The bloody cheek of it! I’ve met Nanaia. She has to be one of our most under-rated MPs. She’s intelligent, competent and has the ability to relate to a diverse range of people. She isn’t an attention seeker and she works quietly and effectively behind the scenes.
If I was Nanaia I would want to give that fly-by-nighter, Tuku Morgan a punch in the face. He’s the instigator here. A venomous “greedy brown Tom” who is in it for what he and his cohorts can get out of it.
Edit: If this is the kind of politics the M. P. endorse then I hope they’re knocked out of parliament later this year.
Around 90% of Maori have seen no money or benefits from Treaty settlements for the past ripp-offs by dishonest white settlers …
And then we have the Tuku morgans ….. who put a $89 pair of undies for himself ahead of other uses for Maori money…
Simple proof the guys a wanker … big on greed and self-entitlement …… BM & James should vote for him…. there is an affinity between the three which cuts across race.
Hi sanctuary,I would have thought as class was a bigger group than an individual’s idea of their identity,there was a greater chance of solidarity within a class.
Hi Anne,I have to confess I must be a bit dodge on identity politics too.
My understanding is that it is quite particular and framed by how you view yrself. Often at odds with how others view you.
I realised that. 🙂 I think Sanctuary was talking in terms of “class” as in say… the so called ‘entitled’ upper class (in which some M.P. members seem to see themselves) and the rest of the Maori population who are working class.
“My understanding is that it is quite particular and framed by how you view yrself. Often at odds with how others view you.”
Nope. But I’m not surprised, the debate around IP is pretty fractured now and not conducive to understanding. Unless you hang out with people that value IP 😉
It’s because there is an increasing stoush over ownership of the term and thus what it means varies hugely depending on who you talk to. Carolyn has gotten to the point of finding it a useless term. I vacillate between abandoning it and reclaiming it.
I’ll have a think about writing a definition in a context that will make sense here. Would make an interesting post (although I might have to turn the comments off 😈 )
The Adam Curtis 4 part series century of the self looks at the work of Anna Frued (niece of Sigmund).
The rise of marketers in the age of consumerism took this work and exploited us by telling us we were special, our needs were important, our fears are legitimate and here is a product to meet those fears, needs and wants.
IP comes across as a natural consequence of this conditioning.
Rather than look at what we have in common, we look for what sets us apart.
I look forward to a post.
Would be ironic to have no comments….
There’s an intense fight this coming election over the Māori seats. So, if it’s about social class, it’d about the amounts of working class within those electorates.
I mean, that all people enrolled in Māori electorates will be Māori – obviously. Many are also likely to identify as working class. But working class solidarity within the Māori electorates is not likely to outnumber those whose primary identification is as Māori.
I think/feel he’s the better candidate that’s all, although to be fair I don’t know a lot about Mahuta, and that maybe partly because of Mahuta’s reserved style. The impression I get of Papa is that he’s a great communicator with natural leadership skills and brings a prescence whenever he speaks. I also like how he knows his history.
I totally agree Anne. An ungracious and disrepectful comment indeed. Tuku has an obliging media following. No surprises there, given that anything that portrays Labour in a negative light will be highlighted by our faithful National abiding news casters.
That the now ‘backbencher is devoid of mana’ shows that he and his king place politics over and above familial associations. To say this publicly about a whanau, hapu and iwi member says less about them and much more about her. A personal attack of this nature will not be taken lightly and I hope Maori vote en masse to ensure they don’t make it into Parliament.
She’s not on the back bench. She’s on the front bench of course. And she will be a senior minister in the Lab/Green coalition government. That’s the big lie Tuku Morgan is peddling. I can’t believe the majority of Maori will fall for his sexist crap.
#completely disgusted with tv1 news report on vault7, drop in shill piece lies about status of assange, lies about source of DNC leak, zero fact check , un filtered propaganda!
A protest is being planned for outside Wellington College, to call on the school and New Zealand to address rape culture. A Wellington high school student tells Checkpoint why she plans to attend.
She said the behaviour/comments reported to have been posted by Wellington school boys on facebook, was no surprise to herself or girls she knows. She says it’s a daily experience for her to have boys and men to make rape-type comments to her in the street.
She says that she thinks many men need to look at their own behaviour, because school boys are just copying them.
The author of Raising Boys, Steve Biddulph, tells Checkpoint why so many boys, and men, act in a way that some students from Wellington College have come under fire for.
Some feedback to Checkpoint says it is part of our culture where a PM can harass a woman by pulling her ponytail, and critics get told to lighten up.
Grim listening Caroline, I will stick my neck out and suggest that part of the problem is pornography, from tv and media advertising through to music videos and the free hard core stuff available on any phone/laptop.
Thanks for the link Carolyn, is bloody shocking that this is still happening. Makes me think how are these boys being taught to treat women.. maybe via advertising, music videos, gaming and porn so easily and freely available online?
Wondering where the male role models are within the Government?
Surely the male leaders of our country should be setting an example for young men to follow, or are they part of the problem?
On the up side I’ve certainly seen some wonderful male role models within the opposition parties.
Interesting story regarding ‘rape culture’.
Was at a party, this guy was hitting on all the women there, even the ones who had partners.
It was inappropriate.
So the men took care of that situation, as women DO NOT get hassled at parties, such are the values of the men there towards women. This man was given a very very very stern talking to and removed from the party.
The next day the women from the party were called to gather at the party hostesses home, the touchy feely man in question was taken to the women, all clean shaven and in his sunday best and made to apologise to them all.
Some men do have strong values about respecting women. And it’s nice to know they are sharing their knowledge, lead by example and all that
The whole situation impressed me so very much, kudos to those men at the party for their respect of women, they always look after and look out for the women at parties.
Biker party, great night had by all, it was a great night because we felt safe, it was the bikers that cemented that feeling of safety by the way they dealt with the situation.
Now that’s how to get the chicks 😀 stick up for them. Lesson to be learned there 😀
Yes. On Checkpoint the author talked about the importance of men in the homes being good role models, but also about them needing to have “honest” discussions with their sons about ways to behave with women that are not damaging to the women.
The 16 year old student from Wellington College says she gets the same sorts of comments from men in the street, as from school boys: comments that promote rape culture. And from some men as old as John Campbell ie in their 50s.
For sures. I wonder if some parents really know what their kids are watching, it’s learned behaviour, whether it be on a screen or real people interacting around them.
And it’s the girls too, they see skanky chicks in music videos gyrating in sweet FA and rolling around on the floor and mimic it. And if no one puts them right and explains to them why it’s not acceptable in a way they understand, they will continue to do so.
My youngest watched the 9 – 12 yr olds from a local dance school do a performance at a community event, these young girls were dressed in gold hot pants and tiny crop tops, loads of sexual moves including dry humping the floor. Then my youngest tries to copy them dang.
I’m no prude that’s for sure, but crikey wtf, young dance teacher, brought up with sexual music video’s, dang any local perverts would have been in bliss.
