I wonder if we're on the edge of a new victorianism. The permissive society has been exploring the depths of degradation for long enough, I suspect.
Recently, she counselled a man who had been choking his girlfriend during sex for years. It was only when the girlfriend mustered the courage to say she didn’t like it that he admitted he didn’t like it, either. They were both, it turned out, going along with what they thought the other one wanted, and each secretly wishing the other would make it stop.
When a culture turns toxic, humanity tends to generate a counter-culture. Hegel's dialectic. Sad to see folk in younger generations being unable to relate to each other with humanity. But I get that there's an exploration happening.
Perhaps with a focus on how natural morality emerges from learning about downsides? That's the best gloss I can put on the situation…
the place where this is really being challenged is gender critical feminism in the UK.
The movement championed the right to enjoy sex and was supposed to free women from guilt or being shamed. But now many are questioning whether it has left them more vulnerable
This could easily have been written about the sexual revolution in the 60s. Looks like we didn't learn much. My current view on it is that we are just culturally really bad with binary thinking, and we're getting worse. Sex positive was a good movement. When it started having problematic aspects, the people, largely women, who tried to point it out, were told they were prudes, that kink shaming is wrong, and that people should be free to do what they like. Thanks neoliberalism. But liberals basically took the position that sex positive = good, any objection to it = bad. Which is just fucking dangerous at this point in history.
One of the reasons GCF has upped the ante is because GC lesbians have been excluded from Pride marches while men wearing nappies as a kink have been in the side tent with kids, or men in dog fetish costumes are at family events and the kids think they're play. Or rainbow butt dildo monkey at a kids show at a library was thought to be appropriate by council. Or gender identity activists took No Debate to the extreme so that it's been difficult to talk about the connections between the MAP movement (minor attracted people) and the queer movements. Lots of safeguarding issues there for women and kids.
Lots more examples. And still women are called prudes. (and lots of people reading this won't really know what I am talking about, because No Debate means it's a battle largely being fought on GC/TRA twitter)
(and no, I didn't just call gay people paedophiles, and if you think this is what this is about then you're way behind the curve. Viva la nuance).
Sorry, weka. IIRC it was a UK Pride event, which seems likely in terms of context. I googled images "uk police dog fetish" and it was the first image.
Adding pride parade comes up with similar images but not this particular one, but to be fair I got bored after the first few, and it seem reasonable that the image links to a Pride event, in line with my memory of the original article.
Given the censure dished out to lesbians both here and in the UK, and the burgeoning inclusion of kink and BDSM as components of the march, it is not the Pride march that originated in the 80's, in support of same sex orientation.
Homosexuality seems to have had a shortlived acceptance in society, given that Stonewall's CEO considers homosexuals confirming their same sex preferences are akin to 'sexual racism', and promotes a newly minted form of sexual coercion and gay conversion:
"However, in a statement, chief executive Nancy Kelley likened not wanting to date trans people to not wanting to date people of colour, fat people, or disabled people.
She said: "Sexuality is personal and something which is unique to each of us. There is no 'right' way to be a lesbian, and only we can know who we're attracted to.
"Nobody should ever be pressured into dating, or pressured into dating people they aren't attracted to. But if you find that when dating, you are writing off entire groups of people, like people of colour, fat people, disabled people or trans people, then it's worth considering how societal prejudices may have shaped your attractions." – BBC, UK.
thanks Molly. I briefly toyed with doing a post on it 😬
The SW CEO is disingenous af. Lesbians don't object to dating trans people, they object males. If the trans person isn't biologically male, then there's not a problem (although I can also understand some people not being attracted to people with a lot of body modification)
It is two fold, a. the dislike of penis and b. the difference between women and men in general. I have a few lesbians in my immediate family, non would date a Man or a Transwomen. They are not women. They are men presenting as women and that is a huge difference. And those that want to make the difference between man and women a purely visual thing are doing no one any favors. Men are not women, will never be women, there is more to us then a pair of fake boobs and a neo vagina made from an inverted penis.
And the heterosexual man who present as women as part of their fetish will not have their penises removed for a fake vagina, and i would venture a guess that these are the ones that are causing grief to Lesbians.
No, but this is due mainly due as you called is ' their body modification'. And frankly once you have your vagina removed for a arm / leg roll penis, i think it is understandable. Also the issue with these women not wanting to be women. They are however sad about the disappearance about specifically butch lesbians.
Also it appears that quite a few of the transwomen are full of internalised misogyny and that is not attractive.
By "culture", you mean third-wave feminism, post-modernism, identity politics, and social justice. All products firmly of the Left.
The Standard is a board of pretend-old time Leftists looking for any reason to refuse any responsibility or criticism on the current state of affairs and how it has overwhelmingly been the Left, and recent Left, responsibility for this state.
Blame late-stage Capitalism and neo-liberalism? Sure, course you will – anything but your own beliefs and ideologies. Even this Guardian article seems to blame the current state and consequence of Feminism on men. I wonder what can't be blamed on men.
The Left won the culture wars and everything you see, and complain here, is the logical conclusion of the very beliefs you supported. Anyone vaguely non 'anything goes' is simply a fascist who wants to return everything to the 1950s.
I say this is as an old school Liberal, not a Fox-loving Rightie. I can see the Right's problems, but the Left's inability to recognise its own responsibility and reform is beyond pathetic.
All the Left seems to offer now is enforced groupthink, eternal health controls, mental damage to young people, and guilt.
By "culture", you mean third-wave feminism, post-modernism, identity politics, and social justice. All products firmly of the Left.
Wrong. I meant it as a whole. The permissive society emerged in the 1960s and became pervasive throughout western civilisation in the 1970s.
The Standard is a board of pretend-old time Leftists looking for any reason to refuse any responsibility or criticism on the current state of affairs and how it has overwhelmingly been the Left, and recent Left, responsibility for this state.
Dunno if TS has a board. I agree that leftists have an unhealthy tendency to evade responsibility for their collective beliefs but since most of them here spend most of the time disagreeing with each other I doubt you can generalise accurately. Anyway I've been commenting here for 7 years as a non-leftist so don't blame me.
Blame late-stage Capitalism and neo-liberalism? Sure, course you will – anything but your own beliefs and ideologies.
Having spent the past half-century as a resolute outspoken opponent of capitalism I'm sympathetic to the possibility but averse to such simplemindedness. I agree with freedom of choice & opinion – have always been staunch supporter of freedom of speech too. But I do believe in taking responsibility for one's ethical standards & moral conduct. I'm too much of a nonconformist for my beliefs & ideologies to fit into your preconceptions!
