"There are so many senior people within the Prime Minister's office and other senior ministers that know and knew the extent of it that it is inconceivable that [Ardern] wasn't told," Bennett told reporters.
Very senior members of Arderns office are named, along with Grant Robinson. If Ardern is to be believed (that no one told her) her closest advisors do not trust her ability to lead. She needs to purge her office to regain control.
Bennett is dishonest and so is her leader. Bennett is deceitful and she's attempting to project her own image on Jacinda Ardern. Bennett is spiteful and she should have resigned 10 years ago after she sought and released the personal information of two women who (politely) disagreed with her over the axing of night classes for solo mums who were trying to ready themselves for the workforce by gaining a qualification.
She's also a pernicious leaker… eg. the Winston Peters Super muck-up by Winz of which he had no way of knowing about.
Believing anything that woman says is like believing in the tooth fairy.
yep bennett is not to be trusted – she is completely amoral imo where personal information and political point scoring are concerned. She is not showering herself with glory.
To grant Robinson Crusoe his due, no man alone is an island. And no man walks alone in a foe cult society where everyone knows whether your name is Daniel or Michel.
This is getting very ugly for Labour. Sounds as if they all knew about it and it was someone right in amongst the politburo heirarchy good friends with them all. Talk about a cover up. Very very untidy #Laboursmetoomoment
[I have approved this comment because the system took it to come from a first-time user. However, I have good reason to believe that you are simply trolling here. Permanent ban – Incognito]
This whole “Labour sex scandal” smells like "dirty politics" revenge courtesy of Natz leading muck raker PB, aka dirt agent 000. Can't see this hurting the PM, quite the opposite as she will be seen to act decisively following receiving QC report…..and with a fizz the wee scandal melts into the beltway sunset.
Meanwhile Winston has a present for PB, and it ain't dead flowers.
Whatever one might say about Jamie Lee Ross’s ethics and morals, no one has suggested that it was non consensual. That is not the case in the present case.
While that was not a case of assault, which normally is judged in a court of law, it could be wondered how ethical and moral the spouses of the two MPs saw it when they found out what most of the National Party knew and they didn't?
You seem to be unable to see the situation Anne. It’s always Nationals fault. Or they have done worse things. What’s wrong with you and some of your like minded commenters. This is Labour’s fuck up not Nationals. If National make political capital out of this that’s politics. Labour is made up of the same sort of people as National. Different philosophy that’s all. The people are no better no worse. At best JA doesn’t know what’s going on in the Labour Party. Worst scenario she does. Take your pick. I had to listen to comments on the project tonight that insinuated that JA is a nice person so could not have known about the situation. If this was happening to National, SB would be called a lying Arse hole I suspect. I could be wrong of course!!? A bit of balance and realism in your comments would be great.
A bit of balance and realism in your comments would be great.
Aha, you hit the nail on the head. A bit of balance is exactly what I've been doing. At the moment it's a massive attack on Labour as if this situation has not occurred before. We've seen National go through exactly the same process in the past year without anything like the same hullabaloo.
The corporate media is behaving disgracefully and I will continue to bring some balance back into the picture whether 'newy viewy' likes it or not.
From what I have seen in the past two days it appears that the "media" are less interested in the "victim(s)", and those they sought to create, of this than their prospects, profiles and pay packets. From Bryce Edwards, to the Spin-Off and the cross matches of one of their writers to North and South the story has been spun, stretched and shared in many forms without any access or concern as to the facts.
The facts will come from the QC when they have them and have had the time to assess and seek any further details that are relevant. The disgraceful media as you rightly call them saw no need and had no interest in waiting for the truth, they are beyond belief and coming to an election year dangerous if they persist with this behaviour, they want and intend to get collateral damage any way they can.
Couldn't agree more Kat – it has all of the usual hallmarks of the political hit jobs that John Key's administration was very effective at, the fact that this ridiculous beat-up occupied Soimon's entire interview on Breakfast this morning when Haley lead us to believe they would be talking about Simon and former Chinese spy teacher Jian Yang chaperoning him in the mother country while Simon chatted to the Chinese Security service chief…but no, we had the agenda entirely set by those that would subvert it.
Jeez so you are telling me its a massive sting operation where young men and woman have gone under cover volunteering in the Labour party so they could invent a sex scandal as revenge for dirty politics.
Given our sex abuse statistics and rape culture i would say the story as it is being told is far more likely.
No small wonder we only have one active feminist author here…
I support the integrity of the Labour Party and believe that the flood of misinformation, allegations, inflated and conflated misinformation will hurt the instigators in the end.
Wouldn't it be great for the "victims" to meet the PM. Given the conflicting stories they would be free to explain eye to eye. (I read somewhere that the sexual victim said she was too scared to speak up about her problem.)
What comes around goes around I would hope for Bennett.
I think it was Iprent who wrote that those with a complaint such as assault should be shown that the Party cannot process such criminal matters. A victim of say a sexual assault might expect the President or Secretary to investigate and action but they cannot. What if such a victim believed that Harworth would just spring into action and fix everything. When he couldn't, imagine the victim disappointment.
What I understood Lynn to be saying was that the *legal actions available are via the Crimes Act and employment legislation and this is not something Labour can do. There is nothing to stop Labour from also doing its own internal investigation separate from anything that the police or parlimentary services may or may not do. This is what the victims were asking for imo, for Labour to take action about its own organisation, culture and policies. A complaint to the police or PS isn't necessary for that to happen.
It's also not true imo that Labour could do nothing about the staffer. They could for instance change his duties so he is not doing things like accompanying young members to events. It sounds like some of his job had already changed.
If you are interested in the Tasman District Council election. Meet the candidates in Richmond is currently being live streamed. Mayoral candidates are also there.