Documentaries at home that encourage discussion seems to bring results at our house, lolz I’ll blindside their friends with one next sleepover lmao.
Sorry, but as one who started secondary teaching in 1970, I think you are both off-beam.
The attitude is started at home in the parents, and grows from there. It always has been so. I remember at secondary school in the early 1960s hearing boys talk that kind of talk. No social media, so no publicity.
This will annoy you even more (maybe): those bad parent types are producing more offspring than good parents do. So the problem gets worse.
Blaming social media and pornography is just the kind of mindless distraction that our neo-liberal masters want you to be distracted by. It suits them.
I still teach, and can assure you that well-parented children handle social media without harm, and probably avoid excessive exposure to pornography, without being harmed by the exposure their curiosity may have led them to.
Same with violence. The vicious cycle all starts with what parents unconsciously teach their kids in early years. Violence in video games or pornography have harmful effects only on people who are already infected with that harm, from parental input. Good children from good parents are incorruptible.
Otherwise, the harm is already done. Squealing about pornography and violence is squealing for an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. Too late.
We need good parenting, not a ban on porn or bash-up games.
I just wish I knew how to bring it about. Social justice, a decent living wage for all, and full employment would be much more worth fighting for. But that will not suit our neo-liberal regime.
So I guess we will get more squealing about porn and violence..
Interesting ty In Vino especially with your background in teaching and seeing things unfold over the years.
Maybe we need a parenting channel on the TV rather than a shopping channel? Actually.. that’s not a bad idea. Government funded using a medium that gets obvious results, good old television the drug of a nation.
The differences today are important, i remember one porno magazine that did the rounds, or someone trying to hire a porno video, sheez it was a big deal, required major planning, including how to watch it, whose got a VCR, they were super fancy.
But now days it’s all there and free online. I do think that makes a difference. Grand Theft Auto is a long way removed from Pac Man. There is a ban on porn and bash up games as well as guns in our house. JS
How do you think we could improve parenting in NZ to create change and break the cycles In Vino?
In Vino: Sorry, but as one who started secondary teaching in 1970, I think you are both off-beam.</i.
Really? And where did I particularly condemn pornography? – I merely said it was addressed. And in my previous comment I also referred to the discussion where parents as role models was also addressed.
Blaming social media and pornography is just the kind of mindless distraction that our neo-liberal masters want you to be distracted by. It suits them.
What a muddle of ideas you’ve thrown out.
I’m interested, though, that it is pornography again that is in the firing line with respect to misogyny.
2nd wave feminist tended to be highly critical of pornography – long before the neoliberal shift kicked in. And during the 1990s, with 3rd wave feminism, there was a tendency for many feminists to embrace pornography (or was it erotica?) that was claimed to be produced by and for women.
Actually, the expansion of pornography/erotica into digital media coincided with the neoliberal shift. Like all forms of media, it proliferated with the ability to more easily reproduce such productions. Pornography has probably been caught up in the acceleration of the commodification of everything, rather than being something separate from, or oppositional to neoliberalism.
I don’t know much about the content of pornography. But there were 2 issues raised by the Auckland Grammar teaching:
1. It was claimed pornography objectifies women, and treats them as less than human.
2. It was claimed some guys get addicted to pornography, and then become unable to maintain sexual relationships with real women.
On 1: I am critical of any media content that consistently objectifies women and/or demeans or demonises any section of society: and that includes whenever it happens within G-rated cartoons, sports broadcasts, serious documentaries, mainstream TV dramas, 6pm evening news… and pornography/erotica.
And I think the dominant narratives in most of our media tend to reinforce rape culture. And inter-related with that, is the role models adults set for young people.
On 2: I don’t know anything about addiction to pornography. There seems to be concerns these days about addictions to all kinds of things. I’ll pay attention to anything on addiction that is solidly backed up by research.
That was excellent, wows good on AG, and the discussion it brought about with those young lads, so important. And a subject no doubt many parents would feel rather uncomfortable discussing with their own kids and visa versa, brilliant way to tackle the issue.
Hows that… 60% of boys watch porn weekly, dang. Good on you Auckland Grammar for seeing it as a possible mental health issue meaning it fits within their curriculum, maybe all NZ secondary schools should look at doing the same.
Cinny … what percentage of teenage boys do you think Masturbate each week?? …. hint … they wake up with a hard on each day….
I’m presuming their porn watching would be central to their wanking …
And while we can criticize the lazy spotty Herberts …. for not using their grey matter and imaginations more ….
If you invented a lap top or Tablet that can come into the shower … they will be batting at over 90% in the porn watching stakes.
Electrocution not blindness …. from all that wanking …would be the modern mothers warning.
More seriously …. respectful loving relationships, between them and others in their family home….. gives All young people the best chance when the Hormones start hitting them…. and their own relationships and interactions of a sexual nature begin.
Speaking As a male to Mothers ….. do not underestimate the hormonal and mood swings that teenage boys can go through …. Testosterone is not a easy hormone.
Thank you for your honesty, some things I just simply forget being a woman, like the morning hardon, I really appreciate you being straight up with me, it helps me to understand .
I wonder how many teens have the privacy and safety they need. Like for masturbation with out shame. Cause that’s really important for a number of reasons, as well as having understanding relationships and conversations, rather than turning a blind eye because it feels uncomfortable discussing the human body, and it’s functions.
And the privacy and safety in that respect would be hard to find in some homes. But the internet however, that can be found in most homes. One with out the other could become toxic.
Maybe if we had Parenting TV, it could be a topic for after 8:30pm. These things so need to be talked about, so we can all learn, and they need to be talked about frankly and maturely to help find the best outcomes for our youth.
Such a complex topic. Had a very frank conversation with my man about it yesterday, so many facets, not just the boys but how internet porn can lead to massive confusion for girls too.
It lead us to discussing the education system, we felt that it needs to be changed to include subjects that have only become relevant in the last twenty years with the internet etc as well as subjects that should have been made compulsory years ago like personal finance, how the government works etc etc
No skin off my nose.
Cos, like, you know… the men have every right to tell the woman MP to “step aside” for them – especially on International Women’s Day!
I’m never happy with arrogant, misogynist males who try to put down an admired and respected politician because she happens to be a woman and is willing to stand up and speak for the many disenfranchised people within Maoridom. The people, I might add, for whom the Tuku Morgans of this world don’t give a damm.
I love it when people go “ooooh it’s because she’s a woman”. Without giving any consideration that there could be any other reason for it.
Perhaps if you read what he said –
“We all deserve no less than the best leadership on offer.
“She’s going right back to the backbench now. To me, she’s got no mana in there now,” King Tuheitia said of Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta’s demotion in the party.”
So perhaps it’s her demotion in labour that had something to do with it.
Of course the only reason Andrew little demoted her was because she’s a woman right?
Yeah, James, Little forgot to take into account the inherent sexism and heirachical being of some of the so-called the top Maori. (sarc)
Because maybe he hadn’t encountered it before, and probably wasn’t aware it existed – because he lives in a world where women are treated equally and with respect.
