It's starting to pick up now during this current bushfire season and the extreme weather pattern we are currently having which is effecting every part of Oz atm.
Australian's by nature are a independent bunch of people and the same goes with their thinking, but they really do hate it when some or a bunch of high brow over educate bunch of tossers talks down to them/ forcing it down the throat to the average ocker and tells what to do and how they should do it etc.
The average ocker likes to think for themselves and look at the available evidenced (there has been some really interesting graphs coming out of BOM, ABARES atm and some TV reports the ABC's Landline and News/ 730 Report) or when CC starts to impact on the lives of the average ocker before they like to make a decision IRT CC.
The is tide on CC is slowly changing here in Oz as people across all sectors of Australia are starting to realise that CC is real and are now start to feel the effects of CC.
For example we in the Northern part of Australia by now should've had at least over a metre of rainfall, but its dry as a dingo's backside and though it green atm. Mowing atm feels like being sandblasted by down wash by a CH47 Chook or CH53 Sea Stallion or Jet Prop wash of C130 on a duster airfield/ LZ in the Sandpit from head to toe atm.
The Pollies are slowly starting to feel the heat now with the current/ extreme weather due to CC related events and if they are not seen to be doing something about it and just not tinkering around the slides, but meaningful actions. They well be throwed out of office. It happen to John Howard at a federal level and if ScoMo and his mob keeps up its current rate of effort up atm, then he and his bunch of Muppets will be out of a job.
So man y Federal governments have called in the last decade all based around addressing climate change in one form or another, that it's really hard to see the horizon of change.
You will have seen our government do the full pre-Christmas dump of its Carbon Bill consultation, getting ready to ram it through in March 2020.
Hard to see anyone getting away with that at an Australian Federal level if the ALP were in power.
Barring a major city losing several suburbs to fire, it still feels like Australia's political discourse has a while to go on this.
I have a gut feeling this might be the year/ fire season that CC finally sinks in for awful lot of Australians. We were bloody luck up here in Darwin/ rural area of Darwin this fire season with only houses/ buildings being lost, but it was very F**king close and the law of averages will catch up with us on the fire line sooner or later. Which I've been writing up an end of action report for our NT Bushfire brigade at Dundee Beach/ Bynoe Harbour Area, but weather it gets notice and action is going to be another thing.
We just spoken to the father in-law at Sussex Inlet about 30mins ago and the only Rd to Sussex Inlet is now cut and are now on ember alert. About the same time heard that the town of the former post war labour leader Ben Chifley Lithgow, is on the western side of the Blue Mountains is now on ember alert and this town is quite large probably the size of Nelson I think.
I haven't read the NZ carbon bill as yet, but Shaw and Peters have done good job all consider.
I'm head to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test, via Sydney on Christmas Day and its going to interesting week for me.
I've just sent an email from a brief write up I did for the folks at home in the NZ and I think it might make a good post for the readers here on the 'The Standard" to have understanding on the conditions that we face over in Oz during the fire seasons. It's picture and video heavy, well one video and a number of pictures on the conditions I face on the weekend of the 14 September 2019.
Here in Brisbane we are only getting through with air conditioning. For many days this past month there have been vast, ominous smoke clouds that render everything a sombre orange, darkening into an apocalyptic red in the sunset.
Yes it’s my sense from socialising that most people are uneasily aware that life as they knew it is changing. And this will fairly quickly reflect into the political scene.
Who could imagine any Brisbane summer without air conditioning?
Forest fires, temperature rise, and the accelerated collapse of the Murray-Darling seem like more effective public discourses into State and Federal politics about the environment than railing against coal mining.
Is this the moment that public mood alters enough in Australia?
Here's another more direct answer to your question Ad:
People are getting anxious and "this is not normal" — the phrase employed by New South Wales Liberal Minister Matt Kean to describe the apocalyptic skies above Sydney — could well become the catch cry of this summer.
Liberal insiders know it is a hot issue and they know voters are increasingly looking to the Government to do something "more".
At a recent meeting of Liberal MPs and senators, the party's federal director Andrew Hirst identified climate change and the economy as the biggest issues confronting the country.
This is probably worth a post in itself: the Dutch government has been ordered to do much more than it has been about climate change, after a six year legal fight.
The court ruled that the government had explicit duties to protect its citizens’ human rights in the face of climate change and must reduce emissions by at least 25% compared with 1990 levels by the end of 2020.
Hopefully that sends a shudder through a number of other governments.
In part it reads, "Ardern’s response to the unimaginable horror of the Christchurch massacre was more or less flawless in both tone and content. The dignity and solidarity she showed with victims was matched with the courage to act decisively on reforming New Zealand’s gun laws.
In a year where many leaders fled from scrutiny or cashed in on the kind of sentiments that lead to incidents like Christchurch, Ardern showed what leadership that pushes back against the worst parts of society really looks like."
On Radionz this morning. Needs to be heard though you will not like what you hear. Doesn't fit to a kind and practical rule. There are a lot of images on the Radionz site. There isn't a link set up yet.
8:10 Ian Urbina – Human stories of crime on the high seas
Photo: supplied / Penguin
From pirates to people smugglers, enslaved crews and dodgy fishing practices, the world's oceans are home to widespread and largely unchecked illegality.
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Ian Urbina has spent five years documenting the lawless behaviour flourishing on the high seas in his book The Outlaw Ocean.
He's also set up a non-profit journalism organization called The Outlaw Ocean Project dedicated to publishing more stories about life and conditions on board the global shipping fleet.
It's a failure on a massive scale. Were our political leaders a little more ecologically literate, they'd have recognised and cultivated our marine resources to enrich our nation. Instead they brought in the lowest common denominator – slave fishermen – and the agricultural research that underpins our farming sector was, shamefully, never replicated for our fisheries.
The two most common elements in the universe arehydrogen, and stupidity. ~ Harlan Ellison
Australia is going through a climate change Chernobyl, every single Australian state is suffering through a record early bush fire season and record breaking heat wave. Shockingly flying foxes are dying on their perches.
After watching the mini-series on Prime I was struck by the similarity, with the current crisis in Australia.
