One has to admire Novara's ability to find clever, thoughtful people as commentators. Here Shon Faye (a transwoman) does a take on the word "woke". She says that woke was never meant to be a "substantive concept", instead it is a deliberate "ellipsis" a "vacuum" into which you can pour or project anything. The resulting contradictions do not matter to the people using or hearing it – because it serves the purpose of appealing to emotions. She says the nearest parallel would be word "zeitgeist" as used by fascists (to convey horror, fear and disgust).
There is of course a left use of the word "woke" – which criticises the liberal tendency to prioritise identity over class. It might be a good idea to find a substitute word for this phenomenon – given the contamination of "woke" by the right.
Fourscore and three years ago, Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter—a self-titled “musicianer” who was heralded as a “Bad Nigger” who “makes good minstrel” by Life magazine—explained how he came to create one of the first racism* carols. Named after nine young Black men who had been falsely accused of raping two white women, “Scottsboro Boys” was a protest and a warning to Black people about the evil that awaited anyone who dared traverse the borders of Alabama. At the end of the song, he told the story of meeting two of the wrongly convicted men and—just before the recording faded into silence—the legendary singer coined a phrase that would become a clarion call to Black America until white people discovered it eight decades later.
“I advise everybody to be a little careful when they go down through there,” Lead Belly said of Alabama. “Just stay woke. Keep your eyes open.”
Sure, a different way of seeing the world (being woke, after the dream about how a democratic people could remake the world to how it could be), than that of an existing conservative order, was seen as threatening to those loyal to it.
In the 1930's German Weimar Republic liberalism and various groups (Christian) conservative and fascist were (zeitgeist) moral reactionary forces in resistance. The idea of empowered (democratic) humanity with social economic and political equality in citizenship, was against the concept of some divine moral or conservative regime national order that humanity had to be (remain) in obedience to.
Some have since categorised it as idealism vs world reality when rejecting gender identity.
And since then some communitarian anarchists (such as Russell Brand) have aligned with libertarians against modern nation state government (basically joined the Tea Party movement).
‘Why England Slept” by JFK about the slowness of England to respond to the threat posed by fascist Germany (one about the USA would have been too controversial) and of course his speech in Berlin about resistance to communism.
The right’s co-opting of the word “woke” and the way it uses it to distort debate and camouflage bigotry is nothing new. Conservatives have always been very good at wringing words dry of their meaning and repurposing them strategically. “The elite”, for example, now means anyone with an education and not billionaires like Donald Trump. “Pro-life” means forcing women to give birth. Teaching kids about slavery has been rebranded as “critical race theory”. Far too often liberals don’t push back on these phrases and start using them themselves. Gray’s interaction with Mandel shows that simply asking conservatives to be clear about what on earth they’re talking about can be surprisingly effective.
"No objective evidence exists that “gender identity” exists outside of a person’s mind. Transition “medicine” relies on self-reported feelings for diagnosis and satisfaction with appearance for measuring results. Ka-ching, profit!
“Gender identity” does not even have something like the E-meter that can pretend to detect or measure it. As a practical matter, there is more actual science for the ‘body thetans’ of L. Ron Hubbard than for ‘gender identity’ as a coherent material phenomenon."
I never use the word 'woke' and I don't expect to see it in more serious discussion. If it had a meaning, it does not now and it is used as a pejorative now. I liken it to the phrase 'PC' when it was used in the 1990s.
I also don't think the left should be concerned only with class, that has always seemed inherently limiting, (shriek, shock, horror).
I don't really mind how issues are raised and I don't really care if an issue is raised from a liberal mindset. I am not about to criticise how it is raised if I agree that the issue raised has merit.
PC hid much anti women, pro racism 'stuff'. It was a shorthand for I don't want to modify anything I do even if it sexist or racist.
So issues based concerns have merit, we don't need to find some sort of shorthand pejorative to describe them. We certainly do not need to push concerns aside by saying they don't fit a class narrative.
Thinking deeply now about how the left is missing in action when talking about issues of genital males being in women's only spaces, rape crisis centres, counselling, lesbian places. How does fit a class narrative?
Jane Clare Jones is a good read for a left wing, feminist perspective on the three classes (sex, socioeconomic, race). When we treat sex as a class of oppression, we have an analysis for understanding women's rights as something that cannot be dismissed as identity politics.
Thanks Weka. I was aware of how it started. Will brush up on class aspect.
I admit I have come at the left from a different starting point, from feminism, anti racism and equal opportunities for all, then a view of where on the political spectrum these are best progressed.
From there my analysis says that Govt has to lead, so legislation as a backstop at the very least. and with the need for legislation to be actively administered the cries of 'small govt' have no place.
I liked the concept Shon that woke is a kind of bucket into which all sorts of 'scary' things are placed. I also like the view that attacking the word/concept is difficult. How do you counter it? It is about as difficult as tackling the issues such as anti vaxx views. particularly the ones about magnets, world domination etc as opposed to concerns about health efficacy.
With PC Human Rights supporters found that a basis had to be in legislation.
Legislation is always either an backstop or an important step forward in progress. This is why, in my view, we need to maintain the Christchurch Call, work on Hate Speech etc. We need to work on multiple fronts and keep our legislation up to date and pointy.
It is also why on the left we are best to be explicit in framing the issues that the RW-ers are throwing into the 'woke' bucket. Finding another word to replace woke does not work for me.
You are aware that medical errors are considered the third leading category of death in the US? In the order of 250,000 in 2013 alone? Why do you not condemn this? Or call out all doctors "despicable cretins"?
Or that overdosing on commonplace OTC medicines happens far too often? We ingest stupid drugs like alcohol, and our diets are full of dangerous sugars and refined oils that cause a myriad of illnesses and shorten our lives. People do stupid things all the time.
