I certainly hope not, but s/he is right in the sense that the 23 elections could be a turning point for this country.
On the one hand (the left one) you have a government, however imperfect, that plans for the future and has the interests of all the people as its focus.
Labour has almost got on top of the housing crisis which the Natz exacerbated in their 9 years,
an infra-structure rebuild after nine years of neglect,
a 3 Waters reform which will be essential to secure drinkable water for all in the future,
remodelling of the RMA,
reform of the post-code lottery health system, as well as seeing us through a massive pandemic
and many other ‘future-proofing’ changes.
On the other hand (the right one) we have a ‘government-in-waiting which caused most of the above problems!
underfunding of the police force and closing police stations,
underfunding of health (not even keeping up with inflation for two years),
underfunding of infra-structure with an emphasis on expensive RONs,
education reforms (National Standards) which actually retarded learning,
a social welfare system which punished the already punished and deprived,
frivolous spending on sheep farms in Arabia and a flag referendum.
But, and it’s an important but – managed to give tax cuts to the rich and sell off our assets to their wealthy mates.
Of course I don’t know what ’23 will be like except to say with certainty, climate-wise it will be worse than last year, and ’24 will be exponentially worse again.
The last thing this country needs is a non-interventionist, ‘the market will provide’ sort of government, the sort of government we’d get with a Natz government with the Act tail wagging the dog.
The election this year is crucial for the future of this country. I hope it does not become nasty, but there are a fair number of polarised people out there who will try to make the headlines, and a media who will welcome them.
In more lucid posts, Bomber at TDB puts a list together. Here's one, fairly recent:
Māori going to the Waitangi Tribunal over cancellation of 3 waters: The moment the National/ACT Government scrap 3 Waters, Māoridom will go straight back to the Waitangi Tribunal, win the Court Case and force Luxon into his own Helen Clark moment and be forced to pass law to simply confiscate the water. This will cause an enormous eruption of violent protest.
Mass immigration: National will simply implement John Key’s pump and dump policy of open door immigration to inflate growth rates while causing enormous stress on the groaning underfunded infrastructure and send rents soaring. This will cause enormous social dislocation and a rise in race relation tensions.
Expansion of Oranga Tamariki Big Data Experiment: National created the Oranga Tamariki Frankenstein and wants more welfare decided by algorithm as a means to de-invest welfare. Luxon has already championed this model.
Mass Dairy intensification: It’s all National have as an economic policy.
Mass Property Speculation: They will remove any of the bare tinkering Labour did and help the speculators spin prices higher.
Mutilation of the State: ACT are serious about wanting to amputate the Ministry for Women, Youth, Māori, Pacific People and Ethnic Communities while slashing the Human Rights Commission. The resulting Public Service strikes will gridlock Wellington. If there’s one thing the Public Service can do well, it is protesting for their own interests.
War on Crime: Expect the paramilitary police expansion to occur quickly with a whole dump of new civil liberty breaching powers to supposedly keep us safe but will almost immediately be abused as they increasingly get used on the protesting Left.
Prison riot and explosion in numbers: The war on crime will see far more in prison and National prefers puritan counter productive prisons so expect them to be crammed full and explode in a seething chain reaction of prison riots once National grant Corrections new powers to beat prisoners with. Corrections are very corrupt and once they gain new powers to bash prisoners with, they’ll be some prisoner who gets beaten within an inch of his life which that will trigger prison riots.
Rise of more Mass Surveillance & Political violence: The protests such a radical agenda creates will demand the State turn its attention back on the Left while National supporters clutch their pearls appalled at the aggression the Left are protesting with and rally around Luxon rather than criticise the policy. They will call on Luxon to spy on the radical lefties.
Higher Government Debt: Luxon is no free marketeer, he believes he has 7 properties because Jesus loves him, if debt goes up to pay for the extra prisons, extra Police, extra dairy intensification, extra welfare experiments, extra fake growth, then so be it, he doesn’t care. Oh David Seymour will hate it, but he’ll be so fat and full on his amputation of 6 State agencies that he’ll only be able to mount a burp as a protest.
Agree, they need to be kept in the forefront of our consciousnesses.
As a thought experiment, what would happen if they did get in and Liz-Trussed the whole country? Put up policies so terrible that they lost chunks of support forever? Would that be worse than the left trying to 'bring everyone along together', taking ages and staying cautious?
(Obviously, yes, in the short-term, but long term? Thoughts?)
Nicely put Tony V. As I sip my beer tonight in Extramadura the election seems a long way away but soon it will be all pervasive. I think we will be ok if Winston gets 4.9 per cent. Jacinda is so much more in tune with current thinking than the dinosaur Luxon.
But I will contemplate this more over the bottle of rioja I have in my hostal.
Feliz nuevo año people.
An excellent twitter thread from Michael Wood (yes, I know it was posted on The Standard only a few days ago) which details Natz underinvestment. It bears reposting!
Labour strategists should be preparing a whole series of similar social media posts!
Labour strategists should be preparing a whole series of similar social media posts!
Absolutely and aye Michael Wood …..he sure seems to be "one" of Labours standouts . They sure need to highlight these.
I'd add though….why dont they get Rail more activated? Just seems to be idling…along.
For example, he questions why there’s no rail link between Christchurch and Dunedin.
“The two main centres of the South Island do not have a train despite the fact that even using decrepit rundown rolling stock, in 2002, the timetable between Christchurch and Oamaru was the same speed as driving non-stop, despite the fact the train had to stop.”
It's a sad commentary on the capitalist 'free' world that most action (if this thread is to be believed) comes from an authoritarian, intrusive, genocidal dictatorship!
The 'market' is obsessed with self-interest and will only respond if there's a profit!
Say goodbye to any sort of scientific accuracy and any real information on the basis of sexual reality.
"A recent study purporting to examine the transmission and clinical features of monkeypox in women conducted its research on a sample where nearly half of the participants were male.
This from Professor Garth Cooper, one of the Listener 7 who is Maori, whose has made an outstanding contribution is biochemistry, medicine and educating health professionals and students
”Much of my career has been focussed on kaupapa (Māori agenda) research and teaching aimed at improving Māori health care delivery and Māori science education, on marae and in hospital and medical school/university settings.
That focus has been literal — personally designing, writing, teaching, and executing novel and successful programmes in both Māori health and education. As part of my commitment to these objectives, I served on the national Health Research Council, including six years’ service on Te Komiti Māori with further years advising on Māori health development.
While treating many Māori in diabetes clinics, I turned my focus to kaupapa diabetes research, since this disease is a leading cause of disability and death amongst Māori. Inter alia, this work entailed visiting marae throughout the country to inform and seek endorsement of iwi.
With much dismay, I have been witnessing a recent profound undermining of the meaning of science in New Zealand, now under way with the introduction of mātauranga Māori education as having parity with sciences including mathematics, chemistry, biology, and physics.”
That thing that gave birth to all the humans in the world is nothing.
Nothing that needs a clearly defined word to describe it.
Its nothing more then a feel in mans underpants.
Nothing more then a castration, a drilled hole in the nether regions of some bloke.
It does not need special medical care, it does not need its own studies. It does not need its own spaces.
It is just a thought an ejaculation a thrill in the heart of a man. Funny, that …. cause that is what it always was.