Just like the flying foxes in Australia, the mini series depicted birds falling from the sky to lie flapping on the ground in their death throes.
After the Chernobyl explosion, Soviet political leaders were in deep denial as the reactor core was open to the air and lumps of radioactive graphite was scattered on the ground and roof of the plant.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, (famous for holding up a lump of coal thoughtfully shellacked by his coal industry backers to stop him getting soot on his hands), like some unconcerned Soviet nuclear industry apparatchik, holidays in Hawaii.
The depth of denial plumbed by Scott Morrison dwarfs that of the Soviets.
Gorbachev didn't hold up a lump of (decontaminated) graphite to declare "This is graphite– don't be afraid!"
The US military is in the middle of a recruitment crisis. At this point finding anyone who isn't smoking pot, can pass a basic intelligence test, and has a baseline fitness level is incredibly difficult for them.
I'm guessing that they decided if one part of the recruitment criteria had to be softened it was psychological – yikes – what are they doing in that country?
Edit
The House is produced for RNZ with funding from Parliament. I noticed a highlight on Radionz about PM Jacinda from The House and hadn't heard about this before. This piece is a speculative piece and gives explanation and interpretation about something that may never happen. Interesting, but I wonder what sort of focus on our reality and priorities for matters calling for explanation that journalists developing their own stories will show, especially when it is through RNZ, RadioNZ.
This is the piece. Can you impeach a prime minister?
They conclude that we can't end up in the USA bog, a hopeful note! We no speak Americano In summary, New Zealand doesn’t require an impeachment process because prime ministers serve at the pleasure of Parliament (and their own party), and are easy to get rid of it they start getting all ‘high crimes and misdemeanours’ (which refers to abuse of power).
New Zealand has had a few prime ministers who were bullies (there’s a big statue of one of them holding forth in Parliament’s front yard), but getting rid of them is as easy as a simple majority in the House. Just ask Marilyn Waring.
And this fits in with a very interesting piece on falsehood in information releases by governments and gives a view of what is happening in Russia by someone who knows. It would give background learnings to many ponderings on this blog.
Book written: This is not Propaganda – Adventures in the war against Reality. (Some of the best information we get is coming after books have been written and bring together disparate information for the public. I am amazed at the huge numbers of fiction authors at present. These days the reality books by people devoted to finding out and explaining what’s going on are really exciting!)
9:25 Peter Pomerantsev: 'when information is a weapon, everyone is at war' How can we build up a more truthful picture of the world in the era of fake news, trolls, Trump and Putin? This is the question at the heart of Peter Pomerantsev's new book This is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality.
Pomerantsev is a Soviet-born journalist, author and TV producer who's spent much of his life in Britain after his dissident parents were forced out of the USSR by the KGB. He's also a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Global Affairs at the London School of Economics.
(Audio link to come if I get time, otherwise see audio list for Saturday Morning..)
I remember another interview with Kim some years ago when Pomerantsev was pushing a very similar line and promoting his book "Nothing is true and everything is possible"
I followed up and read other stuff of his but also this..to me.. interesting critique by Mark Ames in 2015
A real cast of characters here, the Chandlers, (particularly Chris, a kiwi billionaire) Browder, The Legatum Institute, the nutty ex Polish foreign minister Sikorski, married to Anne Applebaum, a colleague of Pomerantsev's
Sorry its a long read, but its always good to "pressure test" a story when there appears to be an agenda, which most often there is…from all sides.
Pomerantsev is a great mate of Bill Browder who has a similar message
More recent to the Ames article, the Browder (also rather breathlessly interviewed by Kim)story has come under closer scrutiny, by various unrelated figures. The most recent appearing in Der Spiegel.
The link below also has links for a fuller discussion .
Even our own secretive kiwi Chandler brothers, who made millions out of Russia appear in this story
Useful interview of Aussie environmental scientist Bill Hare by Amy Goodman. He's part of a team that developed a tracker that is predicting 2.8 degrees Celsius (or more) of warming by 2100. He pans both Scomo's Liberals and the ALP – his point being that resistance to action in Australia is essentially political.
That's no surprise though. The whole purpose of right-wing parties is to protect an economy that acts as a conveyor belt transporting money to the top of the wealth-power pyramid. Genuine action means that all that surplus money sloshing around at the top will have to be appropriated to fund the transition to carbon-neutral economies without creating massive hardship for those dependent on industries being phased out – as well as to fund managed retreat from localities that will become uninhabitable.
Have to add how good it is to see 63 year-old woman who has let her hair go grey fronting a news show and striking a note of high seriousness.. Having recently seen the waffly sentimentalist John Campbell surrounded by a bevy on blondes in their 30's on the execrable 'Breakfast' show, or the endlessly self-referential narcissism of Seven Sharp, Amy seems particularly sane.
I hear Australians saying it's the right, but also the left (union history), and the powerful lobbies from various industries. Unlike NZ where we have a pro-action left and centre left, and business increasingly ready to get on board despite the recalcitrants like Fed Farmers and Fonterra.
No he didn't. He simply said that the ALP was no better, with the implication being that they are subject to the same pressures from economic interests.
We stand for organized terror – this should be frankly admitted. Terror is an absolute necessity during times of revolution. Our aim is to fight against the enemies of the Soviet Government and of the new order of life. We judge quickly. In most cases only a day passes between the apprehension of the criminal and his sentence. When confronted with evidence criminals in almost every case confess; and what argument can have greater weight than a criminal's own confession?
OOh. Those movements born in fire and harsh coercion, will continue to smoulder and become too hot for people to handle. Cruel and callous cannot create a society fit for humans, animals or plants. No New Order from this background can be welcomed by decent, free human beings as a way of living.
Cruel and callous cannot create a society fit for humans, animals or plants. No New Order from this background can be welcomed by decent, free human beings as a way of living
Hollow words from you, yet I agree, at your expense, though still can't quite fathom how you managed to dodge this bullet when the debate about treatment of women has been raging for the past few days.
Is there no end to this hysterical, historical sexual accusation witchhunt thing?
