"Yes, but apart from that what did you think of the show Mr. Lincoln?" moment from Stuff as we are told how wonderful Saudi Arabia is, as long as you don't miss habeas corpus, can overlook extra judicial state murder of dissidents, feel the routine use of indiscriminate torture doesn't apply to you, think the 24,000+ Houthi killed in Saudi air attacks probably had it coming, regard the right to protest as a silly western idea, actually love misogyny as state policy, and consider despotic theocracy a reasonable form of government…
Dollars to donuts Bridget Dunn git a nice little stuffed Manila envelope for that piece.
Saudi border guards have been accused of killing hundreds of Ethiopians using small arms and explosive weapons in a targeted campaign that rights advocates suggest may amount to a crime against humanity.
I tried commenting to this puff piece for the House of Saud but funnily enough it hasn't been published. I toned it down but questioned what alternate reality this piece came from when there is no hint of the dark side of Saudi Arabia.
I didn't mention the irony (right term?) of the headline that this was: "The truth about life in Saudi Arabia according to a Kiwi who lives there".
When Ms Dunn was asked what the biggest disadvantage of living in Saudi Arabia was she said: "People who've never visited have strong preconceptions about the country. Convincing them to change their minds takes time."
Got it. We're the problem. The issue is not a blindness to reality on her part then.
I will wonder now about the censorship moderation on Stuff whenever I see (as I still do now on this piece): "There are no comments yet. Why don't you write one?"
Outsider is an extremely influential social archetype. When circumstances treat someone as such, pondering the meaning of the experience is natural. Systems often incorporate gate-keepers for quality control. Robotic dysfunction happens too.
Lacey's House of Saud book was an eye-opener way back when. The role played by the bin Laden family is an interesting dimension, with Osama as naughty boy.
When most folk are not a card-carrying member of X (x=group) they participate in the category natural whereas card-carriers do so in the category official. Big-picture views of the cultural reality must integrate the dualism to be credible.
Change of government a threat to 200,000 people's Fair Pay Agreements – union
The first industries in the upcoming negotiations include hospitality, grocery supermarkets, security officers and guards, commercial cleaners and early childhood education workers, with negotiations for bus drivers slightly ahead of the pack.
Tradtionally…Hospo, Cleaners and others…have been treated "mostly" like shit by employers. Min wage,On call, etc..
BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope opines…
"I think it's significantly wasting people's time," Hope said.
there would be better ways to deal with vulnerable workers in particular sectors."
Really Kirk ?..we know just how vulnerable Workers have been treated.
On that….David Seymour lays it all out…
Instead of Fair Pay Agreements, which the party's leader David Seymour called "anti business" policy, it would be "supporting freedom to contract".
"'Fair pay' agreements amount to compulsory unionism that will reduce productivity and make it harder for employers to grow their businesses. ACT will get rid of them immediately.
A TMP candidate has her house broken into and threats left
A Labour MP gets slapped around by some RW arsehole while campaigning
Yet David Seymour has seemingly no pushback after his threats and attacks on Superannuatants, drug addicts, the mentally ill and minimum wage workers. Apparently emboldened by this he now promises to strip employment rights from New Zealand workers.
Is it that the man's narcissism is so powerfull that it is inconcevible to him that his safety may be compromised by his own actions? Or is it just that Seymour is actually well aware that the politically violent are pretty much all on the Right Wing? (IMO it's the latter)
The latter mainly. And because he knows that if he is threatened it will be given wall to wall media coverage with no slippery "all sides do it" equivocation to obscure the truth. He will then grandstand endlessly about it and use it as an excuse to plan even more punitive attacks. .
As you say, I think he has Narcissism at such a level..that he has absolutely no care of what the effects will be. Just watching him ..there is a palpable disconnect…between his words and the effects of same.
"Guy Fawkes"…amongst many others. IMO a dangerous person.
In 1980 or thereabouts I passed the author at the Tahuna Farm commune, and then at another community at Graham Downs commune where my father and sister lived. In both places, Olive Jones appeared at the centre of things, a "key person", as she describes it in her new book Commune: Chasing a utopian dream in Aoteoroa. I was just out of adolescence.
Olive was magnetically androgynous, seriously can-do, an Amazonian other. She was very visibly a pioneer of the rural counterculture. I sensed she possessed agency, although we didn’t call it that then. ‘Assertive’ was the aspiration for young, would-be feminists of my generation.
From less than 1% of the whole when I jumped aboard in '68, back to the landers trended above 5% by the late '70s then emerged as Green ethos in politics the decade following.
a core membership of those who wish to create alternative ways of living and being from the ground up; international itinerants on the word-of-mouth-circuit, and those on the outer fringes of society with nowhere left to go – the needy and the opportunist.
Triadic framing of the communards like that is sociological.
Here she is usefully spelling out the math: "The price of a fuck in the mid-1970s was around $60. And that was for less than half an hour of contact, often only 10 or 15 minutes, tax-free. It was an immense sum of money when you compared it with the average hourly wage for unskilled labour, which was around $5 before tax." Ultimately, she becomes ambivalent about prostitution. Its splitting of love and intimacy from sex finally bugs her too much to continue.
The cost/benefit analysis of sex is another useful triad: the slash symbol represents the mental blend in our decision-making process, thus 3 as archetype emerging in the coming together of the binary. Family is produced by 3 if child happens from the binary sex act.
The splitter is an extremely influential social archetype: it has fractured christianity into upward of 40,000 sects since the disintegration of the original monolith (catholic).
