFs should go to whatever toilet works. Same with transsexual TIMs. AGPs are a different matter and the sooner the public gets to knowing what AGP is the better (preferably without the whole groomer/pervert rhetoric)
Watching the stories from those who have transitioned, there often seems to be a number of milestones that they follow.
For females, it is puberty blockers, testosterone injections, breast removal etc. and the testing of the success of these interventions is reliant on their ability to pass as the opposite sex.
As some who later on detransition relate, that validation of being able to use a male facility or not be challenged when doing so, is already a big incentive to go on testosterone, have surgery etc. These are significant medical interventions.
If single-sex policies are rewritten to accommodate such passing – that compulsion that looks for external validation, is further supported by public policy which has an impact on decision making.
It also ignores aspects that do not have anything to do with safety. Biological differences in practical needs, dignity, privacy safety and consent.
These considerations apply to men as well. The safety factor, perhaps the one most significantly different to women.
AGP or autogynephilia is a pseudoscientific, disease-based theory that if applied to cis women would result is 93% of them being diagnosed as autogynephilic: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00918360903005212
TIF and TIM are not the accepted terms, they are trans man and trans woman respectively. To do otherwise is to deliberately misgender:
https://ovarit.com/o/GenderCritical/44438/pronouncing-tim-and-tif
@arkie
AGP is vehemently protested because it confirms a sexual aspect and motivation to some men with gender identities. Some men, however, acknowledge their AGP openly:
http://www.annelawrence.com/autogynephilia_&_MtF_typology.html
It's worthwhile to research Ray Blanchard, and listen to interviews or lectures he gives. He is quite sympathetic to the patients he draws his perspective from, and worked as a clinician for many years. From a purely personal point of view, I find some of his off-hand comments to be revealing of a disparaging view of women. But that doesn't negate his experience or observations.
There is a good analysis of Charles Moser's paper here:
https://www.rodfleming.com/mischievous-charles-moser/
Anne Lawrence PhD – mentioned above – also has critiqued Charles Moser's work in an article that was published in The Journal of Sex Research in 2009:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224490903230061
As for the rest, compelled speech is abhorrent. Regardless of political position, everyone should be against such compulsions.
Correctly sexing someone remains an accurate use of language. Not adhering to demands to redefine man and woman is not harmful – it is just not compliance to excessive demands.
AGP is short for autogynephile and is transphobic hate speech.
@tWiggle
"AGP is short for autogynephile and is transphobic hate speech."
Right so this is a problem. You dismiss this but are perfectly accepting of the equivalent if it supports your ideological position.
It's deeply ironic to me that the calls for everyone to 'Listen To Women' necessarily involves not listening to trans people.
Please give me at least two examples where I have done this.
I spend a large amount of my online time fact checking. For instance, this morning someone posted a snip of a KJK video. KJK is good for taking out of context because of her hyperbole, she makes good inflammatory clickbait. I went and found the original video, set the start time for the relevant bit and posted it in several places on twitter where I knew people were reacting to the snip. This is my kaupapa. So if you want to suggest I routinely don't do this when it happens to be something I agree with, I'd like some evidence so I know what you are talking about.
What are you on about? I literally just referenced a group of transsexuals in the point I was making. It's the GI side that thinks listening to women and trans people is somehow incompatible, hence No Debate.
and, any time you see me using low quality, out of context material to support an argument, please pull me up on it. Joe90 has done this once or twice, I’m not perfect.
It's not just you, the use of overseas social media sources in this issue is frequent by the regular commenters. A quick sampling of your posts:
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11-04-2023/#comment-1945102
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-20-04-2023/#comment-1946658
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-20-04-2023/#comment-1946663
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15-05-2023/#comment-1949922
and this one I did specifically call you out:
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-29-03-2023/#comment-1942509
It's a waste of my time trying to pull you all up on this issue, it's never-ending, especially seeing that many will not change their minds no matter the evidence or lack thereof… Nope, nada never.
I didn’t object to the use of overseas social media sources. I objected to a random video that had no context.
If we look at your first example, it’s a link to a quote by Ani O’Brien, where she posts a photo of a stick on a pole saying “hate trans people? kill yourself”. She says it’s been posted in Wellington, and gives her analysis and opinion about it.
What exactly is wrong with that? There is context, explanation of the issues, a clear image. Is your objection to Ani? The quality of information in the tweet? What?