That 27 year old who has held a woman by the neck for heightened sexual effect, he is still not named is he. And he definitely killed that silly woman, and he is responsible for the force that she died from. Why isn't his name openly available, or has NZ suddenly become too dainty to cope with sexuality? We are a farming nation, and live by procreation.
[fixed the internal link. You have to us the link html or button or it reverts back to the post – weka]
I totally agree that action should have been taken on that absolutely disgusting comment by Greywarshark the other night on OM 19 Dec. And that is far from the first time we have had comments from Grey along similar sanctimonious, shallow lines.
I was also shocked by Grey's comment yesterday at 3.1 on Open Mike 20 Dec that
"Someone intoning about safety on the roads on radio this morning (in a foreign accent – Canadian I think one less job for a born NZer). Realistic xenophobia!"
As noted in my response at /open-mike-20-12-2019/#comment-1674783;, that 'someone' was most probably none other than Julie Anne Genter as our Associate Minister of Transport. JAG was interviewed yesterday morning on RNZ's Nine to Noon programme re the Government's new multi-billion dollar road safety plan called Road to Zero aimed at cutting road deaths by 40 per cent by 2030.
But Grey's view appears to be that 'this was someone with a foreign accent taking up a Nzer's job; and therefore "realistic zenophobia" is apparently justified!
But as usual, Grey just sprays and walks away with no response to your and others' reactions to her/his OM 19 Dec comment, nor to mine yesterday on OM 20 Dec.
And here she is back today, with her comments currently totaling 7 of the 30 so far today (as of about 30 mins ago). Well I suppose it keeps the comment numbers up if not the quality; but IMO it is not really surprising that over the last 10 or so months a noticeable number of long term commenters no longer participate here regularly, including myself. In my case, this type of behaviour/comment is a big turnoff and one of the major factors, but not the only one, as to why I no longer participate as much as I did. I certainly do not want to be associated with such prejudice and attitudes as displayed in these two very recent comments by Grey.
I'm aware there are issues. It's harder to moderate in places like OM and DR where the expectation is that as long as people don't break the main rules they can post abhorrent beliefs and arguments (there is a limit). It's the robust debate ethic and the theory is that commenters will then argue why the beliefs/argument are abhorrent (as you did over the xenophobia issue).
If she was making those rape culture comments under a post of mine she would get warned then banned (have done so in the past) because I write to create a good discussion space. But then reasons why I'm not writing on those topics (and why there are no other regular feminist authors here) are the elephant in the living room of TS.
If the community wants more moderation on topics like this it has to support the moderators and authors.
Just caught up on the comment and replies. I think that people did exactly what was needed: named the problems with the comment and pushed back clearly. I'm grateful because Grey has been commenting like that for a while and has generally not been responded to. I find reading those comments as a moderator easily the worst part of the job, it makes things way easier if the commentariat responds.
I raised it again today mainly because I can't see how someone posting about 'Cruel and callous' not befitting society and humanity one day, can post cruel and callous comments a couple of days previous, showing a distinct lack of humanity, and expect to be taken seriously on any level at all.
I honestly took it as an example of daytime drinking not being for everyone if it allows the natural nasty to come through in such an ignorant and spiteful way, but really, there's no excuse for that. Glad he got called out for it by a few others, too.
I have also found some of Grey's comments recently quite shocking – the full blown rape apologist and rape culture remarks and the misogynist language in particular. He/she made some similar remarks on open mike back in November 28 under the Assange thread (can't link sorry on my phone).
I am really annoyed at veutoviper. I have not advanced myself as a woman so she has chosen to break the rule that good bloggers here don't penetrate others' pseudonyms. Which is strange as she always holds herself up to be exemplary in everything.
Secondly there is the matter of free speech. I consider that my points are relevant and not unreasonable. The state of politics and the way that there is an oppressive PC control on speech from those who find that interacts with their advanced sensitivities means that matters can't be faced and discussed as they need to be.
The PC brigade and those concerned with 'nice' and right-as-taught expression apart from that chosen as the official line, results in a shutting down of full discussion with the ability to be objective and see and speak to the unsatisfactory state of affairs. Trying to look at things as they are while this 'moral outrage' from the cognoscenti who have made a group decision that they are right, and there is one way to consider anything, theirs seems paramount. The carping continues regularly iterated from the passive aggressive controllers.
If women can't strongly speak out on matters that should be looked at closely, not with a prepared reaction agreed to by the Sisters Union, they are being silenced and pushed out by these other women, who wish to be moral dictators. This reminds me of how Ettie Rout was treated after she conducted her campaign against sexually transmitted disease caught from sexual congress by soldiers in WW1. And I am sure that the sisters here won't see the parallel. Scorn and outrage is your response to the challenge of different ideas.
So I have responded to all the comfy chair warriors, and those who want a harmonious little coterie. I haven't in the past because I thought that some different thoughts were needed but i see you are determined to squash them. You have your wish.
Calling a murder victim "that silly girl" and historic sexual abuse/assault "hysterical" and a "witch hunt" isn't "different thoughts", it's just fucking wrong. It negates the devastating impact on victims and cheapens the suffering of all innocents. They don't need squashing, they just need not to be said in the first instance.
I'm not sure that "that silly girl" wasn't accurate – of course we don't have the full details, but certainly the defense were trying to suggest that Millane was up for bdsm with complete stranger. That seems unwise to me – not that it excuses the murderer one iota – but that reposing that much trust without cause is frankly dangerous. It is not uncommon for murder victims have done things that might be considered imprudent, and saying so isn't an endorsement of the crime.
'silly girl' is a pejorative commonly used to undermine women, it's not a phrase used to convey imprudence. Millane was an adult not a girl.
I didn't follow the details of the trial. Leaving aside the defence's argument was there any evidence that Millane wanted to be strangled during sex by a stranger on this date? I mean actual evidence here, not hearsay and rumour.
Without thinking too much about the stats, I'm wondering if the risk assessment is similar to say tourists going on a trip to an active volcano. I didn't see too many people calling them silly girls and boys. Partly because it would be grossly insensitive, but also because we just don't think about it like that. So why think about Grace Millane in that way?
to put that another way, it's possible to have a conversation about the politics of personal responsibility without using terms that start the conversation by victim blaming.
