Women’s March Speech.

Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, January 21st, 2018 - 46 comments
Categories: gender, human rights, International, patriarchy, political alternatives, Politics, racism, Social issues, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, vision - Tags: ,

I’ve no doubt there will be various analyses and commentaries on the Women’s Marches that have taken place across the US and elsewhere. This post isn’t making any commentary. This post is merely presenting video of Viola Davis giving a wide ranging, most powerful and no holds barred, speech at the Women’s March in Los Angeles. Sadly, it appears to end before she had actually finished speaking. So if anyone finds a full length version, I’ll happily swap it in.

In the words of my fellow American Malcolm X, I’m going to make it plain.

In 1877, America, the greatest country on this planet, put laws in place called the Jim Crow Laws. And the Jim Crow Laws restricted the rights to quadroons, octaroons, blacks, Hispanics, Indians, Malays:- restricted medical, restricted relationships, restricted education, restricted life.

It told us that we were “less than”. And it came on the heels of the 13th Amendment. It came on the heels of 55 individuals, great Americans, writing the greatest document called the Constitution of the United States saying “We, the people.”

Now the reason why those destructive laws came into place, I think can be greatly described by Martin Luther King.

And what he said about time is, he said – “I’m not ready to wait a hundred or two hundred years for things to change. That I think, actually, that time is neutral. That it can either be used constructively or destructively. That human progress rarely rolls in on inevitability. It is through human dedication and effort that we move forward.

And then when we don’t work, what happens is that time actually becomes an ally to the primitive forces of social stagnation. And the guardians of the status quo are in their oxygen tents keeping the old order alive. And so that time needs to be helped, by every single moment, doing right.”

And the reason why these Jim Crow Laws were in place, that stifled your rights and my rights, is because we fell asleep. We fall asleep, when we’re moving ahead and we don’t look to the left and right and see that we’re not including people in this move ahead. Because really, at the end of the day we only move forward when it doesn’t cost us anything. But I’m here today saying that no-one and nothing can be great unless it costs you something.

One out of every five women will be sexually assaulted and raped before she reaches the age of eighteen; one out of six boys. If you are a woman of colour and you are raped before you reach the age of eighteen, then you are 66% more likely to be sexually assaulted again.

70% of girls who are sex trafficked are girls of colour. They are coming out of the foster care system. They are coming out of poverty. It is a billion dollar industry. When they go into the sex trafficking business, and they call it a business, trust me, more than likely they are gang raped.

I am speaking today, not just for the me too’s. Because I was a me too. But when I raise my hand, I am aware of all the women who are still in silence. The women who are faceless. The women who don’t have the money. And don’t have the constitution. And who don’t have the confidence. And who don’t have the images in our media that gives them a sense of self worth, enough to break their silence, that’s rooted in the shame of assault. That’s rooted in the stigma of assault.

Written on the Statue of Liberty is ‘Come, come you tireless, poor, yearning to breathe free’. To breathe free. Every single day, your job as an American citizen is not just to fight for your rights, it’s to fight for the rights of every individual that is taking a breath, who’s heart is pumping and breathing on this earth.

And like the originators of the meetoo’s, the Fannie Hamer’s, the Ricy Taylor’s who in 1944 was gang raped by six white men. And she spoke up. Rosa Parks fought for her rights. She was silenced. To the Tarana Burke’s to the originators, to the first women to speak out. It cost them something.

Nothing and no-one can be great without a cost.

Listen, I am always introduced as an award winning actor. But my testimony is one of poverty. My testimony is one of being sexually assaulted and very much seeing a childhood that was robbed from me. And I know that every single day, when I think of that, I know that the trauma of those events are still with me today. And that’s what drives me into the voting booth. That’s what allows me to listen to the women who are still in silence. That’s what allows me… even to become a citizen on this planet is the fact that we are here to connect. That we are here as 324 million people living on this earth to know that every day that we breathe and we live that we’ve got to bring up every one, with us.

I stand in solidarity with all women who raise their hands because I know that it was not easy. And my hope for the future, my hope, and I do hope, that we never go back. That it’s not just about clapping your hands and screaming and shouting every time someone says something that sounds good.