And even with good intentions there is literally nothing good that someone will not take to an extreme and turn into something harmful as in this case. Yet Ivermectin is a drug that has perhaps the safest profile of anything we have discovered. Literally billions of human doses have been administered over decades – with an astonishingly low rate of harm. The fact of these desperate parents grossly overdosing their daughter, probably by several orders of magnitude – yet remarkably she is still alive – is a powerful testament to how safe ivermectin actually is, even when absurdly abused.
And given how extensively Ivermectin is used as a human medicine, mis-characterising it as "horse de-wormer" or "pet medicine" is blatantly dishonest.
Our collective understanding of how life works, of why so many ailments and diseases occur and how best to manage them is still very much in it's early stages. There remains so much we do not know and some humility in the light of that fact would go a long way to lowering the fevered temperature of so much of these debates.
My concern is that misguided people are administering an OTC medicine to children until their children have blurred vision and keep doing so until this clears at about a 'couple of months'.
Reading down the article it seems that this is being used on children with autism. An anti worm medicine is being used on children with behavioural problems, it reminds me of exorcisms etc.
"And given how extensively Ivermectin is used as a human medicine, mis-characterising it as "horse de-wormer" or "pet medicine" is blatantly dishonest"….+1
RL, haven't you noticed (I am sure you must have) that Joe90 just regurgitates, pretty much verbatim, all Western Liberal MSM talking points, no matter how outrageous…this is merely one more slimy lump in that endless steaming rotting stream of propaganda….shit this guy would probably still defend the Trump/Russia collusion conspiracy today, given half the chance….a filthy hoax I might add, that helped in no small way, lay the ground work that has led to 100,000 dead Ukraine lives and at least as many Russian, in the Russia/US proxy war that we are all sadly, impotently watching unfold before us today.
[Your thirst for taking shots at others, be it journalists, media outlets or other commenters, has no bounds. You have been warned about this so many times and last time you were banned for one month. Yet, here we are again with you taking a shot at another commenter that shows zero respect, lacks any redeeming political comment or opinion, and is off-topic. Ban doubled to two months – Incognito]
The very short article you link to was woefully bereft of proper analysis.
In their study, the researchers examined four separate studies that analyzed medical death rate data from 2000 to 2008. Then, using hospital admission rates from 2013, they extrapolated that based on a total of 35,416,020 hospitalizations, 251,454 deaths stemmed from a medical error, which the researchers say now translates to 9.5 percent of all deaths each year in the U.S.
How? It doesn't say.
In the absence of a proper report it must be assumed this is yet another conspiracy theory promoted by people suspicious of the medical profession ie, anti-vaxxers.
Ivermectin damaging children after being prescribed by their lunatic parents only happens because unqualified cranks continue to promote its benefits (to horses) online.
The researchers caution that most medical errors aren't due to inherently bad doctors, and that reporting these errors shouldn't be addressed by punishment or legal action. Rather, they say, most errors represent systemic problems, including poorly coordinated care, fragmented insurance networks, the absence or underuse of safety nets, and other protocols, in addition to unwarranted variation in physician practice patterns that lack accountability.
Fragmented insurance networks – people without insurance, lack of early intervention …
Medical error, appears to mean a failure of the health system to operate effectively.
All good, but is it factored in that the people presenting to hospital are already at serious risk by dint of presenting to hospital?
We don't know because John Hopkins didn't say in detail how they arrived at their conclusion.
At least we don't know from the very scant of information article Redlogix based his argument on. That did not stop RL presenting it as fact in his defence of veterinary medicine, Ivermectin.
Sure, the article does not explain the modelling used.
Those presenting without insurance may not receive the best care, and there may be an influence from pharma on care offered/practice etc.
One can note atm, post pandemic lockdown and vaccination, a number of countries have higher than normal death rates. There is speculation as to the why and a range of answers are tentatively suggested.
(warning RL will respond to calling ivermectin a veterinary medicine when it has been prescribed for use to millions of humans and when used in that way has been quite safe)
Children need to be protected from some parents. Taking Ivermectin off prescription for an illness that Ivermectin cannot treat sounds like cruelty to me.
(warning RL will respond to calling ivermectin a veterinary medicine when it has been prescribed for use to millions of humans and when used in that way has been quite safe)
Yes of course for the correctly diagnosed problems not for the 'treatment' of autism or any other long term use that involves taking it through side effects such as blurry sight.
Ivermectin has been used extensively as part of the World Health Organisation's Onchocerciasis Eradication Program. It has FDA approval for the treatment of strongyloides and onchocerciasis in the United States, other use is termed ‘off label’.
In treatment of scabies its use may be appropriate in selected cases where topical therapy is impractical or has failed and is particularly useful in cases of crusted scabies (also called ‘Norwegian’ scabies).
Ivermectin can also be used to control demodicosis. Ivermectin cream has been shown to reduce papulopustular rosacea, which is thought to be due to its effects on demodex mites and its anti-inflammatory action.
A 2021 Cochrane Review has not found sufficient evidence to support the use of ivermectin for preventing or treating COVID-19.'
While it used as an anti-parasitic, it has anti-viral properties. And because of that and its safe user profile (right dosage at least) some resorted to it out of hope (pre vaccine) and because some of the developed anti-virals do not have as safe a user profile.
Ivermecticin is no longer an effective wormer, it has become resistive to parasitic worms, don't you think the manufacturers are laughing all the way to the bank having found fools to buy their product.
You can literally call their choice of ivermectin deworming medicine. The majority of people choosing to overdose themselves and their children are using vetinary-grade anti-parasite doses formulated for horses or for other large animals, not formulated for humans, or at human-sized doses.
In the Greens State of the Planet 2023 speech they lay down the gauntlet:
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised in their State of the Planet speech today.
“Make no mistake: 2023 will be a climate election. Only the Green Party will confront the climate emergency with the urgency it demands and take action to build an Aotearoa that works for everyone,” co-leader of the Green Party, James Shaw said.
“I am proud of what we have achieved with the governments we have been given. I am proud that over the last five years we have taken more action on climate change than the past 30 years of Governments combined.