Why was it necessary to go to Paula Bennett about the alleged assaults and offences, instead of the police? Although I am not judging the complaints of the victims at this stage, not my place to do so, but really, Paula Bennett as the first port of call to seek help???
With Bennett's involvement, I'm getting a strong stench of dirty Blue politics permeating the air once more as the 2020 election approaches.
Agree the process is brutal for women/girls. I have been at the coal face supporting victims of abuse, it is just not a case of making a statement to the police that's the easy part (not that any part of the process is easy).
If Labour had listened and supported the victims/s then as you say weka no need to involve the opposition and media.
Yeah. The process at the police and the legal structures around it needs to be looked at.
I’d really like to find out what it is like now with the police handling of rape and sexual assualt cases – most of my referential anecdotes are now decades old. More in the Louise Nicholas era.
There is still a basic problem is that there has to be enough evidence to get the courts to be able to convict and that does require either some corroborating evidence or some kind of adversarial process. I can’t see too many ways that the latter can’t be brutal to the complainant when we’re looking at custodial sentences.
But I think that complaints or (at the very least) statements should always be made to the police because otherwise people are effectively just encouraging dickheads to do the same thing again. They should also make sure that there is a hard copy from the police about the interview. This keeps the police honest because they seem not file information on the persistent computer systems otherwise.
Normally this shows up as being done as part of job – then you can hit up their employers. The problem is (as I have been pointing out) the allegations made are that the person involved isn’t an employee of the NZLP and has been doing stuff outside of even party. Which makes this kind of complicated. But that would have been the good avenue – to approach Parliamentary Services if this was being a workplace issue.
Even if it was a party issue, then there is virtually nothing done lawfully without a clear smoking gun by the NZLP. Besides, they simply don’t have the required resources to even evaluate the evidence. Which is why sending it off to a QC was a mildly good idea.
Personally I’d like to just do some basic changes to the law.
Firstly to make confidential settlements a crime. As far as I am concerned they are just encourage awful behaviour by the affluent.
Secondly to make it so that anyone can report probable assaults and sexual assaults for the police to investigate. We already have laws about wasting police time so I don’t think that would be too much of an issue. But it’d probably help to increase the reporting considerably and help with the power imbalances. This is already the case for a number of crimes like murder and aggravated assaults that the complainant isn’t expected to be the victim.
I know that whenever I have run across some of these in the past (mostly when I was a barman) that my biggest problem is that I’d like to report it and to trigger an investigation because I knew damn well that the victim was unlikely to do so. I also knew that the arsehole perp would just do it again. It is one of the most irritating aspects of our justice system.
I’d really like to find out what it is like now with the police handling of rape and sexual assualt cases – most of my referential anecdotes are now decades old. More in the Louise Nicholas era.
Kirsty Johnston has done considerable work on this issue…
But I think that complaints or (at the very least) statements should always be made to the police because otherwise people are effectively just encouraging dickheads to do the same thing again.
Unless the laws are changed so that some other body apart from the police are entitled to and (in theory) required to track complaints and offenses about predators, the perpetrators of any kind of assault will just move, change jobs, and do it again. If they do get pulled up at some point, then they claim that it was a momentary problem and walk under some kind of diversion and/or name suppression.
One of the best bits of evidence for a court would be to show a history of previous complainants and have that admissible by the police / crown. It would clearly show a pattern of behaviour that needs to be dealt with.
In order for more women to take complaints to the police, the culture needs to change. Not just in the police and justice system, but wider. This is why, while I understand what you are saying about the current situation and that Labour can't do anything via the Crimes Act or employment law, I disagree that they can't do anything.
Had the processes and culture in Labour been different, it's possible that a formal complaint to either the police or parliamentary services may have followed. But to make a complaint when Labour are either making things harder from ignorance, or actively putting barriers in the way, that's too much to ask imo. Women know that going to the police is unlikely to do them good and will mostly likely harm them further, so there is a direct conflict between the wellbeing of victims and the wellbeing of society. That's not on women who have been assaulted to remedy. It's for everyone else to sort out.
There is an argument to be made that rape cases should have their own set of rules because it is unlike pretty much any other crime in important regards. To get any change to process and outcome in the justice system you need lawmakers that understand the dynamics of rape and why it is done, and how systems are complicit in that. The one thing about this case that gives me some hope is that if Labour do step up now and sort their culture out internally, there is potential for them to then foster good lawmakers in the future.
I haven't followed the story this week very closely, but it's clear that the allegations were handled badly. Not because Labour should have fired the staffer or whatever, but because they should have listened to and engaged with the people making the complaints in a way that protected them and gave them support so that a way to deal with the situation could have been worked out. Even the fact that Labour met with one of the victims on her own is a red flag for me. At the least someone should have been there and written up the meeting and made sure that copies were given to Labour and victim. That's just basic stuff.
Likewise the whole mess with the emails.
My advice to anyone engaging with any organisation that has power like this is to always take a witness to any conversation, preferably one that can take good notes. Hopefully now processes will develop/be adopted for getting confirmation that emails have been received (and that Labour will do this with regard for people making complaints, not just setting up systems to protect themselves).
The onus shouldn't be on the people making the complaint but on the organisation with the resources. That Labour didn't do these things suggests either incompetence or worse. I suspect its incompetence (esp given what Ardern has said), but I think it's also likely there has been some protection of Labour going on by some of the people involved.
Imagine counselling a victim of sexual assault and encouraging them to take their claims to court. The risk is a replay of vivid trauma and the reopening of psychological wounds still raw and tender.
The reward? A 50:50 shot at justice.
That's the reality for the few victims brave enough to take their case to court and front the alleged perpetrator of their pain.
Statistics show barely half of all sexual crimes taken through the judicial process in 2018 resulted in a conviction. In some years the rate has been much lower.