It’s about keeping it rolling once you go home.

46 comments on “Women’s March Speech. ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Carolyn_Nth 1
    21 January 2018 at 4:06 pm

    Thanks, Bill.

    The CNN explanation says it is the full speech – so….?

    I listened again after your comment on open mike about her slamming the 13th amendment and constitution for the Jim Crow laws.

    I hadn’t got it correct from my first listening, so thanks for the impetus to re-listen.

    She does praise the Constitution for saying “we the people”. She doesn’t slam the 13th amendment – she says that the Jim Crow laws came on the heels of the 13th amendment.

    I did some googling – the 13th Amendment abolished slavery. So after that came the Jim Crow laws that enforced segregation in the US south, and restricted the rights of people of colour in the US.

    • Bill 1.1
      21 January 2018 at 5:39 pm

      The 13th Amendment also led directly to the criminalisation of America’s black population, because section one had a hook:

      Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States…

      So, the way I heard her, the constitution’s “we the people” wasn’t inclusive, the 13th Amendment is barbed and Jim Crow was just the cherry on the cake.

      • weka 1.1.1
        21 January 2018 at 6:43 pm

        Yeah, I thought she was being barbed (also when she called America the greatest country on the planet). I hope she was, it’s hard to tell with Americans sometimes.

        • Carolyn_Nth 1.1.1.1
          21 January 2018 at 7:28 pm

          Yes, on listening to the beginning of the speech again, I think Davis was being barbed about the constitution. She says of it, that it was devised by 55 men who said “we the people”.

          But she begins the speech with the target of great venom, the Jim Crow laws. These she describes as an outrage, not just some “cherry on the cake”, to quote Bill.

          However, the main theme of her speech, which begins with the focus on the appallingness of the Jim Crow laws, is that we need to be continually vigilant, and continually fighting for something better.

          She says the Jim Crow laws came about because people went to sleep.

          Basically, I think she’s saying, the constitution and 3rd amendment didn’t bring the changes people thought were going to happen. While they were applauding changes that came (the constitution, end of chattel slavery, etc), other things were going on outside of people’s vision.

          • Bill 1.1.1.1.1
            21 January 2018 at 7:55 pm

            I think she’s saying, the constitution and 3rd amendment didn’t bring the changes people thought were going to happen. While they were applauding changes that came (the constitution, end of chattel slavery, etc), other things were going on outside of people’s vision

            Or she was saying the 13th and the Jim Crow laws came to pass because people were asleep, while also pointing to the obvious exclusive nature of the constitution.

            When I write that Jim Crow was the cherry on the cake, I’m not diminishing it. I’m saying that first there was this much lauded constitution that only applied to white men. Then there was a 13th Amendment that, while ending slavery, simultaneously facilitated the re-enslavement of those it had purportedly just set free. And to top it off, there’s Jim Crow.

            Viola uses the term “on the heels of”. To me, that term usually used to denote something following in the same vein as that which went before.

      • Carolyn_Nth 1.1.2
        21 January 2018 at 7:35 pm

        The hook of criminal conviction was invoked a year after the 13th Amendment was ratified, to put a black man into slavery.

        In 1866, just a year after the Civil War, a black man convicted of theft in Maryland was advertised for sale in the newspaper as punishment. “Vagrancy” — code for being young, black and unemployed — could yield similar results.

        the bit in the 13th Amendment that cites that:

        allows Congress to pass laws to eradicate the “badges and incidents of slavery.”

        Does it include labour laws, for instance, and if so how?

        • Bill 1.1.2.1
          21 January 2018 at 8:06 pm

          I’m not sure where you lifted that quoted text from, but as far as I can tell, the entire 13th Amendment consists of two sections and reads –

          Section 1.
          Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

          Section 2.
          Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

          https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=40&page=transcript

          And as your linked article points out –

          “(States) claim to be too poor to maintain state convicts within prison walls. Hence the convicts are leased out to work for railway contractors, mining companies and those who farm large plantations. These companies assume charge of the convicts, work them as cheap labor and pay the states a handsome revenue for their labor. Nine-tenths of these convicts are negroes.” Douglass went on to note that so many blacks were behind bars because law enforcement tended to target them.