The mass psychology driving the archetype into cultural process is here:
Splitting (also called black-and-white thinking, thinking in extremes or all-or-nothing thinking) is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together the dichotomy of both perceived positive and negative qualities of something into a cohesive, realistic whole. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splitting_(psychology)
The exclusive nature of the thinking used (my way or the highway) is opposed by communal thought (inclusive) which generates community and human groups.
Inside or outside the tent is a perennial question for players & groups in politics. MMP changed us up a gear, then pointed us toward transcendent collaboration. That means finding common ground upon which to proceed. That will feature in the aftermath of the election, whichever way it goes.
To transcend a dichotomy, players must imagine a preferable third alternative to the binary views of partisans: big-picture thinking. The triad created mentally by the user gets transcendence from the framing organically: cohering players into group. The wiki definition cited above describes how holism transforms group process into system, producing "a cohesive, realistic whole." Candidates, representatives and activists cohere when grounding themselves in collective reality. This is the deep Green view of politics.
I watched Q and A this morning. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/q-and-a About 20 minutes in Jack Tame interviewed James Shaw, and put forward a scenario of National forming a coalition with either Act, New Zealand First or the Greens. Tame commented a few times that Labour and the Greens won't be able to form a government. Tame repeatedly asked Shaw whether the Greens would form a government with National. Tame came across as very biased towards National and almost hectoring. Shaw replied that the polls have been inaccurate in previous elections, repeatedly commented that the Greens want to form a government with Labour, and that voters will again determine the outcome this election outcome.
It seems the media have been instructed to present a supposed forgone conclusion that National will form the next government. The media's negative attitude towards Labour has accelerated over the past couple of years, even more so this year. Presumably this is linked to the huge amounts of donations to National from the business sector which provides funding for advertising, and the vested interests of high earners and many in the real estate, business and farming sectors.
The media's analysis of National’s evidently failed fiscal plan as confirmed by various economists, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/election-2023/497974/economists-analysis-rubbishes-national-s-foreign-buyers-tax-numbers has been mainly superficial. Why has National not been challenged in detail on the detrimental effects of their policies on beneficiaries, low and many middle-income workers, the inevitable increased house prices resulting from non-residents being able to buy properties, the vastly overestimated tax revenue from these hypothetical non-residents to supposedly pay for most of the planned tax cuts, the inevitable public services cuts and the decrease in workers' rights?
Prime time discussion panels with political analysts/scientists, including interviewing the relevant candidates, would likely provide more objectivity and information for voters, rather than combative interviews with current and potential MPs.
Jack Tame's job is to ask the hard questions of whichever politician is in front of him, and to pressure the politician to answer the questions.
Shaw got off lightly compared to the Winston Peters interview immediately before him. Part of the Peters interview was that Peters was being an arse, so no sympathy at all for how Tame managed it.
I don't think anyone is instruction the MSM to believe the polls. Who would have done that anyway? It's just that a number of the political classes like to predict, and in doing so influence outcomes. It's wrong imo for Tame to state it in the way he did, but it's pretty standard, not just journalists.
What might come across as hectoring in the Shaw interview is just Tame trying to get Shaw to be clear. Green politics can be hard to understand and while I think the Greens are better at communicating this than in the past, I think Shaw still doesn't have a succinct enough way to explain things like the wealth tax, or post-election negotiations and why he won't be drawn on speculating. He did ok, but the answers are still unusual and a bit unclear so it's Tame's job to try and get clarity.
Admire your faith in the rationality of his supporters BG. You’re a better person than me. I'm cynical enough to think it will only shore up his base support.
I really hope you are right. I suspect that many of NZF fvoters watching that will see Peters as hard done by the MSM and he's the under dog that needs their vote. I really hope I am wrong.
One might just dismiss this as Winston bloviating as usual – but he has form as a vindictive operator, with the memory of an elephant for any slight, perceived or real.
Why has National not been challenged in detail on the detrimental effects of their policies
My guess is that media are reluctant to predict the future. There's been an establishment bias against doing so for more than 3 centuries, so there's substantial inertia to overthrow if you are a revolutionary aspiring changemaker.
It can be done in contemporary society using conditional framing: you just suggest a likely outcome of implementing the policy. Journos do so often.
You could email Jack to ask him why he didn't, but framing a discussion is the prerogative of the framer (media pro), so be polite if you want a response.
Nothing wrong with scaremongering by opponents of the Nats, so could be he believes a forensic examination of likely outcomes of Nat policies is best left to politicians opposed to them, huh? The PM has had a go at that in the media I suggest Jack is likely to do a bit of that when the realising looms larger…
Anyone with a memory of the Ruth Richardson "Mother of all Budgets" will know what lies ahead if NACT wins the election. In 1991 benefit reductions / Housing NZ increases to market rental / vulnerable families moved off the housing waiting list – all these caused disruption for years. As a budgeter / food bank worker during those years my work load increased substantially – many families existed on food parcels for months because of stand down penalties. I am dreading the outcome of this coming election and hope I have the energy to support my clients for a few more years to come. I have concerned clients ringing daily and all I can advise them is to make sure they, their friends and families get out and vote wisely over the next 2 weeks.
Patricia 2, it’s frightening to think of what possibly lies ahead if NACT win- particularly concerning for the vulnerable/ at-risk members of society- the ones Luxon calls bottom feeders.
As demonstrated in Jack Tame’s interview of James Shaw, the media are now treating a Right victory as guaranteed. It’s very depressing and makes me wonder how much this fair accompli mindset influences people to vote for the Right OR to not vote at all…
Part of the problem is the media obsession with the horse race purely as a race. What the race is about, or means for real people, gets lost in the media coverage. It should probably be illegal to publish any political poll for 12 months before the latest date an election must be held. Then there is very little to talk about except policy and its implications.