Ministry of Justice figures show the cases that end up in court are a tiny percentage of sex crimes, the great majority of which (up to 90 per cent) are believed to go unreported. Of that small catchment, less than 10 per cent make it as far as a courtroom.
Given this brutal distillation process, it would be fair to assume that any case left standing would involve robust evidence and the best possible opportunity for conviction. Sadly, the numbers tell quite a different story.
The figures suggest that, for every 100 sexual crimes in this country, 99 perpetrators escape justice, many without even needing to face their accuser in court.
One possible solution…
There is currently no incentive (due to the risk of imprisonment) for any perpetrator to acknowledge the sexual violence that occurred, nor is there any protection for those perpetrators who do wish to acknowledge what occurred and make redress," it noted.
Victims did not always want an intimidating court setting, and a prison sentence was not always the priority: in many cases, they wanted acknowledgement of the wrong done and appropriate treatment for the wrong-doer.
That would involve a significant shift in our understanding of what victims want, although clearly it would not be appropriate for the most serious cases.
It would also involve doing something even more challenging and significant: listening to victims and empowering them in the process.
One of the things she said was that cops weren't being critical enough when investigating sexual assault complaints, giving an advantage to the defense lawyers to present the evidence in a more critical light.
In a "my word against yours" trial, that means poking holes in the other person's testimony, saying they are unreliable, etc etc etc. And then emphasising "reasonable doubt".
I just can't help thinking that our adversarial system is particularly unsuited to determining the truth of these cases.
One idea I have heard of if that there is an independent authority that women can make complaints to but nothing is taken further until a certain number of other people make a complaint about the same person. That way the person making a complaint doesn't have to go it alone and the strength in numbers make a conviction more likely.
TBH – expecting there to be a good outcome from people with no/limited investigative powers, no expertise, experience and constrained by employment and privacy laws it a big ask.
On the victims side it can go from:
Lying, mistaken, offensive but not criminal, criminal offending occurred, criminal offending occurred with long-last consequnces
And on the alleged offenders it can go from:
Innocent, unintentional, offensive but not criminal, criminal, criminal with pycho/sociopathic tendancies
(And probably options I can't even think of. ) And each of those people can have honest differences about where the offending was on that spectrum.
If the justice system can only get it right in a small number of cases with all its resources, it's no wonder highly constrained amateurs are not going to be able to make decisions that are just even with the very best of intentions.
First link is behind the paywall that I can’t justify paying for.
Second link is good it sounds like they’re now at least starting to code sexual assault complaints as sexual assaults rather “not a crime” and it shows in the stats.
Third link is accessible and kind of alarming. 12 adult sexual assault detectives for the whole of Auckland? WTF…
It looks more like Bennett was a last resort after various attempts within Labour had been unsuccessful and re-traumatising.
In Parliament today Bennett said that a former chief of staff of Ardern's knew about the allegations, and also her chief press secretary. And two victims claim to have made a complaint around Christmas time to the director of the leader's office.
It is also well documented that they made submissions and had brief interviews with the investigation panel (comprising three people from the Labour Party council). And they claim to have had contacted the now resigned party president Nigel Haworth.
It seems to have taken getting Bennett involved to get an acceptance that Labour had done a very poor job for the complainants.
She put a bunch of questions to Ardern expecting to tie her in knots and all Jacinda did was answer "yes" or "no". It was all over in just over 2 mins. at which point Madam B had achieved nothing:
Maybe it wasn't Bennett's intent to achieve anything but set up a possible problem for Ardern. The final question and answer:
Hon Paula Bennett: Does she stand by her previous statements that victims should go to one of their line managers and that no senior people in her office had received a complaint?
Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: At the time that I made the statement, yes.
Soon after in General Debate Bennett claimed that two victims went to a line manager (about Christmas time). If Ardern "made the statement" after this she could have talked into a trap.
The sexual assault media damage just wipes out the momentum that Ardern had assiduously manufactured over the previous 10 days with a slew of announcements.
These include the suicide prevention launch, Te Reo Week, the freshwater NPS discussion document, the Team New Zealand boat launch, the DIRA draft legislation, and bunches of other smaller ones.
So I know they mean well.
But this lot have 8 months of government left before they are in full campaign mode for 2020.
It completely beggars belief to me that after 9 years in opposition and 2 years in power they are still generating little groups with think-pieces. It means when actual news hits such as sexual assault claims, there's very little public goodwill built up from delivering hard results to New Zealand, so the PM looks brittle again.
I'm less convinced that this is a government that is good for New Zealand.
I'm starting to think a massive clean out is needed to fix what is looking like a toxic culture.
I'm going to take the victims word and if their complaints had been covered up to the point where Jacinda Ardern was directly lied to by senior party officials (as it seems by her comments) things are very wrong.
Thinking about Auckland i was looking at the local political groups and read about City Vision and saw that Mike Lee is not seeking backing from them this time.
I wonder if he is still going on, he may be getting tired of the eternal roundabout.
They would be pretty much opposites in their views I take it. Pity about Mike Lee but he has been fighting battles for so long and seen the tatty results when he has lost that his winning opponents produced so I guess that has soured him.
Dirty politics is not going to help the person who has raised the sexual assault.
National failed all the children who were sexually assaulted in Social Welfare care and faith based care. At least Labour is trying to address the damage to then young lives and not sweep it under the carpet or expect people to not be affected .
What National did to people who had a sensitive ACC claim was disgusting for the 9 years they governed. I had to wait 8 years to resume my claim because of how little faith I had in the National government regarding a sensitive claim. The woman I spoke to at ACC understood. Basically the last government could not be trusted to understand the personal cost and I was not going to waste my precious energy on their bull shit.