You seem to be objecting to me posting negative things about gender identity ideology. But you miss the point. Your video would have been an excellent conversation starter if we knew more about it.
I’m not dissing the content, I’m saying it’s poor quality material for a decent debate (and tbh I was surprised you posted it because you are usually better than that).
Yes you did, and we had a conversation about it. Again, what is the problem specifically? Rereading it now, it appears you didn’t realise that there are people actively saying there is a trans holocaust and that feminists are part of the cause. That’s the context of Nutmeg’s tweets. She was pointing out that the comparison between what happens to trans people and the Holocaust is nauseating. It’s the kind of stupid, propaganda hyberbole that KJK uses on the other side.
What’s really happening is that trans people are one of the groups most at risk of rising fascism. That’s different to them being murdered in large numbers by the state. I believe The Disinformation Project that there is a rise in rhetoric from the far right online that is aimed at trans people and wanting them killed or eliminated. This is serious enough without calling it a holocaust or genocide. It seems to me there is a general conflation between genocide rhetoric and murder rates of trans people (the latter being majorly misrepresented in scale and cause. It’s not feminists murdering trans people, it’s usually domestic violence, or in places like South America it’s associated with the sex trade. All wrong and all needing attention but not via bullshit ideologically driven rhetoric).
The Holocaust analogy is, in fact, particularly valid. The virulent anti trans (and now anti rainbow) propaganda, some of which finds its way to The Standard, follows closely the 'degenerate' labelling by nazis of homosexuals and the jewish and romany peoples. Which certainly is well on the path to genocide x. Making trans women out to be predators and groomers without solid evidence is othering and dehumanisation.
As I posted here today, all trans people in Florida have lost their right to healthcare affirming their trans identity, not just minors. It affects around 90,000 people. That was quick. Foment enough fear and hate and you'll see how quickly nasty/nazi shit can happen without pushback.
The United Nations Genocide Convention:
https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide.shtml
Genocide can be any of the above acts, not just mass killing.
You posted this after the SUFW event in Naarm/Melbourne that was attended by neo-nazis. It's specifically about those in attendance being called nazis and 'nutmegs' discomfort with the term and it's an attempt to call those protesting the event holocaust-deniers. It still disgusts me that this was posted.
thanks, that’s substance we can get our teeth into.
Which of those four categories of people do you feel trans people fit into?
Which of those acts apply to trans people, and which groups of people are intent on destroying them?
It wasn’t a SUFW event, that’s a NZ group. It was a Let Women Speak event. Two weeks before I made my comment. I can’t see how BabyBeginner’s tweet is specifically about Melbourne. Her tweet appears to be in response to ongoing issues with conflating trans issues with genocide rhetoric and blaming women for that. That was happening before Melbourne.
As I said at the time, ‘denier’ isn’t a word I would have used. But there is no doubt that there are lots of people misrepresenting what is happening to trans people eg talking about a high trans murder rate is common, but it’s just not true.
If you don't see it then I can't ever convince you. You are prepared to take a charitable interpretation of those echoing GCF talking points but dismiss and tone police those who disagree with the framing and terminology around this topic. I provide scientific papers that are 'countered' by opinion pieces. And the pile-ons! Look around you, look at what you have made. The sheer number of regular voices that have left or forgone commenting at all because of disagreements over this issue. It's sad, and tiring.
See what? If you think there is a trans genocide happening, then step up and do the mahi to convince people. I’ve already told you that I think trans people are at risk in places like the US, this is bloody obvious. I also don’t agree that what is happening to trans people fits the definition of genocide. You do, but you won’t make the argument, so 🤷♀️ You know how things go here, people explain their thinking, but you won’t on this issue. Why is that?
I don’t dismiss and tone police, I make strong arguments against other people’s position. This isn’t a liberal hand holding space. People argue robustly on all topics. You already know this.
And yes, I don’t really rate the argument that I shouldn’t use the term TIM, when it’s not actually an argument but rather someone telling me how to speak and think.
This is always a problem here, it’s just part of the work. We make the arguments over time, and some people have better evidence for their views than others. It’s not possible to moderate that any more than we do, but you can always bring this to the attention of moderators.
Pile ons? There is definitely an imbalance in the sense that there are more gender critical people here than there are people that support gender identity ideology. But how is this different than all the times women are outnumbered here?
I left the site for 15 months because two male authors trashed the women’s project that a group of women had been working on for a long time. Nothing to do with the sex/gender wars. I can easily count 5 feminist authors that have left here over similar issues, and more women commenters. Again, nothing to do with the sex/gender wars. People come and go, for all sorts of reasons, and some of that is unfair. There are people I miss too.