Even this Guardian article seems to blame the current state and consequence of Feminism on men. I wonder what can't be blamed on men.
I didn't get that from it. Think you're reading too much into it.
The Left won the culture wars and everything you see, and complain here, is the logical conclusion of the very beliefs you supported. Anyone vaguely non 'anything goes' is simply a fascist who wants to return everything to the 1950s.
Did they? I'm not convinced. And since I've been disagreeing with both the political left & political right since 1971 it seems like you're mistaking me for someone else. Have you noticed that a third of the public are neither left nor right? Polls provided the evidence of that in the mid-1980s in the USA so no surprise the Green movement got leverage on the same basis.
I say this is as an old school Liberal
Are you aware liberals are seen as leftists by conservatives? And as rightists by radicals? That was true half a century back. Nothing's changed since, right?
the Left's inability to recognise its own responsibility and reform is beyond pathetic
Likely you're right about this – I've often felt the same & have commented here similarly often enough. My point was primarily their evasion of the necessity to define their political common cause. Instead they default into some kind of banal recycling of inappropriate shibboleths from the past (when pushed) or take refuge in the assumption that everyone knows what being leftist means. Delusional!
All the Left seems to offer now is enforced groupthink, eternal health controls, mental damage to young people, and guilt.
They also offer hope of a better world to come. Sometimes they deliver a wee bit of progress on the path to that future. They ain't totally useless…
The triad USA/China/Russia is the current basis of multipolar geopolitics. I suspect that triangulation by each of the three will underlie their relations this year.
In a December video-call with Putin, Xi called for China and Russia "to step up coordination and collaboration in international affairs" and to reject "hegemonic acts and the Cold War mentality."
When Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes leaders from around the world for the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on Friday, it will be his first time meeting foreign counterparts face-to-face in more than 400 days. And at the top of his guest list is Russia's Vladimir Putin.
A summit between the two leaders, expected to take place on the day of the Opening Ceremony, comes at a pivotal moment for both sides…
Agreement on strategy for stalling USA hegemony is likely to be the top item on their agenda and of course it's unlikely to be declared to the media if it happens.
All empires are racist and hegemonic by nature. Rival empires are dangerous to the peoples of the world.
In the 20th Century the rising powers of Japan, Germany and Italy, coming late to the imperial division of the world, were challenging the established imperial division of the world by the hegemonic powers of Britain, France and the US were the root cause of two world wars.
The two new rising powers of the Russian Federation and China are the new challengers of the US the remaining dominant world hegemon.
The root cause of imperialism is the growth economy.
Not only is the growth economy running up against the finite limits of the planet, the growth economies of rival powers are running up against each other.
There can not be infinite growth on a finite world.
You can't teach what you want in a classroom, even if it is factually correct! All dependent on the curriculum, especially in high school. I once taught Biology in a high school in Darwin. I had a colleague who was a fundamentalist Christian who didn't believe in evolution. He still had to teach it as part of the Biology curriculum, although I would have loved to be a fly on the wall of his Bio classes. Ironically, the city of Darwin was named after the architect of evolution, a man who was troubled by the contradictions between his discoveries and his faith. Despite all that, I agree with Jenny!
Jenny wants to do Pedagogy of the Oppressed but I don't think they've instructed Paulo Freire in teachers colleges since the 1980s.
If as a teacher I wanted to get into this areas with less ideological risk, I'd just give the students a list of relevant films, and a short bibilography of further reading. Stage 1 Sociology will usually introduce them to Hobsbawm and the like.
to Ad at 2.1.1.1.1…….Paulo Friere was well ahead of his time. I valued his book immensely from publication and am now prompted to research his life thereafter.
On the contrary Jenny's missive would be great for a debate in a final year history class with the students having to argue and present evidence both for and against the proposition.
Excellent comment, Jenny, full of truth of the matter. A World united system based on a World without money will be the answer at some future point when the Realisationilist Movement evolves.
They can't live long if they don't exist. I googled Realisationilist Movement and got precisely zero websites describing it. First time I've ever seen Google totally baffled! Of course there remains the technical possibility that the movement is using a camouflage strategy to fly under Google's radar…
Really? Are you aware that Jenny's last sentence went global back in the 1990s? Good on her for recycling it in a culture that persists in denial but I was wondering if you thought she invented that point.
to Dennis at 2.1.3.1 : I find your comment strange. I have long had such a position as the phrase expresses.
Raised in a home and culture closely connected with the forming of the first Labour government and it's values of social security and later having Ken McIlroy and Dudley Kelly late Values Party leader as high school teachers and friends who treated us as adults, I realise such phrases are not new. I just find myself uplifted to find this one projected into these 'me…me…me' times.
Oh I see. No worries – I agree totally with that sentiment. Since her sentence is effectively one strand of the basic ideology of the Green movement, I guess the necessity to keep stressing it testifies to the relative lack of influence that ideology has in mass consciousness nowadays.
Don't worry to much about it. After all it would take an infinite time to get infinite growth and the world doesn't have that long to go.
It will end up with all the plant and animal life being killed, all the oceans evaporating and the surface of the earth melting. We aren't going to be responsible for that and there is nothing we can do about it.
However it won't be in an infinite time and we certainly won't get to infinite growth.
Nothing wrong with being brainwashed by the establishment. Most of us were. The challenge then becomes one of transcending those beliefs. Those who did so in the 1970s drove the change to a better world but didn't get sufficient critical mass. Those born during the 1950s mostly took refuge in a collective cop-out, bring us Thatcherism & Rogernomics instead in their (im)maturity.
What about communist imperialism? Or socialist imperialism? Or Islamic imperialism? I mean seriously at what level of bad shit do you want to draw a line?
Oh right. "Colonialism" like Guyon Espiners scary music RNZ China investigation where Haami Piripi got funding to build internet infrastructure at "too favourable" loan conditions and when debt repayment became stressed negotiated even more favourable terms with never a hint of taking posession of said infrastructure. That kind of "colonialism"? Where local people get real help to build capability? Do you realise that that actually is a definition of something else?
"Pretty sure theres no large population of Chinese that moved into the far north with that infrastructure loan…."
Your definition of imperialism is so 20th century.
That was using your definition of imperialism and quickly consulting wikipaedia to define your bolded colonization. So, given its not colonization that leaves the category of "other means" for this type of imperialism. And just like with Guyon, we need to inject a lot of scary emotional "feel" to generate some level of acceptance for the huge military confrontation that the west is engaging in, in response to an imperialism (if in deed that is what it is) that is neither militaristic nor colonial but some form of other that seems to offer a path to a better standard of living to those that have been subjected to western imperialism that was and is both militaristic and colonial.