I am finding already that the attitude at some WINZ offices has changed and case managers are being more hard nosed about some applications than in previous months. I feel they are pre-empting a NACT win.
I'm sure they could supply a decent camera for him to give a better picture, or he could just do it from a studio in Wellington. After all he is the only one who would need to be in the room.
By next week I mean the week starting Monday 9 October and by "early" I was thinking of the evening of Tuesday 10 October.
By then 9 of the 12 days available for early voting would have passed.
On the other hand I am not sure how much any of the debates after the first one matter. Anyone who might be swinging will probably have only watched the first one and will work on what they saw there. I doubt if the audience for any debate after the first will be that large. It is only the political tragics (like me) who watch all the debates and we have, like you, already decided on what we intend to do.
The Labour spin doctors have probably told Chippy that the more he campaigns the less votes he gets, so his best option is to shut the hell up. Catching covid is awfully convenient, because it is designed to remind voters that "Labour saved everyone from covid, remember that?". All too convenient.
[..]
He’s given up…not a committed stalwart like Clark
[…]
It’s likely an excuse.
The MP that replaces him for the debates will be the one in the front seat to take over post election.
They won’t change out leaders this close to election, but it appears 💩kins is kaka-kaput
I guess it gives his deputy the opportunity to shine. I hope his immune system deals with the invasion swiftly. Folks ought to google human microbiome if they do not yet know that each one of us is an ecosystem host!
Some will wonder about God's will but the possibility of Gaia's will being involved is more likely to occur to anyone who's ever encompassed the new age or Green belief systems. I wonder what his own thoughts are about being taken out as leader in the campaign. There's potential for some floaters to give Labour a sympathy vote: everyone knows a fair competition is based on equity of opportunity.
James nails the Nats lack of credibility from the Green perspective:
We don’t see the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis, or the crisis of intergenerational poverty as separable from each other.
Any agreement that we form with any party, to form a government, has got to ensure that we’re able to progress those things in equal measure … you cannot solve the climate crisis without bringing everyone with you and having an inclusive society and an inclusive economy.
National has never been about that. They’ve always been about, essentially, making intergenerational poverty worse….there’s no chance on God’s green earth that [National would offer a better environmental policy to the Greens than Labour]. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/vote2023-qa-with-james-shaw
Could have added a challenge to the bluegreens: take me to your real leader (no need to point to the fake) but asking the Nats to provide a basis for consensus would freak them out even more…
You never see a photo of Simeon Brown without a fossil-fuel guzzling vehicle somewhere in the picture. Three guesses who was behind National's policy of ending the clean car rebate.
Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
David Farrar writes – 1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR:PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some of the economic issues confronting New Zealand. It may take time for some new ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the changes that ...
TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishingGraham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them. POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees National MPs Chris ...
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 ...
Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
New Zealand has a chance to rise again. Under the previous government, the number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing year by year. The Luxon-led government must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising the pillars of the economy. After the mismanagement of the outgoing government created huge ...
Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations. He writes – Tuesday, November 28, 2023The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
The work beginsPhilip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical ScienceSkeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise “informed by” head ...
One of the threats in the National - ACT - NZ First coalition agreements was to extend the term of Parliament to four years, reducing our opportunities to throw a bad government out. The justification? Apparently, the government thinks "elections are expensive". This is the stupidest of stupid reasons for ...
Buzz from the Beehive The new government was being sworn in, at time of writing , and when Point of Order checked the Beehive website for the latest ministerial statements and re-visit some of the old ones we drew a blank. We found …. Nowt. Nothing. Zilch. Not a ...
Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item: Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki: “Section ...
A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on FridayRoutinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023. Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chiefExclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website,Point of Order turned today to Scoop’sLatest Parliament Headlines for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
“And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is not even an entry in Wikipedia. ...
So New Zealand has a brand-spanking new right-wing government. Not just any new government either. A formal majority coalition, of the sort last seen in 1996-1998 (our governmental arrangements for the past quarter of a century have been varying flavours of minority coalition or single-party minority, with great emphasis ...
And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the tree with its gold ribbon but can turn out to be nothing more than a big box holding a voucher for socks, so it ...
So, after weeks of negotiations, we finally have a government, with a three-party cabinet and a time-sharing deputy PM arrangement. Newsroom's Marc Daalder has put the various coalition documents online, and I've been reading through them. A few things stand out: Luxon doesn't want to do any work, ...
Nothing says strong and stable like having your government announcement delayed by a day because one of your deputies wants to remind everyone, but mostly you, who wears the trousers. It was all a bit embarrassing yesterday with the parties descending on Wellington before pulling out of proceedings. There are ...
Winston Peters will be Deputy PM for the first half of the Coalition Government’s three-year term, with David Seymour being Deputy PM for the second half. Photo montage by Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR:PM-Elect Christopher Luxon has announced the formation of a joint National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government with a ...
THERE ARE SOME SONGS that seem to come from a place that is at once in and out of the world. Written by men and women who, for a brief moment, are granted access to that strange, collective compendium of human experience that comes from, and belongs to, all the ...
It’s Friday again! Maybe today we’ll finally have a government again. Roll into the weekend with some of the articles that caught our attention this week. And as always, feel free to add your links and observations in the comments. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt ...
The COP28 countdown is on. Over 100 world leaders are expected to attend this year’s UN Climate Change Conference in in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which starts next Thursday. Among the VIPs confirmed for the Dubai summit are the UK’s Rishi Sunak and Brazil’s Lula da Silva – along ...