It might not be out of order, although I’m not seeing that given her age, and we don’t know what her choice was, so it’s kind of a moot point. But there’s no need to use language to describe her in ways that diminish her as a person. Talk about her actions and whether they were wise, but there’s still the bigger picture of rape culture and victim blaming.
The defense produced several witnesses that claimed Millane wanted asphyxiation and BDSM during sex (in general, not specifically with respect to the encounter with the accused). Dunno whether that counts as evidence or hearsay and rumour. The prosecution produced witnesses that said the accused engaged in non-consensual asphyxiation and domination. Again, dunno whether that counts as evidence or hearsay and rumour.
"immaturity" is just a more sensitive way of making the assumption that a Tinder date is more dangerous for women than the way we dated twenty or thirty years ago. Not so sure about that.
Secondly, even if it is more dangerous than meeting someone in a bar or at a party, there's still more than enough opportunity to avoid putting the focus of responsibility upon the victim. "Silly girl" is a pretty callous and dismissive way to describe someone who was murdered.
Feel free to see the defence's argument without the benefit of the victim's testimony as unwise, and though you say "we don't have the full details", accept this rejected trial position as a valid reason to call GM that stupid girl.
Using that logic, I suppose it's okay to call out that kiwi lass in Ausralia who fell off a balcony trying to flee that aussie creeps apartment following a tinder date?
Or the girl in a short skirt who walks in to a bar full off men?
Actually I think the girl in Oz showed a lot of sense – though shouting to the neighbours or setting a fire might have worked better than climbing.
There used to be bars in NZ (and may still be) where that dress decision would almost inescapably bring certain consequences – the downstairs bar of the British in Lyttleton used to be such a venue. No defense for attackers, but a place most women would do well to avoid.
Not sure what you want grey. You have the freedom here to post your thoughts and others have the freedom to respond as they see fit. If you don't like the responses you can modify how you communicate, but you appear to be saying you want to say what you want and have people like what you say. It doesn't work like that.
If your views are relevant and not unreasonable then argue them and see how they stand up to political analysis of your peers. What I see yesterday is you dropping a controversial comment and then walking away. You can't have it both ways. Either we have robust debate here or we don't.
"Our children are unable to speak our language and understand our culture,” she said. “They are taken to state-run orphanages and are completely indoctrinated.
“I’m afraid this will turn into mass extermination. There’s nothing better to describe what’s happening in Xinjiang than concentration camps. What are we waiting for? Mass executions and gas chambers before we take action? What is it going to take to have the leaders of world communities – particularly Western democratic countries like Australia – to act? Executions? Is that what it’s going to come down to?”
I was going link to that myself. Truly one of the more disturbing things I've read in a while.
One of the consequences of the concept creep which our outrage culture has indulged in for so long, that when finally faced with the truly outrageous and evil … we are at a loss for words and a meaningful response.
The first thing that came to mind with the Australian PM holidaying in Hawaii while Australia is imploding with bush fires and enduring extreme heat was the saying "Nero Fiddled while Rome Burned". Seems very apt today and another ominous example of history repeating itself. I envisage Australian climate refugees coming here by the boatloads in the not too distant future – the irony of it. Because we are hopefully a civilised country we will accept them.
If I was the Australian PM I would start treating our PM and country with the respect it deserves. He is going to have to do some grovelling/negotiating in the future to the NZ Government on behalf of his country's citizens so as to enable them to have a safe haven here. Meanwhile the country is frying and their Government is still in denial and thrall to the coal industry. God help them.
Can I just give a shoutout on the retirement of Brian Gaynor, the well respected NZHerald business journalist.
I always felt that he put the interests of New Zealand first, and always wanted business to grow in the national interest and not just in self-interest.
He was always clear that overseas ownership of business and land here just holds New Zealand back. He was very rarely in favour of privatization.
And he was resolute in holding bad directors to account and wanting high-quality industry-experienced directors to govern their businesses well.
Finally, he had a broad horizon with some historical depth. In his last column today he rails against Muldoon for killing the Superannuation scheme an bemoans how much more powerful and secure we would be as a society we would have been. But still praises NZSuperfund as a good start, even if not perfect.
Sure hope they get a decent replacement who seeks to bring the interests of business back to the long term interests of New Zealand.
"No one was given an explanation, no one ever consulted with me or my wife or offered any help to my daughter or apologised to her."
Five years later, after the father had left the community, he finally took action after learning more about the law.
When the police became involved, late Gloriavale leader Hopeful Christian – a convicted sexual offender himself – brought the mother into a meeting with the Servants and Shepherds, all men of authority.
"Nev [Neville Cooper aka Hopeful Christian] told them that it was her fault, that she had not looked after my daughter properly or she wouldn't have seduced this old guy. He also spoke about forgiveness – that they all need to forgive Just, including my daughter."
The daughter who seduced the old guy was 9 years old.
The instigator of the childish "Turn Ardern" campaign is Colin Wilson, a 66 year-old pale male from Canterbury. What a surprise (not). I bet he feels emasculated and scared when he sees Greta's photo as well. The poor chap needs therapy.
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Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
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. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The 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 ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
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A question for our Australian commenters:
Is the dialogue about climate change getting stronger there?
It needs to get stronger here.
good question.
You would hope this would hammer the message home… Penrith expecting up to 47C
It's starting to pick up now during this current bushfire season and the extreme weather pattern we are currently having which is effecting every part of Oz atm.
Australian's by nature are a independent bunch of people and the same goes with their thinking, but they really do hate it when some or a bunch of high brow over educate bunch of tossers talks down to them/ forcing it down the throat to the average ocker and tells what to do and how they should do it etc.
The average ocker likes to think for themselves and look at the available evidenced (there has been some really interesting graphs coming out of BOM, ABARES atm and some TV reports the ABC's Landline and News/ 730 Report) or when CC starts to impact on the lives of the average ocker before they like to make a decision IRT CC.
The is tide on CC is slowly changing here in Oz as people across all sectors of Australia are starting to realise that CC is real and are now start to feel the effects of CC.