Who invited them in? The Syrian government? (I don’t think so.) What you call that…deploying troops to wage war a foreign country without the express permission or invitation of the government of said country? (Answers on a postcard)
Also sending troops to Kuwait. Could hazard a guess that the Kuwaiti government might have ‘invited’ them.
With each move the violent remnants of ‘western hegemony’ relegates itself to the unwritten history books
The chaotic events now unraveling at such an accelerated pace, indicate to me that humanity is in the midst of tectonic shifts ….
Which way the shift ultimately goes is unclear IMO, but it is with certainty I say the following
Climate Change is not the most pressing issue facing all living beings…in fact CC is relatively a ‘non event’ when compared the imminent threat of complete and utter destruction wrought with WMDs, be they military, financial or technical…
How many more years can the current trajectory be continued before the destructive tipping point is reached, one way or the other..
The timeline is nearer term than any other threat humanity has ever faced
Well, all I know is that the US (NATO member) has illegally deployed armed troops to Syria (allegedly to protect Rojavans) – the same Rojavans that Turkey (NATO member) has illegally deployed troops inside Syria to fight against.
So even ignoring all other spaghetti strands that make for the situation in Syria, I wonder if anyone can tell me how that possibly ends well?
The shareholders in the munitions and arms companies get a return.
If the folk on the ground are with private companies then there are contracts being paid.
Don’t be fretting about civilians, international protocols or any of that lefty stuff. There is money to be made.
You could be right, OneTwo.
Whenever I see the destruction of cities and countries – almost daily on TV news, I wonder how much longer this will continue and what will become of all those millions of people unhoused, and unfed, with the loss of their lands and their livelihoods – where will they all end up, how will they all end up ? ? And does the western world ever think about what the end destruction of places, cities, countries really means ?
Speaking of Syria, I found this to be very interesting and well worth a watch.
Journalist Eva Bartlett: “I’m Back From Syria. The Media Is Lying To You!”
Google’s computer vision technology is now so good it’s able to find specific objects within a video or group of videos.
[…]
With the tool, you can search one or more videos using keywords and get back a list of results showing you where in the video you can find the objects relevant to your search terms. You can see a bit of Google’s demo of the software onstage at Cloud Next in the video below.
“Foreigners snapped up 362,000 hectares of freehold farm or forestry land and 103,000 ha of leasehold land in 2016, a hefty increase from the year before and higher than the average over the last 10 years.”
“Economist Bill Rosenberg, who conducted the research, said statistics on sales of land to overseas interests were poorly recorded and incomplete.
“Our best estimate is that in 2011 at least 8.7 percent of New Zealand farmland including forestry, or 1.3 million ha, was foreign-owned or controlled and it could have reached 10 percent.”
This was despite former Prime Minister John Key’s assertion in 2014 that foreigners owned only 2 per cent of farm and forestry land.
Rosenberg said CAFCA’s opposition to foreign ownership of land was based on the fact it was “the bedrock of our international competitive advantage” and the benefits were often overstated.
For example, a KPMG report recently showed US investors, who were the largest between 2013-15, invested $4.5 billion, but over the same period they removed $3.2b from New Zealand.”
New Zealand spy agencies and our elite Special Air Service soldiers have long-standing commercial links with a controversial big-data company founded by surprise Kiwi Peter Thiel, the Herald can reveal.
An investigation into Thiel’s links to New Zealand has found his firm Palantir Technologies has counted the New Zealand Defence Force, the Security Intelligence Service and the Government Communications and Security Bureau as clients with contracts dating back to at least 2012.
The revelation caused Kennedy Graham, Green Party spokesman for intelligence and security matters, to call for a delay to the passage of the New Zealand Intelligence and Security Bill, which today passed its second and penultimate reading.
Graham said the New Zealand-Palantir connection was “potentially huge” and raised more questions than it answered.
More at the link.
And it’s worth reading Nippert’s tweets on it, too.
WOW! That’s massive. Excellent investigative journalism going on there by Mr Nippert. And thanks Dr Kennedy.
Thanks for the links Carolyn. Will be expecting to see this all over the media in the morning as well it needs to be addressed on the weekend political shows.
I am really pleased that the background to Thiel and his connections to Palantir is finally coming out. Good on Matt Nippert for his perseverance on this issue.
Just saying that I have been pushing the Palantir connections for quite some time here on TS.
My most recent comment on Open Mike on 4 March seems to have gone unnoticed so will repeat here.
I commented on the Thiel posts a few months ago* when it was revealed that he had been given NZ citizenship some years ago. My concern re Thiel was his connections to Palantir with its connections to the Five Eyes spy network, the GCBS etc. – and to US regulatory authorities ($B worth of contracts).
There are also links to several other interesting recent articles on Thiel at the end of the Intercept article.
*Shock – It was only at the end of Jan! Feels like a year ago. The Trump effect.”
My earlier comment 1293097 at the end of Jan is quite long so will not repeat it here, but it contains quite a number of links to other (US) articles on Palantir and its connections to US government (intelligence and other regulatory) agencies that came out after Thiel’s connections to Trump became known.
This comment is not intended as a “I told you so”. Simply that I have been following the Palantir connections to NZ for some years. A bit of a personal fixation.
Absolutely agree re Matt Nippert. I gather that David Fisher is also helping on this issue.
The Palantir connection has been an interest of mine right back to when their name came up in relation to the GCSB and SIS, and the changes to intelligence gathering legislation. Key was up to his ears in the connection IMHO.
Anyway i used to ‘live’ on TS as a reader and occasional commenter, but only pass by from time to time these days and saw your post. Cheers.
I also found this in my rereadings of Wayne’s comment 13.2.1 below Karol’s post. (my bold)
Karol, two interesting posts.
Yes the PM does interact with this group of people. In many respects they are his generation or close to it. He is much more networked into this global group than any other prior NZ PM. His prior job and the level he rose to ensures that. He was involved in the most globally networked part of the economy; global finance and IT. The latter by degrees of connection and their need for huge infusions of capital in order to grow at often exponentional rates
And a significant number of them are really interested in NZ, often for quite eccentric reasons – the billionaires who visit NZ in their private jet and then bike around NZ as an expression of their oneness with nature – work that one out if you can!
So he is certainly going to know those who come to NZ especially if they are from the US, where he PM did a lot of his work. In Peter Theil’s case he has actually become a citizen.
There are quite a few who have exclusive hideaways in Queenstown area and Bay of Islands.
Yes, it is a bit of an unusual part of the zeitgist, but there you are.
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Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhy do people still think climate change isn’t real?David ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
by Phil Duncan In 2016 the National-led government suspended the Parent Visa Category, through which migrants were able to bring their parents into New Zealand. Since then over 5,700 people have been in immigration limbo, stuck on the visa wait list. Labour is now bringing back the scheme. Well, sort ...