Goodness gracious me! Health Select Committee grows some balls and delivers right (or is that more rightly 'left'?) royal bollocking to Pharmac, Medsafe and the Misery of Health.
It would seem that a common anti -depressant was replaced with a generic prompting 500 complaints of adverse effects. None of which raised safety or quality problems.
Members not happy, Chair Louisa Wall…
… questioned whether patients who were stable for years should have had their medications changed in the first place.
"It seems that for me some of the patients on these drugs, they've been used as guinea pigs, 'lets just switch them, lets just see what happens to them and if they're adverse maybe we can switch them back,' that's really unacceptable to be honest," she said.
and Michael Woodhouse was none too pleased…
"It's fair to say the Select Committee were disappointed with the lack of empathy from Medsafe and the Ministry of Health and the finger pointing that went on between three government agencies effectively that said that there were certain things that could been done, but it's not our responsibly.
"That's a frustration," he said.
Mr Woodhouse said the committee will make sure the right thing is done by the petitioner.
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This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne I covered the May 2 United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Blackpool South parliamentary byelection was also held, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you love a dark comedy: Bodkin (Netflix, May 9)An English podcaster, an Irish podcaster and American podcaster walk into a pub and…make a TV show? ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment of ...
The Boil Up’s Lucinda Bennett considers the oyster – from freshness to pearls to the joy of shucking your own. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. In Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘Eight Bites’, a woman begins her last supper before bariatric surgery with “a cavalcade ...
Asia Pacific Report A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine. They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by ...
The Student Volunteer Army is on the march, generating approximately 1.6 million hours of volunteering from roughly 35,000 secondary school students in just five years. For Rebekah Brown, the pathway to volunteering started with her singing coach. With a passion for the arts, the suggestion to volunteer at Acting Antics, ...
Keeping up with online communication can be exhausting, so Fran Barclay enlisted the help of Meta’s new ‘intelligent assistant’ to respond to all her messages. Could her mates tell the difference? For centuries, technology has ruled the ways in which we communicate. From the dawn of written language, to the ...
Jamie Arbuckle, a councillor who has become an member of parliament, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both pay cheques. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney There’s a good reason your local volunteer-run netball club doesn’t pay tax. In Australia, various nonprofit organisations are exempt from paying income tax, including those that do charitable work, such as churches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Deller, Casual Academic, Creative Writing and English Literature, Flinders University NetflixComedy is opening up spaces for silences to be broken and trauma stories to be told. In 2018, Hannah Gadsby started a revolution with Nanette, asking audiences to rethink ...
The workplace can be a minefield of bad comms and passive aggression. Kinksters can help you navigate it. A friend and colleague recently gave me a compliment I loved. They told me I’d always been good at emotional communication and making people feel comfortable. “But I feel like it’s really ...
Even if some students are now just texting on their laptops. Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Councils from Horowhenua, Kāpiti, Wairarapa, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington City will meet this Friday to work together on a plan for a Greater Wellington region water deal. ...
Renowned musician, advocate, and proud born and raised daughter of Tauranga, Ria Hall, is announcing her candidacy for Mayor of Tauranga and Pāpāmoa Ward for the upcoming election on July 20th. ...
The new Aotearoa histories curriculum is rich with potential. There’s still work to be done, but the education minister’s criticisms about ‘balance’ miss the mark, argues primary school teacher Jessie Moss. In 2015, Ōtorohanga College students presented to parliament a petition signed by more than 10,000 people calling for a ...
For too long our so-called national bird has maintained its stranglehold on the economy of regional New Zealand. Thanks to the fast track legislation, we will have our revenge. Theories abound on what ails New Zealand’s economy. National leader Chris Luxon has posited that we’re negative, wet, whiny, and inward-looking; ...
If building one of Auckland’s possible waterfront stadiums was funded privately, it would need to hold a sold-out Ed Sherran concert every weekday for 25 years. That’s Rob Hamlin’s finding – he’s a senior marketing lecturer at the University of Otago. “It’s not going to happen; forget about it,” he ...
Comment: The debate over the future relationship between news and social media is bringing us closer to a long-overdue reckoning. Social media isn’t trying to kill journalism, because social media has never really cared about journalism. Social media is resolutely in the attention business. News propels some attention — perhaps ...
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For the past 12 years, Georgia-Rose Brown has balanced on the brink of making an Olympic Games – but always landed gracefully on the wrong side. Reaching the Olympics is a dream the gymnast has harboured since she was a six-year-old; a dream that would dwindle every four years, yet ...
Late one afternoon in March 1860 a man in a thin green velveteen jacket and a wide-awake hat arrived on foot at a sheep station named Glenmark, about 65 kilometres north of Christchurch. The man was in his mid-fifties but he looked older. Several people who met him that day ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A new Commonwealth Prac Payment will provide students with $319.50 a week when they are on clinical and professional placements. The payment will be means tested and start from July 1 next year, which ...
Asia Pacific Report About 500 people honoured Palestinian journalists in the heart of the New Zealand city of Auckland today for their brave coverage of Israel’s War on Gaza, now in its seventh month with almost 35,000 people killed, mostly women and children. Marking the annual May 3 World Press ...
The Government Communications Security Bureau denies hosting a foreign spying capability flagged by the watchdog, differentiating it from the system recently criticised. ...
RNZ News A group of academic staff at New Zealand’s largest university have expressed concern at the administration’s move to block a protest encampment that was planned to take place on campus calling for support for the rights of Palestinians. This week, the University of Auckland warned that while it ...