“But it’s not enough. I do not want another generation to have to bear the burden of slow progress.
“To any political party that wants the Green Party’s support to form a government after the election, let us put it as simply as we can: the Green Party will not accept anything less than the strongest possible climate action. The stakes are too high, the consequences of failure too great.
From the speech; the starkness of the choice is made clear:
Labour and National may be duking it out over the so-called ‘political centre’.
But this October, New Zealand will either…
Elect the most progressive, climate-focused government we have ever had…
A government that will not rest until we lift every family out of poverty…
A government that will place nature at the heart of everything we do…
A government that is guided by te Tiriti o Waitangi…
A government that confronts climate change with the urgency and the scale that it demands…
A government that has a strong Green heart beating at its centre…
Or… Hand the keys to the most reactionary race-baiting right-wing government we have seen in decades…
A government for the wealthy few, at the expense of many, not just in this generation but also those to come…
A government of climate inaction and delay.
And that is because there is one thing we know for sure:
No one party can win a majority on their own this election.
Just like Labour will need our support, the only way that Christopher Luxon can become Prime Minister is with the support of David Seymour and the ACT party.
An ACT party that has pledged to restart oil drilling in Maui dolphin habitats, ditch our climate targets, tear up te Tiriti o Waitangi, and cut taxes for the wealthiest few.
An ACT party which said of climate change only a few years ago, that the threat of more extreme weather events was, quote, “unproven conjectures."
Tell that to the people of Tai Tokerau and Auckland and Coromandel and Tairawhiti and Hawke’s Bay.
Even in the wake of these climate disasters, they dare to suggest that we should dismantle the entire framework that we have built, with bi-partisan support, to guide this country to a zero-emission, climate-resilient future.
The worst possible outcome that I can imagine from this year’s election is a National-ACT alliance in government.
It would be an alliance between parties addicted to fossil fuels and helping the wealthiest and the most powerful.
Families will be left struggling to make ends meet…
Schools and hospitals will be run into the ground…
Our natural world will be further eroded away…
The Crown’s obligations to Māori under te Tiriti will be dishonoured…
And our communities will be at more risk from more supercharged floods, storms, droughts, and fires.
Over the course of this election campaign, we can expect both National and ACT to promise simple fixes to complex problems.
To resort to fear.
To appeal to ‘ordinary working mums and dads’, only to turn their backs on them as they roll out policies to cater to the wealthiest and the most powerful.
I ask you to look carefully at who will make up the Cabinet in a National-ACT alliance and ask yourselves this:
Who do you want making those decisions that affect your life, and the lives of the people you love?
Only with more Greens in parliament can we achieve our climate targets, the dangers of delaying are unavoidable:
Chris Hipkins won media plaudits for his political strategy after scrapping or deferring some of Labour's policy in his latest policy bonfire, including ones to reduce emissions. But a poll released just hours after his announcement showed voters want more climate action, not less.
It’s not just the government prioritising the concerns of a median voter. Despite regular proclamations on the urgency of addressing climate change, it’s often the media as well.
There are some good intentions at the root of the bias toward bread and butter policy. It's nourishing, especially during a cost of living crisis.
But it may be hard to fully enjoy the meal if the world is slowly turning into something resembling a bonfire – and not the sort that’s made of policy.
Aren’t the Greens caught in a bit of a cleft stick here?
The green wing of the part rightly decries the Govt’s slowing down of it’s climate change policies. That wing of the part that focuses on poverty and the cost of living issues must be delighted that Labour is concentrating there.
Selling the rights for home test matches to Spark Sport means that unless I want to pay for yet another streaming service, I don’t get to watch my country’s team, even when they’re playing at home.
The anti-siphoning list is a list of events, the televising of which should, in the opinion of the relevant Minister, be available free to the general public.[1] To effect this 'freedom', the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 includes a licence condition on pay TV providers that prohibits them from acquiring anti-siphoning events unless a national broadcaster or a network of commercial television broadcasters have the right to televise the events.
While it says the National Anthem was sung this was only the first (English) verse and most participants turned their backs on the protestors and sat back down.
So the Great Commission has a belief not in religious diversity but in the opposite
Converting others to Christianity raises a fundamental question about whether religious diversity is a reality to be celebrated or an obstacle to be overcome.
The connection of the two causes does suggest a western "civilisation" centric approach. The far north also produced John Banks, John Carter, Wayne Brown (term as Mayor ended by John Carter) and Matt King.
Former Kaipara Mayor, Matakohe farmer and cousin of former MP Sir Lockwood Smith KNZM, Dr Jason Smith, 51 and Felicity Foy of Te Rarawa were the two alternatives.
The Greens would like Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull banned from New Zealand.
The Green Party says the Government should stop a British anti-transgender activist from visiting New Zealand.
Supporters of Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker, were seen to be giving Nazi salutes and abusing LGBT counter-protesters at her event in Melbourne yesterday.
Speak Up for Women had their meetings about gender self ID shut down, rather than being listened to. They wanted the law about changing your sex on your birth certificate to stay as it was i.e a process through the family court. Pretty reasonable really.
They also believe that biological sex is real, not a social construct (as claimmed by the likes of Judith Butler). They want protection for women in prisons, sports, awards, refuges etc.
They are against the affirmation model for kids with gender dysphoria.
Its quite simple really. But we have been shut down smeared and vilified.
Kellie Jean pulls no punches. She states things like women don’t have penises. The Trans lobby smears people and cancels them. That is their modus operandi.
Let women speak needs to go ahead.
When a bunch of testosterone laden lunkheads calling themselves "Antifa" decides to disrupt a group of women defending their rights to protect themselves as a sex class, and a similar bunch of testosterone laden lunkheads calling themselves "Nazis" decides to take the opportunity to have a go – the main thing they have in common is their commitment to male privilege and male aggression.
Everyone is resisting looking at how/why giving human/civil rights to one group is taking them from another.