The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
The government is currently consulting on plans to improve freshwater quality. So naturally, farmers oppose it:South Taranaki farmers are preparing to fight proposed national freshwater changes that some fear will bankrupt them. The Government's proposed National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management, released in September, rated the Waingongoro River as one ...
Yesterday was the last day for (reliably) posting your vote away in local body elections. Turnouts are mostly much lower than the equivalent time last year (Palmerston North is down 2.3%), and so naturally people are pushing their online-voting snake oil again. Because the online census worked so well, lets ...
This essay, on the political legacy of the eugenics movement, by Kenan Malik was originally published in the Observer on 6 October 2019, under the headline ‘The spirit of eugenics is still with us, as immigrants know to their cost’. Birth control. Intelligence tests. Town planning. Immigration controls. It’s striking how ...
Another year, and the government has announced another enormous government "surplus". And just like last year, its nothing of the sort. When we have people homeless and sick and hungry, when we have schools and hospitals still falling down, when we have underpaid public servants and infrastucture unmaintained or unbuilt, ...
James Forsyth at The Spectator (I know, I know) has tapped one of his contacts inside Number Ten for an insight into the Johnson administration's thinking and strategy.It is fascinating, unsettling and quite, quite mad. Some key points:Negotiations have stalled and the Johnson administration are keen to blame the EU: ...
Fatal Contact: With the arrival of captain James Cook in October 1769, the islands of what would become New Zealand ceased to be the preserve of Polynesian navigators and settlers and became a part of both the world’s map and the world’s history.THE MAORI NATIONALIST assault upon the historical meaning ...
Another round of tactical talks about forming a Government of National Unity have come to nothing with the Liberal Democrats still refusing countenance putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street:Opposition talks on Monday made little headway over when to try and vote down Boris Johnson's government and who might succeed him as ...
by Nick Rogers The debate around the meaning of sex and gender made an appearance at this year’s British Labour Party conference in Brighton. Women’s Place UK – an organisation that questions the demand that biological males who self-identify as woman should have access to women’s spaces, to all-women shortlists, ...
Yesterday I went down to Wellington to participate in the Extinction Rebellion protest. Its part of the latest global wave of XR actions, with actions happening all over the world. Some of those protests are massively disruptive: in Canada, XR is blocking major bridges, stopping people from getting to work. ...
The Workshop is a charitable trust for public good. The Workshop undertake research to find ways of communicating that will build support for the solutions that work to solve complex social and environmental problems. See their Report on Talking about Poverty and Welfare Reform below. ...
What is language? We generally assume that it a facility unique to humans, allowing us to share what’s in and on our minds. We can tell of our plans, our past exploits, our knowledge. It also allows us to lie. And yet there are vast numbers of people we can’t ...
Being and Being Bought (Spinifex Press, 2013) by Kajsa Ekis Ekman A synopsis and commentary of Chapters 1-2 by Daphna Whitmore Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book She opens the discussion with a definition of ...
I make no claims to having much legal knowledge, so I defer to those trained in this area.I am very much enjoying this twitter stream from m'learned friend in Edinburgh, deciphering the legal arguments around the Scottish court challenge to Boris Johnson, based on the charmingly obscure principle of Nobile ...
Ivory Folly? The University of Auckland’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart McCutcheon, upheld the right of the radical nationalist group, Action Zealandia to exercise their freedom of speech – not matter how distasteful that speech might be. A wiser community of students and scholars would have nodded their agreement and moved on. ...
If you are not convinced terrorist Organisation ‘Extinction Rebellion’ is very, very dangerous – watch this video at one of their recent meetings. Not only is this obviously mentally ill Woman begging the other terrorists to promote killing and “eating” babies and children, if you watch carefully other members nod ...
The Ombudsman has been surveying people about their knowledge of the OIA and the right to information. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that widespread:The Chief Ombudsman says too many New Zealanders were in the dark over their right to access official information. Peter Boshier said an independent survey released yesterday on ...
In the wake of last Friday's climate strike, Peter McKenzie had an article in The Spinoff about protest strategies. The school strike movement is "polite" and cooperates with those in power because that's its kaupapa - its led by schoolkids who understandably don't want to risk arrest. But there's more ...
So, the latest ruminations on the gnews from Westminster (Again, sorry; I'll stop making that pun right now). This follows on from, and likely repeats bits of, my last post, on the suggestion that a Government of National Unity (GNU) should be set up and then oversee a referendum before ...
New Zealand likes to think of itself as not a racist country (despite being founded on the racist dispossession and subjugation of Maori). But for years, we've had a racist refugee policy, which basicly excludes refugees from Africa and the Middle East unless they already have relatives here. Now, the ...
Several people have asked me whether a particular repeat litigant could be declared a vexatious litigant, in light of their recent decision to appeal an adverse High Court ruling. My nascent tweet thread was getting ridiculously long, so it became this blog post instead.The short answer is: no. The particular ...
Appealing To The Past: Action Zealandia, like so many of the organisations springing up on the far-Right, across what they call the “Anglosphere”, is born out of the profound confusion over what a man is supposed to be in the twenty-first century and, more importantly, what he is supposed to do.THE STATUE OF ...
The attempts of anti-democratic transactivists to (often violently) disrupt women’s rights organising is largely ignored by those sections of the left most prone to misogyny and authoritarianism in New Zealand. In Britain, however, scores of trade union and left activists added their names to a letter in July, defending ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill. The Bill would establish an independent, quasi-judicial body to investigate and review potential miscarriages of justice, and refer them back to the Court of appeal if required. It would be a vital backstop to our judiciary, help ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...
Speaking at the Council of Trade Unions' (CTU) biennial conference, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told unionists that any future attacks on the Government won't work. "Now, we are being attacked by the union movement in this country. You can have your views but I'm here to say standing ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
At 1.30pm tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world’s biggest earthquake drill. The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake which is to Drop, Cover, Hold, and to practise their ...
Kiwis are benefiting from higher wage growth and low inflation under the Coalition Government. Stats NZ data out today shows the rise in the cost of living remains low, as annual Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation fell to 1.5% in September from 1.7% in June. “The low inflation comes as ...
New Zealand’s economic strength and resilience has been recognised in a major update on the state of the global economy. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook released overnight shows a reduced global growth forecast over the next two years as issues like the US-China trade war and Brexit take hold. ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little has today introduced a new Bill to prevent terrorism and support the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill gives the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to the High Court to impose control orders on New Zealanders who ...
A Bill that proposes targeted changes to simplify the processes for Māori land owners when engaging with the Māori Land Court has had its First Reading today. “The approach taken by the Government is to ensure that the protection of Māori land remains a priority as we seek to improve ...
Let me first thank all the new unionists and members in the room. There is nothing more important to improving people’s working lives than people making the decision to care, to get on board and help, to take up the reins and get involved. Congratulations to you. You bring the ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has signed a certificate exempting the activity of engine testing at Whenuapai Airbase from the Resource Management Act 1991. The Act gives the Minister of Defence the power to exempt activities for the purposes of national security. The certificate will mean the recent Environment Court ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced New Zealand will join the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action while attending APEC meetings in Chile. The objective of the 39 member Coalition is to share information and promote action to tackle climate change. It was formed in April this year, in ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Confirmation that PHARMAC will fund two new cancer drugs is further evidence of the good progress the Government is making to improve the treatment of New Zealand’s leading cause of death, Health Minister David Clark says. From 1 December PHARMAC will fund alectinib (Alecensa) for ALK positive advanced non-small cell ...