By scrapping Aotearoa’s world-leading smokefree laws, this government is sacrificing Māori lives to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. Not only is this plan revolting, but it doesn’t add up. Treasury has estimated that the reversal of smokefree laws to pay for tax cuts will cost our health system $5.25bn, ...
Figures showing National needs to find another $900 million for landlords highlights the mess this coalition Government is in less than a week into the job. ...
Community organisations, mana whenua and the Greens have written to the incoming Minister of Oceans and Fisheries to call for the progression without delay of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill. ...
"On behalf of the Labour Party I would like to congratulate Christopher Luxon on his appointment as Prime Minister,” Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
NZ First has gotten their wish to ‘take our country back’ to the 1800s with a policy program that will white-wash Aotearoa and erase tangata whenua rights. By disestablishing the Māori Health Authority this Government has condemned Māori to die seven years earlier than Pākehā. By removing Treaty obligations from ...
Te Pāti Māori have called for the resignation of the Ministry of Foreign and Trade chief executive Chris Seed following his decision to erase te reo Māori from government communications. While the country still waits for a new government to be formed, Mr Seed took it upon himself to undermine ...
The New Zealand Labour Party is urgently calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel to put a halt to the appalling attacks and violence, so that a journey to a lasting peace can begin, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
RNZ political reporter Katie Scotcher, Newhub's political editor Jenna Lynch, and the New Zealand Herald's deputy political editor, Thomas Coughlan discuss the coalition government's first week in charge. ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists and media workers have criticised comments made by Aotearoa New Zealand’s newly-elected Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters — who claimed that a 2020 Labour government media funding initiative constituted “bribery” — as a threat to media freedom. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reports that it ...
ANALYSIS:By Tristan Dunning, University of Queensland, and Martin Kear, University of Sydney While the world remains fixated on the devastating October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, there has been a pronounced — and mostly unnoticed — escalation in violence against Palestinians in ...
ANALYSIS:By Terence Wood In the wake of New Zealand’s recent election, and subsequent coalition negotiations, Winston Peters has emerged as New Zealand’s Foreign Minister again. I’ve never been able to adequately explain why a populist politician leading a party called New Zealand First would have an interest in a ...
NZME, the owners of the Herald, has been fined close to $200,000 after a “magnetic puzzle toy” sold through its Grabone service was deemed to be unsafe. The fine is an increase on the $88,000 penalty previous imposed by the court after the Commerce Commission appealed the decision. In a ...
On Saturday 2 December, pro-choice supporters will rally and march to defend abortion rights and to counter anti-choice conservatives. The rally starts at 1pm at Te Aro Park (Dixon/Manners) with speakers in the Park before marching. ...
The Reserve Bank surprised everyone this week by warning it may have to raise interest rates again to force inflation down, effectively eliminating the prospect of major mortgage rate cuts over the coming summer. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr joins Bernard ...
Ōtepoti supporters of Restore Passenger Rail will slowly walk from the Railway Station to the Octagon on Monday morning, in support of their campaign’s demands that the new Government restores a nationwide passenger rail service and provides ...
Dame Jacinda Ardern observed after she stood down as Prime Minister that "Government isn’t just what you do, it's how you make people feel". While an interesting insight into how she viewed the purpose of government (and, some would argue, an ...
As the show prepares for its final episode, we look back at some of the weird and wonderful moments from the last six years of The Project NZ. The Project NZ burst into the 7pm slot in February 2017, and has since served us everything from Lizzo’s opinion on cheese ...
J Day Is Auckland’s Annual Celebration Of Our Kiwi Cannabis Culture And A Protest Against Prohibition, Held In Albert Park Every Year Since 1992. NORML and friends presents the 31st Annual J Day, usually held on the first Saturday in May every year ...
E Tipu e Rea Whānau Services are deeply concerned at the new Government's plan to scrap Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. As an organisation that works with teenage parents and their tamariki who have a history of state intervention, we know ...
Auckland is considering a move that would reduce kerbside rubbish collections to once a fortnight. It’s part of a council plan to drastically reduce the amount of rubbish produced by households, supported by the recent city-wide rollout of food scrap bins expected to reduce up to 41% of bin contents by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mike W. Morley, Associate Professor and Director, Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Flinders University In June, researchers led by palaeoanthropologist Lee Berger published sensational claims about an extinct human species called Homo naledi online and in the Netflix documentary Unknown: Cave of Bones. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Merja Myllylahti, Senior Lecturer, Co-Director Research Centre for Journalism, Media & Democracy, Auckland University of Technology According to a recent survey by the News Media Association, 90% of editors in the United Kingdom “believe that Google and Meta pose an existential threat ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie Scott, Associate Professor (Adjunct), Science Communication, University of Notre Dame Australia Shutterstock It’s getting towards the time of the year when you might feel more overwhelmed than usual. There are work projects to finish and perhaps exams in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Wescott, Lecturer in Education, Monash University This week a new report said there was a “curriculum problem” in Australia. Education consultancy group Learning First found the science curriculum lacked depth and breadth and had major problems with sequencing and clarity. While ...
The new government has reiterated its commitment to build a stronger relationship with India. Trade minister Todd McClay will visit the country before the end of the month for a whirlwind trip to meet with his counterpart, reports Thomas Coughlan at the Herald. “I will be working with prime minister ...
The PM says deep spending cuts are needed to fix the ‘economic vandalism’ of the previous government. But Luxon and Willis are already running up some big bills of their own, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In his first week on the job, new Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell is visiting cyclone and flood-ravaged regions to hear what they need from the government. ...
They’re cold, they’re caffeinated and they’re classier than an energy drink – iced coffee in a can has gone from novelty to normal in Aotearoa in record time. We tasted 25 to sort the morning must-haves from the mediocre mud water. Just a few short years ago, coffee in a ...