For example we in the Northern part of Australia by now should've had at least over a metre of rainfall, but its dry as a dingo's backside and though it green atm. Mowing atm feels like being sandblasted by down wash by a CH47 Chook or CH53 Sea Stallion or Jet Prop wash of C130 on a duster airfield/ LZ in the Sandpit from head to toe atm.
The Pollies are slowly starting to feel the heat now with the current/ extreme weather due to CC related events and if they are not seen to be doing something about it and just not tinkering around the slides, but meaningful actions. They well be throwed out of office. It happen to John Howard at a federal level and if ScoMo and his mob keeps up its current rate of effort up atm, then he and his bunch of Muppets will be out of a job.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-21/angus-taylor-facing-the-ire-of-liberals-wanting-climate-action/11815000
PS. Current temp at home atm, on my weather station is 38.1 degrees, with humidity at 45% and the pressure is dropping atm is around 1004.1 Hpa.
At 14.31 Local time CST
ExKiwi that sounds pretty brutal.
So man y Federal governments have called in the last decade all based around addressing climate change in one form or another, that it's really hard to see the horizon of change.
You will have seen our government do the full pre-Christmas dump of its Carbon Bill consultation, getting ready to ram it through in March 2020.
Hard to see anyone getting away with that at an Australian Federal level if the ALP were in power.
Barring a major city losing several suburbs to fire, it still feels like Australia's political discourse has a while to go on this.
I have a gut feeling this might be the year/ fire season that CC finally sinks in for awful lot of Australians. We were bloody luck up here in Darwin/ rural area of Darwin this fire season with only houses/ buildings being lost, but it was very F**king close and the law of averages will catch up with us on the fire line sooner or later. Which I've been writing up an end of action report for our NT Bushfire brigade at Dundee Beach/ Bynoe Harbour Area, but weather it gets notice and action is going to be another thing.
We just spoken to the father in-law at Sussex Inlet about 30mins ago and the only Rd to Sussex Inlet is now cut and are now on ember alert. About the same time heard that the town of the former post war labour leader Ben Chifley Lithgow, is on the western side of the Blue Mountains is now on ember alert and this town is quite large probably the size of Nelson I think.
I haven't read the NZ carbon bill as yet, but Shaw and Peters have done good job all consider.
I'm head to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test, via Sydney on Christmas Day and its going to interesting week for me.
PS, here’s the link from the ABC’s Fire Alert updates and god bless the ABC and this the reason why we have a taxpayer funded Broadcaster.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-21/nsw-bushfire-emergency-catastrophic-warnings-greater-sydney/11815992
Amen to that; to the ABC, and to your father-in-law in Sussex.
Hi Ad,
I've just sent an email from a brief write up I did for the folks at home in the NZ and I think it might make a good post for the readers here on the 'The Standard" to have understanding on the conditions that we face over in Oz during the fire seasons. It's picture and video heavy, well one video and a number of pictures on the conditions I face on the weekend of the 14 September 2019.
Yes, do.
For contributions just send it through to:
thestandardnz@gmail.com
Here in Brisbane we are only getting through with air conditioning. For many days this past month there have been vast, ominous smoke clouds that render everything a sombre orange, darkening into an apocalyptic red in the sunset.
Yes it’s my sense from socialising that most people are uneasily aware that life as they knew it is changing. And this will fairly quickly reflect into the political scene.
Who could imagine any Brisbane summer without air conditioning?
Forest fires, temperature rise, and the accelerated collapse of the Murray-Darling seem like more effective public discourses into State and Federal politics about the environment than railing against coal mining.
Is this the moment that public mood alters enough in Australia?
Holy heck….only 2 major roads out of Sydney are open right now
Yeah, its not good atm either way.
Here's another more direct answer to your question Ad:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-21/angus-taylor-facing-the-ire-of-liberals-wanting-climate-action/11815000
This is probably worth a post in itself: the Dutch government has been ordered to do much more than it has been about climate change, after a six year legal fight.
The court ruled that the government had explicit duties to protect its citizens’ human rights in the face of climate change and must reduce emissions by at least 25% compared with 1990 levels by the end of 2020.
Hopefully that sends a shudder through a number of other governments.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/20/dutch-supreme-court-upholds-landmark-ruling-demanding-climate-action
Well deserved award to PM Ardern, by crikey.
https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/12/19/2019-person-of-the-year/
In part it reads, "Ardern’s response to the unimaginable horror of the Christchurch massacre was more or less flawless in both tone and content. The dignity and solidarity she showed with victims was matched with the courage to act decisively on reforming New Zealand’s gun laws.
In a year where many leaders fled from scrutiny or cashed in on the kind of sentiments that lead to incidents like Christchurch, Ardern showed what leadership that pushes back against the worst parts of society really looks like."
On Radionz this morning. Needs to be heard though you will not like what you hear. Doesn't fit to a kind and practical rule. There are a lot of images on the Radionz site. There isn't a link set up yet.
8:10 Ian Urbina – Human stories of crime on the high seas
Photo: supplied / Penguin
From pirates to people smugglers, enslaved crews and dodgy fishing practices, the world's oceans are home to widespread and largely unchecked illegality.
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Ian Urbina has spent five years documenting the lawless behaviour flourishing on the high seas in his book The Outlaw Ocean.
He's also set up a non-profit journalism organization called The Outlaw Ocean Project dedicated to publishing more stories about life and conditions on board the global shipping fleet.
It's a failure on a massive scale. Were our political leaders a little more ecologically literate, they'd have recognised and cultivated our marine resources to enrich our nation. Instead they brought in the lowest common denominator – slave fishermen – and the agricultural research that underpins our farming sector was, shamefully, never replicated for our fisheries.
The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen, and stupidity. ~ Harlan Ellison
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-fishing/thousands-of-thai-fishermen-protest-against-tough-industry-regulations-idUSKBN1YL0VY
Some people arnt happy about it.
#IMPOTUS
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/george-conway-trump-impotus_n_5dfc6f05e4b0b2520d089ab1
The US is drawing closer to implosion via civil war. Not funny.
Ridicule works on bullies.
Thoughts on Chernobyl.