Lucky us that the left and the right agrees on that, otherwise issues could arise. But rejoice, the all the parties agree that men are women, and people who are not men need to suck it up and shut up. Grin it and bear it. Put up with is. Get used to it. Get on with the program.
IN medicine, sometimes the physical body trumps belief.
Medics are there to diagnose and treat pathology. That is the main purpose they serve for us. Yes bedside manner and considering social factors can be important, but not necessarily where the Dr will focus or have time to focus.
When you define believing that gender is not the same as sex as 'trolling' there is nowhere to go really. It's shame that a labour movement blog has come to this, but here we are.
[“Says a man, to women” <– political point by a feminist
“Whatever makes you feel better.” <– wind up comment from someone who should know better
It’s your behaviour that’s the problem, not your arguments elsewhere in the thread.
As a mod, I don’t care what you think about TS, or gender/sex. I care about the nature of the debate. You’ve said plenty of other things in this conversation that aren’t trolling, but you also drop in these troll comments amongst that. I’m telling you to stop.
I'm increasingly responding to whatever is driving these beliefs rather than the surface content and I apologise that it reads as trolling.
When I said that (biological) sex is relevant in medicine but not as much in other policy areas, you turned that into 'man' vs 'women'. To me those are not the same as male and female, so there is really nowhere productive to go.
I really do wish you and others find more peace this year.
I have no problem you bringing your politics here Sacha, even where I disagree with them. But the windup comments have to stop. If you had a problem with my pointed sound bite comment about men telling women how to do their politics, then say that and address it. The pattern of digs is the trolling.
When I said that (biological) sex is relevant in medicine but not as much in other policy areas, you turned that into ‘man’ vs ‘women’. To me those are not the same as male and female
I think you misunderstood my comment. I didn’t turn your comment into man vs women. I was pointing to you as a man thinking you get to redefine women’s reality.
You know that I use the terms woman and female interchangeably to mean biologically female women (whether talking about biology or social aspects). Most people still use the term woman to refer to female people. That’s how English works.
I know what the differences are between gender and sex. If what you mean is that you can’t tolerate people talking about gender and sex that way, I am simply not willing to give up women’s language because of gender identity ideology.
But this is the problem with sound bite comments, and I will try and not match yours with mine, because it inhibits conversation.
To be very clear, when I said “Says a man, to women” what I meant is that it’s hugely problematic that left wing men now think they get to tell women how to do our own politics. It’s not new, but the number of men doing it is, men who used to be allies. And I’m talking about both sex and gender.
Obviously sex is important in medicine. It’s important in many other areas as well. I pushed back against your comment that it’s not. Men don’t get to tell women what is important to us.
I am sorry I am not sure what you mean by referring to hardware and software in terms of the science Matauranga Maori debate.
Of course the Listener 7 were not trying to have Mataraunga Maori cancelled. They said it was vital for local and cultural practices and had a role in policy (sorry not a direct quote, but its in the article).
One of the Professors , Robert Nola who is now deceased spent 45 years of his career studying, researching and writing about the Philosophy of Science. I take this to mean he focussed on what makes science science (but will stand corrected on this).
Here is a quote from him published in the NZ Herald. I think it relates to the science/Matauranga Maori debate, but also gender ideology and the article you posted earlier Visu (sorry if I have slightly derailed your comment, but I think the issues are related)
In late 2016, soon after Donald Trump won the US Presidency, Dr Nola wrote in the NZ Herald to warn about “post-truth”. As he put it:
“This new, fancy word tells us: ‘Objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.’ No need for truth, it is yesteryear’s notion…
“Insofar as studies in humanities have not resisted the views of post-truthers, too bad for humanities. But what of science? It would be quite alien for science to reject the search for truth and evidence, the core of its critical methods.
“In science we have models of what the rational approach to believingought to be. If followed, they are an important way to keep the post-truth era from engulfing us.”
Less than five years later, it has become clear that Dr Nola’s warning has fallen on deaf ears. As the firestorm over the professors’ letter shows, New Zealand science is indeed being engulfed by the post-modern mantra that there is no such thing as objective truth.’
Less than five years later, it has become clear that Dr Nola’s warning has fallen on deaf ears. As the firestorm over the professors’ letter shows, New Zealand science is indeed being engulfed by the post-modern mantra that there is no such thing as objective truth.’
It is also clear that anyone who dissents must be silenced.
Aren’t these also part of the section you have quoted?
I don't know what you mean by the truth is polticial. Whose truth? Donald Trumps? Christopher Luxon over boot camps?
My interest in this area is science. I am an aethiest and good science is what I trust (afterall we were all told to follow the science during the pandemic). I am not following anyone elses interests.
Politics is just about negotiating power. Always has been. Some people prefer to individualise the collectives involved. I guess it makes the world seem simpler.
You psychic!… in my head I did say that in regarding your effort.
"half-interested" still stands as regarding my response.
(Due to past interactions, there seems little gained to participate in good faith exchanges with you. So "half-interested" is an accurate description of occasionally testing the waters to see if there is improvement.)
Postmodernism developed this idea that the truth is political as a branch of literary criticism, particularly from the concept that the authors intention could be safely ignored and instead the readers interpretation could be taken as the meaning of a text. But there are plenty of areas where such an approach to meaning simply falls apart (basically anything which isn't fiction).
Lets for a moment assume the truth is political has some meaning. Why then do we have a court of appeal? Surely the courts heard the case and made a decision (a political one) on the truth already. What grounds could there possibly be for an appeal?
Well I don't agree with the post modern view that truth is political. It can be I guess, but that is very black and white thinking.
I think Trump is a good example of "truth" being political.
But science provides protection from this. Sceince is about evidence and gathering and researching evidence requires the scientific metholody.
One of the reasons I often quote the Dunedin Longitutidinal study is that there evidence gathering and research approach means their findings are sound.
If you can answer the software hardware question, that would be great, but no problem if you are busy.
Ok well I couldn't get the Herald because its behind the paywall. Just to be clear, I quoted from the blog. Highly likely the Herald edited the article.
The Msm have been remiss in their coverage of this issue (my opinion).
“The decision by the Royal Society not to proceed with its ‘investigation’ is a welcome development. The scientific and philosophical questions remain unresolved – in fact, still largely unaddressed at this point – but at least a measure of political space in which to discuss and debate them has been forced open.” This from James Robb, who happens to be one of the founders of the new Workers now party
“Mauri is a Maori term. The website contains a Glossary which defines mauri as “The vital essence, life force of everything: be it a physical object, living thing or ecosystem. In Chemistry and Biology, mauri refers to the health and life-sustaining capacity of the taiao, on biological, physical, and chemical levels.”
Now, it is fundamentally unscientific to attribute ‘vital essence’ or ‘life force’ to all matter. Life is a particular form of motion of matter which is only present in living things. While life may ultimately be explainable in terms of complex chemical processes, life cannot be reduced to those chemical processes; nor do all chemical processes constitute life. Life has its own laws of motion. This is why biology, the study of living things, is not simply a branch of chemistry. To blur the distinction between chemical and biological forms of motion in nature can only obstruct the study of both disciplines, and of the points of connection between them.”