It’s hard work commenting here. It always has been for those of us that are serious about the politics.
Weka. GC feminism is an ideology too. And at odds with trans inclusionary feminism.
To correct you weka: only 'some' women 'are not going to back down from this'. Count me and many, many other women out of this anti trans crusade.
The ‘count me out’ women include the 30-40% of 'real' women in the 2000-4000 people opposing Posie Parker in Auckland. There were more 'real' women than trans women on the organising committee for the Wellington anti-Parker rally. There were 'real' women who directly opposed Posie Parker's message, like Senator Lidia Thorpe, manhandled in Canberra; and the women who was grabbed around the throat by security and removed from the microphone when she began to speak in opposition at Parker's Melbourne rally.
of course #notallwomen.
In the context of my comment it was clear I was talking about women who value women's sex based rights, I didn't need to qualify that by 'some'.
I'm not on an anti-trans crusade, so I assume you really have no clue what is going on here.
Weka, I think/know that some want to frame the concern about access to women's safe spaces as being anti-trans when it is nothing of the sort. I am resolutely pro women and my stance comes from this perspective.
As far as trans argument it is live and let live, though I do have concerns about child safe guarding, making decsions while too young to make them and the irrevocable nature of some of the decisions but my overriding concern is that women remain able to access safe spaces. To determine what constitutes a safe space for women obviously means that we ask and are guided by what women say, not men.
I also realise that even though the argument is pro women rather than anti trans and this is not a nuanced view ie it is a clear, palin ad simple one, it seems difficult for some to understand. Why is this I wonder?
What would happen if we actually put this view to the forefront?
Would we get better decison making re safe spaces for women and trans people?
To answer my own question I believe if we looked at it from the point of view of maintaining safe spaces for women, access to sport for women while asking ourselves what we can do to make safe spaces for transwomen then we would have been much further forward.
The reason we are not and there is suspicion and vitriol, is that we were presented with the need to deny biology, our own eyes and agree to the 'Emperor has no clothes' mantra of transwomen are (real) women. Pushback was inevitable.
Two reasons why this comment by Arkie 6 June 2023 at 1:25 pm is probably not worth the time to parse it
a) the use of the word 'cis', most beloved of the trans community, (who also probably believe it is possible for males to become lesbians), and
b) the use of the word 'Karen' most beloved by no-one as many recognise it is sexist and probably age-ist.
Other than that it probably provided some exercise for someone's fingers on the keyboard and I guess that is a plus.
also this,
Which is basically a dude in a tweet saying women don't get to have their own perception of the world.
Yes Weka, some of these quotes/opinions are bare faced misogyny/sexism. Having been around for a while, years-wise and fought a few battles for womens lib back in the day, and having had a mother and grandmother whose 'spidy' sense could pick a sexist at a 1000 paces I can pick the dudes wanting to deny women.
Strangely or not they seem to be the same and hold the same sexist views as their predecessors. Though they are able to dress it up as mysterious and new as it relates to poor hard done by men (though disguised)
I realise that perhaps my words are tough. Where and how did we get to have these unseeing, uncritical people who think biological sex can be changed and who inflict court/tribunal cases on people for such felonies as pronouns, dead-naming.
I am glad that some jurisdictions are pulling back on the child transitions. Why would we let a child or their parents make a decision that can mean an inability to father/bear a child or, fundamentally, to have a sexual relationship that involves orgasm. Who are these cruel people and who gives them the right to do this to others?
Gosh, resorting to hairsplitting about terminology. To paraphrase you Shanreagh:
'I don't agree with arkie's vocab, it doesn't fit with my GC ideology – therefore none of arkie's points are worth considering'
Cis woman and cis man are terms that trans inclusionary feminists, rainbow supporters, and many men are quite comfortable using to describe themselves in context, eg, when talking about trans issues.
'Karen' is a meme. Here is what is considered to be a classic 'Karen ' example, a young woman who uses her white woman privilege to falsely accuse a black man of assault after he asks her to put her dog on a leash in a designated bird nesting area.
No I was not looking looking at it from a GC point of view but from a student of the English language and linguistics.
Of course groups have their own 'in' words and sayings and this serves as an inclusionary purpose. The words used in Govt circles, economics are shorthand and inclusionary or exclusionary depending on which side the group you stand.