In real words do not be in a rush to give everyone who wants to don a frock the moniker of woman.
Women need safe spaces and safe spaces do not include being in confined spaces (Toilets) or spaces with children (mothers with children in changing rooms) or receiving counselling for rape and other sexual assaults, or in women's prisons with men who have not transitioned. Men with intact genitalia should be restricted from female spaces.
Many females agree with giving rights to trans people, but these rights should not be at the expense of the rights of women.
This pure and simple is what KJKM is talking about. Smearing her is just one way of making sure that this message does not get through.
I don't think any woman who has been following this is surprised at the shock horror of there being neo nazis around.
Perhaps take time to read the Greens statement. Posey Parker is anti-Muslim and has hung out with Proud Boys in the US. She doesn't just advocate a pro-women position, but also advocates virulently against trans people. Links in the Greens statement include UK feminist organisations who dissociated themselves from her because of these anti views.
I've seen a couple of nauseating clips from her podcast that immediately struck down her credibility. Be careful who you climb in bed with.
Just looked at the first two reasons given on that list, calling for women who identify as trans men to be "sterilised" and saying that women who oppose the cause will be “annihilated” – it is classic "force and power" language.
It reminds one of Stopes and Sanger, both womens rights on access to contraception, but also into "eugenics" to sell it to others as "population" management. That also led to them getting connections to the right.
I've not seen the evidence that the Nazis are KJK supporters. Incredibly biased reporting. The Nazis marched between LWS and the gender activists, they faced the activists and did the salute. The activists had previously been engaged with the police, apparently punching the horses bellies to try and break the line. Policy told the organisers and women speakers of LWS to be prepared to run if the lines broke. Two lots of militant men facing off.
Has anyone explained yet why the police let them go there?
KJK causes a lot of grief by not making a statement distancing herself from the Nazis. A number of women involved have objected to having to make statements because they think it's a distraction. Fortunately GC women in NZ have made statements against Nazis.
Neo Nazis, 'shock horror' will yet again put off having to deal with the points that women have been making………
I have no truck with Nazis.
The women who are concerned about the reach of the trans rights activism need to be respected. There are many of us from the mildest to the most forthright.
This is one of the songs of the 70s. I am Woman, Helen Reddy with the focus on the words
Can we at least talk about the reasons for the visit, the views and reflect on the point that in giving rights to one group should not mean that the rights of another should be lessened.
The Nazis focus is an unpleasant smokescreen diverting people from dealing with the real issues.
The Greens would like Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull banned from New Zealand.
The Rainbow Greens at least. Thankfully the Greens seem to understand that now is not the time to poke at the culture wars. There's nothing on their main twitter and didn't see anything on their FB either. This time and when the original PR was done.
yeah, that's fair, I had mistakenly read that as those three MPs being part of the RGs. My point stands. The GP twitter and FB accounts haven't shared this, it's not in their news feed, and that letter isn't easy to find on the GP front page (when I looked last week at least).
I found it a credible argument for at least serious monitoring of her in NZ, if not shutting her out. The case was well supported with examples that she is a provocateur, weka. I'm a little disappointed with the tarring of so-called tarrers, who weren't. She looks right up Counterspin’s alley.
The only credible argument I can see if her populist conservative position on trans rights alongside her refusal to condemn the Nazis in Melbourne (because she vehemently rejects guilt by association) somehow encourages Nazis in NZ to violence or hate speech. Seems a long bow to draw though.
Also, the RGs call Woman's Place UK extreme anti-trans. If they're going to use hyperbole like that it makes their whole argument suspect.
An interesting tack, of course their room to operate after the election is limited by the lack of alternative to a Labour led government for Greens to work with.
The good news about this issue is that banks are generally in a strong financial condition, and have not been forced to realize losses by selling depreciated securities. On the other hand, unrealized losses weaken a bank’s future ability to meet unexpected liquidity needs. That is because the securities will generate less cash when sold than was originally anticipated, and because the sale often causes a reduction of regulatory capital.
On Sunday morning, ACT deputy leader Brooke van Velden said if the Green Party's done one thing during their five years in Government, it's "proving how ineffective they are".
The ACT Party and the Greens have begun their pre-election campaign tussles after launching attacks at each other.
It's a bit one-sided
Van Veldon confuses the lack of oil and gas exploration with the current need to import coal (exploration would only have an impact on the future availability of local oil or gas – by which time there was no expectation of any need to import coal).
Van Velden continued her attack on the Greens, saying one of Shaw's flagship policies was banning oil and gas exploration. "Global coal exporters have been the biggest benefactor of the Green Party's climate policies. According to figures from MBIE, coal use for electricity generation was up 29.5 percent in 2022. There is no environmental benefit to this policy if Indonesian coal is imported instead," van Velden said. "If New Zealand wants to avoid burning millions of tonnes of foreign coal in future, the Government needs to re-evaluate its oil and gas ban."
Note the attempt to sell the nationalism of local carbon use being better to Greens.
An easy differentation is then made
"An ACT Party that has pledged to restart oil drilling in Māui dolphin habitats, that has pledged to ditch our climate targets, that has pledged to tear up Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and that has pledged to cut taxes for the wealthiest few.
"An ACT Party that said of climate change, only a few years ago, that the threat of extreme weather events was 'unproven conjectures'."
Shaw said in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, the ACT Party "dares to suggest" the framework on building a zero-emission climate-resilient future for New Zealand should be dismantled.
"The worst possible outcome that I can imagine from this year's election is a National-ACT alliance in Government. It would be an alliance addicted to fossil fuels and to helping the wealthiest and the most powerful," Shaw said.
"Families will be left struggling to make ends meet, schools and hospitals will be run into the ground, our natural world will be further eroded away, the Crown's obligations to Māori under Te Tiriti will be dishonoured, and our communities will be more at risk from supercharged floods and fires and droughts and storms."