Australia is going through a climate change Chernobyl, every single Australian state is suffering through a record early bush fire season and record breaking heat wave. Shockingly flying foxes are dying on their perches.
After watching the mini-series on Prime I was struck by the similarity, with the current crisis in Australia.
Just like the flying foxes in Australia, the mini series depicted birds falling from the sky to lie flapping on the ground in their death throes.
After the Chernobyl explosion, Soviet political leaders were in deep denial as the reactor core was open to the air and lumps of radioactive graphite was scattered on the ground and roof of the plant.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, (famous for holding up a lump of coal thoughtfully shellacked by his coal industry backers to stop him getting soot on his hands), like some unconcerned Soviet nuclear industry apparatchik, holidays in Hawaii.
The depth of denial plumbed by Scott Morrison dwarfs that of the Soviets.
Gorbachev didn't hold up a lump of (decontaminated) graphite to declare "This is graphite– don't be afraid!"
Good Lord. The pic of him yukking it up in Hawaii as Australia burns comes to mind.
It's 1930, again.
https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/1207965394817953792
https://twitter.com/adamparkhomenko/status/1208108320239702016
The US military is in the middle of a recruitment crisis. At this point finding anyone who isn't smoking pot, can pass a basic intelligence test, and has a baseline fitness level is incredibly difficult for them.
I'm guessing that they decided if one part of the recruitment criteria had to be softened it was psychological – yikes – what are they doing in that country?
Maybe someone got to the senator.
Yeah, right
Edit
The House is produced for RNZ with funding from Parliament. I noticed a highlight on Radionz about PM Jacinda from The House and hadn't heard about this before. This piece is a speculative piece and gives explanation and interpretation about something that may never happen. Interesting, but I wonder what sort of focus on our reality and priorities for matters calling for explanation that journalists developing their own stories will show, especially when it is through RNZ, RadioNZ.
This is the piece. Can you impeach a prime minister?
(Followed by a pic of PM Jacinda on a background of an old hand-written document which might be the Treaty or some Constitution.)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/the-house/audio/2018726597/can-you-impeach-a-prime-minister
They conclude that we can't end up in the USA bog, a hopeful note!
We no speak Americano
In summary, New Zealand doesn’t require an impeachment process because prime ministers serve at the pleasure of Parliament (and their own party), and are easy to get rid of it they start getting all ‘high crimes and misdemeanours’ (which refers to abuse of power).
New Zealand has had a few prime ministers who were bullies (there’s a big statue of one of them holding forth in Parliament’s front yard), but getting rid of them is as easy as a simple majority in the House. Just ask Marilyn Waring.
And this fits in with a very interesting piece on falsehood in information releases by governments and gives a view of what is happening in Russia by someone who knows. It would give background learnings to many ponderings on this blog.
Book written: This is not Propaganda – Adventures in the war against Reality. (Some of the best information we get is coming after books have been written and bring together disparate information for the public. I am amazed at the huge numbers of fiction authors at present. These days the reality books by people devoted to finding out and explaining what’s going on are really exciting!)
9:25 Peter Pomerantsev: 'when information is a weapon, everyone is at war'
How can we build up a more truthful picture of the world in the era of fake news, trolls, Trump and Putin? This is the question at the heart of Peter Pomerantsev's new book This is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality.
Pomerantsev is a Soviet-born journalist, author and TV producer who's spent much of his life in Britain after his dissident parents were forced out of the USSR by the KGB.
He's also a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Global Affairs at the London School of Economics.
(Audio link to come if I get time, otherwise see audio list for Saturday Morning..)
This is the link to the RadioNZ fishers and high seas story I referred to earlier. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018727956/ian-urbina-human-stories-of-crime-on-the-high-seas
I remember another interview with Kim some years ago when Pomerantsev was pushing a very similar line and promoting his book "Nothing is true and everything is possible"
I followed up and read other stuff of his but also this..to me.. interesting critique by Mark Ames in 2015
A real cast of characters here, the Chandlers, (particularly Chris, a kiwi billionaire) Browder, The Legatum Institute, the nutty ex Polish foreign minister Sikorski, married to Anne Applebaum, a colleague of Pomerantsev's
https://pando.com/2015/05/17/neocons-2-0-the-problem-with-peter-pomerantsev/
Sorry its a long read, but its always good to "pressure test" a story when there appears to be an agenda, which most often there is…from all sides.
Pomerantsev is a great mate of Bill Browder who has a similar message
More recent to the Ames article, the Browder (also rather breathlessly interviewed by Kim)story has come under closer scrutiny, by various unrelated figures. The most recent appearing in Der Spiegel.
The link below also has links for a fuller discussion .
Even our own secretive kiwi Chandler brothers, who made millions out of Russia appear in this story
https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/spiegel-responds-to-browder-criticisms-of-magnitsky-story-a-1301716.html
Its as good as Shakespeare, a human drama of power and intrigue and treachery, and Russia doesn't get off the hook either
Useful interview of Aussie environmental scientist Bill Hare by Amy Goodman. He's part of a team that developed a tracker that is predicting 2.8 degrees Celsius (or more) of warming by 2100. He pans both Scomo's Liberals and the ALP – his point being that resistance to action in Australia is essentially political.
That's no surprise though. The whole purpose of right-wing parties is to protect an economy that acts as a conveyor belt transporting money to the top of the wealth-power pyramid. Genuine action means that all that surplus money sloshing around at the top will have to be appropriated to fund the transition to carbon-neutral economies without creating massive hardship for those dependent on industries being phased out – as well as to fund managed retreat from localities that will become uninhabitable.
Have to add how good it is to see 63 year-old woman who has let her hair go grey fronting a news show and striking a note of high seriousness.. Having recently seen the waffly sentimentalist John Campbell surrounded by a bevy on blondes in their 30's on the execrable 'Breakfast' show, or the endlessly self-referential narcissism of Seven Sharp, Amy seems particularly sane.
I hear Australians saying it's the right, but also the left (union history), and the powerful lobbies from various industries. Unlike NZ where we have a pro-action left and centre left, and business increasingly ready to get on board despite the recalcitrants like Fed Farmers and Fonterra.