From James Robb when talking about science and the NCEA syllabus
the concept of mauri applied to western science here might be better understood as the philosophy of science. Unfortunately his link doesn’t go to where what he is quoting, so it’s hard to put his post in context.
the western mind doesn’t easily understand the concept of mauri. I’m doubtful that Robb understands it. You can’t grasp if from a dictionary definition or glossary, although that helps. I can’t see how “it is fundamentally unscientific to attribute ‘vital essence’ or ‘life force’ to all matter” but not also say it is “fundamentally unscientific to say ‘vital essence’ or ‘life force’ isn’t in all matte”. How would we know?
his ideas about what life is come from a specific cultural context and belief system (i.e. western science). I can’t see how he can legitimately claim to be omniscient about what life is, but it’s clear he is using a different definition of life from Māori but he doesn’t realise that he is. Which leaves us with whether it’s ok to introduce different culture’s philosophy of science, or whether we should restrict education to only one, the dominant one.
There’s no reason why his statement about how WS understands life can’t be taught alongside other beliefs. Personally, I think they should be differentiated, but again, I haven’t seen the document he is referring to so it’s hard to say what is going on.
Not sure if you will get this Weka as no reply button under your comment.
I couldn't agree more that MM and science should be differentiated (by this I mean taught separately). This was also what the Listener 7 thought too. There main beef with the NCEA syllabus was that students where being told science colonises so is therefore bad.
Professor Garth Cooper who is Maori, particularly objected to it as he thought it would put Maori students off studying science.
This from Professor Garth Cooper, one of the Listener 7 who is Maori, whose has made an outstanding contribution is biochemistry, medicine and educating health professionals and students
”Much of my career has been focussed on kaupapa (Māori agenda) research and teaching aimed at improving Māori health care delivery and Māori science education, on marae and in hospital and medical school/university settings.
That focus has been literal — personally designing, writing, teaching, and executing novel and successful programmes in both Māori health and education. As part of my commitment to these objectives, I served on the national Health Research Council, including six years’ service on Te Komiti Māori with further years advising on Māori health development.
While treating many Māori in diabetes clinics, I turned my focus to kaupapa diabetes research, since this disease is a leading cause of disability and death amongst Māori. Inter alia, this work entailed visiting marae throughout the country to inform and seek endorsement of iwi.
With much dismay, I have been witnessing a recent profound undermining of the meaning of science in New Zealand, now under way with the introduction of mātauranga Māori education as having parity with sciences including mathematics, chemistry, biology, and physics.”
I couldn’t agree more that MM and science should be differentiated (by this I mean taught separately).
That’s the opposite of what I said. I said that there’s no reason they can’t be taught alongside each other, but recognising both. But it means differentiating WS philosophy from other culture’s philosophy, and for that to happen western scientists would have to recognise that WS science is a specific thing.
Btw, Mātauranga Māori doesn’t mean Māori science. It means Māori knowledge, wisdom, understanding, skill.
MM can be applied across many disciplines. Like WS, it is also its own thing and I would guess that many people in this debate arguing for siloing it don’t in fact understand what that thing is (some apparently also don’t understand what WS is, instead thinking of WS as all science as if sciences don’t have a cultural and historical context).
Your Garth Cooper quote is basically an assertion “western science is being undermined”. In the quote he doesn’t support that assertion with an explanation nor evidence. It’s his belief.
I think there are problems in the changes, but not because Māori knowledge shouldn’t be taught alongside Western ideas. As I’ve said, re the philosophy of science, we could all be learning what mauri is as well as reductionist science methods, tools and frameworks. That would enhance us all.
It appears to me that Mauri is more akin to religion than science.
How so? Isn’t religion about worshipping god? Understanding concepts of mauri doesn’t require one to do that.
As I argued above, one can see it as a philosophy of science sitting alongside other beliefs eg that so called inert things like rocks don’t have a life force.
Not at all …religion is about conforming to social norms and/or the projection of control (power)….gods are incidental.
Religion is a social construct for a purpose (the purpose may be altruistic but not necessarily so)….science (as understood by western concept) is about challenge , the antithesis of doctrine/dogma.
Mauri is the basis of a belief system….a notion undisputed by adherents.
There is no challenge, it is overseen/interpreted by a priesthood.
That is not to say the objectives are not altruistic but it is not subject to dispute by the masses….or subject to proof/replication.
This is a dispute that occured in europe hundreds of years ago during the reformation… the church ultimately lost.
Some, I stress some. Maori are strict adherents of the concept of Mauri, but as with most religions the majority pay lip service….and fair enough too.
As said earlier. I have no problem with individuals choosing their belief system, I do however take issue with a requirement to prescription…as should you…the abortion debate in the US is a prime example of the downside.
I would say that mauri is a concept that describes something about life on earth. Some people make that a religious thing, but it’s not inherently. Some people also make aspects of Western science into a quasi religious thing (eg science is the one true way of knowing), but it’s not inherently.
I think you are describing some of the ways that people interact with the concept, which I think is useful to further understanding. However my interaction with people talking about mauri hasn’t demonstrated dogma, and I’ve never come across the priests who supposedly enforce it and through who it must be interpreted. Who are you referring to exactly?
"I would say that mauri is a concept that describes something about life on earth"
And that description can be applied to any and all religions
"and I’ve never come across the priests who supposedly enforce it and through who it must be interpreted."
As with western society the 'priests' who determine that which is acceptable are the elites…at least in the western concept those 'elites' can be voted out.
And that description can be applied to any and all religions
Can also be applied to philosophy and science /shrug
As with western society the ‘priests’ who determine that which is acceptable are the elites…at least in the western concept those ‘elites’ can be voted out.
Who are you talking about? Without that being specified, it’s just random vague assertions.
Maori society is hierarchical and lineage is paramount….that cannot be in dispute…there is nothing vague about that, If we are to organise our society on the basis of the 'religion' of an unelected elite then we have regressed to aristocratic feudalism.
Whereas we cannot apply the same criticism to 'philosophy' or 'science'…there is no requirement for lineage in those fields in (current) western ideology….only proof.
This highlights why the separation of religion from the state is so important…by all means provide space and freedom of belief, but it must be removed from governance as otherwise we cannot avoid the intrusion of religious belief into others lives…and that is a recipe for conflict….and we already have more than enough provocations for conflict without needlessly adding to them.
I’ve not seen anyone suggest that mauri is about an unelected elite imposing relgion, apart from you. And you’ve yet to bring any evidence to the table.
The basis of philosophy is making a coherent argument that stands up to scrutiny.
We’re not talking governance in this subthread, we’re talking about whether and how Māori knowledge can be taught alongside western science in school curriculums. The argument I’ve seen against this is that Māori knowledge cannot be science, but no ‘proof’ has been provided. Your argument is a tangent.
"I’ve not seen anyone suggest that mauri is about an unelected elite imposing relgion, apart from you. "
Then you obviously havnt been looking…I would be surprised if no one else had equated the concept of Mauri with religion and indeed a 2 minute search found examples.
"But wondering how the effects of wastewater discharges on “mauri” is measured and who does the measuring lands us smack bang in the middle of the science versus mātauranga Māori debate."
And tangental?…hardly, education is highly political and that which is taught (and how) is designed to shape society….I am surprised that you should seek to silo your thinking when we are discussing systems…or perhaps I am not.
There is no issue with examining Ta Ao Maori in our education system just as there is no problem with examining any culture/ belief system but to attempt to make it the foundation of our political process is both foolish and dangerous.