One of the hallmarks of this trans movement is the erasure of language about those who are the targets. So women and women's spaces are the targets for males wanting to access females safe spaces. So we don't have breast feeding but chest feeding…..
We have males trying to gate-crash lesbian groups, we have males asking the authorities to censure lesbian groups under rights legislation. These men do not seem to grasp that lesbians care not for the male body, even when it has been tweaked and 'chemicalised'. They are what is called same sex attracted and that same sex is women ie those who are and remain women.
So we find also that words describing 1-5% of the community need to influence words describing 51%. So instead of the wider word being reserved for the majority we now find that the wider word 'women' has to have an unneeded, additional and uneuphonious (if that is a word – I mean hard on the ear) word added and this is 'cis'. Surely there are bio women and trans women or women and trans women.
We have the OTT use of the word 'genocide', this truly horrifies me that people in this movement truly believe that what they have essentially brought/wrought on themselves (ie there is a choice about taking drugs or embarking on surgery) is in any way the same as a state/Nazi sanctioned abuse wrought on others such as travellers, Jews, intellectually impaired etc etc. who had no means ie choice to avoid the stigma.
My distaste for the Karen slur surely needs no explaining. It is ageist and sexist.
My takeaway from the wider trans movement has been the intense dislike/hatred of women, it seems to be an intensely misogynistic movement, as befits a 'boys own/man's own' adventure.
I do feel that there are those with gender disphoria and the phrase 'watch-ful waiting' is surely a good one here…..care for the soul/psychiatric help until children reach past puberty and have the mind/experience and tools of life on which to base decisions on whether to take action that may be irrevocable.
Do you think this result may have been foreseeable (and is justified) by the legal actions of WPATH, the AAP and the Endocrine Society who not only failed to provide the clinical evidence requested by Florida to support their proscribed methods of care, but joined together to attempt to legally avoid having to do so?
https://t.co/Q7CxTO4AX5
Edit: Link to court document appealing the subpoeana for data – “JOINT MOTION OF NONPARTIES AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, WORLD PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR TRANSGENDER HEALTH, AND ENDOCRINE SOCIETY TO QUASH RULE 45 SUBPOENAS “
For further information, this was discussed back in April.
It may be of interest to note that the organisations that we refer to here in NZ for treatment protocols are the same three. (WPATH via PATHA).
.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19-04-2023/#comment-1946321
I have a suspicion that the main difference is that in the past, the vast majority of trans identified people were same sex attracted.
These days it is not so easy. I have been in the same Ladies Toilet facility with Georgina Beyer a couple of times at Labour Party Conferences. We were both there for the same reasons, use the facilities, flush, wash our hands and depart. We were not there to snap "bathroom selfies" with a bunch of schoolgirls, to achieve our "gender euphoria" or to steal used sanitary products for menstrual fetishes.
Nobody then was demanding a right for male bodied people to use changing rooms or locker rooms where women get undressed, or to use the women's section of a Spa. The person in the Wi Spa incident – although vigorously defended by Trans Rights Activists, got dropped like a hot brick when it turned out he was a registered sex offender with past convictions for displaying himself in women's spaces.
Remember – with self ID – any man can say he is trans.
The accommodations made in the past for transsexuals – was legislatively enacted, and required legal recognition based on GRS.
As you mention that distinction no longer is in place with current interpretations of the law, and the introduction of Self-ID.
However, I would like to point out that there would have been women that self-excluded – for whatever reasons – when they became aware they were expected to share single-sex provisions with a male. We will never know how many did this.
It is also worthwhile to consider that consent of all women was assumed – when this provision was passed into law. And consent – above all – is not transferable when it comes to adults.
Our admiration for individuals such as Georgina Beyer, should not overcome basic safeguarding principles that apply to all. It is an uncomfortable position but a necessary one, because good safeguarding practice is not based on emotion.
Oh gosh, Visubversa, maybe the US Wi Spa was not a trans issue, because the person involved was a predator who happened also to be trans.
One reason it was taken up by the trans community at first was because a perfectly innocent trans woman was incorrectly identified as the predator, after which she was mobbed online from all over the world.
There are around 100, 000 trans women in California. Are there 100, 000 trans predators in California?
"…One reason it was taken up by the trans community at first was because a perfectly innocent trans woman was incorrectly identified as the predator,"
Not aligned with my recollection, where the woman raising concerns was hounded off social media, and vilified in mainstream press:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/28/anti-trans-video-los-angeles-protest-wi-spa
Can you link to your revisionist alternate?