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"There are so many senior people within the Prime Minister's office and other senior ministers that know and knew the extent of it that it is inconceivable that [Ardern] wasn't told," Bennett told reporters.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12266753
Very senior members of Arderns office are named, along with Grant Robinson. If Ardern is to be believed (that no one told her) her closest advisors do not trust her ability to lead. She needs to purge her office to regain control.
certainly there are plenty in the LP that need to move on, This just might be a great opportunity for Ardern to clear the decks of some dross
By any chance do you mean the right-leaning neo-liberals that Chuck might approve of? Quelle horreure!
I would not trust anything Bennett says without independent verification.
Me neither.
Me neither.
The whole matter should not have been dealt with in such a political point scoring manner.
May those needing support now be receiving it.
+ 1
Bennetts source is the same Ardern relied on today to terminate her President.
[lprent: If you don’t want to comment related to the comment you are replying to, then you are trolling and don’t want to be here. Bye. ]
For clarity then, Bennett confirmed she was given the names and timelines by the complainants who came to her.
Verification is simply silence from the complainants i.e. Bennett accurately presented their information.
Would the complainant saying that she told Robertson in person be enough verification?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/09/complainants-reveal-details-of-how-much-grant-robertson-nigel-haworth-knew-about-sexual-assault-allegations.html
+1 mickysavage
Bennett is dishonest and so is her leader. Bennett is deceitful and she's attempting to project her own image on Jacinda Ardern. Bennett is spiteful and she should have resigned 10 years ago after she sought and released the personal information of two women who (politely) disagreed with her over the axing of night classes for solo mums who were trying to ready themselves for the workforce by gaining a qualification.
She's also a pernicious leaker… eg. the Winston Peters Super muck-up by Winz of which he had no way of knowing about.
Believing anything that woman says is like believing in the tooth fairy.
yep bennett is not to be trusted – she is completely amoral imo where personal information and political point scoring are concerned. She is not showering herself with glory.
"like believing in the tooth fairy"
But much less innocent.
Adern could of course do what Key did when it was discovered "dirty politics" was being run out of his office and LIE.
Key Key Key = Lie Lie Lie
Key the liar
Bennett the liar
And of course Bennett dropped those two citizens in hot tar by intentionally releasing their private personal details.
Appalling all round she is
To grant Robinson Crusoe his due, no man alone is an island. And no man walks alone in a foe cult society where everyone knows whether your name is Daniel or Michel.
Knowledge is power and power is not shared.
This is getting very ugly for Labour. Sounds as if they all knew about it and it was someone right in amongst the politburo heirarchy good friends with them all. Talk about a cover up. Very very untidy #Laboursmetoomoment
[I have approved this comment because the system took it to come from a first-time user. However, I have good reason to believe that you are simply trolling here. Permanent ban – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 6:10 PM.
This whole “Labour sex scandal” smells like "dirty politics" revenge courtesy of Natz leading muck raker PB, aka dirt agent 000. Can't see this hurting the PM, quite the opposite as she will be seen to act decisively following receiving QC report…..and with a fizz the wee scandal melts into the beltway sunset.
Meanwhile Winston has a present for PB, and it ain't dead flowers.
Yeah its all a national conspiracy. Get a grip there is a sexual pest in labour who needs to be delt with so kicu for #Metoo eh.
Did you get upset about the sexual pests in National?
Jamie Lee Ross is an alleged scumbag, this bloke is an alleged scumbag.
Only one has been turfed.
Turfed?? I understand he is still in parliament, still being overpaid as such.
I wish I could suffer such a 'turfing'.
Whatever one might say about Jamie Lee Ross’s ethics and morals, no one has suggested that it was non consensual. That is not the case in the present case.
So there is no equivalence.
While that was not a case of assault, which normally is judged in a court of law, it could be wondered how ethical and moral the spouses of the two MPs saw it when they found out what most of the National Party knew and they didn't?
Only one has been turfed – do you mean Mr Sabin?
You seem to be unable to see the situation Anne. It’s always Nationals fault. Or they have done worse things. What’s wrong with you and some of your like minded commenters. This is Labour’s fuck up not Nationals. If National make political capital out of this that’s politics. Labour is made up of the same sort of people as National. Different philosophy that’s all. The people are no better no worse. At best JA doesn’t know what’s going on in the Labour Party. Worst scenario she does. Take your pick. I had to listen to comments on the project tonight that insinuated that JA is a nice person so could not have known about the situation. If this was happening to National, SB would be called a lying Arse hole I suspect. I could be wrong of course!!? A bit of balance and realism in your comments would be great.
A bit of balance and realism in your comments would be great.
Aha, you hit the nail on the head. A bit of balance is exactly what I've been doing. At the moment it's a massive attack on Labour as if this situation has not occurred before. We've seen National go through exactly the same process in the past year without anything like the same hullabaloo.
The corporate media is behaving disgracefully and I will continue to bring some balance back into the picture whether 'newy viewy' likes it or not.
From what I have seen in the past two days it appears that the "media" are less interested in the "victim(s)", and those they sought to create, of this than their prospects, profiles and pay packets. From Bryce Edwards, to the Spin-Off and the cross matches of one of their writers to North and South the story has been spun, stretched and shared in many forms without any access or concern as to the facts.
The facts will come from the QC when they have them and have had the time to assess and seek any further details that are relevant. The disgraceful media as you rightly call them saw no need and had no interest in waiting for the truth, they are beyond belief and coming to an election year dangerous if they persist with this behaviour, they want and intend to get collateral damage any way they can.
you must have been on holiday when Nationals JLR hit the headlines. For weeks.
Couldn't agree more Kat – it has all of the usual hallmarks of the political hit jobs that John Key's administration was very effective at, the fact that this ridiculous beat-up occupied Soimon's entire interview on Breakfast this morning when Haley lead us to believe they would be talking about Simon and former Chinese spy teacher Jian Yang chaperoning him in the mother country while Simon chatted to the Chinese Security service chief…but no, we had the agenda entirely set by those that would subvert it.