          So, it takes precedence over any labour laws (if that’s the question at the bottom of your comment).

          • Carolyn_Nth 1.1.2.1.1
            21 January 2018 at 8:21 pm

            Sorry – I was looking at this article, which says:

            Section Two of the Thirteenth Amendment has broader applicability as well. The Supreme Court has long held that this provision also allows Congress to pass laws to eradicate the “badges and incidents of slavery.”

            So that phrase comes from a Supreme Court clarification.

            And the end of the article says:

            the Amendment’s current relevance is subject to debate. Does it govern the fairness of modern labor practices? Does it empower Congress to pass broad-ranging civil rights laws?

        • spikeyboy 1.1.2.2
          22 January 2018 at 10:57 pm

          In the South the vagrancy law was such that you had to be able to show written proof of a job at the beginning of each year or else be susceptible to being arrested and sent to jail from where you could be sent out to work on plantations. If course these laws were targeted at black folk much the same way as drug laws are today. The Constitution was set up to make A strong federal government unlikely with states able to pretty much have a disproportionate say. Like the 2 senators from each state regardless of size and the electorate college that gives some small states a lot of clout.

          Lots of good reading in just the intro and first chapter but the whole book is great.

          https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=reDzBZ3pXqsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+new+jim+crow&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiH947m-erYAhUKk5QKHScAA-EQ6AEICjAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

  2. Carolyn_Nth 2
    21 January 2018 at 4:29 pm

    An amateur video shows that the CNN video kind of ends when Davis speech ends. After that, Davis went on to introduce LA Mayor Garcia – a promo for him, mainly.

    Can’t really see her in the vid, but it does present all Davis says.

    BTW, Davis calls herself an “actor”, while CNN calls her an “actress” – small detail.

  3. weka 3
    21 January 2018 at 4:43 pm

    Incredible speech.

  4. spikeyboy 4
    21 January 2018 at 4:49 pm

    Absolutely awesome. Just hope that the many people that Viola will have inspired are able to do as she implored them to do. Keep it rolling after they go home.

  5. Macro 5
    21 January 2018 at 5:42 pm

    The Resistance Now movement in the States is gaining momentum day by day – and it is having an impact across the country
    Just one example: Sarah Stankorb

    Sarah Stankorb is now a city council member for Wyoming, Ohio

    After the Women’s March I decided to run. In 2017, thousands of other women across the US made the same decision

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/20/womens-march-run-for-office

  6. Jum 6
    21 January 2018 at 6:30 pm

    And after the fight for equality comes the backlash.
    America (not just Trump) is reducing aid to many organisations in many countries that assist women with anything remotely to do with owning their own bodies.

    America (not just Trump) welcomed in a constitution that said men were equal; it never mentioned women, yet it is held up as some kind of high altar for the west to emulate. Even NZ is better than that yet we still allowed key to govern, who started off by halting research on equality for women in income, left English to carry on keeping women down, and has systematically continued to do so on a global basis in his position as democrat union chair. Democrat union probably advises trump.

    What are men SO scared of, in sharing power with women? I’m not scared. In men and women sharing power that prevents domestic and public violence and strengthens everyone; surely.

    • weka 6.1
      21 January 2018 at 6:46 pm

      loss of privilege and control, and fear that women will do to men what men have done to women if women are allowed power. Not saying that all individual non-power sharing men feel or think that, but I think it’s definitely a dynamic. Hence whataboutery.

      • Obtrectator 6.1.1
        22 January 2018 at 11:48 am

        The second time I’ve come across that term “whataboutery”, and I’m no nearer to understanding what it means. (Context was no help in either case.)

        Please explain?

        • Carolyn_Nth 6.1.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 12:27 pm

          Not hard to find definitions on google.

          Is a distracting technique – failing to address the issue at hand by saying whatabout XXXX? Which just goes off at a tangent about another issue.

          • weka 6.1.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 12:42 pm

            Interesting, I didn’t know that history and I’m not sure that’s exactly what I was meaning, but good to know the broader context of the term.