Thanks Molly. Yep all good now (in time for xmas). Was put on anti biotics in the end but I have no idea if they worked. Dr also prescribed vitamin D.
It was rubbish at the time, but when you are well again, being sick fades into the past. Don't want to get covid again. I think the pandemic is far from over.
Hope all is well with you and yours!
Happy New Year to you Molly and all on the Standard
As we start 2023, remember that the best things in life are free – a rosy sunset, the sound of wind in the trees, an unexpected act of kindness from a stranger, a visit from a friend.
Hi, for sure ! If I may….I would add riding a Bike. (many are free as give aways) Can be a Time machine..to transport back to those childhood days….of heading off somewhere, on your Bike : )
Couldn't agree more HT ll, but we have a generation or two of young people who are growing up with their eyes permanently glued to bits of plastic held in their hands and who never see the sunset, the trees and society passing by. I fear they will become morose, socially inept adults unable to contemplate anything of real worth.
It does not auger well for a fully rounded and informed future society.
Hi Anne. Happy New year : ) I could add….that for at "least" a decade kids havent really biked to school. (when my boys went..the Bike stands were full ! Seem to be dropped off in cars..or Remue…."tractors". Whether its a safety thing? Convenience? (I dont want to say ..laziness : (
Absolutely – I was involved for a while in efforts to cut down the "chaos at the school gate" as many parents disregarded all safety rules in a desperate attempt to stop "Little Lord Fauntleroy" from having to walk more than 10m from the school gate to the waiting car. They double parked, they waited on the yellow lines beside the pedestrian crossings, and bitterly resented any attempt to move them a little bit up the street. In some cases, the school staff were issued with evidential quality, time and date stamped cameras to record culprits and send the videos off to the local Police.
Many of the children said that they would happily walk, but there were things that worried them. Most of these were easy fixes like cutting back vegetation over footpaths or walkways, or a couple of visits from Animal Control for unfenced dogs. Some required better pedestrian crossings – and also traffic calming on the surrounding residential streets. It required a lot of talking to children, and in some cases actually walking with them.
In the end – we found that walking school buses were one of the best fixes. It worked really well in places where there was a larger immigrant population and there were grandparents or "aunties" who were able to volunteer as drivers and conductors. This was a win/win/win as it integrated them into the local community and with the help of the school, into the school community as well. I visited one school in order to walk back with one of the 3 afternoon "bus" routes. The volunteers gathered in the staffroom before departure and there seemed to be an awful lot going on, in at least 5 languages, as opportunities were taken for distribution of sundry civic and health information to this "captive" audience. The bell rang and everybody filed out to their respective "departure points, the children lined up, and off they went.
The problem we have more is the Year 7&8s. Too “grown up “ for the Walking School Bus, can be too immature for main roads. Secondary school kids, fine.
Breaking shit and disrupting people's lives won't win hearts and minds. Who knew?
/
Extinction Rebellion (XR) says it has taken a decision to "temporarily shift away from public disruption" as a tactic to highlight its cause.
The climate protest group said in a statement entitled "We Quit" that it wanted to become more inclusive by broadening its appeal to focus on the issues affecting the planet rather than alienating people through stunts and direct action.
they weren't trying to win hearts and minds. They were trying to shift the public consciousness on climate. They succeeded. XR have been massively influential in changing awareness of the climate crisis.
Haven't read the full statement yet, but looks like they're shifting focus to those in power (in the gif). Good move.
don't have a citation handy, but I was already writing about climate at TS when XR broke onto the scene and it was easy to track the change. In MSM, on SM, on TS, in my own life, and talking to Brits online.
Not the only influence of course, some MSM (eg the Guardian) were already centering climate in their reporting. SS4C and Thunberg were also very influential. XR in the UK brought a whole new strategy and energy to the public debate, and made people recognise the urgency of the situation.
I think the shift in strategy is well timed (overdue tbh, covid changed people's tolerances). Am guessing that also a factor is the Tory government's law restricting protest.
there's a difference between changes in public consciousness/awareness, and action on emissions and ecology.
Their first sentence is,
When XR burst onto the scene four years ago, few could have imagined the seismic shift it would bring about in the climate movement, the climate conversation, and the world at large.
That's the shift I am talking about. It was necessary and was/is insufficient. That's what they are pointing to.
Now that we have the awareness, the strategy needs to change because it hasn't led to a change in action by those in power (or not enough action).
Reports of a new Covid variant – XBB15 – surging throughout the US and UK (probably elsewhere – but the reports are coming from those countries).
Biggest concern isn't the high infection rate (we've got use to that with Omicron) – but the surge in hospitalization rates.
While XBB15 doesn’t appear to cause different symptoms to other strains, and while there is limited evidence regarding whether it is more severe, it is believed it comes with mutations that may help it evade vaccines and boosters, in turn causing more breakthrough cases.
New York has been suffering the largest Covid-19 hospitalisation in almost a year. And it’s not coming down quickly like in recent Omicron waves.
I was referring to the possibility of further restrictions if the situation deteriorates too much. The need for further mandates or something akin to them.
I note that masks are increasingly being worn again in my local supermarket which is a good thing. I never stopped.
So correct. And PM Jacinda Ardern, Minsters Hipkins and Verral plus numerous health experts spent 2 years constantly trying to get that message through with only middling success.
But when, in statistical terms, nearly half the population have an IQ level of less than the average (which I believe is around 100) then it isn't surprising.
by which I mean meaningful discussion and analysis with respect to the ongoing nature of the pandemic.
There are some bits in this, I hadn't realised our rate of past infection was so high.
We estimate that 81% of people in New Zealand have been infected at least once as of December 12 (Figure 6.1). Effective R, computed using cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, is greater than 1 in 11
countries and five subnational locations. Effective R in New Zealand was 1.2 on December 1 (Figure 7.1)
Struggling to find actual R number data — the reports are simply saying significantly more infectious than Omicron.
However, all of the reports appear to be quoting Eric Feigl Ding – as the expert concerned – based off a tweet of what he claims is unreleased CDC data. [Edit to confirm that CDC have now released the data and it supports his claims]
He doesn't give the actual R figures – but quotes infection rates
in fact, when @JPWeilandfirst modeled #XBB15 before Xmas, the data shows XBB15 was 108% faster than the previously king #BQ1 variant. But with more data, XBB15 has further accelerated to now being 120% faster!
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
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. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
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. ...
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X Socialist is generally a bag of wind and quite misguided politically (S/he intended to vote Act after all) but they did make a prediction yesterday:
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-01-2023/#comment-1928942
I certainly hope not, but s/he is right in the sense that the 23 elections could be a turning point for this country.
On the one hand (the left one) you have a government, however imperfect, that plans for the future and has the interests of all the people as its focus.
On the other hand (the right one) we have a ‘government-in-waiting which caused most of the above problems!
Of course I don’t know what ’23 will be like except to say with certainty, climate-wise it will be worse than last year, and ’24 will be exponentially worse again.
The last thing this country needs is a non-interventionist, ‘the market will provide’ sort of government, the sort of government we’d get with a Natz government with the Act tail wagging the dog.
The election this year is crucial for the future of this country. I hope it does not become nasty, but there are a fair number of polarised people out there who will try to make the headlines, and a media who will welcome them.