Jeez so you are telling me its a massive sting operation where young men and woman have gone under cover volunteering in the Labour party so they could invent a sex scandal as revenge for dirty politics.
Given our sex abuse statistics and rape culture i would say the story as it is being told is far more likely.
No small wonder we only have one active feminist author here…
Even Bradbury on The Daily Blog mentions Ardern would seek process and then deal with or to.
That's been done.
It's getting harder to believe in a NZ that follows the innocent until proven guilty rule, esp in the media.
I support the integrity of the Labour Party and believe that the flood of misinformation, allegations, inflated and conflated misinformation will hurt the instigators in the end.
Wouldn't it be great for the "victims" to meet the PM. Given the conflicting stories they would be free to explain eye to eye. (I read somewhere that the sexual victim said she was too scared to speak up about her problem.)
What comes around goes around I would hope for Bennett.
whats up with “victims” in commas?
Its attitudes like that put sexual abuse survivors off making themselves heard.
It would be good for the PM and her team to meet these poor people and listen to their stories so we don’t have these issues again.
I think it was Iprent who wrote that those with a complaint such as assault should be shown that the Party cannot process such criminal matters. A victim of say a sexual assault might expect the President or Secretary to investigate and action but they cannot. What if such a victim believed that Harworth would just spring into action and fix everything. When he couldn't, imagine the victim disappointment.
I thought that McFlock's comment in OM at 10.2.1.1 was helpful in presenting a model that could have been followed.
What I understood Lynn to be saying was that the *legal actions available are via the Crimes Act and employment legislation and this is not something Labour can do. There is nothing to stop Labour from also doing its own internal investigation separate from anything that the police or parlimentary services may or may not do. This is what the victims were asking for imo, for Labour to take action about its own organisation, culture and policies. A complaint to the police or PS isn't necessary for that to happen.
It's also not true imo that Labour could do nothing about the staffer. They could for instance change his duties so he is not doing things like accompanying young members to events. It sounds like some of his job had already changed.
https://www.metromag.co.nz/society/society-politics/labour-sexual-assault-allegations-jacinda-ardern-morgan-godfery
Whatever the problem is here, it's pretty clear that Labour handled this badly at the process and natural justice level.
Mac1. How about this:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12266874
[link added. Getting sick of having to ask regulars to do this. If you are cutting and pasting/quoting, please provide the source – weka]
mod note
Simon Bridges upholding National's long promotion of rape culture, what a surprise.
ianmac. nonsensical first sentencesays it all. Direct quote.
"Simon Bridges says the resignation of Labour President Nigel Haworth the sex scandal gripping the party is just the start."
Paddy Gower on Weed 🕺
Tonight 8.30 pm TV3
https://www.threenow.co.nz/live-tv-guide/three
that's a rather disturbing image.
Lmao 🙂
It was a pretty awesome watch, am looking forward to part 2 tonight.
unfortunately I can't stand his whole 'pay attention! because I just discovered this important thing' schtick.
I hope he does some good with the debate.
If you are interested in the Tasman District Council election. Meet the candidates in Richmond is currently being live streamed. Mayoral candidates are also there.
Tune in here
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/115491064/live-richmond-ward-and-mayoral-candidates-meeting
Why was it necessary to go to Paula Bennett about the alleged assaults and offences, instead of the police? Although I am not judging the complaints of the victims at this stage, not my place to do so, but really, Paula Bennett as the first port of call to seek help???
With Bennett's involvement, I'm getting a strong stench of dirty Blue politics permeating the air once more as the 2020 election approaches.
they first went to Labour, got treated badly, so went to the media and opposition.
Lots of women don't take rape complaints to the police, because of low conviction rates and and often brutal process.
Agree the process is brutal for women/girls. I have been at the coal face supporting victims of abuse, it is just not a case of making a statement to the police that's the easy part (not that any part of the process is easy).
If Labour had listened and supported the victims/s then as you say weka no need to involve the opposition and media.
Yeah. The process at the police and the legal structures around it needs to be looked at.
I’d really like to find out what it is like now with the police handling of rape and sexual assualt cases – most of my referential anecdotes are now decades old. More in the Louise Nicholas era.
There is still a basic problem is that there has to be enough evidence to get the courts to be able to convict and that does require either some corroborating evidence or some kind of adversarial process. I can’t see too many ways that the latter can’t be brutal to the complainant when we’re looking at custodial sentences.
But I think that complaints or (at the very least) statements should always be made to the police because otherwise people are effectively just encouraging dickheads to do the same thing again. They should also make sure that there is a hard copy from the police about the interview. This keeps the police honest because they seem not file information on the persistent computer systems otherwise.
Normally this shows up as being done as part of job – then you can hit up their employers. The problem is (as I have been pointing out) the allegations made are that the person involved isn’t an employee of the NZLP and has been doing stuff outside of even party. Which makes this kind of complicated. But that would have been the good avenue – to approach Parliamentary Services if this was being a workplace issue.
Even if it was a party issue, then there is virtually nothing done lawfully without a clear smoking gun by the NZLP. Besides, they simply don’t have the required resources to even evaluate the evidence. Which is why sending it off to a QC was a mildly good idea.
Personally I’d like to just do some basic changes to the law.
Firstly to make confidential settlements a crime. As far as I am concerned they are just encourage awful behaviour by the affluent.
Secondly to make it so that anyone can report probable assaults and sexual assaults for the police to investigate. We already have laws about wasting police time so I don’t think that would be too much of an issue. But it’d probably help to increase the reporting considerably and help with the power imbalances. This is already the case for a number of crimes like murder and aggravated assaults that the complainant isn’t expected to be the victim.