Did Hare address that?
No he didn't. He simply said that the ALP was no better, with the implication being that they are subject to the same pressures from economic interests.
ah, yes, that's similar. Political parties, unions, industry, all resistant and with a lot of power.
Because it's Chekist day
― Felix Dzerzhinsky
OOh. Those movements born in fire and harsh coercion, will continue to smoulder and become too hot for people to handle. Cruel and callous cannot create a society fit for humans, animals or plants. No New Order from this background can be welcomed by decent, free human beings as a way of living.
Hollow words from you, yet I agree, at your expense, though still can't quite fathom how you managed to dodge this bullet when the debate about treatment of women has been raging for the past few days.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19-12-2019/#comment-1674615
[fixed the internal link. You have to us the link html or button or it reverts back to the post – weka]
I totally agree that action should have been taken on that absolutely disgusting comment by Greywarshark the other night on OM 19 Dec. And that is far from the first time we have had comments from Grey along similar sanctimonious, shallow lines.
I was also shocked by Grey's comment yesterday at 3.1 on Open Mike 20 Dec that
"Someone intoning about safety on the roads on radio this morning (in a foreign accent – Canadian I think one less job for a born NZer). Realistic xenophobia!"
As noted in my response at /open-mike-20-12-2019/#comment-1674783;, that 'someone' was most probably none other than Julie Anne Genter as our Associate Minister of Transport. JAG was interviewed yesterday morning on RNZ's Nine to Noon programme re the Government's new multi-billion dollar road safety plan called Road to Zero aimed at cutting road deaths by 40 per cent by 2030.
But Grey's view appears to be that 'this was someone with a foreign accent taking up a Nzer's job; and therefore "realistic zenophobia" is apparently justified!
But as usual, Grey just sprays and walks away with no response to your and others' reactions to her/his OM 19 Dec comment, nor to mine yesterday on OM 20 Dec.
And here she is back today, with her comments currently totaling 7 of the 30 so far today (as of about 30 mins ago). Well I suppose it keeps the comment numbers up if not the quality; but IMO it is not really surprising that over the last 10 or so months a noticeable number of long term commenters no longer participate here regularly, including myself. In my case, this type of behaviour/comment is a big turnoff and one of the major factors, but not the only one, as to why I no longer participate as much as I did. I certainly do not want to be associated with such prejudice and attitudes as displayed in these two very recent comments by Grey.
I'm aware there are issues. It's harder to moderate in places like OM and DR where the expectation is that as long as people don't break the main rules they can post abhorrent beliefs and arguments (there is a limit). It's the robust debate ethic and the theory is that commenters will then argue why the beliefs/argument are abhorrent (as you did over the xenophobia issue).
If she was making those rape culture comments under a post of mine she would get warned then banned (have done so in the past) because I write to create a good discussion space. But then reasons why I'm not writing on those topics (and why there are no other regular feminist authors here) are the elephant in the living room of TS.
If the community wants more moderation on topics like this it has to support the moderators and authors.
Just caught up on the comment and replies. I think that people did exactly what was needed: named the problems with the comment and pushed back clearly. I'm grateful because Grey has been commenting like that for a while and has generally not been responded to. I find reading those comments as a moderator easily the worst part of the job, it makes things way easier if the commentariat responds.
Thanks to you both for raising it again today.
I raised it again today mainly because I can't see how someone posting about 'Cruel and callous' not befitting society and humanity one day, can post cruel and callous comments a couple of days previous, showing a distinct lack of humanity, and expect to be taken seriously on any level at all.
I honestly took it as an example of daytime drinking not being for everyone if it allows the natural nasty to come through in such an ignorant and spiteful way, but really, there's no excuse for that. Glad he got called out for it by a few others, too.
Thanks The Allen, Veuto and Weka.
I have also found some of Grey's comments recently quite shocking – the full blown rape apologist and rape culture remarks and the misogynist language in particular. He/she made some similar remarks on open mike back in November 28 under the Assange thread (can't link sorry on my phone).
I wrote the other day, the only benefit of this type of commentary is knowing who we share this space with.
I am really annoyed at veutoviper. I have not advanced myself as a woman so she has chosen to break the rule that good bloggers here don't penetrate others' pseudonyms. Which is strange as she always holds herself up to be exemplary in everything.
Secondly there is the matter of free speech. I consider that my points are relevant and not unreasonable. The state of politics and the way that there is an oppressive PC control on speech from those who find that interacts with their advanced sensitivities means that matters can't be faced and discussed as they need to be.
The PC brigade and those concerned with 'nice' and right-as-taught expression apart from that chosen as the official line, results in a shutting down of full discussion with the ability to be objective and see and speak to the unsatisfactory state of affairs. Trying to look at things as they are while this 'moral outrage' from the cognoscenti who have made a group decision that they are right, and there is one way to consider anything, theirs seems paramount. The carping continues regularly iterated from the passive aggressive controllers.
If women can't strongly speak out on matters that should be looked at closely, not with a prepared reaction agreed to by the Sisters Union, they are being silenced and pushed out by these other women, who wish to be moral dictators. This reminds me of how Ettie Rout was treated after she conducted her campaign against sexually transmitted disease caught from sexual congress by soldiers in WW1. And I am sure that the sisters here won't see the parallel. Scorn and outrage is your response to the challenge of different ideas.
So I have responded to all the comfy chair warriors, and those who want a harmonious little coterie. I haven't in the past because I thought that some different thoughts were needed but i see you are determined to squash them. You have your wish.
Calling a murder victim "that silly girl" and historic sexual abuse/assault "hysterical" and a "witch hunt" isn't "different thoughts", it's just fucking wrong. It negates the devastating impact on victims and cheapens the suffering of all innocents. They don't need squashing, they just need not to be said in the first instance.
I'm not sure that "that silly girl" wasn't accurate – of course we don't have the full details, but certainly the defense were trying to suggest that Millane was up for bdsm with complete stranger. That seems unwise to me – not that it excuses the murderer one iota – but that reposing that much trust without cause is frankly dangerous. It is not uncommon for murder victims have done things that might be considered imprudent, and saying so isn't an endorsement of the crime.