Someone produced a list of about 20ish ACT policies that would destroy the country about 2 – 3 weeks ago on the standard.
I can't find them, they need to be shown every day.
Can somebody find them?
In more lucid posts, Bomber at TDB puts a list together. Here's one, fairly recent:
Thanks
Agree, they need to be kept in the forefront of our consciousnesses.
As a thought experiment, what would happen if they did get in and Liz-Trussed the whole country? Put up policies so terrible that they lost chunks of support forever? Would that be worse than the left trying to 'bring everyone along together', taking ages and staying cautious?
(Obviously, yes, in the short-term, but long term? Thoughts?)
That’s just the start…
Oh and ankle bracelets on children, don’t forget that!
From daily blog
Nicely put Tony V. As I sip my beer tonight in Extramadura the election seems a long way away but soon it will be all pervasive. I think we will be ok if Winston gets 4.9 per cent. Jacinda is so much more in tune with current thinking than the dinosaur Luxon.
But I will contemplate this more over the bottle of rioja I have in my hostal.
Feliz nuevo año people.
An excellent twitter thread from Michael Wood (yes, I know it was posted on The Standard only a few days ago) which details Natz underinvestment. It bears reposting!
Labour strategists should be preparing a whole series of similar social media posts!
https://twitter.com/michaelwoodnz/status/1607955859493228545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1607955859493228545%7Ctwgr%5Ebe62cf598bffb5078563ede1468abcbc75c263bc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthestandard.org.nz%2Fthe-standards-political-awards-for-2022%2F
Absolutely and aye Michael Wood …..he sure seems to be "one" of Labours standouts . They sure need to highlight these.
I'd add though….why dont they get Rail more activated? Just seems to be idling…along.
2012 !! (incl a PDF )
If not now…When? Along with that and others Labour needs to get motivated….and Motivating. No missteps. FOCUS.!
It's a sad commentary on the capitalist 'free' world that most action (if this thread is to be believed) comes from an authoritarian, intrusive, genocidal dictatorship!
The 'market' is obsessed with self-interest and will only respond if there's a profit!
https://twitter.com/KyleTrainEmoji/status/1604510937557635072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1604510937557635072%7Ctwgr%5E2b5ec67e187c4190147f11cb62ec881ff7f18fcf%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthestandard.org.nz%2Fopen-mike-30-12-2022%2F
Yep, ACT and National being in government will lead to the greatest ratcheting down of NZ living standards since the 1991 ECA/benefit cut combo.
We have seen huge growth in jobs and wages, and NACT will pull out all stops to keep that from happening.
ACT want to flood the country with cheap labour to keep wages down and lock NZers out of job oppurtunities.
Yes, this needs to be published everywhere. Thanks Tony.
Say goodbye to any sort of scientific accuracy and any real information on the basis of sexual reality.
"A recent study purporting to examine the transmission and clinical features of monkeypox in women conducted its research on a sample where nearly half of the participants were male.
https://reduxx.info/study-exploring-monkeypox-in-women-used-sample-of-males/?fbclid=IwAR0nbAnfQiPGJkrkRCQQ72uLrdk6iz5IRgwNhw6rLjRBLEnxNSVLUTtnmNU
Thanks for posting Visu.
In medicine biological realty does trump personal belief (i.e. gender identity).
It concerns me deelply how science is being penetrated by that which is not science.
Here's an article on a different subject Matauranga Maori
https://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2022/03/graham-adams-biggest-losers-in.html
This from Professor Garth Cooper, one of the Listener 7 who is Maori, whose has made an outstanding contribution is biochemistry, medicine and educating health professionals and students
”Much of my career has been focussed on kaupapa (Māori agenda) research and teaching aimed at improving Māori health care delivery and Māori science education, on marae and in hospital and medical school/university settings.
That focus has been literal — personally designing, writing, teaching, and executing novel and successful programmes in both Māori health and education. As part of my commitment to these objectives, I served on the national Health Research Council, including six years’ service on Te Komiti Māori with further years advising on Māori health development.
While treating many Māori in diabetes clinics, I turned my focus to kaupapa diabetes research, since this disease is a leading cause of disability and death amongst Māori. Inter alia, this work entailed visiting marae throughout the country to inform and seek endorsement of iwi.
With much dismay, I have been witnessing a recent profound undermining of the meaning of science in New Zealand, now under way with the introduction of mātauranga Māori education as having parity with sciences including mathematics, chemistry, biology, and physics.”
I think it is also about knowing what is a hardware problem and what is a software problem. And having appropriate treatments for each,
And not mistaking software interfaces as a hardware problem.
For the determinedly unaware:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/nov/13/the-female-problem-male-bias-in-medical-trials
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8812498/
Sex is highly relevant in medicine. Less so in other areas, for the wilfully unaware.
Medical context being the initial comment that Anker responded to – albeit – not numbered as a Reply:
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-02-01-2023/#comment-1928965
Hence,
"Thanks for posting Visu.
In medicine biological realty does trump personal belief (i.e. gender identity).
It concerns me deelply how science is being penetrated by that which is not science."
Treating the whole person means taking into account the social relationships they are part of, as well as their physical body.
Let's not miscast the social as some sort of individual 'belief'.
Focus…
Sure. The problem is why this is no longer allowed for female people.
That thing that gave birth to all the humans in the world is nothing.
Nothing that needs a clearly defined word to describe it.
Its nothing more then a feel in mans underpants.
Nothing more then a castration, a drilled hole in the nether regions of some bloke.
It does not need special medical care, it does not need its own studies. It does not need its own spaces.
It is just a thought an ejaculation a thrill in the heart of a man. Funny, that …. cause that is what it always was.
Lucky us that the left and the right agrees on that, otherwise issues could arise. But rejoice, the all the parties agree that men are women, and people who are not men need to suck it up and shut up. Grin it and bear it. Put up with is. Get used to it. Get on with the program.
Cause men are women and sometimes both.
IN medicine, sometimes the physical body trumps belief.
Medics are there to diagnose and treat pathology. That is the main purpose they serve for us. Yes bedside manner and considering social factors can be important, but not necessarily where the Dr will focus or have time to focus.
Says a man, to women
🙄
Whatever makes you feel better.
stop trolling.
When you define believing that gender is not the same as sex as 'trolling' there is nowhere to go really. It's shame that a labour movement blog has come to this, but here we are.
[“Says a man, to women” <– political point by a feminist
“Whatever makes you feel better.” <– wind up comment from someone who should know better
It’s your behaviour that’s the problem, not your arguments elsewhere in the thread.
As a mod, I don’t care what you think about TS, or gender/sex. I care about the nature of the debate. You’ve said plenty of other things in this conversation that aren’t trolling, but you also drop in these troll comments amongst that. I’m telling you to stop.
I’ve moderated you for similar in the past, and that was after noticing a pattern of behaviour over time. You know how this goes. https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19-11-2022/#comment-1921949 – weka]
mod note.
I'm increasingly responding to whatever is driving these beliefs rather than the surface content and I apologise that it reads as trolling.
When I said that (biological) sex is relevant in medicine but not as much in other policy areas, you turned that into 'man' vs 'women'. To me those are not the same as male and female, so there is really nowhere productive to go.
I really do wish you and others find more peace this year.