        • weka 6.1.1.2
          22 January 2018 at 12:41 pm

          When a feminist says for example “there are issues around women’s health that need addressing in society” and a man comes along and goes, “why are you talking about only women, what about men?”, that’s a derailment. It tries to stop women from talking about their own politics, the gendered nature of many issues, and it tries to grab power back to men. Hence ‘whataboutery’ (in this example men).

          (and often it comes across as childish).

          You will also hear it referred to (and sometimes mocked) as “what about the menz”. This is because it’s such a common dynamic for women when talking about women’s politics that we’re sick of it. Not all men do it by any means, and there are definitely ways to talk about mens issues alongside women’s that don’t derail or attempt to grab power, so this is referring to a specific dynamic.

          It also comes up in other situations e.g. black people talking about issues that affect them and white people saying what about us? Again, understanding power dynamics here is central.

          • Obtrectator 6.1.1.2.1
            22 January 2018 at 8:14 pm

            Thanks, weka (and Carolyn). Obvious once explained, but it didn’t seem that way to begin with!

    • Lara 6.2
      21 January 2018 at 6:47 pm

      The backlash to #metoo is well underway.

    • Bill 6.3
      21 January 2018 at 7:03 pm

      I don’t want anyone in power to share that power – not with me or you or anyone. I just want their power to be gone…evaporated or whatever. And when all of us – people of whatever gender are empowered, well then it’s done.

    • whatisis 6.4
      21 January 2018 at 11:43 pm

      1.Division. The historical structure of society has been men did the stuff outside the home and women did the in home. Women wanting traditional male ‘roles’ undermines male perceptions of society and creates anger, despondency, unsureness, and ultimately division.
      2.Hormonal swings. Females go through a monthly hormonal cycle that is frightening to an average male whos own hormonal cycle is relatively stable to the point of being practically invisible.
      3.Emotion. Generally females operate on an emotional level and males on a logic basis. The two compliment and ‘the feeling aspect’ is sought but males need logic to be the final arbiter of any decisions made. Males logically don’t ‘trust’ decisions made by females.

      Preventing domestic and public violence is clearly in everyones interest, however what is happening here scares me because it doesn’t. It seems to me they are just abusing males and that’s actually feeding the beast.

      I hope my ‘logic’ doesn’t offend you. I’m trying to be honest.

      • Carolyn_Nth 6.4.1
        22 January 2018 at 7:55 am

        whatisis, ….. or should it be whereis, the 19th century called and was worried if you’d got lost somewhere in time.

        … a call from the same place where they spread the belief of the uncontrollable penis: a “natural” phenomenon that women need to protect themselves because allegedly men have no self control…. that’s ‘logic’ for you.

        • Bill 6.4.1.1
          22 January 2018 at 8:10 am

          heh – I was quietly hoping that comment would remain in splendid isolation as an exhibit of jaw dropping…well, no words really 🙂

          • Carolyn_Nth 6.4.1.1.1
            22 January 2018 at 11:23 am

            I was reminded of an academic book a read a few years back, that outlined the historical construction of gendered private and public spaces, especially in the UK.

            Basically, there was not such a clear separation of public and domestic spaces in pre-industrial times. in rural areas, the home was also the workplace for many.

            In more affluent homes, there was not a clear separation between community and domestic life. And separate private bedrooms are a relatively recent invention.

            i couldn’t remember the name of the author of this piece – but it also draws on the rise of the enlightenment, and the valuing of scientific rationalism, during which times many dualities were set up: e.g. between emotions and logic, which actually are never that separate in human thinking.

            This wikipedia page does outline some of the debates and historical evidence, with ample links.

            Basically, the notion of separate male and female spheres of life is a social construction. And it was strongly re-claimed in western industrial capitalist societies, as extended families declined and the nuclear family rose in prominence – with the shift to city factory work and production.

            And even in ancient Greece, the separation of male and female spheres was not that clear cut – more so in Athens than in Sparta, for instance.

            but some men still like to claim such supremacy of male logic to maintain their sense of superiority…. all of this has happened before and will happen again…

            • Bill 6.4.1.1.1.1
              22 January 2018 at 11:31 am

              🙂 I just thought “1950s” and “12 year old”.