"but some form of other that seems to offer a path to a better standard of living to those that have been subjected to western imperialism that was and is both militaristic and colonial."
Do you assert that colonisation and imperialism never resulted in a better standard of living for those colonised?
China’s top-ranking diplomat Yang Jiechi has repeatedly assured the world that his country’s supreme foreign policy project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), “does not play little geopolitical games”
They only play big ones? Fair to say BRI seems a design for regional influence-building. Ramping it up is always possible…
Annabel Cooper writes on New Zealand cultural history, including on histories and screen stories about the New Zealand Wars. Her book Filming the Colonial Past: The New Zealand Wars on Screen was published in 2018.
Dr Vincent O'Malley is the current go-to historian of the New Zealand Wars, as the author of a major history of the Waikato War and a general history of the Wars. His new volume, Voices from the New Zealand Wars, consists mostly of first-person narratives in which the conflicts of our past are told by many people who were there at the time.
It's not the first book to tell these wars from first-person accounts – James Cowan's official history, published in the 1920s, remarkably prioritised oral testimonies from all sides – but this is a volume for our time and a welcome path into more historically-informed understandings of the past.
Documents include Renata Kawepo's stinging rebuke to Hawke's Bay provincial superintendent Thomas Fitzgerald, calling him out for altering his speech given at Kohimarama before sending it for publication.
Drawing on the skills of both oral and literate cultures, Kawepo lists the discrepancies between Fitzgerald's spoken and written versions and goes on to eviscerate government duplicity in its proceedings especially with regard to land.
A similar condemnation appears in the compelling 1867 petition of the self-described 'Government Natives' to the Crown, asking for remediation after the Native Land Court sat in Tūranga and demanded the ceding of their best land, although they had not fought against the Crown. Captain Biggs who had harassed them to give up their land wanted "to get all the level country, and we might perch ourselves on the mountains".
Two pieces relating to the aftermath of the war in the Waikato, by Aterea Puna and Henry Sewell, both centre on the government's not-so-subtle land-taking agenda. Sewell rails against the 19th-century fake news perpetrated by George Grey when he invented a 'plot to attack the settlers' to justify the invasion of Waikato.
For a precursor to Facebook's capacity to assign false quotations, take words out of context, and manipulate communications, students of political sculduggery will find here, as Sewell comments, 'a sample of the way men's minds are inflamed'.
Propaganda to serve the interests of the ruling class is perennial. It gets traction due to a part of human nature. Reality is often unascertainable in details. People have a natural tendency to recognise patterns, yet joining the dots is subjective. Consequently competing narratives emerge in the body politic.
What some have be saying about the reliance of the business community on new migrants turns out to have some empirical evidence:
The report from Diversity Works New Zealand, showed migrants from Canada, the United States, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, all earned a higher average hourly wage than migrants from Asia, the rest of the Americas and much of the Pacific Islands.
Diversity Works chief executive Maretha Smit said even when the data was adjusted to compare migrants with similar levels of skills, English language ability, time spent in New Zealand and age, those born in places like Asia and South America earned significantly lower.
"In 2018, engineering professionals from the UK, South Africa, and Northern America all earned an average wage above $45 an hour. In contrast, engineering professionals from India, China, and Polynesia all had hourly wages below $40," she said.
…
The report also said employers needed to develop processes that ensured equitable and fair employment for all.
It said pay transparency was very successful in addressing wage gaps.
Smit said jobs advertised should have salaries or pay bands included in the adverts.
Pay transparency is a good idea, not as widely or as accurately used as it should be. What other steps can be taken to ensure more workers are able to successfully argue for equitable and fair incomes?
Another couple of unhappy pensioners 'trapped' in OZ.
Have a unit on the GC ,they use in winter,hopped over in April 2021,popped back to 'check on'their Papamoa property returned to Oz and now face super clawback…
Bearded Git, he apparently had a leaking aorta and could not travel in July. So there may be a case, as my husband only ever saw a cardiologist in Australia. Here it was a brand new Registrar, fresh out from England. So I have sympathy for their medical decisions, and they may have a case as on two occasions they had no ability to get back. They still may have to give up something to pay the bill. As our pragmatic PM says "Such is life".
Didn't know that PB. But if you travel when old you take a risk-we all know that. To blame and attack the government for the odd few cases where MIQ hasn't got it right is unfair.
Nobody claims MIQ is perfect but it has enabled more than 200,000 people to come home while allowing those already here to live normal lives most of the time and that is some achievement.
I understood it was an "after surgery" event in July, Which stopped their using their July booking. Cheers. Sorry for my before coffee spelling booboo. (aeorta)
@ Blazer (5) … Health issues aside, they don't seem to be too hard done by, considering the assets they have. They would have known the rules when they travelled last year and the risks involved, including post surgical issues etc no doubt. So why the bleating about part of their received superannuation being requested to be paid back and being trapped in Australia?
There are always people a lot worse off than ourselves. I just wish some of us would realise this.
Apart from problems caused by Covid and weather and possibly problems with the private construction consortium doing their job, what could the government have done in terms of the PPP Contract. Are the delays yet another PPP botch, or alternatively where have the public sector failed since 2017?
Stuff seems to think there's going to be a five-stage re-opening announced.
If this Government indeed caves to the media like a wet paper bag, rather than defending its record of keeping NZers healthy (and alive), then frankly it deserves to lose 2023. Re-opening to satiate Grounded Kiwis and sociopathic journalists will result in hundreds of deaths, the collapse of our health system, and the loss of the Big Achievement of the Ardern Government.
Meanwhile, for the media it's win-win. They get to have their Melbourne lattes and the Labour Government (whom they are working so avidly to destroy) screws itself out of its own cowardice.
I wonder if this tanking is one of the reason Robertson wants to bring in his redundancy legislation?
It will help calm down the Labour back-benchers if the 20+ ones who are going to be out of a job would be eligible for up to a year of $100k allowances.
There is a statistical quirk that says if you see a really high number then it's much more likely to go down next time it's measured then to go up (aka regression to the mean). Politics could have frozen in time and the next measurements were most likely to go down. But that's the thing with politics, even achieving mega-stardom can be made to look bad.
Like most "decisions" made by this government in relation to the pandemic they don't have any choice. All the decisions made around covid have not been about making the right or wrong decision. Its been about Ardern's undoubted courage to take governing seriously and choose to do the only option on the table, instead of chickening out and doing nothing and retreating into fantasy and denial like the other major world leaders.