I have no problem you bringing your politics here Sacha, even where I disagree with them. But the windup comments have to stop. If you had a problem with my pointed sound bite comment about men telling women how to do their politics, then say that and address it. The pattern of digs is the trolling.
I think you misunderstood my comment. I didn’t turn your comment into man vs women. I was pointing to you as a man thinking you get to redefine women’s reality.
You know that I use the terms woman and female interchangeably to mean biologically female women (whether talking about biology or social aspects). Most people still use the term woman to refer to female people. That’s how English works.
I know what the differences are between gender and sex. If what you mean is that you can’t tolerate people talking about gender and sex that way, I am simply not willing to give up women’s language because of gender identity ideology.
But this is the problem with sound bite comments, and I will try and not match yours with mine, because it inhibits conversation.
To be very clear, when I said “Says a man, to women” what I meant is that it’s hugely problematic that left wing men now think they get to tell women how to do our own politics. It’s not new, but the number of men doing it is, men who used to be allies. And I’m talking about both sex and gender.
Obviously sex is important in medicine. It’s important in many other areas as well. I pushed back against your comment that it’s not. Men don’t get to tell women what is important to us.
I am sorry I am not sure what you mean by referring to hardware and software in terms of the science Matauranga Maori debate.
Of course the Listener 7 were not trying to have Mataraunga Maori cancelled. They said it was vital for local and cultural practices and had a role in policy (sorry not a direct quote, but its in the article).
One of the Professors , Robert Nola who is now deceased spent 45 years of his career studying, researching and writing about the Philosophy of Science. I take this to mean he focussed on what makes science science (but will stand corrected on this).
Here is a quote from him published in the NZ Herald. I think it relates to the science/Matauranga Maori debate, but also gender ideology and the article you posted earlier Visu (sorry if I have slightly derailed your comment, but I think the issues are related)
In late 2016, soon after Donald Trump won the US Presidency, Dr Nola wrote in the NZ Herald to warn about “post-truth”. As he put it:
“This new, fancy word tells us: ‘Objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.’ No need for truth, it is yesteryear’s notion…
“Insofar as studies in humanities have not resisted the views of post-truthers, too bad for humanities. But what of science? It would be quite alien for science to reject the search for truth and evidence, the core of its critical methods.
“In science we have models of what the rational approach to believing ought to be. If followed, they are an important way to keep the post-truth era from engulfing us.”
Less than five years later, it has become clear that Dr Nola’s warning has fallen on deaf ears. As the firestorm over the professors’ letter shows, New Zealand science is indeed being engulfed by the post-modern mantra that there is no such thing as objective truth.’
It is also clear that anyone who dissents must be silenced.
https://pointofordernz.wordpress.com/2021/08/03/the-attacks-on-seven-eminent-professors-over-a-listener-letter-in-which-they-championed-science-have-missed-their-target/
Thank you for adding the link.
Aren’t these also part of the section you have quoted?
Modernism said there is only one truth. That suited the old white men in power.
Postmodernism basically says the truth is political. People threatened by that have tried to paint it as meaning anything goes. Don't be a tool.
What do YOU say?
(Apart from this: "Don't be a tool."?)
The truth is political. And don't be a tool for other people's interests.
I am afraid this makes no sense to me Sacha.
I don't know what you mean by the truth is polticial. Whose truth? Donald Trumps? Christopher Luxon over boot camps?
My interest in this area is science. I am an aethiest and good science is what I trust (afterall we were all told to follow the science during the pandemic). I am not following anyone elses interests.
I can see you believe that. Go well this year.
That pespective explains a lot.
The determination to ascertain a "political truth" to suit personal politics negates any impediments, and creates political heretics.
Politics is just about negotiating power. Always has been. Some people prefer to individualise the collectives involved. I guess it makes the world seem simpler.
This is pretty vague and generalised.
The burble did not obscure the barely disguised insult though.
You could work harder on either clarity or obfuscation, depending on what your intent is.
eg. Mine was to respond with half-interested dismissal of your effort, and then probably to leave to do other more interesting activities.
How did I do?
half-arsed, you say
You psychic!… in my head I did say that in regarding your effort.
"half-interested" still stands as regarding my response.
(Due to past interactions, there seems little gained to participate in good faith exchanges with you. So "half-interested" is an accurate description of occasionally testing the waters to see if there is improvement.)
Such a selfless sacrifice
Postmodernism developed this idea that the truth is political as a branch of literary criticism, particularly from the concept that the authors intention could be safely ignored and instead the readers interpretation could be taken as the meaning of a text. But there are plenty of areas where such an approach to meaning simply falls apart (basically anything which isn't fiction).
Lets for a moment assume the truth is political has some meaning. Why then do we have a court of appeal? Surely the courts heard the case and made a decision (a political one) on the truth already. What grounds could there possibly be for an appeal?
Well I don't agree with the post modern view that truth is political. It can be I guess, but that is very black and white thinking.
I think Trump is a good example of "truth" being political.
But science provides protection from this. Sceince is about evidence and gathering and researching evidence requires the scientific metholody.
One of the reasons I often quote the Dunedin Longitutidinal study is that there evidence gathering and research approach means their findings are sound.
If you can answer the software hardware question, that would be great, but no problem if you are busy.
Sorry I am not as sophisticated as others on this site in terms of using links.
I generally post the quote first, post my comment and then copy and past the link (even though it has already been published)
I am a bit lost by your question "aren;t. these part of the section you have quoted?"
Yes I quoted Professor Nola from his article after Trump was elected. The whole article is worth reading.
Thanks for explaining.
You have marked the other sentences differently, but not those last two. They are also quoted from the blog, but not the Herald article.
There is a useful quote button on the toolbar in this editor that makes it extra clear the words are quoted, not written by ourselves.
Ok well I couldn't get the Herald because its behind the paywall. Just to be clear, I quoted from the blog. Highly likely the Herald edited the article.
The Msm have been remiss in their coverage of this issue (my opinion).
This is unfortunate
The blog is from August 2021. What makes this topic so relevant to you today?
The issue remains unressolved. Professor Cooper and Robert Nola both resigned from the Royal Society (Professor Nola has since died).
Their free speech and academic freedom was shut down.
I feel very strongly about these issues.
Also my understanding is that Richard Dawkins is coming to NZ this year.
He was highly critical of the Royal Society.
https://convincingreasons.wordpress.com/2022/04/19/how-not-to-conduct-a-scientific-debate-royal-society-university-split-over-matauranga-maori-and-science/
“The decision by the Royal Society not to proceed with its ‘investigation’ is a welcome development. The scientific and philosophical questions remain unresolved – in fact, still largely unaddressed at this point – but at least a measure of political space in which to discuss and debate them has been forced open.” This from James Robb, who happens to be one of the founders of the new Workers now party
“Mauri is a Maori term. The website contains a Glossary which defines mauri as “The vital essence, life force of everything: be it a physical object, living thing or ecosystem. In Chemistry and Biology, mauri refers to the health and life-sustaining capacity of the taiao, on biological, physical, and chemical levels.”
Now, it is fundamentally unscientific to attribute ‘vital essence’ or ‘life force’ to all matter. Life is a particular form of motion of matter which is only present in living things. While life may ultimately be explainable in terms of complex chemical processes, life cannot be reduced to those chemical processes; nor do all chemical processes constitute life. Life has its own laws of motion. This is why biology, the study of living things, is not simply a branch of chemistry. To blur the distinction between chemical and biological forms of motion in nature can only obstruct the study of both disciplines, and of the points of connection between them.”