I know that whenever I have run across some of these in the past (mostly when I was a barman) that my biggest problem is that I’d like to report it and to trigger an investigation because I knew damn well that the victim was unlikely to do so. I also knew that the arsehole perp would just do it again. It is one of the most irritating aspects of our justice system.
I’d really like to find out what it is like now with the police handling of rape and sexual assualt cases – most of my referential anecdotes are now decades old. More in the Louise Nicholas era.
Kirsty Johnston has done considerable work on this issue…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12042963
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12043031
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12146421
But I think that complaints or (at the very least) statements should always be made to the police because otherwise people are effectively just encouraging dickheads to do the same thing again.
Seriously?
Thanks, and yeah seriously…
Unless the laws are changed so that some other body apart from the police are entitled to and (in theory) required to track complaints and offenses about predators, the perpetrators of any kind of assault will just move, change jobs, and do it again. If they do get pulled up at some point, then they claim that it was a momentary problem and walk under some kind of diversion and/or name suppression.
One of the best bits of evidence for a court would be to show a history of previous complainants and have that admissible by the police / crown. It would clearly show a pattern of behaviour that needs to be dealt with.
In order for more women to take complaints to the police, the culture needs to change. Not just in the police and justice system, but wider. This is why, while I understand what you are saying about the current situation and that Labour can't do anything via the Crimes Act or employment law, I disagree that they can't do anything.
Had the processes and culture in Labour been different, it's possible that a formal complaint to either the police or parliamentary services may have followed. But to make a complaint when Labour are either making things harder from ignorance, or actively putting barriers in the way, that's too much to ask imo. Women know that going to the police is unlikely to do them good and will mostly likely harm them further, so there is a direct conflict between the wellbeing of victims and the wellbeing of society. That's not on women who have been assaulted to remedy. It's for everyone else to sort out.
There is an argument to be made that rape cases should have their own set of rules because it is unlike pretty much any other crime in important regards. To get any change to process and outcome in the justice system you need lawmakers that understand the dynamics of rape and why it is done, and how systems are complicit in that. The one thing about this case that gives me some hope is that if Labour do step up now and sort their culture out internally, there is potential for them to then foster good lawmakers in the future.
I haven't followed the story this week very closely, but it's clear that the allegations were handled badly. Not because Labour should have fired the staffer or whatever, but because they should have listened to and engaged with the people making the complaints in a way that protected them and gave them support so that a way to deal with the situation could have been worked out. Even the fact that Labour met with one of the victims on her own is a red flag for me. At the least someone should have been there and written up the meeting and made sure that copies were given to Labour and victim. That's just basic stuff.
Likewise the whole mess with the emails.
My advice to anyone engaging with any organisation that has power like this is to always take a witness to any conversation, preferably one that can take good notes. Hopefully now processes will develop/be adopted for getting confirmation that emails have been received (and that Labour will do this with regard for people making complaints, not just setting up systems to protect themselves).
The onus shouldn't be on the people making the complaint but on the organisation with the resources. That Labour didn't do these things suggests either incompetence or worse. I suspect its incompetence (esp given what Ardern has said), but I think it's also likely there has been some protection of Labour going on by some of the people involved.
Imagine counselling a victim of sexual assault and encouraging them to take their claims to court. The risk is a replay of vivid trauma and the reopening of psychological wounds still raw and tender.
The reward? A 50:50 shot at justice.
That's the reality for the few victims brave enough to take their case to court and front the alleged perpetrator of their pain.
Statistics show barely half of all sexual crimes taken through the judicial process in 2018 resulted in a conviction. In some years the rate has been much lower.
Ministry of Justice figures show the cases that end up in court are a tiny percentage of sex crimes, the great majority of which (up to 90 per cent) are believed to go unreported. Of that small catchment, less than 10 per cent make it as far as a courtroom.
Given this brutal distillation process, it would be fair to assume that any case left standing would involve robust evidence and the best possible opportunity for conviction. Sadly, the numbers tell quite a different story.
The figures suggest that, for every 100 sexual crimes in this country, 99 perpetrators escape justice, many without even needing to face their accuser in court.
One possible solution…
There is currently no incentive (due to the risk of imprisonment) for any perpetrator to acknowledge the sexual violence that occurred, nor is there any protection for those perpetrators who do wish to acknowledge what occurred and make redress," it noted.
Victims did not always want an intimidating court setting, and a prison sentence was not always the priority: in many cases, they wanted acknowledgement of the wrong done and appropriate treatment for the wrong-doer.
That would involve a significant shift in our understanding of what victims want, although clearly it would not be appropriate for the most serious cases.
It would also involve doing something even more challenging and significant: listening to victims and empowering them in the process.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/112634934/its-time-to-better-the-odds-for-victims-of-sexual-crime
Here is an article from last year focussing on a defence lawyer who had a string of acquittals for sexual assault trials.
One of the things she said was that cops weren't being critical enough when investigating sexual assault complaints, giving an advantage to the defense lawyers to present the evidence in a more critical light.
In a "my word against yours" trial, that means poking holes in the other person's testimony, saying they are unreliable, etc etc etc. And then emphasising "reasonable doubt".
I just can't help thinking that our adversarial system is particularly unsuited to determining the truth of these cases.
One idea I have heard of if that there is an independent authority that women can make complaints to but nothing is taken further until a certain number of other people make a complaint about the same person. That way the person making a complaint doesn't have to go it alone and the strength in numbers make a conviction more likely.
TBH – expecting there to be a good outcome from people with no/limited investigative powers, no expertise, experience and constrained by employment and privacy laws it a big ask.
On the victims side it can go from:
Lying, mistaken, offensive but not criminal, criminal offending occurred, criminal offending occurred with long-last consequnces
And on the alleged offenders it can go from:
Innocent, unintentional, offensive but not criminal, criminal, criminal with pycho/sociopathic tendancies
(And probably options I can't even think of. ) And each of those people can have honest differences about where the offending was on that spectrum.