The plain, brutal realpolitik reality is nothing we do, no matter how successful we are, no matter how many times we eliminate COVID, we will have zero impact on the wider world. But what the wider world does has a massive impact on us. If the USA and UK and Australia were governed by people took their job as seriously as Ardern has then maybe we'd have had a chance. But they weren't, they were and are governed by a charlatan, a fool and a weak willed evangelical determinist respectively. So we've got bugger all choice, unless we want the government to issue our very own Sakoku edict and close the country off forever – and we've seen with the cacophony of wailing from the ruling classes that is completely unacceptable. You have every right to feel bitter about that, but that is the way it is. For better or worse, we now have to hope science has defanged COVID enough to allow us to live with it without a massacre of the weak and the disadvantaged occurring.
As Hegel said, "freedom is the recognition of necessity" and this border opening is the recognition of necessity.
That is a great summary. We are lucky we did not have a "charlatan a fool and a weak willed evangelical determinist" as our Leader. Love your turn of phrase Sanctuary.
Get your booster. That gives real protection with the added health measures. We are going to be affected…but the 1.5 wage/salary component requirement for imported overseas workers WOW that is not BAU!!!
Fair question, DS. Of more importance to me is will the incoming Kiwis forgive and forget? If yes, National is in big trouble. If no, Labour is in big trouble.
I didn't realise there's a criteria for Kiwis overseas who want to vote. I thought if you wanted to vote you just rocked up to the embassy and voted.
The overseas Kiwi vote will be interesting this time around.
And, can our gutted economy cope with an influx of people?
and generally they tend to go left. So this not huge number of overseas votes can still make or brake the numbers for a smaller party such as the Green Party.
I may be unduly cynical but I have always had the feeling that the reason the overseas votes tend to favour the Green Party is that the people voting know that they are not going to have to put up with the result.
''Jacinda will make mincemeat of him in the election debates.''
That's a BIG CALL. Luxon has a tonne of ammo to hit Jacinda with. He's fluent with his speech and thoughts (comparative to Collins). And he can only get better over the coming months.
He has two problems: He runs his mouth before he has concrete policy to back up what he says. Hell, even Maiki Sherman has caught him out regarding RAT tests for schools.
His other problems is Jacinda has a magazine of ammo too. She's Mother Nice. She has saved us from big bad Covid. She will give overseas disasters as an example of her totem of benevolence over us. Non-thinkers will lap that up. And why not – it's true. Of course, being non-thinkers, means they don't understand our low death and infection rate has come at an incredible cost.
ps- having shaken the PMs hand and had a brief conversation with her, I have to admit it’s hard to not like her. I even went gooey when she did a girly giggle while talking. I have never recovered.
That'd be due to relating to her in person. We are biological entities & feelings generated via interaction with others create emotional intelligence.
Seeing her as cheerleader of neoliberalism is a category-thinking-driven thing. Seeing her as Labour leader is different again if you allow identity politics to turn you into a partisan opponent (which you did).
I expect Luxon to improve but have been underwhelmed so far. If she continues to be adept at repositioning he will struggle to score any real hits. Labour's slide in the polls can be halted via good policy delivery.
''That'd be due to relating to her in person. We are biological entities & feelings generated via interaction with others create emotional intelligence.''
Not wrong, and one that goes back several Governments.
I had to facilitate my mother's move out of her home of 40 years in Henderson in 2013 because of an incompatibility with the state tenants (HNZ in those days) in the unit next door. Fortunately we were able to find a solution that was a win for both sides but it could have very easily had a very unhappy ending for all.
Abot bloody time the Minister changed this policy on bad tennants. The policy was driven by some fantasy that if you treat badly behaved people nicely they will improve or stop doing their anti social acts. No that just re inforces the idea that if you behave badly you get away with it. Basic parenting to do the opposite.
Shows a lack of empathy. IMO what happens when ideology over interferes with common decency. Plenty of worthy tenants needing housing.
Yep … I'll have a bit to say about this in the near future … currently just wondering if it will apply to Iwi-controlled housing (Ngati Toa are now managing all previous KO housing in my Parent's area … & they've been as useless as the KO manager was in terms of ending the Nightmare).
I'd like to see the actual direction that the Minister has given KO (rather than just a media report).
From the report, the directive seems much less strong than is indicated in the headline.
KO 'can' use the three-strikes policy (which, actually, they've always been able to – since it's in the Residential Tenancies Act).
Williams is quoted
"[Kāinga Ora] can deal with the situation, can terminate the tenancy, can move tenants to another neighbourhood in a much more timely way than has happened in the past," Williams said.
There's a lot of 'can' in that statement, not a lot of 'will'
Further down in the article, Williams is quoted:
" Poto Williams maintains evictions are still possible, just a last resort."
No indication if that is a recent quote (possibly not, since it's in the Willis commentary).
I'd like to know if that's still her position, and that of KO. Because I'm not seeing anything else in the article to indicate that the 'last resort' is going to be reached an awful lot more quickly for severely disruptive tenants now, than it has been over the last 3 years.
100% Belladonna…… "can move tenants to another neighbourhood".. WTF, so some poor other person has to put up with them????
Why a last resort to move tennants? Why not 2 warnings then your out? If Ms Williams had one of these people as a neighbour they would be out quick smart. Guaranteed.
'Israel, which has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world with already nearly half of its citizens having received three shots, is leading the world in new daily cases per capita, according to Jan. 20 data.'
A NTD TV report. Do the Falun Gong, who are the author of that report, know anything about epidemiology? I thought that that article was a total spoof until I found out who wrote it.
I haven't looked at either of the links, but credible sources do indicate Israel currently has high and climbing cases and deaths.
While Israel is perceived as "highly jabbed" – this is mostly based on their booster (and booster+1) rollout. Their underlying vaccination rates are mediocre and certainly will allow the virus to transmit and cause widespread disease / death quite happily. Making some people very protected while many remain completely unprotected, won't stop transmission and disease. They also scaled back their other controls.
Data from ourworldindata.org and RNZ (whole population):
So it looks like the government is at the very least not ruling out the possibility of rent controls,
“Nothing is off the table, including rent controls, as Government officials search for ways to help people struggling with the cost of accommodation, Associate Housing Minister Poto Williams says”
That being the case, rent controls will probably just make the situation worse, and at the same time, ruin their economic credibility.
The government should immediately rule out such ideas as bat shit crazy IMO.