Alex Casey talks to Henessey Griffiths, a 22 year-old Dunedin student who just finished her dissertation about one of Youtube’s most controversial stars. Content warning: this article contains mention of suicide, please take careYesterday afternoon in Dunedin, honours student Henessey Griffiths sent a tweet that was a year (or rather, five ...
The Transport Minister has released almost all of the letters he's received from Green MPs, but still refuses to release the letter from Julie Anne Genter that is now at the centre of an Ombudsman complaint. ...
Court documents have confirmed Winston Peters was sent a letter by officials four years into his seven-year overpayment of national superannuation asking him to check details he had supplied, including that he was 'single'. ...
Olympic sailors Blair Tuke and Peter Burling are throwing their weight behind a campaign encouraging New Zealander consumers and businesses to reduce their plastic pollution. ...
National Party leader Simon Bridges says his MP Agnes Loheni let him know she'd be contesting the candidacy for Botany, adding it's a "free world". ...
Think you’ve got your KiwiSaver sorted? Try Kōura’s ‘robo-advice’ questionnaire and you might be surprised.If a person who looks like they know about finance asks you whether your appetite for risk is low, medium or high, what do you say? The problem is most Kiwis don’t understand what the question ...
The Social Services and Community Committee is seeking submissions on the Rates Rebate (Statutory Declarations) Amendment Bill. This bill aims to improve the process of applying for rates rebates. It proposes: • Removing the requirement to make a statutory ...
The Māori Affairs Committee is calling for submissions on the Te Ture Whenua Maori (Succession, Dispute Resolution, and Related Matters) Amendment Bill. ...
The New Zealand Police have been used as a political pawn which is stretching their resources and seriously affecting their ability to address the real causes of crime, such as gang related supply of illicit drugs. ...
Alex Casey yarns to Karen O’Leary, early childhood teacher by day and star of Wellington Paranormal and What We Do in The Shadows by night. Two of the funniest moments in New Zealand television last year were entirely fence-based. First up there was Agni on The Block NZ, who packed a ...
NZ Police wish to clarify that cartridges filled with steel or lead shot are not prohibited. They may still be used under the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order 2019 as shotgun cartridges are specifically excluded from the prohibition order. ...
NZ Police wish to clarify that cartridges filled with steel or lead shot are not prohibited. They may still be used under the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order 2019 as shotgun cartridges are specifically excluded from the prohibition order. ...
Josie Adams is in tonight’s episode of Have You Been Paying Attention. Specifically, she is in the audience.When you watch Have You Been Paying Attention? tonight, please consider the bladders of audience members watching it live. They offer beverages, but my God it’s a dangerous offer. As I found out ...
Despite comments from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers—Herald Newspaper Tuesday Oct 15th--there is very little evidence that says high pay and bonuses improve the performance of a company. Most ...
By Michael Andrew Pacific diplomats, academics and youth leaders will gather in Auckland this week to discuss security, economic development and other pressing issues shaping the region’s future. Pacific Futures will be held on October 18 and will feature speakers from across the region, including Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hutchinson, PhD Candidate, Australian National University It has been more than two years since “clearance operations” by Myanmar’s security forces, the Tatmadaw, forced more than 700,000 Rohingya across the border to neighbouring Bangladesh. During this time, the UN Security Council has ...
Fast food company Restaurant Brands has made a smaller half year profit largely because of accounting changes as it prepares to invest heavily in the launch of Taco Bell in New Zealand. ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Papua New Guinea police have issued a warrant for the arrest of former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. According to EMTV News, the Waigana district court issued the warrant which was based on evidence previously compiled by police investigators. Acting Police Commissioner David Manning said he ...
Patient Voice Aotearoa welcomes the comments made by the Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters on ‘The Project’ on Friday last week. Peters stated “Right now…we know we are not spending nearly enough on pharmaceuticals and first world drugs…the ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on outgoing Porirua Mayor Mike Tana to repay money clocked up on his ratepayer-funded fuel card for personal travel. The Ernst and Young report released yesterday reveals that, within less than three ...
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Greedy brown fat cats prefer class war to the solidarity of identity politics…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/90257182/maori-king-endorses-waikatotainui-chairman-to-political-battle
The bloody cheek of it! I’ve met Nanaia. She has to be one of our most under-rated MPs. She’s intelligent, competent and has the ability to relate to a diverse range of people. She isn’t an attention seeker and she works quietly and effectively behind the scenes.
If I was Nanaia I would want to give that fly-by-nighter, Tuku Morgan a punch in the face. He’s the instigator here. A venomous “greedy brown Tom” who is in it for what he and his cohorts can get out of it.
Edit: If this is the kind of politics the M. P. endorse then I hope they’re knocked out of parliament later this year.
What’s a “greedy brown Tom”?
an Uncle Tom. and I totally agree with you, Anne. power-seeking sexist rant from Tuku and his mouthpiece, the King.
The bloody cheek of it. Having his own view and endorsing somebody anne doesn’t agree with.
Yes, don’t those damn darkies realise we know best? how dare they have their own thoughts and ideas !!!!
hey so cool you are there for “Mr $89 underpants”
Around 90% of Maori have seen no money or benefits from Treaty settlements for the past ripp-offs by dishonest white settlers …
And then we have the Tuku morgans ….. who put a $89 pair of undies for himself ahead of other uses for Maori money…
Simple proof the guys a wanker … big on greed and self-entitlement …… BM & James should vote for him…. there is an affinity between the three which cuts across race.
Hi sanctuary,I would have thought as class was a bigger group than an individual’s idea of their identity,there was a greater chance of solidarity within a class.
I think you are mis-reading what Sanctuary means by “class”.
Hi Anne,I have to confess I must be a bit dodge on identity politics too.
My understanding is that it is quite particular and framed by how you view yrself. Often at odds with how others view you.
Genuinely a bit lost, not agitating at all.
…not agitating at all.
I realised that. 🙂 I think Sanctuary was talking in terms of “class” as in say… the so called ‘entitled’ upper class (in which some M.P. members seem to see themselves) and the rest of the Maori population who are working class.
Perhaps the contrast of entitled vs working isn’t as striking when all identify as Maori.
“My understanding is that it is quite particular and framed by how you view yrself. Often at odds with how others view you.”
Nope. But I’m not surprised, the debate around IP is pretty fractured now and not conducive to understanding. Unless you hang out with people that value IP 😉
I realise u are probably sick to the back teeth of engaging with ignorami (plural?) on this subject, but getting a handle on IP is proving elusive.
True, I don’t mingle with folk who have heard of IP.