If the justice system can only get it right in a small number of cases with all its resources, it's no wonder highly constrained amateurs are not going to be able to make decisions that are just even with the very best of intentions.
First link is behind the paywall that I can’t justify paying for.
Second link is good it sounds like they’re now at least starting to code sexual assault complaints as sexual assaults rather “not a crime” and it shows in the stats.
Third link is accessible and kind of alarming. 12 adult sexual assault detectives for the whole of Auckland? WTF…
Good series..
It looks more like Bennett was a last resort after various attempts within Labour had been unsuccessful and re-traumatising.
In Parliament today Bennett said that a former chief of staff of Ardern's knew about the allegations, and also her chief press secretary. And two victims claim to have made a complaint around Christmas time to the director of the leader's office.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/document/HansS_20190911_053250000/bennett-paula-mallard-trevor
It is also well documented that they made submissions and had brief interviews with the investigation panel (comprising three people from the Labour Party council). And they claim to have had contacted the now resigned party president Nigel Haworth.
It seems to have taken getting Bennett involved to get an acceptance that Labour had done a very poor job for the complainants.
If dealing with Bennett is the same thing as coming across as evasive I agree.
Mary A, I really wonder about that too, i.e. going to Paula Bennett….
Ardern dealt to Bennett today at QT.
She put a bunch of questions to Ardern expecting to tie her in knots and all Jacinda did was answer "yes" or "no". It was all over in just over 2 mins. at which point Madam B had achieved nothing:
https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=208737
Maybe it wasn't Bennett's intent to achieve anything but set up a possible problem for Ardern. The final question and answer:
Soon after in General Debate Bennett claimed that two victims went to a line manager (about Christmas time). If Ardern "made the statement" after this she could have talked into a trap.
The sexual assault media damage just wipes out the momentum that Ardern had assiduously manufactured over the previous 10 days with a slew of announcements.
These include the suicide prevention launch, Te Reo Week, the freshwater NPS discussion document, the Team New Zealand boat launch, the DIRA draft legislation, and bunches of other smaller ones.
So I know they mean well.
But this lot have 8 months of government left before they are in full campaign mode for 2020.
It completely beggars belief to me that after 9 years in opposition and 2 years in power they are still generating little groups with think-pieces. It means when actual news hits such as sexual assault claims, there's very little public goodwill built up from delivering hard results to New Zealand, so the PM looks brittle again.
I'm less convinced that this is a government that is good for New Zealand.
still better than anything else on offer, although I still hold out some hope that a L/G govt would bring out the best in Labour.
I'm starting to think a massive clean out is needed to fix what is looking like a toxic culture.
I'm going to take the victims word and if their complaints had been covered up to the point where Jacinda Ardern was directly lied to by senior party officials (as it seems by her comments) things are very wrong.
It's really sad.
An opportunity here for her to make some good changes, fingers crossed.
National being arseholes won't be helping that of course.
Auckland's mayoral 'race' continues to produce more crap than gold – as RNZ's Tuesday head-to-head between the two main candidates showed.
Reading the transcript is way better for the blood pressure than listening to the trainwreck, but only for the brave in any case: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018712681/auckland-mayoral-debate-phil-goff-v-john-tamihere
Thinking about Auckland i was looking at the local political groups and read about City Vision and saw that Mike Lee is not seeking backing from them this time.
I wonder if he is still going on, he may be getting tired of the eternal roundabout.
He and Christine Fletcher are two of the most bitter people I have ever met.
They were both not too bad in their day.
At Council meetings they are just destructive, but they will of course both get back in because their name recognition is strong.
They would be pretty much opposites in their views I take it. Pity about Mike Lee but he has been fighting battles for so long and seen the tatty results when he has lost that his winning opponents produced so I guess that has soured him.
Trump fired Bolton before he could resign, OK.
Dirty politics is not going to help the person who has raised the sexual assault.
National failed all the children who were sexually assaulted in Social Welfare care and faith based care. At least Labour is trying to address the damage to then young lives and not sweep it under the carpet or expect people to not be affected .
What National did to people who had a sensitive ACC claim was disgusting for the 9 years they governed. I had to wait 8 years to resume my claim because of how little faith I had in the National government regarding a sensitive claim. The woman I spoke to at ACC understood. Basically the last government could not be trusted to understand the personal cost and I was not going to waste my precious energy on their bull shit.
Sobering : https://www.rt.com/op-ed/468508-hong-kong-protests-violent/
Goodness gracious me! Health Select Committee grows some balls and delivers right (or is that more rightly 'left'?) royal bollocking to Pharmac, Medsafe and the Misery of Health.
It would seem that a common anti -depressant was replaced with a generic prompting 500 complaints of adverse effects. None of which raised safety or quality problems.
Members not happy, Chair Louisa Wall…
… questioned whether patients who were stable for years should have had their medications changed in the first place.
"It seems that for me some of the patients on these drugs, they've been used as guinea pigs, 'lets just switch them, lets just see what happens to them and if they're adverse maybe we can switch them back,' that's really unacceptable to be honest," she said.
and Michael Woodhouse was none too pleased…
"It's fair to say the Select Committee were disappointed with the lack of empathy from Medsafe and the Ministry of Health and the finger pointing that went on between three government agencies effectively that said that there were certain things that could been done, but it's not our responsibly.
"That's a frustration," he said.
Mr Woodhouse said the committee will make sure the right thing is done by the petitioner.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/398580/ministry-of-health-medsafe-grilled-over-med-brand-switch
It seems that Boris's suspension was unlawful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK8Dm7_YAko