Rather than try to control the price side of the equation, they should be encouraging the supply side of the equation. If they had actually made linear progress towards their kiwibuild 100000 houses promise, the situation would be a lot better now.
"Rather than try to control the price side of the equation, they should be encouraging the supply side of the equation. "
The government have actively discouraged the supply side. This government seems not to have learned that meddling has unintended consequences.
"How have they actively discouraged the…supply side?"
Two examples: 1. Loading costs onto landlords, and 2. removing interest deductibility.
Ultimately anything that increases costs to the landlords will push up rents and/or makes being a landlord less attractive. If the government buts in again and regulates rents, it will just get worse.
"If you are saying because of extra costs to landlords ,they stop renting out their properties…you may have a point, albeit a ludicrous one."
It's not ludicrous. But it isn't just about existing landlords, it's also about churn – whether new landlords are entering the market to meet increased demand. I'm a landlord. From where I sit it's pretty. From the point of view of tenants, not so much.
Supply is related to demand. So, if the supply stays the same, and demand is rising, then prices will rise. Vice-versa, they should fall.
Or landlords could decide to sell up. And that might be to people like my son and his partner who were happily living at my house and thereby not causing any strain on the housing market, but took the opportunity to buy their own home when it was there.
So, even landlords selling houses doesn't necessarily mean a net zero effect in terms of housing availability.
In fact, if my son and his partner had purchased a house off a landlord, it might have been two people displacing a large family.
But if becoming a landlord was not so appealing,more stock would be available to buyers who actually want to have their own home to live in and raise a family.
Who wants to be at the mercy of craven property managers/landlords hydraulicing rents for whatever reason?
Lets not forget the 40,000 empty homes in Auckland alone just sitting there accruing value.
Over 2 billion is shelled out to landlords via the AS…that money could be used for soft loans to first home buyers.
Wack stamp duty on owners of multiple rentals and it would make a huge difference to home ownership in NZ.
I have increased the rent on my rental property last year to cover the extra cost to me of only being able to deduct a lesser amount of the mortgage interest this tax year (ie. 75% deductible from Oct 1 2021 to 31 March 2022). The tenant was very understanding and is still below the true market rental when compared to next door property.
My property still available as a rental (so no supply change) but the deductibility rules are far worse for new landlords as no interest is deductible and so many will be put off entering the market.
Sorry but I disagree with you. Private landlords are providing a service. Imagine how many more state houses would be needed if all private landlords exited the market tomorrow.
"A significant number of people who are renting are paying enough weekly to service a mortgage." – if this is the case, then I would strongly advise them to stop renting and buy but I think you will find they are usually unable to or don't have a deposit.
I think you should provide evidence to justify that statement.
If it is true, then it is because the government isn't giving the right incentives to make it worthwhile.
What I think would be good would be for the government to incentivise the building and renting of long-term rentals (10-20 years) so they can have the stability of home ownership at what should be a lower cost than paying a mortgage.
"The Government intends to limit the ability to deduct interest to make residential properties a less attractive investment option and to help level the playing field for first home buyers.
The proposal is that, from 1 October 2021, interest will not be deductible for residential property acquired on or after 27 March 2021. For properties acquired before 27 March 2021, generally investors’ ability to deduct interest will be phased out between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2025. Some properties are excluded from these rules and some exemptions are proposed."
Chances are you have obtained a 250k or so capital gain in the last year or two – so you could consider that when thinking about going after your tenants for some other comparatively minor cost increase.
Fascinating, pre-print study from UK ("Safety, tolerability and viral kinetics during SARS-CoV-2 human challenge").
They purposely infected 36 healthy people in 18-30 year old bracket with the original (pre-Delta and Omicron) Covid. None had been vaccinated nor previously had Covid. Only 18 got infected, and all were mild-moderate symptoms. Lateral flow testing was not perfect, but worked very well with detecting presence of Covid when infectious.
It reinforces what we know: it's predominantly a disease of age and co-morbidity. Omicron in particularly is known to be significantly less serious for hospitalisation and death, as European countries infections have skyrocketed but hospitalisation and death plateaued.
Obviously, the same study on older and those with co-morbidities would have higher infection and serious symptoms rate, but I don't believe an exponential increase given the average age of Covid deaths in UK has been roughly the life expectancy.
Boosting has little impact on infection and transmission of Omicron, and unclear longer-term reduction of hospitalisation and death . Also, unless you wear FFP2/N95 mask properly and once only, then mask wearing has very little impact but significant social cost.
Solution? Have easy and targeted access to vaccines for those at higher risk. Emphasize reduction of risks from co-morbidities through healthier lifestyle and cheap lateral flow testing at home. Have clear, non-partisan information on the benefits and risks (without exaggerating either) of vaccine for others, like Japan has done.
Emphasize understand that we will all get it (and can spread it) at some point – vaccinated or not – and enable people to make their own risk assessment and choice on how to respond. Fund Covid pills for all, to further reduce likelihood of hospitalation or death. Structural investment in health system for flexibility for future pandemics.
Give information and access, and trust people to make decisions for themselves – like for every other health issue.
No vaccine mandates or passports, no forced self-isolation, no lockdowns, no mandated masks, no traffic lights, no "experts" daily sermons, no relentless fear.
If you live to the average age of death then you actually have about 5-7ish (IIRC) years of life yet – that's because people die in infancy (still) and as teenagers – it's a thing called survivorship bias – being healthy means you live to an old age and the converse being old means you are healthy. What you want to look at is life expectancy at birth which the kingsfund did.
"There have been two turning points in trends in life expectancy in England in the past decade. From 2011 increases in life expectancy slowed after decades of steady improvement, prompting much debate about the causes. Then in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic was a more significant turning point, causing a sharp fall in life expectancy the magnitude of which has not been seen since World War II."
"By 2019, life expectancy at birth in England had increased to 79.9 years for males and 83.6 years for females (see Figure 2). However, the Covid-19 pandemic caused life expectancy in 2020 to fall to 78.6 years for males and to 82.6 years for females, the level of a decade ago."
I'm picking a move backwards to the "grand illusion" of BAU, but time will tell.
2022’s Imperative: Letting Go of Our Past to Birth Our Future
[18 January 2022]
The epic disruptions wrought by a dramatic surge in heat waves, storms, floods, droughts, fires, and now the COVID-19 pandemic leave us desperate to return to life as we previously knew it. In our growing panic, we forget that it is exactly that previous way of living that created the current emergency.
This is not a temporary problem that we can put behind us by electing new political leaders or reducing our use of plastic bags. We are dealing with false assumptions about what and who we are that lead to deeply flawed collective choices. We must publicly challenge those false assumptions and replace them with our deepening understanding of how life works.