Oh yea…and deny climate change..and dairy NZ contributions to
On that. I see ex Fed Farm spokes mouth Andrew Hoggard has nailed his dairy shit brown colours to acts mast
We must beat Nact. NZ and its Future will be fucked else.
Holy Cow I hope we don't lose Michael Wood
People whorry about how many billboards all that billionaire dosh buys National and ACT. What they should be worried about is how many nasty little right wing shits with comms skills it buys to spend endless days digging for dirt that can be then laundered through the Herald.
In the Key era, NZH trawled for stories off Whaleoil, rather than twitter accounts of NACT operatives.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/06/transport-minister-michael-wood-stood-down-by-chris-hipkins-over-auckland-airport-shares-fiasco.html
This could have been avoided if Wood had off-loaded those shares stat.
Wood will now be the keenest person in NZ wanting to sell his AIA shares, followed at the heels by Wayne Brown, of course.
If I were Wood, I would donate the money to a charity and do a mea culpa.
Yes, after he has off-loaded them he may be able to return to his previous position:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/491423/transport-minister-michael-wood-stood-down-after-airport-shares-controversy
More than anything, potential MPs really should be over their investments and potential conflicts before being elected. As you say, could all be easily avoided.
" I would donate the money to a charity and do a mea culpa."
My bet is, that is what he will do.
As a minister who has one of the heaviest workloads, it is unsurprising he never got around to it. He put his portfolios before a handful of shares he bought nearly 40 years ago!
It reminds me of the petty-fogging, officious senior public servants I encountered who were more concerned about somebody arriving to work a few minutes late (usually for good reason) than they were on the person's excellent out-put during working hours.
Well we did not lose Key, so why should Michael be pinged?
Chris, don’t dance to the Rights dirt digging.
Michael, donate the shares to Women’s Refuge, and apologise to the Prime Minister and House.
So this is how we descend into slavery
Thanks Adam. I knew of the US legislation, but it's good to have the consequences laid out. Some women in the US are already in prison because they were judged to have manslaughtered their fetuses when they miscarried, if they used drugs like meth.
Happy to put women in prison, not keen to support anti-addiction services.
Friggin annoyed at Chris Hipkins knee jerking to the trifling issue of old shares. Michael Wood should have been spoken to, and his reasons for forgetting to follow up his initial action to sell shares listened to. And then just let him do just that. Sell them. Probably the same reason John key reasoned that he didn’t remember. But then maybe not. Key out and out lied to his tame media and they accepted it Just like that. Super annoyed. Michael Wood is one of the best that Labour has. He stays! However, I am betting that Chris Lux isn’t going to be keys favourite person for a while.
I'm annoyed with Hipkins too. I don't mind Wood being temporarily stood down but I do get impatient with this "deer in the headlights" acceptance of opposition framing. He has to counter-attack. Control the narrative. Challenge Luxon with language like this …
"I warn the leader of the National party that to play holier-than-thou is a game no politician should play, unless he is surrounded by saints. And he knows he is not."
"If Mr Luxon believes that making a mistake is a sacking offence, then Mr Luxon should have sacked Mr Luxon by now. He has blamed his own staff for everything from his own social media to candidate selection to campaign tactics. Apparently Mr Luxon is responsible for nothing."
"If Mr Luxon has already forgotten his own MPs' sins perhaps he would like a list … [provide long list of MPs …]
And so on, and so on. Who is writing Hipkins' lines? They are weak. FFS, fight back.
For example, does anyone remember this "mistake"? Of course not, because Labour never talk about it but if the roles were reversed National would be all over it. And the media would follow …
https://twitter.com/henrycooke/status/1524219315951906817
Well he is management , so he's practiced at shitting on inferior subordinates
Bang on observer.
I get sick of this pussy-footing around. Michael did nothing much wrong. It seems he requested a stockbroker sell the shares then forgot about them…until he later discovered the stockbroker didn't sell the shares.
If I recall correctly my 'teenage' shares tanked not long after I bought em and never recovered. Dunno what happened to them but never ventured onto the stock-market again. Life is too short to be f****d about a handful of shares.
Onya Michael Wood.
Perhaps Hipkins knows more than we do about this matter.
Ignoring the six discussions he had with the Cabinet Office – the seventh time was going to be the charm right?
Don't sell Auckland Airport shares!
Nek minutes…