It’s because there is an increasing stoush over ownership of the term and thus what it means varies hugely depending on who you talk to. Carolyn has gotten to the point of finding it a useless term. I vacillate between abandoning it and reclaiming it.
I’ll have a think about writing a definition in a context that will make sense here. Would make an interesting post (although I might have to turn the comments off 😈 )
The Adam Curtis 4 part series century of the self looks at the work of Anna Frued (niece of Sigmund).
The rise of marketers in the age of consumerism took this work and exploited us by telling us we were special, our needs were important, our fears are legitimate and here is a product to meet those fears, needs and wants.
IP comes across as a natural consequence of this conditioning.
Rather than look at what we have in common, we look for what sets us apart.
I look forward to a post.
Would be ironic to have no comments….
There’s an intense fight this coming election over the Māori seats. So, if it’s about social class, it’d about the amounts of working class within those electorates.
I pondered this earlier, and perhaps it is a Westminster view that has left/right, instead of what is best for Maori.
I mean, that all people enrolled in Māori electorates will be Māori – obviously. Many are also likely to identify as working class. But working class solidarity within the Māori electorates is not likely to outnumber those whose primary identification is as Māori.
Spot on, well.said.
Rahui Papa has the makings of a superb Māori politician I reckon. I hope he beats Labour in this one.
Hi Maui, is it because he ain’t labour or you regard him as a better prospect than ms Mahuta?
I think/feel he’s the better candidate that’s all, although to be fair I don’t know a lot about Mahuta, and that maybe partly because of Mahuta’s reserved style. The impression I get of Papa is that he’s a great communicator with natural leadership skills and brings a prescence whenever he speaks. I also like how he knows his history.
He features on this interesting video discussion about the New Zealand Wars if youre interested to get an idea of the fella.
http://www.maoritelevision.com/tv/shows/media-take/S03E004/media-take-extended-series-3-episode-6
Cheers, will give it a lookalike.
Btw I do enjoy media take.
National are trying to divide Maori just like they have divided the rest of New Zealand.
Maori are doing a pretty good job of doing that all by themselves.
I totally agree Anne. An ungracious and disrepectful comment indeed. Tuku has an obliging media following. No surprises there, given that anything that portrays Labour in a negative light will be highlighted by our faithful National abiding news casters.
That the now ‘backbencher is devoid of mana’ shows that he and his king place politics over and above familial associations. To say this publicly about a whanau, hapu and iwi member says less about them and much more about her. A personal attack of this nature will not be taken lightly and I hope Maori vote en masse to ensure they don’t make it into Parliament.
That the now ‘backbencher is devoid of mana’…
She’s not on the back bench. She’s on the front bench of course. And she will be a senior minister in the Lab/Green coalition government. That’s the big lie Tuku Morgan is peddling. I can’t believe the majority of Maori will fall for his sexist crap.
#completely disgusted with tv1 news report on vault7, drop in shill piece lies about status of assange, lies about source of DNC leak, zero fact check , un filtered propaganda!
Outraged!
This interview on Checkpoint tonight, with a female high school student in Wellington, is pretty damning – not just of school boys’ behaviour, but of men’s behaviour too:
She said the behaviour/comments reported to have been posted by Wellington school boys on facebook, was no surprise to herself or girls she knows. She says it’s a daily experience for her to have boys and men to make rape-type comments to her in the street.
She says that she thinks many men need to look at their own behaviour, because school boys are just copying them.
This interview was followed by an author who has written about rape culture, pretty much confirming what the above high school student said.
Some feedback to Checkpoint says it is part of our culture where a PM can harass a woman by pulling her ponytail, and critics get told to lighten up.
Grim listening Caroline, I will stick my neck out and suggest that part of the problem is pornography, from tv and media advertising through to music videos and the free hard core stuff available on any phone/laptop.
Thanks for the link Carolyn, is bloody shocking that this is still happening. Makes me think how are these boys being taught to treat women.. maybe via advertising, music videos, gaming and porn so easily and freely available online?
Wondering where the male role models are within the Government?
Surely the male leaders of our country should be setting an example for young men to follow, or are they part of the problem?
On the up side I’ve certainly seen some wonderful male role models within the opposition parties.
Interesting story regarding ‘rape culture’.
Was at a party, this guy was hitting on all the women there, even the ones who had partners.
It was inappropriate.
So the men took care of that situation, as women DO NOT get hassled at parties, such are the values of the men there towards women. This man was given a very very very stern talking to and removed from the party.
The next day the women from the party were called to gather at the party hostesses home, the touchy feely man in question was taken to the women, all clean shaven and in his sunday best and made to apologise to them all.
Some men do have strong values about respecting women. And it’s nice to know they are sharing their knowledge, lead by example and all that
The whole situation impressed me so very much, kudos to those men at the party for their respect of women, they always look after and look out for the women at parties.
Biker party, great night had by all, it was a great night because we felt safe, it was the bikers that cemented that feeling of safety by the way they dealt with the situation.
Now that’s how to get the chicks 😀 stick up for them. Lesson to be learned there 😀
Good story cinny,
I am more concerned about the male role models in the home than in the government.
Yes. On Checkpoint the author talked about the importance of men in the homes being good role models, but also about them needing to have “honest” discussions with their sons about ways to behave with women that are not damaging to the women.
The 16 year old student from Wellington College says she gets the same sorts of comments from men in the street, as from school boys: comments that promote rape culture. And from some men as old as John Campbell ie in their 50s.
For sures. I wonder if some parents really know what their kids are watching, it’s learned behaviour, whether it be on a screen or real people interacting around them.
And it’s the girls too, they see skanky chicks in music videos gyrating in sweet FA and rolling around on the floor and mimic it. And if no one puts them right and explains to them why it’s not acceptable in a way they understand, they will continue to do so.
My youngest watched the 9 – 12 yr olds from a local dance school do a performance at a community event, these young girls were dressed in gold hot pants and tiny crop tops, loads of sexual moves including dry humping the floor. Then my youngest tries to copy them dang.
I’m no prude that’s for sure, but crikey wtf, young dance teacher, brought up with sexual music video’s, dang any local perverts would have been in bliss.
Documentaries at home that encourage discussion seems to bring results at our house, lolz I’ll blindside their friends with one next sleepover lmao.
Yes, good story, Cinny.
The TV1 news focused on the pornography angle quite a bit tonight. They presented the example of Auckland Grammar where they are having lessons about the problems with pornography. Some of the AG boys talked about it.
Sorry, but as one who started secondary teaching in 1970, I think you are both off-beam.
The attitude is started at home in the parents, and grows from there. It always has been so. I remember at secondary school in the early 1960s hearing boys talk that kind of talk. No social media, so no publicity.
This will annoy you even more (maybe): those bad parent types are producing more offspring than good parents do. So the problem gets worse.
Blaming social media and pornography is just the kind of mindless distraction that our neo-liberal masters want you to be distracted by. It suits them.