That is an awful lot to infer from experimental infection of only 36 people with the less-infectious original Wuhan strain. And the authors of the study certainly don't conclude or suggest the various things you are concluding – and they weren't trying to study any of that (or design their experiment to study any of that).
Did you notice that they only inoculated the subjects nasally – which is less dangerous than inoculation directly to deeper parts of the respiratory tract, which is what can occur in natural settings? And they used a low and controlled infectious dose. There was no evidence at all of lung disease in these subjects – when we know most of the many people in hospital with Covid (including those without apparent co-morbidities) have viral pneumonia.
Think I'll take my medical advice from actual experts.
Interestingly, based on the partial ethnic breakdowns provided … I'm guessing that close to half of Māori [possibly a little more than half] want to stick with New Zealand.
Oh I did that poll and voted Aotearoa New Zealand. Interesting finding that 58% want to keep it as NZ. As a pragmatist, changing our name like changing the flag will cost money and I rather see that money spent on paying nurses decent wages, free dental treatment to name but two. In general front line workers. I am afraid I half agree with David Seymour on Govt Depts, extra staff and high wages. $93,000 for example average in Education ministry I think he said. Make these Ministrys justify what they do. Eg Ministry of Children. What have they done that has improved the lot of children in this country? I am listening, cause I could be wrong about this so open to hearing actual outcomes from this ministry that have improved the lot of children.
It is pretty obvious what children need. Adequate food, housing, education, health care and dentistry. And hopefully good parenting/love (which the govt has less control over).
Finally people are beginning to feel safe speaking truth to power…
"Although landlord greed seems to be the primary target of the new housing policies, there is an even larger, greedier actor behind the housing markets: banks. Without the eagerness of banks to lend increasing amounts of debt onto the shoulders of owner-occupiers and residential investors, the current obscene prices would not be possible. Arguably, loosely regulated bank lending is the central reason behind the gulf between house prices and household incomes in New Zealand and around the world."
This-'If banks’ lending behaviour is found to have contributed to New Zealand’s housing quagmire then banks must be held to account and share the pain when the bubble inevitably bursts.'
They could have success if they had the courage….but it is worth considering who is responsible for regulating the banks and the reason why they have been allowed to create the mother of all property bubbles.
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
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Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
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In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
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The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
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The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
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A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
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I wonder if we're on the edge of a new victorianism. The permissive society has been exploring the depths of degradation for long enough, I suspect.
When a culture turns toxic, humanity tends to generate a counter-culture. Hegel's dialectic. Sad to see folk in younger generations being unable to relate to each other with humanity. But I get that there's an exploration happening.
Perhaps with a focus on how natural morality emerges from learning about downsides? That's the best gloss I can put on the situation…
Sad to see folk in younger generations being unable to relate to each other with humanity.
Unless people can communicate and are able to discuss an issue, nothing changes.
Dialogue, rather than debate.
Case in point. I agree with FOX news. It would seem not even liberals are now allowed to express a view that runs contrary to the accepted narrative.
We've been on a slippery slope of subjective morality and truth for a long time now. Society is simply reflecting that.
the place where this is really being challenged is gender critical feminism in the UK.
This could easily have been written about the sexual revolution in the 60s. Looks like we didn't learn much. My current view on it is that we are just culturally really bad with binary thinking, and we're getting worse. Sex positive was a good movement. When it started having problematic aspects, the people, largely women, who tried to point it out, were told they were prudes, that kink shaming is wrong, and that people should be free to do what they like. Thanks neoliberalism. But liberals basically took the position that sex positive = good, any objection to it = bad. Which is just fucking dangerous at this point in history.
One of the reasons GCF has upped the ante is because GC lesbians have been excluded from Pride marches while men wearing nappies as a kink have been in the side tent with kids, or men in dog fetish costumes are at family events and the kids think they're play. Or rainbow butt dildo monkey at a kids show at a library was thought to be appropriate by council. Or gender identity activists took No Debate to the extreme so that it's been difficult to talk about the connections between the MAP movement (minor attracted people) and the queer movements. Lots of safeguarding issues there for women and kids.
Lots more examples. And still women are called prudes. (and lots of people reading this won't really know what I am talking about, because No Debate means it's a battle largely being fought on GC/TRA twitter)
(and no, I didn't just call gay people paedophiles, and if you think this is what this is about then you're way behind the curve. Viva la nuance).
This photo might give context to what you are saying:
Sorry, weka. Don't know how to post.
jfc.
there's a whole post in that, and I'm away out the door. If you know the source Molly, please post (as in where and when it was taken).
To be clear, this is two police having their photo taken with two people engaging publicly in their sexual fetish.
Sorry, weka. IIRC it was a UK Pride event, which seems likely in terms of context. I googled images "uk police dog fetish" and it was the first image.
Adding pride parade comes up with similar images but not this particular one, but to be fair I got bored after the first few, and it seem reasonable that the image links to a Pride event, in line with my memory of the original article.
Given the censure dished out to lesbians both here and in the UK, and the burgeoning inclusion of kink and BDSM as components of the march, it is not the Pride march that originated in the 80's, in support of same sex orientation.
Homosexuality seems to have had a shortlived acceptance in society, given that Stonewall's CEO considers homosexuals confirming their same sex preferences are akin to 'sexual racism', and promotes a newly minted form of sexual coercion and gay conversion:
"However, in a statement, chief executive Nancy Kelley likened not wanting to date trans people to not wanting to date people of colour, fat people, or disabled people.
She said: "Sexuality is personal and something which is unique to each of us. There is no 'right' way to be a lesbian, and only we can know who we're attracted to.
"Nobody should ever be pressured into dating, or pressured into dating people they aren't attracted to. But if you find that when dating, you are writing off entire groups of people, like people of colour, fat people, disabled people or trans people, then it's worth considering how societal prejudices may have shaped your attractions." – BBC, UK.
thanks Molly. I briefly toyed with doing a post on it 😬
The SW CEO is disingenous af. Lesbians don't object to dating trans people, they object males. If the trans person isn't biologically male, then there's not a problem (although I can also understand some people not being attracted to people with a lot of body modification)
It is two fold, a. the dislike of penis and b. the difference between women and men in general. I have a few lesbians in my immediate family, non would date a Man or a Transwomen. They are not women. They are men presenting as women and that is a huge difference. And those that want to make the difference between man and women a purely visual thing are doing no one any favors. Men are not women, will never be women, there is more to us then a pair of fake boobs and a neo vagina made from an inverted penis.