"Over the next seven months, the Green Party will set out a plan for Aotearoa to cut climate pollution and improve our communities," Shaw said.
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Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
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. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week the government will again next try to get its legislation through to deal with non-citizens who won’t cooperate with efforts to deport them. The bill, which the opposition and crossbench refused to rush ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed – Australia’s big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make – and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
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One has to admire Novara's ability to find clever, thoughtful people as commentators. Here Shon Faye (a transwoman) does a take on the word "woke". She says that woke was never meant to be a "substantive concept", instead it is a deliberate "ellipsis" a "vacuum" into which you can pour or project anything. The resulting contradictions do not matter to the people using or hearing it – because it serves the purpose of appealing to emotions. She says the nearest parallel would be word "zeitgeist" as used by fascists (to convey horror, fear and disgust).
There is of course a left use of the word "woke" – which criticises the liberal tendency to prioritise identity over class. It might be a good idea to find a substitute word for this phenomenon – given the contamination of "woke" by the right.
A watchword from 30's 'Murica.
Fourscore and three years ago, Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter—a self-titled “musicianer” who was heralded as a “Bad Nigger” who “makes good minstrel” by Life magazine—explained how he came to create one of the first racism* carols. Named after nine young Black men who had been falsely accused of raping two white women, “Scottsboro Boys” was a protest and a warning to Black people about the evil that awaited anyone who dared traverse the borders of Alabama. At the end of the song, he told the story of meeting two of the wrongly convicted men and—just before the recording faded into silence—the legendary singer coined a phrase that would become a clarion call to Black America until white people discovered it eight decades later.
“I advise everybody to be a little careful when they go down through there,” Lead Belly said of Alabama. “Just stay woke. Keep your eyes open.”
https://www.theroot.com/weaponizing-woke-an-brief-history-of-white-definitions-1848031729
Leadbelly using that word with the only meaning it has, that I will recognise.
Sure, a different way of seeing the world (being woke, after the dream about how a democratic people could remake the world to how it could be), than that of an existing conservative order, was seen as threatening to those loyal to it.
In the 1930's German Weimar Republic liberalism and various groups (Christian) conservative and fascist were (zeitgeist) moral reactionary forces in resistance. The idea of empowered (democratic) humanity with social economic and political equality in citizenship, was against the concept of some divine moral or conservative regime national order that humanity had to be (remain) in obedience to.
Some have since categorised it as idealism vs world reality when rejecting gender identity.
And since then some communitarian anarchists (such as Russell Brand) have aligned with libertarians against modern nation state government (basically joined the Tea Party movement).
Their language is based on the title of a book
‘Why England Slept” by JFK about the slowness of England to respond to the threat posed by fascist Germany (one about the USA would have been too controversial) and of course his speech in Berlin about resistance to communism.
PS And for black Americans
There was an excellent Opinion piece on the Guardian a couple of days back on this very topic
The right’s co-opting of the word “woke” and the way it uses it to distort debate and camouflage bigotry is nothing new. Conservatives have always been very good at wringing words dry of their meaning and repurposing them strategically. “The elite”, for example, now means anyone with an education and not billionaires like Donald Trump. “Pro-life” means forcing women to give birth. Teaching kids about slavery has been rebranded as “critical race theory”. Far too often liberals don’t push back on these phrases and start using them themselves. Gray’s interaction with Mandel shows that simply asking conservatives to be clear about what on earth they’re talking about can be surprisingly effective.
Just to get you started!
"No objective evidence exists that “gender identity” exists outside of a person’s mind. Transition “medicine” relies on self-reported feelings for diagnosis and satisfaction with appearance for measuring results. Ka-ching, profit!
“Gender identity” does not even have something like the E-meter that can pretend to detect or measure it. As a practical matter, there is more actual science for the ‘body thetans’ of L. Ron Hubbard than for ‘gender identity’ as a coherent material phenomenon."
https://www.thedistancemag.com/p/10000000-challenge-build-a-machine?fbclid=IwAR0ZRAhaJ_YLhRGhJGkDb2IPCbf_FrynTZ6OvxccGABQ1dYVjIRd8w5fQUk
I never use the word 'woke' and I don't expect to see it in more serious discussion. If it had a meaning, it does not now and it is used as a pejorative now. I liken it to the phrase 'PC' when it was used in the 1990s.
I also don't think the left should be concerned only with class, that has always seemed inherently limiting, (shriek, shock, horror).
I don't really mind how issues are raised and I don't really care if an issue is raised from a liberal mindset. I am not about to criticise how it is raised if I agree that the issue raised has merit.
PC hid much anti women, pro racism 'stuff'. It was a shorthand for I don't want to modify anything I do even if it sexist or racist.
So issues based concerns have merit, we don't need to find some sort of shorthand pejorative to describe them. We certainly do not need to push concerns aside by saying they don't fit a class narrative.
Thinking deeply now about how the left is missing in action when talking about issues of genital males being in women's only spaces, rape crisis centres, counselling, lesbian places. How does fit a class narrative?
Jane Clare Jones is a good read for a left wing, feminist perspective on the three classes (sex, socioeconomic, race). When we treat sex as a class of oppression, we have an analysis for understanding women's rights as something that cannot be dismissed as identity politics.
Woke was originally a term used by Black Americans to describe political consciousness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke
Thanks Weka. I was aware of how it started. Will brush up on class aspect.
I admit I have come at the left from a different starting point, from feminism, anti racism and equal opportunities for all, then a view of where on the political spectrum these are best progressed.
From there my analysis says that Govt has to lead, so legislation as a backstop at the very least. and with the need for legislation to be actively administered the cries of 'small govt' have no place.
I liked the concept Shon that woke is a kind of bucket into which all sorts of 'scary' things are placed. I also like the view that attacking the word/concept is difficult. How do you counter it? It is about as difficult as tackling the issues such as anti vaxx views. particularly the ones about magnets, world domination etc as opposed to concerns about health efficacy.