From James Robb when talking about science and the NCEA syllabus
All matter is energy (e=mc2). He's not being very scientific.
But not all energy is life force.
I see three main things about this.
There’s no reason why his statement about how WS understands life can’t be taught alongside other beliefs. Personally, I think they should be differentiated, but again, I haven’t seen the document he is referring to so it’s hard to say what is going on.
Not sure if you will get this Weka as no reply button under your comment.
I couldn't agree more that MM and science should be differentiated (by this I mean taught separately). This was also what the Listener 7 thought too. There main beef with the NCEA syllabus was that students where being told science colonises so is therefore bad.
Professor Garth Cooper who is Maori, particularly objected to it as he thought it would put Maori students off studying science.
This from Professor Garth Cooper, one of the Listener 7 who is Maori, whose has made an outstanding contribution is biochemistry, medicine and educating health professionals and students
”Much of my career has been focussed on kaupapa (Māori agenda) research and teaching aimed at improving Māori health care delivery and Māori science education, on marae and in hospital and medical school/university settings.
That focus has been literal — personally designing, writing, teaching, and executing novel and successful programmes in both Māori health and education. As part of my commitment to these objectives, I served on the national Health Research Council, including six years’ service on Te Komiti Māori with further years advising on Māori health development.
While treating many Māori in diabetes clinics, I turned my focus to kaupapa diabetes research, since this disease is a leading cause of disability and death amongst Māori. Inter alia, this work entailed visiting marae throughout the country to inform and seek endorsement of iwi.
With much dismay, I have been witnessing a recent profound undermining of the meaning of science in New Zealand, now under way with the introduction of mātauranga Māori education as having parity with sciences including mathematics, chemistry, biology, and physics.”
That’s the opposite of what I said. I said that there’s no reason they can’t be taught alongside each other, but recognising both. But it means differentiating WS philosophy from other culture’s philosophy, and for that to happen western scientists would have to recognise that WS science is a specific thing.
Btw, Mātauranga Māori doesn’t mean Māori science. It means Māori knowledge, wisdom, understanding, skill.
https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&histLoanWords=&keywords=matauranga
MM can be applied across many disciplines. Like WS, it is also its own thing and I would guess that many people in this debate arguing for siloing it don’t in fact understand what that thing is (some apparently also don’t understand what WS is, instead thinking of WS as all science as if sciences don’t have a cultural and historical context).
Your Garth Cooper quote is basically an assertion “western science is being undermined”. In the quote he doesn’t support that assertion with an explanation nor evidence. It’s his belief.
I think there are problems in the changes, but not because Māori knowledge shouldn’t be taught alongside Western ideas. As I’ve said, re the philosophy of science, we could all be learning what mauri is as well as reductionist science methods, tools and frameworks. That would enhance us all.
It appears to me that Mauri is more akin to religion than science.
We have religious freedom so if anyone desires to adhere to a dogma that is fine, so long as it dosnt become a requirement.
How so? Isn’t religion about worshipping god? Understanding concepts of mauri doesn’t require one to do that.
As I argued above, one can see it as a philosophy of science sitting alongside other beliefs eg that so called inert things like rocks don’t have a life force.
"It appears…"
It does.
"How so? Isn’t religion about worshipping god? "
Not at all …religion is about conforming to social norms and/or the projection of control (power)….gods are incidental.
Religion is a social construct for a purpose (the purpose may be altruistic but not necessarily so)….science (as understood by western concept) is about challenge , the antithesis of doctrine/dogma.
And ne'er the twain shall meet
how does the concept of mauri fit into your definition of religion?
Mauri is the basis of a belief system….a notion undisputed by adherents.
There is no challenge, it is overseen/interpreted by a priesthood.
That is not to say the objectives are not altruistic but it is not subject to dispute by the masses….or subject to proof/replication.
This is a dispute that occured in europe hundreds of years ago during the reformation… the church ultimately lost.
Some, I stress some. Maori are strict adherents of the concept of Mauri, but as with most religions the majority pay lip service….and fair enough too.
As said earlier. I have no problem with individuals choosing their belief system, I do however take issue with a requirement to prescription…as should you…the abortion debate in the US is a prime example of the downside.
where’s the prescription happening?
I would say that mauri is a concept that describes something about life on earth. Some people make that a religious thing, but it’s not inherently. Some people also make aspects of Western science into a quasi religious thing (eg science is the one true way of knowing), but it’s not inherently.
I think you are describing some of the ways that people interact with the concept, which I think is useful to further understanding. However my interaction with people talking about mauri hasn’t demonstrated dogma, and I’ve never come across the priests who supposedly enforce it and through who it must be interpreted. Who are you referring to exactly?
"I would say that mauri is a concept that describes something about life on earth"
And that description can be applied to any and all religions
"and I’ve never come across the priests who supposedly enforce it and through who it must be interpreted."
As with western society the 'priests' who determine that which is acceptable are the elites…at least in the western concept those 'elites' can be voted out.
Can also be applied to philosophy and science /shrug
Who are you talking about? Without that being specified, it’s just random vague assertions.
Maori society is hierarchical and lineage is paramount….that cannot be in dispute…there is nothing vague about that, If we are to organise our society on the basis of the 'religion' of an unelected elite then we have regressed to aristocratic feudalism.
Whereas we cannot apply the same criticism to 'philosophy' or 'science'…there is no requirement for lineage in those fields in (current) western ideology….only proof.
This highlights why the separation of religion from the state is so important…by all means provide space and freedom of belief, but it must be removed from governance as otherwise we cannot avoid the intrusion of religious belief into others lives…and that is a recipe for conflict….and we already have more than enough provocations for conflict without needlessly adding to them.
it’s completely vague. That or you are in the 1800s. Iwi have elections and everything now. Here’s Kāi Tahu’s governance structure https://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/te-runanga-o-ngai-tahu/ngai-tahu-governance/
I’ve not seen anyone suggest that mauri is about an unelected elite imposing relgion, apart from you. And you’ve yet to bring any evidence to the table.
The basis of philosophy is making a coherent argument that stands up to scrutiny.
We’re not talking governance in this subthread, we’re talking about whether and how Māori knowledge can be taught alongside western science in school curriculums. The argument I’ve seen against this is that Māori knowledge cannot be science, but no ‘proof’ has been provided. Your argument is a tangent.
"I’ve not seen anyone suggest that mauri is about an unelected elite imposing relgion, apart from you. "
Then you obviously havnt been looking…I would be surprised if no one else had equated the concept of Mauri with religion and indeed a 2 minute search found examples.
"But wondering how the effects of wastewater discharges on “mauri” is measured and who does the measuring lands us smack bang in the middle of the science versus mātauranga Māori debate."
https://pointofordernz.wordpress.com/2022/01/11/we-can-gauge-volumes-of-water-and-count-contaminants-but-measuring-the-mauri-may-be-challenging-for-modern-scientists/
and
https://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/125940471/science-cant-be-pkeh-or-mori-its-just-science
And tangental?…hardly, education is highly political and that which is taught (and how) is designed to shape society….I am surprised that you should seek to silo your thinking when we are discussing systems…or perhaps I am not.