              Unfair of me I know, but there’s some smash is just smash. And there comes a time (for me) when stepping over or around seems like the only reasonable course of action.

              The whole gendered thing is, I agree, a load of codswallop, but yes, a load of codswallop that has very real effects and consequences.

              And the same could be said for many other supposed dichotomies.

            • Rosemary McDonald 6.4.1.1.1.2
              22 January 2018 at 1:33 pm

              Excellent effort Carolyn_Nth, but you could have cut that down to one word…as befitting the capabilities of of your target audience.

              Evolution.

              (a good read though 😉 )

        • Rosemary McDonald 6.4.1.2
          22 January 2018 at 9:01 am

          “….got lost somewhere in time.”

          There’s this guy I know who, if one googles him, has gained a small measure of notoriety for writing letters to the editors of various NZ newspapers pontificating much along the same lines as whatisis.

          Now I know, mods, we’re not supposed to speculate as to the identity of those who comment using pseudonyms…but oh, it is a challenge.

          And in whatisis’s world I can be excused because my emotions rule and logic escapes me.

          I can see this guy now…in front of me , feigning acquaintanceship, and upon being rejected (specifically for his well promulgated misogynist ideologies) raising himself briefly upon his hind legs and declaring “I don’t hate women…I have a wife and daughters!!!”

    • tracey 6.5
      22 January 2018 at 8:09 am

      Jum

      I have been pondering that question for some time.

      For some men I wonder if they think feminists want to take over and rule over men? If they do think that do they assume those women will treat men as some men have treated women? If yes it could explain the fear?

      I have met many feminists over the years. From many countries. Some of them men. Not one of them has expressed a desire to rule over men. In my experience an “extreme” feminist is extreme in her methods and voice demanding equality. Not extreme in that she wants to dominate oppress disrespect and sexually asault men under the guise of “nature”.

      If I am thinking about writing an article that involves this kind of discussion, I hesitate, um and er. Make disclaimers about ” not all men” and those posts take me far longer than others. I wonder if men pondering such posts go through the same mental gymnastics?

  7. timeforacupoftea 7
    21 January 2018 at 6:44 pm

    Thanks Bill very blunt message.

    ( If you are a woman of colour and you are raped before you reach the age of eighteen, then you are 66% more likely to be sexually assaulted again. )

    I would like to say to this comment that here in NZ it happens to all coloured woman including white – of cause white is a colour.

    • Carolyn_Nth 7.1
      21 January 2018 at 7:44 pm

      That’s just a whitewash. ‘people of colour” has a specific meaning in contemporary Western societies, and that is what Davis is referring to.

      Furthermore, Davis says 70% of women who are sex trafficked are women of colour: and that they are coming out of the foster care system, and out of poverty. She says sex trafficking is a billionaire dollar industry, and that it’s called a “business”, in which the women are very likely to be gang raped.

      The racially-charged statistics indicate very brutal inequalities that can destroy many lives.

    • tracey 7.2
      22 January 2018 at 8:12 am

      “In physics, a color is visible light with a specific wavelength. Black and whiteare not colors because they do not have specific wavelengths. Instead, white light contains all wavelengths of visible light. Black, on the other hand, is the absence of visible light.” Wikipedia

  8. Macro 8
    21 January 2018 at 7:13 pm

    And this is what the Chump tweets!

    Beautiful weather all over our great country, a perfect day for all Women to March. Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months. Lowest female unemployment in 18 years!

    https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com
    Does he really think that that will make things better?
    🙄
    I think he just activated 10,000+ more women to Resistance Against him and his ilk.

    • Ad 8.1
      22 January 2018 at 8:32 am

      Very smart from the White House.

      An even smarter move from the Democrats would have been to use the Women’s March in the budget proxy war.