With PC Human Rights supporters found that a basis had to be in legislation.
Legislation is always either an backstop or an important step forward in progress. This is why, in my view, we need to maintain the Christchurch Call, work on Hate Speech etc. We need to work on multiple fronts and keep our legislation up to date and pointy.
It is also why on the left we are best to be explicit in framing the issues that the RW-ers are throwing into the 'woke' bucket. Finding another word to replace woke does not work for me.
Despicable cretins.
https://twitter.com/cscnme/status/1635655904568791040
https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkayeg/ivermectin-kids-autism
Blurred vision for two months? OMG. For autism OMG.
Poor kids.
You are aware that medical errors are considered the third leading category of death in the US? In the order of 250,000 in 2013 alone? Why do you not condemn this? Or call out all doctors "despicable cretins"?
Or that overdosing on commonplace OTC medicines happens far too often? We ingest stupid drugs like alcohol, and our diets are full of dangerous sugars and refined oils that cause a myriad of illnesses and shorten our lives. People do stupid things all the time.
And even with good intentions there is literally nothing good that someone will not take to an extreme and turn into something harmful as in this case. Yet Ivermectin is a drug that has perhaps the safest profile of anything we have discovered. Literally billions of human doses have been administered over decades – with an astonishingly low rate of harm. The fact of these desperate parents grossly overdosing their daughter, probably by several orders of magnitude – yet remarkably she is still alive – is a powerful testament to how safe ivermectin actually is, even when absurdly abused.
And given how extensively Ivermectin is used as a human medicine, mis-characterising it as "horse de-wormer" or "pet medicine" is blatantly dishonest.
Our collective understanding of how life works, of why so many ailments and diseases occur and how best to manage them is still very much in it's early stages. There remains so much we do not know and some humility in the light of that fact would go a long way to lowering the fevered temperature of so much of these debates.
My concern is that misguided people are administering an OTC medicine to children until their children have blurred vision and keep doing so until this clears at about a 'couple of months'.
Reading down the article it seems that this is being used on children with autism. An anti worm medicine is being used on children with behavioural problems, it reminds me of exorcisms etc.
"And given how extensively Ivermectin is used as a human medicine, mis-characterising it as "horse de-wormer" or "pet medicine" is blatantly dishonest"….+1
RL, haven't you noticed (I am sure you must have) that Joe90 just regurgitates, pretty much verbatim, all Western Liberal MSM talking points, no matter how outrageous…this is merely one more slimy lump in that endless steaming rotting stream of propaganda….shit this guy would probably still defend the Trump/Russia collusion conspiracy today, given half the chance….a filthy hoax I might add, that helped in no small way, lay the ground work that has led to 100,000 dead Ukraine lives and at least as many Russian, in the Russia/US proxy war that we are all sadly, impotently watching unfold before us today.
[Your thirst for taking shots at others, be it journalists, media outlets or other commenters, has no bounds. You have been warned about this so many times and last time you were banned for one month. Yet, here we are again with you taking a shot at another commenter that shows zero respect, lacks any redeeming political comment or opinion, and is off-topic. Ban doubled to two months – Incognito]
Classy comment, on topic, about the issue.
Mod note
The need to improve medical practices is relevant to idiots harming their kids?
Red Logix
So pleased to again be reading your well written , logical and fair comments
In a sea of dim bulb comments i can only agree Francesca
The very short article you link to was woefully bereft of proper analysis.
How? It doesn't say.
In the absence of a proper report it must be assumed this is yet another conspiracy theory promoted by people suspicious of the medical profession ie, anti-vaxxers.
Ivermectin damaging children after being prescribed by their lunatic parents only happens because unqualified cranks continue to promote its benefits (to horses) online.
It's by John Hopkins, is quite serious work
Fragmented insurance networks – people without insurance, lack of early intervention …
Medical error, appears to mean a failure of the health system to operate effectively.
All good, but is it factored in that the people presenting to hospital are already at serious risk by dint of presenting to hospital?
We don't know because John Hopkins didn't say in detail how they arrived at their conclusion.
At least we don't know from the very scant of information article Redlogix based his argument on. That did not stop RL presenting it as fact in his defence of veterinary medicine, Ivermectin.
Sure, the article does not explain the modelling used.
Those presenting without insurance may not receive the best care, and there may be an influence from pharma on care offered/practice etc.
One can note atm, post pandemic lockdown and vaccination, a number of countries have higher than normal death rates. There is speculation as to the why and a range of answers are tentatively suggested.
(warning RL will respond to calling ivermectin a veterinary medicine when it has been prescribed for use to millions of humans and when used in that way has been quite safe)
It is the self prescription which is the issue, isn't it? Few medicines are happily self prescribed without heavy online encouragement.
Best leave it to trained doctors, eh.
Ha ha yes right.
Children need to be protected from some parents. Taking Ivermectin off prescription for an illness that Ivermectin cannot treat sounds like cruelty to me.
Yes of course for the correctly diagnosed problems not for the 'treatment' of autism or any other long term use that involves taking it through side effects such as blurry sight.
From Dermnetnz
https://dermnetnz.org/topics/ivermectin
While it used as an anti-parasitic, it has anti-viral properties. And because of that and its safe user profile (right dosage at least) some resorted to it out of hope (pre vaccine) and because some of the developed anti-virals do not have as safe a user profile.
This early
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41429-020-0336-z
And more recently
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9135450/
Ivermecticin is no longer an effective wormer, it has become resistive to parasitic worms, don't you think the manufacturers are laughing all the way to the bank having found fools to buy their product.
Merck would rather sell its anti-viral – ivermectin is cheap to produce and low cost (often given away in the third world).
You can literally call their choice of ivermectin deworming medicine. The majority of people choosing to overdose themselves and their children are using vetinary-grade anti-parasite doses formulated for horses or for other large animals, not formulated for humans, or at human-sized doses.
'herxing'? They have no idea what that is obviously, but it's a pretty cool sounding word.