I still teach, and can assure you that well-parented children handle social media without harm, and probably avoid excessive exposure to pornography, without being harmed by the exposure their curiosity may have led them to.
Same with violence. The vicious cycle all starts with what parents unconsciously teach their kids in early years. Violence in video games or pornography have harmful effects only on people who are already infected with that harm, from parental input. Good children from good parents are incorruptible.
Otherwise, the harm is already done. Squealing about pornography and violence is squealing for an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. Too late.
We need good parenting, not a ban on porn or bash-up games.
I just wish I knew how to bring it about. Social justice, a decent living wage for all, and full employment would be much more worth fighting for. But that will not suit our neo-liberal regime.
So I guess we will get more squealing about porn and violence..
Interesting ty In Vino especially with your background in teaching and seeing things unfold over the years.
Maybe we need a parenting channel on the TV rather than a shopping channel? Actually.. that’s not a bad idea. Government funded using a medium that gets obvious results, good old television the drug of a nation.
The differences today are important, i remember one porno magazine that did the rounds, or someone trying to hire a porno video, sheez it was a big deal, required major planning, including how to watch it, whose got a VCR, they were super fancy.
But now days it’s all there and free online. I do think that makes a difference. Grand Theft Auto is a long way removed from Pac Man. There is a ban on porn and bash up games as well as guns in our house. JS
How do you think we could improve parenting in NZ to create change and break the cycles In Vino?
In Vino: Sorry, but as one who started secondary teaching in 1970, I think you are both off-beam.</i.
Really? And where did I particularly condemn pornography? – I merely said it was addressed. And in my previous comment I also referred to the discussion where parents as role models was also addressed.
Blaming social media and pornography is just the kind of mindless distraction that our neo-liberal masters want you to be distracted by. It suits them.
What a muddle of ideas you’ve thrown out.
I’m interested, though, that it is pornography again that is in the firing line with respect to misogyny.
2nd wave feminist tended to be highly critical of pornography – long before the neoliberal shift kicked in. And during the 1990s, with 3rd wave feminism, there was a tendency for many feminists to embrace pornography (or was it erotica?) that was claimed to be produced by and for women.
Actually, the expansion of pornography/erotica into digital media coincided with the neoliberal shift. Like all forms of media, it proliferated with the ability to more easily reproduce such productions. Pornography has probably been caught up in the acceleration of the commodification of everything, rather than being something separate from, or oppositional to neoliberalism.
I don’t know much about the content of pornography. But there were 2 issues raised by the Auckland Grammar teaching:
1. It was claimed pornography objectifies women, and treats them as less than human.
2. It was claimed some guys get addicted to pornography, and then become unable to maintain sexual relationships with real women.
On 1: I am critical of any media content that consistently objectifies women and/or demeans or demonises any section of society: and that includes whenever it happens within G-rated cartoons, sports broadcasts, serious documentaries, mainstream TV dramas, 6pm evening news… and pornography/erotica.
And I think the dominant narratives in most of our media tend to reinforce rape culture. And inter-related with that, is the role models adults set for young people.
On 2: I don’t know anything about addiction to pornography. There seems to be concerns these days about addictions to all kinds of things. I’ll pay attention to anything on addiction that is solidly backed up by research.
That was excellent, wows good on AG, and the discussion it brought about with those young lads, so important. And a subject no doubt many parents would feel rather uncomfortable discussing with their own kids and visa versa, brilliant way to tackle the issue.
Hows that… 60% of boys watch porn weekly, dang. Good on you Auckland Grammar for seeing it as a possible mental health issue meaning it fits within their curriculum, maybe all NZ secondary schools should look at doing the same.
Cinny … what percentage of teenage boys do you think Masturbate each week?? …. hint … they wake up with a hard on each day….
I’m presuming their porn watching would be central to their wanking …
And while we can criticize the lazy spotty Herberts …. for not using their grey matter and imaginations more ….
If you invented a lap top or Tablet that can come into the shower … they will be batting at over 90% in the porn watching stakes.
Electrocution not blindness …. from all that wanking …would be the modern mothers warning.
More seriously …. respectful loving relationships, between them and others in their family home….. gives All young people the best chance when the Hormones start hitting them…. and their own relationships and interactions of a sexual nature begin.
Speaking As a male to Mothers ….. do not underestimate the hormonal and mood swings that teenage boys can go through …. Testosterone is not a easy hormone.
Thank you for your honesty, some things I just simply forget being a woman, like the morning hardon, I really appreciate you being straight up with me, it helps me to understand .
I wonder how many teens have the privacy and safety they need. Like for masturbation with out shame. Cause that’s really important for a number of reasons, as well as having understanding relationships and conversations, rather than turning a blind eye because it feels uncomfortable discussing the human body, and it’s functions.
And the privacy and safety in that respect would be hard to find in some homes. But the internet however, that can be found in most homes. One with out the other could become toxic.
Maybe if we had Parenting TV, it could be a topic for after 8:30pm. These things so need to be talked about, so we can all learn, and they need to be talked about frankly and maturely to help find the best outcomes for our youth.
Such a complex topic. Had a very frank conversation with my man about it yesterday, so many facets, not just the boys but how internet porn can lead to massive confusion for girls too.
It lead us to discussing the education system, we felt that it needs to be changed to include subjects that have only become relevant in the last twenty years with the internet etc as well as subjects that should have been made compulsory years ago like personal finance, how the government works etc etc
Thanks Anne.
You just reminded me why I will never vote left.
No skin off my nose.
Cos, like, you know… the men have every right to tell the woman MP to “step aside” for them – especially on International Women’s Day!
You should try to be happy more. 🙂
I’m never happy with arrogant, misogynist males who try to put down an admired and respected politician because she happens to be a woman and is willing to stand up and speak for the many disenfranchised people within Maoridom. The people, I might add, for whom the Tuku Morgans of this world don’t give a damm.
I love it when people go “ooooh it’s because she’s a woman”. Without giving any consideration that there could be any other reason for it.
Perhaps if you read what he said –
“We all deserve no less than the best leadership on offer.
“She’s going right back to the backbench now. To me, she’s got no mana in there now,” King Tuheitia said of Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta’s demotion in the party.”
So perhaps it’s her demotion in labour that had something to do with it.
Of course the only reason Andrew little demoted her was because she’s a woman right?
It’s not like this is a surprise- it’s just little read it all wrong.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/74597088/andrew-little-dismisses-impact-of-nanaia-mahuta-demotion-on-maori-support
Yeah, James, Little forgot to take into account the inherent sexism and heirachical being of some of the so-called the top Maori. (sarc)
Because maybe he hadn’t encountered it before, and probably wasn’t aware it existed – because he lives in a world where women are treated equally and with respect.
If this sort of stuff is what Maori politics is about, Im glad Im not Maori
Mabey he just thought she wasn’t that good at her job ?