And the heterosexual man who present as women as part of their fetish will not have their penises removed for a fake vagina, and i would venture a guess that these are the ones that are causing grief to Lesbians.
Would the lesbians you know date medically or surgically transitioned trans men?
No, but this is due mainly due as you called is ' their body modification'. And frankly once you have your vagina removed for a arm / leg roll penis, i think it is understandable. Also the issue with these women not wanting to be women. They are however sad about the disappearance about specifically butch lesbians.
Also it appears that quite a few of the transwomen are full of internalised misogyny and that is not attractive.
By "culture", you mean third-wave feminism, post-modernism, identity politics, and social justice. All products firmly of the Left.
The Standard is a board of pretend-old time Leftists looking for any reason to refuse any responsibility or criticism on the current state of affairs and how it has overwhelmingly been the Left, and recent Left, responsibility for this state.
Blame late-stage Capitalism and neo-liberalism? Sure, course you will – anything but your own beliefs and ideologies. Even this Guardian article seems to blame the current state and consequence of Feminism on men. I wonder what can't be blamed on men.
The Left won the culture wars and everything you see, and complain here, is the logical conclusion of the very beliefs you supported. Anyone vaguely non 'anything goes' is simply a fascist who wants to return everything to the 1950s.
I say this is as an old school Liberal, not a Fox-loving Rightie. I can see the Right's problems, but the Left's inability to recognise its own responsibility and reform is beyond pathetic.
All the Left seems to offer now is enforced groupthink, eternal health controls, mental damage to young people, and guilt.
By "culture", you mean third-wave feminism, post-modernism, identity politics, and social justice. All products firmly of the Left.
Wrong. I meant it as a whole. The permissive society emerged in the 1960s and became pervasive throughout western civilisation in the 1970s.
The Standard is a board of pretend-old time Leftists looking for any reason to refuse any responsibility or criticism on the current state of affairs and how it has overwhelmingly been the Left, and recent Left, responsibility for this state.
Dunno if TS has a board. I agree that leftists have an unhealthy tendency to evade responsibility for their collective beliefs but since most of them here spend most of the time disagreeing with each other I doubt you can generalise accurately. Anyway I've been commenting here for 7 years as a non-leftist so don't blame me.
Blame late-stage Capitalism and neo-liberalism? Sure, course you will – anything but your own beliefs and ideologies.
Having spent the past half-century as a resolute outspoken opponent of capitalism I'm sympathetic to the possibility but averse to such simplemindedness. I agree with freedom of choice & opinion – have always been staunch supporter of freedom of speech too. But I do believe in taking responsibility for one's ethical standards & moral conduct. I'm too much of a nonconformist for my beliefs & ideologies to fit into your preconceptions!![angel angel](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/angel_smile.png?x42494)
Even this Guardian article seems to blame the current state and consequence of Feminism on men. I wonder what can't be blamed on men.
I didn't get that from it. Think you're reading too much into it.
The Left won the culture wars and everything you see, and complain here, is the logical conclusion of the very beliefs you supported. Anyone vaguely non 'anything goes' is simply a fascist who wants to return everything to the 1950s.
Did they? I'm not convinced. And since I've been disagreeing with both the political left & political right since 1971 it seems like you're mistaking me for someone else. Have you noticed that a third of the public are neither left nor right? Polls provided the evidence of that in the mid-1980s in the USA so no surprise the Green movement got leverage on the same basis.
I say this is as an old school Liberal
Are you aware liberals are seen as leftists by conservatives? And as rightists by radicals? That was true half a century back. Nothing's changed since, right?
the Left's inability to recognise its own responsibility and reform is beyond pathetic
Likely you're right about this – I've often felt the same & have commented here similarly often enough. My point was primarily their evasion of the necessity to define their political common cause. Instead they default into some kind of banal recycling of inappropriate shibboleths from the past (when pushed) or take refuge in the assumption that everyone knows what being leftist means. Delusional!
All the Left seems to offer now is enforced groupthink, eternal health controls, mental damage to young people, and guilt.
They also offer hope of a better world to come. Sometimes they deliver a wee bit of progress on the path to that future. They ain't totally useless…
The triad USA/China/Russia is the current basis of multipolar geopolitics. I suspect that triangulation by each of the three will underlie their relations this year.
Agreement on strategy for stalling USA hegemony is likely to be the top item on their agenda and of course it's unlikely to be declared to the media if it happens.
There is no good side in this dispute.
All empires are racist and hegemonic by nature. Rival empires are dangerous to the peoples of the world.
In the 20th Century the rising powers of Japan, Germany and Italy, coming late to the imperial division of the world, were challenging the established imperial division of the world by the hegemonic powers of Britain, France and the US were the root cause of two world wars.
The two new rising powers of the Russian Federation and China are the new challengers of the US the remaining dominant world hegemon.
The root cause of imperialism is the growth economy.
Not only is the growth economy running up against the finite limits of the planet, the growth economies of rival powers are running up against each other.
There can not be infinite growth on a finite world.
Thank God they don't let you anywhere near a classroom.
You can't teach what you want in a classroom, even if it is factually correct! All dependent on the curriculum, especially in high school. I once taught Biology in a high school in Darwin. I had a colleague who was a fundamentalist Christian who didn't believe in evolution. He still had to teach it as part of the Biology curriculum, although I would have loved to be a fly on the wall of his Bio classes. Ironically, the city of Darwin was named after the architect of evolution, a man who was troubled by the contradictions between his discoveries and his faith. Despite all that, I agree with Jenny!
Jenny wants to do Pedagogy of the Oppressed but I don't think they've instructed Paulo Freire in teachers colleges since the 1980s.
If as a teacher I wanted to get into this areas with less ideological risk, I'd just give the students a list of relevant films, and a short bibilography of further reading. Stage 1 Sociology will usually introduce them to Hobsbawm and the like.
to Ad at 2.1.1.1.1…….Paulo Friere was well ahead of his time. I valued his book immensely from publication and am now prompted to research his life thereafter.
The Pedagogy of Freedom looks pretty promising.
On the contrary Jenny's missive would be great for a debate in a final year history class with the students having to argue and present evidence both for and against the proposition.
Have you tried teaching in a classroom before?
Excellent comment, Jenny, full of truth of the matter. A World united system based on a World without money will be the answer at some future point when the Realisationilist Movement evolves.
Long live the Realisationilists!
They can't live long if they don't exist. I googled Realisationilist Movement and got precisely zero websites describing it. First time I've ever seen Google totally baffled! Of course there remains the technical possibility that the movement is using a camouflage strategy to fly under Google's radar…
Your last sentence Jenny should become universal daily mantra, so obvious,understandable and succinct.