Many news consumers feel a responsibility to bear witness to all sorts of distressing images and events. But deciding to tune out instead doesn’t make you a bad person, writes counsellor Ross Palethorpe. Our attention is demanded everywhere. We are exhorted to witness, to not look away, to act, in ...
Call it inflation, call it rising cost of living or call it “cozzie livs” as our Aussie friends now do. But it’s impacting different cities around the world very differently. The dry Aussie vernacular disguises a real problem in their biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, which price rises have ...
Opinion: The costs of living in New Zealand have been in the news for decades, with particular attention paid to food and housing. Food costs have been mostly blamed on the supermarket duopoly. The economics of the production and distribution of food and associated international commerce relationships and the ...
FICTION 1 The Girl from London by Olivia Spooner (Hachette, $37.99) A free copy of the wildly popular novel about a wartime shipboard romance was up for grabs in last week’s giveaway contest. Readers were asked to recount a shipboard romance in their own lives or someone they knew. ...
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It’s been a big few years for usage of New Zealand’s rail network, according to KiwiRail executives, who have reported unprecedented interest from freight customers as capital investment mounts. But they highlight the need for big jobs such as separating passenger and freight lines and bolstering the rail corridor ...
With a call for petroleum companies and the nations of the world to work together to solve the climate crisis, the United Arab Emirates’ controversial choice of President of COP28, opened the UN’s annual climate negotiations in Dubai yesterday. “Colleagues, let history reflect the fact that this is the ...
The coalition agreements contain many actions on the environment - most of them regressive and some that could take NZ back decades, writes environmentalist Gary Taylor The post New Government crashes environment appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Peter Dutton has his tail up, but he’s being careful to manage expectations. As the opposition celebrates its suddenly improved fortunes, Dutton told the party room this week that inevitably the government would recalibrate over ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute A Senate committee has investigated why so many Australians are missing out on dental care and made 35 recommendations for reform. By far the most sweeping is the call for universal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lester Munson, Non-resident fellow, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney Henry Kissinger was the ultimate champion of the United States’ foreign policy battles. The former US secretary of state died on November 29 2023 after living for a century. The ...
Coldplay will become the first musical act to play three nights at Auckland’s Eden Park when they visit the country in a year’s time. The band has just announced a third and final show at the venue as part of their global and seemingly never-ending Music of the Spheres world ...
A genuine news story quickly became a springboard for rumour and speculation, with one councillor at the centre of it. Wellington mayor Tory Whanau has a problem with alcohol. She has made that public and is clearly embarrassed. Whanau’s public behaviour was first called into questionin July after reports of ...
In light of the Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ recent comments about the media, a group of journalists who serve as E tū delegates say these claims are misinformed. Mr Peters has claimed the Public Interest Journalism Fund was a government “bribe” ...
RNZ News New Zealand’s opposition Labour Party has announced its shadow cabinet to face off against the conservative coalition government. The party endorsed Chris Hipkins as leader and voted Carmel Sepuloni as deputy earlier this month. Sepuloni is also Pacific Peoples minister. Many of the roles are a continuation of ...
It’s been a big few years for usage of New Zealand’s rail network, according to KiwiRail executives who have reported unprecedented interest from freight customers as capital investment mounts. But at the same time, they caution the need for big jobs like separating passenger and freight lines and bolstering ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Thompson, Associate Professor of Media Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Winston Peters had only just been sworn in as deputy prime minister when his long-standing antipathy to the news media emerged in the form of a serious ...
The Animal Justice Party Aotearoa New Zealand (AJPANZ) is joining forces with our friends across the ditch to lead a global protest against sportswear giant Adidas. AJPANZ has peaceful protests set to take place in Auckland and Christchurch this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A parliamentary inquiry has delivered a scathing indictment of Australia’s employment services, finding it does not serve the interests of job seekers or employers and urging the privatised system be partially wound back. A rigid ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has unveiled a proposal he says will encourage more uptake of public transport around the city. He’d like to see a $50 cap on public transport costs per person per week, which would cover bus, rail and inner harbour ferry services. “We need to get the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stacy Carter, Professor and Director, Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values, University of Wollongong Shutterstock Artificial intelligence (AI) is already being used in health care. AI can look for patterns in medical images to help diagnose disease. It ...
New Zealand’s new Government created international headlines this week for its decision to reverse the world’s first smoking ‘generation ban’. Now another major u-turn is on the cards, as New Zealand pledges to overturn the world-leading ...
The Others Way returns for 2023 at a bunch of venues on and around Auckland’s Karangahape Road on Friday night. Here’s who you can catch, where and when.The Others Way is, in general, a pretty chaotic music festival, spread over a number of venues in the busy Karangahape Road ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is offering to redesign logos for any renamed government departments for free in an effort to save taxpayers money following concerns that requiring a name change of government departments will give them an excuse to ...
The former justice minister Kiri Allan has revealed she pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to accompany a police officer in order to test a grey area in the law. Allan’s case, which related to a political career-ending car crash in July, was set to be heard in ...
New Zealand Disability Support Network is seeking assurance that disabled New Zealanders are a priority for the new government after being omitted from their 100 day plan. “Disability support providers wondering how they’ll survive financially, underpaid ...
The Taxpayers’ Union can today reveal that Grant Robertson’s attendance at the Rugby World Cup final in Paris cost taxpayers $39,605. Included in the cost was more than $32,000 in business class flights and more than $5000 in accommodation costs ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney Earth’s surface is the living skin of our planet – it connects the physical, chemical and biological systems. Over geological time, this surface evolves. Rivers fragment the landscape into an environmentally diverse range of habitats. ...