They're all batshit crazy.
Poor bloody kids
An inflammatory response to a therapy, usually an antibiotic. Not to be confused with being floxed.
In the Greens State of the Planet 2023 speech they lay down the gauntlet:
https://www.greens.org.nz/enough_slow_progress_2023_is_a_fight_for_our_future
From the speech; the starkness of the choice is made clear:
https://www.greens.org.nz/green_party_co_leader_james_shaw_s_state_of_the_planet_speech_2023
Only with more Greens in parliament can we achieve our climate targets, the dangers of delaying are unavoidable:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018882198/climate-policies-burn-on-the-bread-and-butter-bonfire
2023 really must be the climate election.
Aren’t the Greens caught in a bit of a cleft stick here?
The green wing of the part rightly decries the Govt’s slowing down of it’s climate change policies. That wing of the part that focuses on poverty and the cost of living issues must be delighted that Labour is concentrating there.
There isn't really a dichotomy between 'wings' such that you describe:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/486276/greens-lay-down-climate-change-election-challenge-to-other-parties
I am seriously f…ed off with New Zealand Cricket.
Selling the rights for home test matches to Spark Sport means that unless I want to pay for yet another streaming service, I don’t get to watch my country’s team, even when they’re playing at home.
https://hd.crichdplayer.xyz/bt-sport-2-live-streaming-hd-uk-39
Thank you!
If you publish stream details like that they will soon be blocked.
This is one area that the Aussies have got right with their anti-siphoning legislation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-siphoning_laws_in_Australia
Agree Stephen….I can't even get an audio commentary online…which is sometimes superior to visual access.
Apparently it's available via the rova app. My 2 year old device is outdated so best of luck.
https://www.rova.nz/home.html
https://www.todayfm.co.nz/home/sport/2022/09/today-fm-cricket-frequencies.html
On Today fm radio.
And while we sleep this is happening across NZ.
Julian Batchelor.
He is one scary dude/demagogue
Kaipara
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/03/police-step-in-at-anti-co-governance-event-after-crowd-clashes-with-organiser.html
Orewa
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/anti-co-governance-roadshow-orewa-protesters-clash-with-attendees/VZQOUBFFUFG65CAGXGLS35BDCI/?utm_campaign=nzh_tw&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=nzh_tw#Echobox=1679183353-1
While it says the National Anthem was sung this was only the first (English) verse and most participants turned their backs on the protestors and sat back down.
Julian Batchelor is the founder of Evangelism Strategies
https://www.nzwao.com/company?utm_source=evangelism-strategies-international-limited
but far from welcoming all this
‘This organisation mobilises and motivates churches for the Great Commission’
https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-great-commission-and-why-is-it-so-controversial-111138#:~:text=Briefly%2C%20the%20Great%20Commission%20is,%E2%80%9D%20and%20%E2%80%9Cbaptize%E2%80%9D%20them.
So the Great Commission has a belief not in religious diversity but in the opposite
From The Conversation link above.
The connection of the two causes does suggest a western "civilisation" centric approach. The far north also produced John Banks, John Carter, Wayne Brown (term as Mayor ended by John Carter) and Matt King.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nationals-northland-election-candidate-announced/KXQSAKT5KVEXFG6O434RJYOKZA/
Former Kaipara Mayor, Matakohe farmer and cousin of former MP Sir Lockwood Smith KNZM, Dr Jason Smith, 51 and Felicity Foy of Te Rarawa were the two alternatives.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/felicity-foy-puts-up-hand-to-be-northlands-national-candidate/WGWLSEJT5G7XR3BWN6KXTQKL2U/
The Greens would like Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull banned from New Zealand.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/rainbow-greens-urge-government-to-ban-anti-transgender-activist-from-new-zealand/6SZZCW4LBRGWXBQ63PSH7QHM4Q/
https://twitter.com/amy_sargeant_/status/1636895480994201600
Another really horrible image from Melbourne. The “paedo freaks” they are wanting to exterminate are simply transgender people. 1930s Germany, anyone?
These men who appeared in masks doing the sieg hail are nothing to do with Let Women Speak.
Think about it. The gender critical movement is about women, many of whom are feminists speaking up about the rights of biological women.
I have just listened to a video by Kellie, describing what happened. These people are nothing to do with her.
Kellie is being completely smeared.
The problem is wherever KJKM goes there is militant controversy. We do not need this Nazi saluting stuff in New Zealand.
I think we need to Let Women Speak.
Speak Up for Women had their meetings about gender self ID shut down, rather than being listened to. They wanted the law about changing your sex on your birth certificate to stay as it was i.e a process through the family court. Pretty reasonable really.
They also believe that biological sex is real, not a social construct (as claimmed by the likes of Judith Butler). They want protection for women in prisons, sports, awards, refuges etc.
They are against the affirmation model for kids with gender dysphoria.
Its quite simple really. But we have been shut down smeared and vilified.
Kellie Jean pulls no punches. She states things like women don’t have penises. The Trans lobby smears people and cancels them. That is their modus operandi.
Let women speak needs to go ahead.
When a bunch of testosterone laden lunkheads calling themselves "Antifa" decides to disrupt a group of women defending their rights to protect themselves as a sex class, and a similar bunch of testosterone laden lunkheads calling themselves "Nazis" decides to take the opportunity to have a go – the main thing they have in common is their commitment to male privilege and male aggression.
Was the other group all male and identify as Antifa?
What does that mean?
Then the argument would be that we should not give entry visas to the Nazis that were doing the saluting.
I agree Anker.
Everyone is resisting looking at how/why giving human/civil rights to one group is taking them from another.
In real words do not be in a rush to give everyone who wants to don a frock the moniker of woman.
Women need safe spaces and safe spaces do not include being in confined spaces (Toilets) or spaces with children (mothers with children in changing rooms) or receiving counselling for rape and other sexual assaults, or in women's prisons with men who have not transitioned. Men with intact genitalia should be restricted from female spaces.