Just read this … https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/09/us-sends-hundreds-of-marines-to-syria-to-support-fight-against-isis
Who invited them in? The Syrian government? (I don’t think so.) What you call that…deploying troops to wage war a foreign country without the express permission or invitation of the government of said country? (Answers on a postcard)
Also sending troops to Kuwait. Could hazard a guess that the Kuwaiti government might have ‘invited’ them.
With each move the violent remnants of ‘western hegemony’ relegates itself to the unwritten history books
The chaotic events now unraveling at such an accelerated pace, indicate to me that humanity is in the midst of tectonic shifts ….
Which way the shift ultimately goes is unclear IMO, but it is with certainty I say the following
Climate Change is not the most pressing issue facing all living beings…in fact CC is relatively a ‘non event’ when compared the imminent threat of complete and utter destruction wrought with WMDs, be they military, financial or technical…
How many more years can the current trajectory be continued before the destructive tipping point is reached, one way or the other..
The timeline is nearer term than any other threat humanity has ever faced
Within a decade I would say…
Well, all I know is that the US (NATO member) has illegally deployed armed troops to Syria (allegedly to protect Rojavans) – the same Rojavans that Turkey (NATO member) has illegally deployed troops inside Syria to fight against.
So even ignoring all other spaghetti strands that make for the situation in Syria, I wonder if anyone can tell me how that possibly ends well?
The shareholders in the munitions and arms companies get a return.
If the folk on the ground are with private companies then there are contracts being paid.
Don’t be fretting about civilians, international protocols or any of that lefty stuff. There is money to be made.
More or less what ‘gsays’ responded with…although I do not believe it is about money
The circumstances which come from the situation you describe are ‘another brick in the wall’
The multiplier effect ensures an ever accelerating decline to whichever outcome the ‘masses’ allow to eventuate…
I see from your comments on various subjects that you don’t observe events in a vacuum…
They are each and every one a contributer to the multiplier effect
You could be right, OneTwo.
Whenever I see the destruction of cities and countries – almost daily on TV news, I wonder how much longer this will continue and what will become of all those millions of people unhoused, and unfed, with the loss of their lands and their livelihoods – where will they all end up, how will they all end up ? ? And does the western world ever think about what the end destruction of places, cities, countries really means ?
Hi Jenny
IMO if people of ‘the west’ do not take the actions required to halt the actions of their captured governments..
Sooner than later what ‘we’ allowed to happen abroad, will happen inside ‘our” own boarders, and in ways similar or more destructive than is seen now
Violence will always lead to escalated violence…
This is inevitable, as is the threat of continue decemation as the war machine expands around the globe at an increasingly rapid pace!
Speaking of Syria, I found this to be very interesting and well worth a watch.
Journalist Eva Bartlett: “I’m Back From Syria. The Media Is Lying To You!”
An excellent journalist disseminating crucial information reduced to using outlets associated with David Icke…
It’s going to be all on like Donkey Kong at the Nelson Trolley Derby this weekend.
Green Party candidate Matt Lawrey will be racing against outgoing government minister Dr Custard.
Heats start at 11am this Saturday 11th March, Collingwood St, Nelson
Lawrey for the win!
Ctrl + f for video.
Google’s computer vision technology is now so good it’s able to find specific objects within a video or group of videos.
[…]
With the tool, you can search one or more videos using keywords and get back a list of results showing you where in the video you can find the objects relevant to your search terms. You can see a bit of Google’s demo of the software onstage at Cloud Next in the video below.
http://mashable.com/2017/03/08/google-video-intelligence-api/#dL0VTPgM_8qo
New Zealand continues being sold off at pace by the Nats
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/90260050/overseas-investment-office-approves-sharp-increase-in-foreign-land-ownership
“Foreigners snapped up 362,000 hectares of freehold farm or forestry land and 103,000 ha of leasehold land in 2016, a hefty increase from the year before and higher than the average over the last 10 years.”
“Economist Bill Rosenberg, who conducted the research, said statistics on sales of land to overseas interests were poorly recorded and incomplete.
“Our best estimate is that in 2011 at least 8.7 percent of New Zealand farmland including forestry, or 1.3 million ha, was foreign-owned or controlled and it could have reached 10 percent.”
This was despite former Prime Minister John Key’s assertion in 2014 that foreigners owned only 2 per cent of farm and forestry land.
Rosenberg said CAFCA’s opposition to foreign ownership of land was based on the fact it was “the bedrock of our international competitive advantage” and the benefits were often overstated.
For example, a KPMG report recently showed US investors, who were the largest between 2013-15, invested $4.5 billion, but over the same period they removed $3.2b from New Zealand.”
Just online from NZ Herald’s Matt Nippert – he just tweeted that the OIAs on Peter Thiel have just started coming through.
Billionaire Peter Thiel’s secret Kiwi spy links revealed
More at the link.
And it’s worth reading Nippert’s tweets on it, too.
WOW! That’s massive. Excellent investigative journalism going on there by Mr Nippert. And thanks Dr Kennedy.
Thanks for the links Carolyn. Will be expecting to see this all over the media in the morning as well it needs to be addressed on the weekend political shows.
I am really pleased that the background to Thiel and his connections to Palantir is finally coming out. Good on Matt Nippert for his perseverance on this issue.
Just saying that I have been pushing the Palantir connections for quite some time here on TS.
My most recent comment on Open Mike on 4 March seems to have gone unnoticed so will repeat here.
“Peter Thiel Update
I rarely pass by here these days, but thought some here might be interested in this March 3 article.
https://theintercept.com/2017/03/02/palantir-provides-the-engine-for-donald-trumps-deportation-machine/
I commented on the Thiel posts a few months ago* when it was revealed that he had been given NZ citizenship some years ago. My concern re Thiel was his connections to Palantir with its connections to the Five Eyes spy network, the GCBS etc. – and to US regulatory authorities ($B worth of contracts).
There are also links to several other interesting recent articles on Thiel at the end of the Intercept article.
*Shock – It was only at the end of Jan! Feels like a year ago. The Trump effect.”
My earlier comment 1293097 at the end of Jan is quite long so will not repeat it here, but it contains quite a number of links to other (US) articles on Palantir and its connections to US government (intelligence and other regulatory) agencies that came out after Thiel’s connections to Trump became known.
This comment is not intended as a “I told you so”. Simply that I have been following the Palantir connections to NZ for some years. A bit of a personal fixation.
Good that someone’s keeping watch on it.
Nippert is one of the better journalists at NZ Herald.
Absolutely agree re Matt Nippert. I gather that David Fisher is also helping on this issue.
The Palantir connection has been an interest of mine right back to when their name came up in relation to the GCSB and SIS, and the changes to intelligence gathering legislation. Key was up to his ears in the connection IMHO.
Anyway i used to ‘live’ on TS as a reader and occasional commenter, but only pass by from time to time these days and saw your post. Cheers.
Interesting to reread Karol’s post of June 13th, 2013 titled Networks of influence: Key, Peter Thiel & the GCSB
Sorry, I omitted the link to the above
I also found this in my rereadings of Wayne’s comment 13.2.1 below Karol’s post. (my bold)
Part one —–of many.