For the eighth year, people in prisons will be receiving handmade holiday cards from strangers on the outside.Next to me, Amir* has drawn a beautiful streak of green across the front of a card. “Shit”, he says. The streak was intended to be the stem of a pōhutukawa, but ...
Former Invercargill mayor and national icon Tim Shadbolt will lend his name to the terminal at Invercargill Airport. The city’s councillors have agreed to pay tribute to Shadbolt’s eight-term tenure as mayor. He was first elected in 1993 and, aside from one term, held the position consistently until 2022. “Sir ...
Anna Galvan admits she’s not great on details. The former Silver Fern struggles to pinpoint a specific match that stands out to her, despite a career spanning 17 years in the elite game and 13 tests for her country. But ask the proud Cantabrian a strategic question on ...
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has unveiled a portfolio and list reshuffle as his party readies to hold the new coalition government to account. The line-up brought ministerial experience that National, Act and NZ First lacked, said Hipkins, and included six women and four men in the top 10. “I am ...
Two baby kiwi are the first to be born in the Wellington wild for over 150 years. The Capital Kiwi Project has, for more than five years, run a 4,600-strong stoat trap in the hills south-west of Wellington. Once predators had been deemed under control, 11 North Island brown kiwi ...
Wellington mayor Tory Whanau is off work with Covid-19, the day after admitting to an alcohol issue following media questions. Whanau told RNZ she was seeking “professional help” after reports of drunken behaviour in public, with the Herald reporting that a video “may be” circulating in the public domain. Today, ...
Not everyone needs to follow a tertiary pathway. But for those who do, a degree could well be ‘the experience of a lifetime’.In today’s job market, it’s hard not to feel a little hopeless. As entire industries go through massive change, it can be difficult for new entrants to ...
We invite you to read – ideally aloud – writer Emily Perkins’ speech delivered at the launch of a remarkable new novel earlier this month, republished in full below. The book launch speech is a particular and honoured art. Those who’ve attended a book launch, or many, will know how ...
ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa condemns the Luxon government’s plan to remove relationship and sexuality education (RSE) from school curricula. In striking out RSE, the government ignores decades of evidence-based research carried out in Aotearoa ...
Should we be texting and calling between dates? How can I tell if they’re really into me? Is it a crush or a dopamine spike?Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to [email protected]Dear Hera, I’m in my mid-20s and for a myriad reasons (devastating break-up, birth control-induced weight gain leading to self-esteem ...
As the Herald’s Claire Trevett and Thomas Coughlan write (paywalled), “There’s a fair bit of bad blood between some ministers in the new National-Act-NZ First government and a range of other public servants, diplomats and political appointees to public bodies.” As they explain, ministers do not hire or fire government department ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toby Walsh, Professor of AI, Research Group Leader, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock OpenAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT was unleashed onto an unsuspecting public exactly one year ago. It quickly became the fastest-growing app ever, in the hands of 100 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Dunning, Honorary Research Fellow, The University of Queensland While the world remains fixated on the devastating October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, there has been a pronounced – and mostly unnoticed – escalation in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Peel, Director, Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of Melbourne As the COP28 climate summit gets underway in the oil production hub of the United Arab Emirates today, Australia’s climate minister Chris Bowen will detail our progress in meeting emissions cut targets ...
"Yes, but apart from that what did you think of the show Mr. Lincoln?" moment from Stuff as we are told how wonderful Saudi Arabia is, as long as you don't miss habeas corpus, can overlook extra judicial state murder of dissidents, feel the routine use of indiscriminate torture doesn't apply to you, think the 24,000+ Houthi killed in Saudi air attacks probably had it coming, regard the right to protest as a silly western idea, actually love misogyny as state policy, and consider despotic theocracy a reasonable form of government…
Dollars to donuts Bridget Dunn git a nice little stuffed Manila envelope for that piece.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/kiwi-traveller/300971717/expat-tales-the-truth-about-life-in-saudi-arabia-according-to-a-kiwi-who-lives-there
/
Saudi border guards have been accused of killing hundreds of Ethiopians using small arms and explosive weapons in a targeted campaign that rights advocates suggest may amount to a crime against humanity.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/aug/21/fired-on-like-rain-saudi-border-guards-accused-of-mass-killings-of-ethiopians
I tried commenting to this puff piece for the House of Saud but funnily enough it hasn't been published. I toned it down but questioned what alternate reality this piece came from when there is no hint of the dark side of Saudi Arabia.
I didn't mention the irony (right term?) of the headline that this was: "The truth about life in Saudi Arabia according to a Kiwi who lives there".
When Ms Dunn was asked what the biggest disadvantage of living in Saudi Arabia was she said: "People who've never visited have strong preconceptions about the country. Convincing them to change their minds takes time."
Got it. We're the problem. The issue is not a blindness to reality on her part then.
I will wonder now about the
censorshipmoderation on Stuff whenever I see (as I still do now on this piece): "There are no comments yet. Why don't you write one?"Outsider is an extremely influential social archetype. When circumstances treat someone as such, pondering the meaning of the experience is natural. Systems often incorporate gate-keepers for quality control. Robotic dysfunction happens too.
Lacey's House of Saud book was an eye-opener way back when. The role played by the bin Laden family is an interesting dimension, with Osama as naughty boy.
When most folk are not a card-carrying member of X (x=group) they participate in the category natural whereas card-carriers do so in the category official. Big-picture views of the cultural reality must integrate the dualism to be credible.
Tradtionally…Hospo, Cleaners and others…have been treated "mostly" like shit by employers. Min wage,On call, etc..
BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope opines…
Really Kirk ?..we know just how vulnerable Workers have been treated.
On that….David Seymour lays it all out…
Any Worker..should be voting Left as if their Future depends. Because it does!
New Zealand is a funny old place –
A TMP candidate has her house broken into and threats left
A Labour MP gets slapped around by some RW arsehole while campaigning
Yet David Seymour has seemingly no pushback after his threats and attacks on Superannuatants, drug addicts, the mentally ill and minimum wage workers. Apparently emboldened by this he now promises to strip employment rights from New Zealand workers.
Is it that the man's narcissism is so powerfull that it is inconcevible to him that his safety may be compromised by his own actions? Or is it just that Seymour is actually well aware that the politically violent are pretty much all on the Right Wing? (IMO it's the latter)
The latter mainly. And because he knows that if he is threatened it will be given wall to wall media coverage with no slippery "all sides do it" equivocation to obscure the truth. He will then grandstand endlessly about it and use it as an excuse to plan even more punitive attacks. .
That could well be. Wouldnt be the first time a
fascist….right wing party did something like that : (As you say, I think he has Narcissism at such a level..that he has absolutely no care of what the effects will be. Just watching him ..there is a palpable disconnect…between his words and the effects of same.
"Guy Fawkes"…amongst many others. IMO a dangerous person.
There's this triad driving politics: left/right/other. The counter-culture was always other. This excellent review provides an authentic glimpse of othering as lifestyle dissidence: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/book-of-the-week-hippies-nude-and-useful
From less than 1% of the whole when I jumped aboard in '68, back to the landers trended above 5% by the late '70s then emerged as Green ethos in politics the decade following.
Triadic framing of the communards like that is sociological.
The cost/benefit analysis of sex is another useful triad: the slash symbol represents the mental blend in our decision-making process, thus 3 as archetype emerging in the coming together of the binary. Family is produced by 3 if child happens from the binary sex act.
The splitter is an extremely influential social archetype: it has fractured christianity into upward of 40,000 sects since the disintegration of the original monolith (catholic).
The mass psychology driving the archetype into cultural process is here:
The exclusive nature of the thinking used (my way or the highway) is opposed by communal thought (inclusive) which generates community and human groups.
Inside or outside the tent is a perennial question for players & groups in politics. MMP changed us up a gear, then pointed us toward transcendent collaboration. That means finding common ground upon which to proceed. That will feature in the aftermath of the election, whichever way it goes.
To transcend a dichotomy, players must imagine a preferable third alternative to the binary views of partisans: big-picture thinking. The triad created mentally by the user gets transcendence from the framing organically: cohering players into group. The wiki definition cited above describes how holism transforms group process into system, producing "a cohesive, realistic whole." Candidates, representatives and activists cohere when grounding themselves in collective reality. This is the deep Green view of politics.
I watched Q and A this morning. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/q-and-a About 20 minutes in Jack Tame interviewed James Shaw, and put forward a scenario of National forming a coalition with either Act, New Zealand First or the Greens. Tame commented a few times that Labour and the Greens won't be able to form a government. Tame repeatedly asked Shaw whether the Greens would form a government with National. Tame came across as very biased towards National and almost hectoring. Shaw replied that the polls have been inaccurate in previous elections, repeatedly commented that the Greens want to form a government with Labour, and that voters will again determine the outcome this election outcome.
It seems the media have been instructed to present a supposed forgone conclusion that National will form the next government. The media's negative attitude towards Labour has accelerated over the past couple of years, even more so this year. Presumably this is linked to the huge amounts of donations to National from the business sector which provides funding for advertising, and the vested interests of high earners and many in the real estate, business and farming sectors.
The media's analysis of National’s evidently failed fiscal plan as confirmed by various economists, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/election-2023/497974/economists-analysis-rubbishes-national-s-foreign-buyers-tax-numbers has been mainly superficial. Why has National not been challenged in detail on the detrimental effects of their policies on beneficiaries, low and many middle-income workers, the inevitable increased house prices resulting from non-residents being able to buy properties, the vastly overestimated tax revenue from these hypothetical non-residents to supposedly pay for most of the planned tax cuts, the inevitable public services cuts and the decrease in workers' rights?
Labour's fiscal plan has been costed and endorsed by Infometrics. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/133018004/labour-lays-down-its-financial-gauntlet-with-tight-budgets-and-a-challenge-to-national
Prime time discussion panels with political analysts/scientists, including interviewing the relevant candidates, would likely provide more objectivity and information for voters, rather than combative interviews with current and potential MPs.
Jack Tame's job is to ask the hard questions of whichever politician is in front of him, and to pressure the politician to answer the questions.
Shaw got off lightly compared to the Winston Peters interview immediately before him. Part of the Peters interview was that Peters was being an arse, so no sympathy at all for how Tame managed it.
I don't think anyone is instruction the MSM to believe the polls. Who would have done that anyway? It's just that a number of the political classes like to predict, and in doing so influence outcomes. It's wrong imo for Tame to state it in the way he did, but it's pretty standard, not just journalists.
What might come across as hectoring in the Shaw interview is just Tame trying to get Shaw to be clear. Green politics can be hard to understand and while I think the Greens are better at communicating this than in the past, I think Shaw still doesn't have a succinct enough way to explain things like the wealth tax, or post-election negotiations and why he won't be drawn on speculating. He did ok, but the answers are still unusual and a bit unclear so it's Tame's job to try and get clarity.
This is Peters train wreck interview with Jack Tame on TV1 this morning. Well worth a watch.