Many females agree with giving rights to trans people, but these rights should not be at the expense of the rights of women.
This pure and simple is what KJKM is talking about. Smearing her is just one way of making sure that this message does not get through.
I don't think any woman who has been following this is surprised at the shock horror of there being neo nazis around.
it's true she is being smeared. It's also true that she has refused to condemn the Nazis or distance herself from them. That's a problem.
Perhaps take time to read the Greens statement. Posey Parker is anti-Muslim and has hung out with Proud Boys in the US. She doesn't just advocate a pro-women position, but also advocates virulently against trans people. Links in the Greens statement include UK feminist organisations who dissociated themselves from her because of these anti views.
I've seen a couple of nauseating clips from her podcast that immediately struck down her credibility. Be careful who you climb in bed with.
https://www.greens.org.nz/kellie_jay_keen_minshull
Just looked at the first two reasons given on that list, calling for women who identify as trans men to be "sterilised" and saying that women who oppose the cause will be “annihilated” – it is classic "force and power" language.
It reminds one of Stopes and Sanger, both womens rights on access to contraception, but also into "eugenics" to sell it to others as "population" management. That also led to them getting connections to the right.
I've not seen the evidence that the Nazis are KJK supporters. Incredibly biased reporting. The Nazis marched between LWS and the gender activists, they faced the activists and did the salute. The activists had previously been engaged with the police, apparently punching the horses bellies to try and break the line. Policy told the organisers and women speakers of LWS to be prepared to run if the lines broke. Two lots of militant men facing off.
Has anyone explained yet why the police let them go there?
KJK causes a lot of grief by not making a statement distancing herself from the Nazis. A number of women involved have objected to having to make statements because they think it's a distraction. Fortunately GC women in NZ have made statements against Nazis.
Agree with the biased reporting.
Neo Nazis, 'shock horror' will yet again put off having to deal with the points that women have been making………
I have no truck with Nazis.
The women who are concerned about the reach of the trans rights activism need to be respected. There are many of us from the mildest to the most forthright.
This is one of the songs of the 70s. I am Woman, Helen Reddy with the focus on the words
Can we at least talk about the reasons for the visit, the views and reflect on the point that in giving rights to one group should not mean that the rights of another should be lessened.
The Nazis focus is an unpleasant smokescreen diverting people from dealing with the real issues.
Amy Sargeant is also manipulating the narrative. What evidence is there that the Nazis were protecting KJK?
The Rainbow Greens at least. Thankfully the Greens seem to understand that now is not the time to poke at the culture wars. There's nothing on their main twitter and didn't see anything on their FB either. This time and when the original PR was done.
See link above to the official Greens statement. The Rainbow Greens are not the only signers.
yeah, that's fair, I had mistakenly read that as those three MPs being part of the RGs. My point stands. The GP twitter and FB accounts haven't shared this, it's not in their news feed, and that letter isn't easy to find on the GP front page (when I looked last week at least).
I found it a credible argument for at least serious monitoring of her in NZ, if not shutting her out. The case was well supported with examples that she is a provocateur, weka. I'm a little disappointed with the tarring of so-called tarrers, who weren't. She looks right up Counterspin’s alley.
The only credible argument I can see if her populist conservative position on trans rights alongside her refusal to condemn the Nazis in Melbourne (because she vehemently rejects guilt by association) somehow encourages Nazis in NZ to violence or hate speech. Seems a long bow to draw though.
Also, the RGs call Woman's Place UK extreme anti-trans. If they're going to use hyperbole like that it makes their whole argument suspect.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/03/co-leader-james-shaw-marama-davidson-call-for-stronger-climate-action-at-greens-state-of-the-planet-speech.html
An interesting tack, of course their room to operate after the election is limited by the lack of alternative to a Labour led government for Greens to work with.
Another bank in trouble. Why is it when financial gurus fail when gaming their own system, everyone else has to pay?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/486301/credit-suisse-bank-ubs-said-to-be-in-takeover-talks-with-troubled-rival
For example, I have put $1300 into my KiwiSaver over the last 12 months and my balance has barely shifted.
Guillotine for the thieves not far away, surely.
"For example, I have put $1300 into my KiwiSaver over the last 12 months and my balance has barely shifted."
Some have put 10s of thousands into property purchases in the last couple of years and are watching it disappear.
Because property in NZ is vastly overvalued when compared with international values.
A bank-run away from catastrophe.
https://twitter.com/davidgura/status/1635831021336657920
[…]
The good news about this issue is that banks are generally in a strong financial condition, and have not been forced to realize losses by selling depreciated securities. On the other hand, unrealized losses weaken a bank’s future ability to meet unexpected liquidity needs. That is because the securities will generate less cash when sold than was originally anticipated, and because the sale often causes a reduction of regulatory capital.
https://www.fdic.gov/news/speeches/2023/spmar0623.html
There seems to be a push to try to redeem the term 'woke' at present.
I consider it ill-advised, it having been misused to the point of losing meaning.
The Critical Drinker has some explanations about woke issues in movies.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/03/election-2023-act-greens-launch-attacks-over-ineffectiveness-reactionary-race-baiting-politics.html
This is inept, the Greens have never been in a coalition government, not in the last 5 years, or any other time.
1999-2002 Labour-Alliance (Greens c and s)
2002 2005 Labour-Progressive (United c and s)
2005-2008 Labour-Progressive (United and NZF c and s)
2017-2020 Labour-NZF (Greens c and s)
2020 Labour (co-operation agreement with Greens).
Does no one fact check speeches before they are made, ones hope their party media comms vet this sort of stuff in election year …
It's a bit one-sided
Van Veldon confuses the lack of oil and gas exploration with the current need to import coal (exploration would only have an impact on the future availability of local oil or gas – by which time there was no expectation of any need to import coal).
Note the attempt to sell the nationalism of local carbon use being better to Greens.
An easy differentation is then made