  9. eco maori 9
    21 January 2018 at 9:36 pm

    The men that have lead the World have suppressed ladies for centuries the neoliberal red necks . They don’t like to share anything they are scared that ladys will hold them accountable for all there bad behaviours . Wealthy men invented witches to suppress Ladys why when ladys spoke out about being abused and when Ladies figured that the wealthy were ripping the surfs off they branded them as a witch and burnt them to stop ladies from informing the common people of there crimes as they would have got hanged .
    Neoliberal men are greedy inhumane racist bigots because of this I know that to have a bright prosperous humane future we need to promote EQUALITY for ladies.

    I have seen some videos of trump supporters who still support him????? thats what there mouth says but there eyes say a different story like i’m uncomfortable lying to you.
    You see trump is manipulating the worlds media to show that he still has support and to suppress the truth on global warming he will use every trick in his little book to try and hold onto the power of a president of America like i have said before he is a very dangerous man drunk on that power of president of America we should be grateful that there is another superpower to ballance out the world power .If not trump would bully the whole WORLD to submit to him which is how he behaves .Ka kite ano

  10. Ad 10
    22 January 2018 at 8:30 am

    Would be great to see a few of these speakers get in to national-level elected politics.

    I love a good speech, but I want so much to see a rolling movement that grows and mutates rather than fizzles out like Black Lives Matter and Occupy. That takes several speeches and some structure.

    Big ups to the organisers for having the luck to time it on the day of the shutdown. Sometimes movements need luck, and it looks like they have it.

  12. Siobhan 12
    22 January 2018 at 10:55 am

    Meantime in the Democratic Party…

    “Your truth is never more important than now,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, addressing the crowd, rallying for fair immigration policy, a woman’s right to choose, gun safety, economic justice,

    “Women in politics make the wholesome difference.”

    Go Nancy, it wasn’t ‘the Russians’ who gave the Presidency to Trump…it was you and yours and the Corporate Democrats and neo liberal death spin.

    http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/01/womens_march_2018_livestream_updates_washington_dc_1.html

    • tracey 12.1
      22 January 2018 at 5:00 pm

      Thinking Clinton was what the people needed rather than working out what they want was a huge error by Democrats. Democrats who themselves had rejected her for Obama…

  13. eco maori 13
    22 January 2018 at 8:45 pm

    To all the ladies of OUR WORLD you have to go and get equality yourselves with the support of your good men.
    Its the same for me I have to take the muppets to walk on the hot coals of the HIGH COURT and we will see who gets there ass/asses burnt as I know that I have to achieve this no one else will do this for me. I know that when we get equality for all we will care for Papatuanuku/mother earth and all her treasures .Ka kite ano

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    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 ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    22 hours ago

  • New HOP readers for future payment options
    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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    23 hours ago

  • 2024 Reading Summary: April (+ Writing Update)
    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 ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 day ago

  • At a glance – Clearing up misconceptions regarding 'hide the decline'
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Road photos
    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 ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
    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, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • NZDF is still hostile to oversight
    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 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Winding Back The Hands Of History’s Clock.
    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 ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Sweet Moderation? What Christopher Luxon Could Learn From The Germans.
    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 ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • A clear warning
    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 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Poll results and Waitangi Tribunal report go unmentioned on the Beehive website – where racing tru...
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Listening To The Traffic.
    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 ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
    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 ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Ending The Quest.
    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 ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Webworm LA Pop-Up
    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 ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • “Feel good” school is out
    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 ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • 6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
    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 ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    2 days ago

  • Bread, and how it gets buttered
    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 ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    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 ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Justice for Gaza?
    The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
    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”. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
    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 ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
    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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
    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 Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
    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 ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 25
    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 ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    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? ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago

  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    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 arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago

  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Who’s Going Up The Media Mountain?
    Mr Bombastic: Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • “That's how I roll”
    It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • “Comity” versus the rule of law
    In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Aotearoa: a live lab for failed Right-wing socio-economic zombie experiments once more…
    Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder. In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    1 week ago

  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago

  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    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.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago

  • Accelerating airport security lines
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago

  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Independent review into disability support services
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Ending emergency housing motels in Rotorua
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and Dubai
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Education priorities focused on lifting achievement
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • NZTA App first step towards digital driver licence
    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). ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Supporting whānau out of emergency housing
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Tribute to Dave O'Sullivan
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Speech – Eid al-Fitr
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