I'd be surprised if he gets 5% after this-his voters watch TV1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfWee75MBJ8&ab_channel=NZQandATVNZ
Admire your faith in the rationality of his supporters BG. You’re a better person than me. I'm cynical enough to think it will only shore up his base support.
Haha, we shall see-do you want a pint on it? I'm calling NZF below 5 per cent now. Peters has lost a few of his marbles.
I really hope you are right. I suspect that many of NZF fvoters watching that will see Peters as hard done by the MSM and he's the under dog that needs their vote. I really hope I am wrong.
I was horrified (though not surprised) by Peters doubling down on the implied threat to an independent media later in day
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/election-2023-winston-peters-unable-to-provide-costs-for-prison-and-aged-care-party-policies/LEFYDPNC4RADBHZ5UNWLE45C2M/
One might just dismiss this as Winston bloviating as usual – but he has form as a vindictive operator, with the memory of an elephant for any slight, perceived or real.
Agree Bella-nasty. I am not sure the old Peters would have done this.
Why has National not been challenged in detail on the detrimental effects of their policies
My guess is that media are reluctant to predict the future. There's been an establishment bias against doing so for more than 3 centuries, so there's substantial inertia to overthrow if you are a revolutionary aspiring changemaker.
It can be done in contemporary society using conditional framing: you just suggest a likely outcome of implementing the policy. Journos do so often.
You could email Jack to ask him why he didn't, but framing a discussion is the prerogative of the framer (media pro), so be polite if you want a response.
Nothing wrong with scaremongering by opponents of the Nats, so could be he believes a forensic examination of likely outcomes of Nat policies is best left to politicians opposed to them, huh? The PM has had a go at that in the media I suggest Jack is likely to do a bit of that when the realising looms larger…
Anyone with a memory of the Ruth Richardson "Mother of all Budgets" will know what lies ahead if NACT wins the election. In 1991 benefit reductions / Housing NZ increases to market rental / vulnerable families moved off the housing waiting list – all these caused disruption for years. As a budgeter / food bank worker during those years my work load increased substantially – many families existed on food parcels for months because of stand down penalties. I am dreading the outcome of this coming election and hope I have the energy to support my clients for a few more years to come. I have concerned clients ringing daily and all I can advise them is to make sure they, their friends and families get out and vote wisely over the next 2 weeks.
Patricia 2, it’s frightening to think of what possibly lies ahead if NACT win- particularly concerning for the vulnerable/ at-risk members of society- the ones Luxon calls bottom feeders.
As demonstrated in Jack Tame’s interview of James Shaw, the media are now treating a Right victory as guaranteed. It’s very depressing and makes me wonder how much this fair accompli mindset influences people to vote for the Right OR to not vote at all…
Part of the problem is the media obsession with the horse race purely as a race. What the race is about, or means for real people, gets lost in the media coverage. It should probably be illegal to publish any political poll for 12 months before the latest date an election must be held. Then there is very little to talk about except policy and its implications.
I am finding already that the attitude at some WINZ offices has changed and case managers are being more hard nosed about some applications than in previous months. I feel they are pre-empting a NACT win.
Chris Hipkins has Covid, and could not be at the west Auckland rally. Get well Chippy.
The Press Debate date may be changed, or a stand in called up.
Grant Robertson?
Why not just do it with Hipkins using Zoom?
I'm sure they could supply a decent camera for him to give a better picture, or he could just do it from a studio in Wellington. After all he is the only one who would need to be in the room.
he can't go into a studio for obvious reasons.
What rotten luck! I hope they postpone it until either later in the week or early the following week.
Voting starts tomorrow. If they were to delay it to early next week half the population could have already voted.
700,000 people voted in the first week of advanced voting at the last election in 2020. This represents less than a quarter of the votes cast.
Those 700k would have been people who had already made their minds up (like me; I will vote this week).
So it makes complete sense to postpone the press debate until early next week.
By next week I mean the week starting Monday 9 October and by "early" I was thinking of the evening of Tuesday 10 October.
By then 9 of the 12 days available for early voting would have passed.
On the other hand I am not sure how much any of the debates after the first one matter. Anyone who might be swinging will probably have only watched the first one and will work on what they saw there. I doubt if the audience for any debate after the first will be that large. It is only the political tragics (like me) who watch all the debates and we have, like you, already decided on what we intend to do.
There seem to be far fewer advance voting places this year, at least in my West Coast Tasman electorate.
Question: Did National Party activists on orders from the office of Chris Bishop deliberately infect the Prime Minister with Covid-19?
The Natzi brains trust is onto it.
Hadn’t thought of this; wouldn’t surprise me.
I guess it gives his deputy the opportunity to shine. I hope his immune system deals with the invasion swiftly. Folks ought to google human microbiome if they do not yet know that each one of us is an ecosystem host!
Some will wonder about God's will but the possibility of Gaia's will being involved is more likely to occur to anyone who's ever encompassed the new age or Green belief systems. I wonder what his own thoughts are about being taken out as leader in the campaign. There's potential for some floaters to give Labour a sympathy vote: everyone knows a fair competition is based on equity of opportunity.
James nails the Nats lack of credibility from the Green perspective:
Could have added a challenge to the bluegreens: take me to your real leader (no need to point to the fake) but asking the Nats to provide a basis for consensus would freak them out even more…
UncleTom, Petty & the Fartbreaker:
https://twitter.com/stampmemesnz/status/1708305454064181338
You never see a photo of Simeon Brown without a fossil-fuel guzzling vehicle somewhere in the picture. Three guesses who was behind National's policy of ending the clean car rebate.
Oh yeah, the ubiquitous Ford Raptor in the background.
Take the kid to work day.