'silly girl' is a pejorative commonly used to undermine women, it's not a phrase used to convey imprudence. Millane was an adult not a girl.
I didn't follow the details of the trial. Leaving aside the defence's argument was there any evidence that Millane wanted to be strangled during sex by a stranger on this date? I mean actual evidence here, not hearsay and rumour.
Without thinking too much about the stats, I'm wondering if the risk assessment is similar to say tourists going on a trip to an active volcano. I didn't see too many people calling them silly girls and boys. Partly because it would be grossly insensitive, but also because we just don't think about it like that. So why think about Grace Millane in that way?
to put that another way, it's possible to have a conversation about the politics of personal responsibility without using terms that start the conversation by victim blaming.
I don't think it's out of order to suggest that her choice may have reflected a decree of immaturity.
Of course I'm not sure to what degree bdsm was even part of her decision as opposed to a self-serving narrative conjured by the defence.
It might not be out of order, although I’m not seeing that given her age, and we don’t know what her choice was, so it’s kind of a moot point. But there’s no need to use language to describe her in ways that diminish her as a person. Talk about her actions and whether they were wise, but there’s still the bigger picture of rape culture and victim blaming.
The defense produced several witnesses that claimed Millane wanted asphyxiation and BDSM during sex (in general, not specifically with respect to the encounter with the accused). Dunno whether that counts as evidence or hearsay and rumour. The prosecution produced witnesses that said the accused engaged in non-consensual asphyxiation and domination. Again, dunno whether that counts as evidence or hearsay and rumour.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12286093
"immaturity" is just a more sensitive way of making the assumption that a Tinder date is more dangerous for women than the way we dated twenty or thirty years ago. Not so sure about that.
Secondly, even if it is more dangerous than meeting someone in a bar or at a party, there's still more than enough opportunity to avoid putting the focus of responsibility upon the victim. "Silly girl" is a pretty callous and dismissive way to describe someone who was murdered.
Feel free to see the defence's argument without the benefit of the victim's testimony as unwise, and though you say "we don't have the full details", accept this rejected trial position as a valid reason to call GM that stupid girl.
Using that logic, I suppose it's okay to call out that kiwi lass in Ausralia who fell off a balcony trying to flee that aussie creeps apartment following a tinder date?
Or the girl in a short skirt who walks in to a bar full off men?
Actually I think the girl in Oz showed a lot of sense – though shouting to the neighbours or setting a fire might have worked better than climbing.
There used to be bars in NZ (and may still be) where that dress decision would almost inescapably bring certain consequences – the downstairs bar of the British in Lyttleton used to be such a venue. No defense for attackers, but a place most women would do well to avoid.
Not sure what you want grey. You have the freedom here to post your thoughts and others have the freedom to respond as they see fit. If you don't like the responses you can modify how you communicate, but you appear to be saying you want to say what you want and have people like what you say. It doesn't work like that.
If your views are relevant and not unreasonable then argue them and see how they stand up to political analysis of your peers. What I see yesterday is you dropping a controversial comment and then walking away. You can't have it both ways. Either we have robust debate here or we don't.
Info about linking received.
Mass rape in China against a Muslim minority. An activist asked,
I was going link to that myself. Truly one of the more disturbing things I've read in a while.
One of the consequences of the concept creep which our outrage culture has indulged in for so long, that when finally faced with the truly outrageous and evil … we are at a loss for words and a meaningful response.
It was only 80 years ago or so that they realised they had to invent words to describe that stuff: "genocide" and "crimes against humanity".
The first thing that came to mind with the Australian PM holidaying in Hawaii while Australia is imploding with bush fires and enduring extreme heat was the saying "Nero Fiddled while Rome Burned". Seems very apt today and another ominous example of history repeating itself. I envisage Australian climate refugees coming here by the boatloads in the not too distant future – the irony of it. Because we are hopefully a civilised country we will accept them.
If I was the Australian PM I would start treating our PM and country with the respect it deserves. He is going to have to do some grovelling/negotiating in the future to the NZ Government on behalf of his country's citizens so as to enable them to have a safe haven here. Meanwhile the country is frying and their Government is still in denial and thrall to the coal industry. God help them.
Of course they have some of the best gigs in the economy, politics, science, etc, etc, but other than that they're completely marginalised.
/
https://twitter.com/GMB/status/1207559555665801217
Donny Dotard doing his bit to encourage vegetariansim in the USA.
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/12/20/mystery-pork-will-soon-hit-the-stores/
Can I just give a shoutout on the retirement of Brian Gaynor, the well respected NZHerald business journalist.
I always felt that he put the interests of New Zealand first, and always wanted business to grow in the national interest and not just in self-interest.
He was always clear that overseas ownership of business and land here just holds New Zealand back. He was very rarely in favour of privatization.
And he was resolute in holding bad directors to account and wanting high-quality industry-experienced directors to govern their businesses well.
Finally, he had a broad horizon with some historical depth. In his last column today he rails against Muldoon for killing the Superannuation scheme an bemoans how much more powerful and secure we would be as a society we would have been. But still praises NZSuperfund as a good start, even if not perfect.
Sure hope they get a decent replacement who seeks to bring the interests of business back to the long term interests of New Zealand.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12295721
Gaynor was always forthright about how scum like Fay and Richwhite fleeced co-investors and incompetent privatising governments of an easy half billion: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12689
A rare journalist.
Aren't we past this yet?
The daughter who seduced the old guy was 9 years old.
The instigator of the childish "Turn Ardern" campaign is Colin Wilson, a 66 year-old pale male from Canterbury. What a surprise (not). I bet he feels emasculated and scared when he sees Greta's photo as well. The poor chap needs therapy.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12295954
Quite. Anyone who feels the need to add 'the man' to his twitter handle has issues.
Funny, I'd always assumed he was part of the Nat troll crew.
They all look the same. But hey..
https://twitter.com/GraemeEdgeler/status/1208483320406786048
A brow any lower would be a heel.
Crikey! This is front-page news (with photo!) on Stuff’s landing page too. The squeaky wheels get attention.