There is no issue with examining Ta Ao Maori in our education system just as there is no problem with examining any culture/ belief system but to attempt to make it the foundation of our political process is both foolish and dangerous.
Hey, Anker.
Hope you have recovered from Covid, and managed to have a good celebratory Christmas and New Year.
Thanks Molly. Yep all good now (in time for xmas). Was put on anti biotics in the end but I have no idea if they worked. Dr also prescribed vitamin D.
It was rubbish at the time, but when you are well again, being sick fades into the past. Don't want to get covid again. I think the pandemic is far from over.
Hope all is well with you and yours!
Happy New Year to you Molly and all on the Standard
Glad to hear. All the best for 2023!
And for you too Molly!
Greetings to all TS contributors.
As we start 2023, remember that the best things in life are free – a rosy sunset, the sound of wind in the trees, an unexpected act of kindness from a stranger, a visit from a friend.
Let's keep hold of the things that matter.
Hi, for sure ! If I may….I would add riding a Bike. (many are free as give aways) Can be a Time machine..to transport back to those childhood days….of heading off somewhere, on your Bike : )
Couldn't agree more HT ll, but we have a generation or two of young people who are growing up with their eyes permanently glued to bits of plastic held in their hands and who never see the sunset, the trees and society passing by. I fear they will become morose, socially inept adults unable to contemplate anything of real worth.
It does not auger well for a fully rounded and informed future society.
Hi Anne. Happy New year : ) I could add….that for at "least" a decade kids havent really biked to school. (when my boys went..the Bike stands were full ! Seem to be dropped off in cars..or Remue…."tractors". Whether its a safety thing? Convenience? (I dont want to say ..laziness : (
Anyway…some of us are trying
The kids I teach would be more likely to ride to school if it was safer.
My wish is for separate cycle lanes on major roads within 2 km of every sch.
Absolutely – I was involved for a while in efforts to cut down the "chaos at the school gate" as many parents disregarded all safety rules in a desperate attempt to stop "Little Lord Fauntleroy" from having to walk more than 10m from the school gate to the waiting car. They double parked, they waited on the yellow lines beside the pedestrian crossings, and bitterly resented any attempt to move them a little bit up the street. In some cases, the school staff were issued with evidential quality, time and date stamped cameras to record culprits and send the videos off to the local Police.
Many of the children said that they would happily walk, but there were things that worried them. Most of these were easy fixes like cutting back vegetation over footpaths or walkways, or a couple of visits from Animal Control for unfenced dogs. Some required better pedestrian crossings – and also traffic calming on the surrounding residential streets. It required a lot of talking to children, and in some cases actually walking with them.
In the end – we found that walking school buses were one of the best fixes. It worked really well in places where there was a larger immigrant population and there were grandparents or "aunties" who were able to volunteer as drivers and conductors. This was a win/win/win as it integrated them into the local community and with the help of the school, into the school community as well. I visited one school in order to walk back with one of the 3 afternoon "bus" routes. The volunteers gathered in the staffroom before departure and there seemed to be an awful lot going on, in at least 5 languages, as opportunities were taken for distribution of sundry civic and health information to this "captive" audience. The bell rang and everybody filed out to their respective "departure points, the children lined up, and off they went.
Walking School Buses are brilliant.
The problem we have more is the Year 7&8s. Too “grown up “ for the Walking School Bus, can be too immature for main roads. Secondary school kids, fine.
Yes please.
Having healthy happy people round a table with enough to share, and good music.
Have a great 2023.
Good riddance.
https://twitter.com/shailjapatel/status/1609282521845608448
https://web.archive.org/web/20090309192701/https://time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1883598,00.html
Breaking shit and disrupting people's lives won't win hearts and minds. Who knew?
/
Extinction Rebellion (XR) says it has taken a decision to "temporarily shift away from public disruption" as a tactic to highlight its cause.
The climate protest group said in a statement entitled "We Quit" that it wanted to become more inclusive by broadening its appeal to focus on the issues affecting the planet rather than alienating people through stunts and direct action.
https://news.sky.com/story/extinction-rebellion-to-temporarily-shift-away-from-public-disruption-12777788
they weren't trying to win hearts and minds. They were trying to shift the public consciousness on climate. They succeeded. XR have been massively influential in changing awareness of the climate crisis.
Haven't read the full statement yet, but looks like they're shifting focus to those in power (in the gif). Good move.
https://twitter.com/XRebellionUK/status/1609349854391635968
Cite?
don't have a citation handy, but I was already writing about climate at TS when XR broke onto the scene and it was easy to track the change. In MSM, on SM, on TS, in my own life, and talking to Brits online.
Not the only influence of course, some MSM (eg the Guardian) were already centering climate in their reporting. SS4C and Thunberg were also very influential. XR in the UK brought a whole new strategy and energy to the public debate, and made people recognise the urgency of the situation.
I think the shift in strategy is well timed (overdue tbh, covid changed people's tolerances). Am guessing that also a factor is the Tory government's law restricting protest.
Or after four years, and by their own admission, very little has changed. Emissions continue to rise and our planet is dying at an accelerated rate.
there's a difference between changes in public consciousness/awareness, and action on emissions and ecology.
Their first sentence is,
That's the shift I am talking about. It was necessary and was/is insufficient. That's what they are pointing to.
Now that we have the awareness, the strategy needs to change because it hasn't led to a change in action by those in power (or not enough action).
Reports of a new Covid variant – XBB15 – surging throughout the US and UK (probably elsewhere – but the reports are coming from those countries).
Biggest concern isn't the high infection rate (we've got use to that with Omicron) – but the surge in hospitalization rates.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/experts-raise-concerns-as-new-xbb15-covid-strain-rips-through-us-and-uk/53LISVYUYJGF7EUP572K5XYA3I/
Shit! So it's about to start all over again.
never stopped, most places are just in denial.
I was referring to the possibility of further restrictions if the situation deteriorates too much. The need for further mandates or something akin to them.
I note that masks are increasingly being worn again in my local supermarket which is a good thing. I never stopped.
good to hear. Hardly anyone wears a mask here.
Not sure about further mandates/restrictions. Nor what's happening with filtering air inside. Many places globally seem to be in heavy denial.
Helps to think of them as protections rather than restrictions.
So correct. And PM Jacinda Ardern, Minsters Hipkins and Verral plus numerous health experts spent 2 years constantly trying to get that message through with only middling success.
But when, in statistical terms, nearly half the population have an IQ level of less than the average (which I believe is around 100) then it isn't surprising.
Media quickly adopted the right-wing framing of 'restrictions', with no visible pushback.
have you seen anything about the R number?
by which I mean meaningful discussion and analysis with respect to the ongoing nature of the pandemic.
There are some bits in this, I hadn't realised our rate of past infection was so high.
https://www.healthdata.org/sites/default/files/covid_briefs/72_briefing_New_Zealand.pdf
Struggling to find actual R number data — the reports are simply saying significantly more infectious than Omicron.
However, all of the reports appear to be quoting Eric Feigl Ding – as the expert concerned – based off a tweet of what he claims is unreleased CDC data. [Edit to confirm that CDC have now released the data and it supports his claims]
https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1608704548536975360
He doesn't give the actual R figures – but quotes infection rates
https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1608706233460228101