I continue my day smiling at it.
Really? Are you aware that Jenny's last sentence went global back in the 1990s? Good on her for recycling it in a culture that persists in denial but I was wondering if you thought she invented that point.
to Dennis at 2.1.3.1 : I find your comment strange. I have long had such a position as the phrase expresses.
Raised in a home and culture closely connected with the forming of the first Labour government and it's values of social security and later having Ken McIlroy and Dudley Kelly late Values Party leader as high school teachers and friends who treated us as adults, I realise such phrases are not new. I just find myself uplifted to find this one projected into these 'me…me…me' times.
Oh I see. No worries – I agree totally with that sentiment. Since her sentence is effectively one strand of the basic ideology of the Green movement, I guess the necessity to keep stressing it testifies to the relative lack of influence that ideology has in mass consciousness nowadays.
Don't worry to much about it. After all it would take an infinite time to get infinite growth and the world doesn't have that long to go.
It will end up with all the plant and animal life being killed, all the oceans evaporating and the surface of the earth melting. We aren't going to be responsible for that and there is nothing we can do about it.
However it won't be in an infinite time and we certainly won't get to infinite growth.
And to think, I spent three years on my history degree.
Nothing wrong with being brainwashed by the establishment. Most of us were. The challenge then becomes one of transcending those beliefs. Those who did so in the 1970s drove the change to a better world but didn't get sufficient critical mass. Those born during the 1950s mostly took refuge in a collective cop-out, bring us Thatcherism & Rogernomics instead in their (im)maturity.
New Zealand schools are to teach the history of colonialism in this country.
Colonialism is a symptom and expression of capitalist imperialist expansion..
Will our education system teach the history of capitalist imperialism?
I doubt it, because this would raise demands from our young people to make a final break with our current imperial partners.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30-01-2022/#comment-1856307
'Will our education system teach the history of capitalist imperialism?
and will our education system teach the history of private banks,money creation,the debt 'put'and compounding interest'.
These are the fabric of 'our way of…life'!
What about communist imperialism? Or socialist imperialism? Or Islamic imperialism? I mean seriously at what level of bad shit do you want to draw a line?
What recent examples of those can you…provide?
Interesting point there Blazer. Recent examples seem hard to find. Perhaps China's capture of Tibet 60 years ago is the most recent.
Hi Dennis. China is fairly busy right now.
You're joking surely gypsy. Comparing infrastructure building with dropping bombs??
That 'infrastructure building' is the 21st century version of imperialism.
"colonialism with Chinese characteristics".
Oh right. "Colonialism" like Guyon Espiners scary music RNZ China investigation where Haami Piripi got funding to build internet infrastructure at "too favourable" loan conditions and when debt repayment became stressed negotiated even more favourable terms with never a hint of taking posession of said infrastructure. That kind of "colonialism"? Where local people get real help to build capability? Do you realise that that actually is a definition of something else?
Imperialism, noun, a policy of extending a country's power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other means.
Pretty sure theres no large population of Chinese that moved into the far north with that infrastructure loan….
"Pretty sure theres no large population of Chinese that moved into the far north with that infrastructure loan…."
Your definition of imperialism is so 20th century.
That was using your definition of imperialism and quickly consulting wikipaedia to define your bolded colonization. So, given its not colonization that leaves the category of "other means" for this type of imperialism. And just like with Guyon, we need to inject a lot of scary emotional "feel" to generate some level of acceptance for the huge military confrontation that the west is engaging in, in response to an imperialism (if in deed that is what it is) that is neither militaristic nor colonial but some form of other that seems to offer a path to a better standard of living to those that have been subjected to western imperialism that was and is both militaristic and colonial.
"but some form of other that seems to offer a path to a better standard of living to those that have been subjected to western imperialism that was and is both militaristic and colonial."
Do you assert that colonisation and imperialism never resulted in a better standard of living for those colonised?
Hmm.
They only play big ones? Fair to say BRI seems a design for regional influence-building. Ramping it up is always possible…
We're talking about history, so I'm not sure we should only consider 'recent' examples. But since you asked.
A link to an extremely biased opinion on what China may or may not do in the future,is not compelling,not compelling…at..all.
The source is reliable, but here's some more:
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/belt-and-road-colonialism-chinese-characteristics
https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2020-01-30/king-warns-that-chinese-imperialism-is-a-national-security-threat-for-the-u-s
There's a good in-depth review of the latest revision of Aotearoa's history here: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/readingroom/waitangi-week-the-pakeha-wars
Propaganda to serve the interests of the ruling class is perennial. It gets traction due to a part of human nature. Reality is often unascertainable in details. People have a natural tendency to recognise patterns, yet joining the dots is subjective. Consequently competing narratives emerge in the body politic.
What some have be saying about the reliance of the business community on new migrants turns out to have some empirical evidence:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/460781/research-reveals-stark-differences-in-salaries-for-migrant-workers
Pay transparency is a good idea, not as widely or as accurately used as it should be. What other steps can be taken to ensure more workers are able to successfully argue for equitable and fair incomes?
The lesser paid vocations are another story.
Strictly anecdotal evidence says some Filipino workers are happy to work 16-17 hours a day if available.
A market gardener told me their Asian workers productivity, just picking fruit and vegetables was at least double that of other workers.
"at least double that of other workers."
American Factory is a doco about an auto glass factory in Dayton, Ohio.
It is closed by GM then purchased by a Chinese company, re-employed a lot of the locals as well as some Chinese workers and managers.
Starts airily and brightly enough, after the honeymoon period is over, the cultural attitudes start to jar.
Culminates in some American workers visiting the parent company's factory in China.
Well worth a look.
Seen it.
The productivity of the Chinese workers was well above the U.S workers.
And the union were defeated.
An ironic movie all things..considered.
Another couple of unhappy pensioners 'trapped' in OZ.
Have a unit on the GC ,they use in winter,hopped over in April 2021,popped back to 'check on'their Papamoa property returned to Oz and now face super clawback…
Covid 19 MIQ lockout: Ministry of Social Development wants $16k back from Kiwi couple – NZ Herald
They could have come back to NZ during the OZ-NZ "bubble" last July-I travelled to OZ and back myself at that time.
More lobbying from the New Zeluxond Herald.
Bearded Git, he apparently had a leaking aorta and could not travel in July. So there may be a case, as my husband only ever saw a cardiologist in Australia. Here it was a brand new Registrar, fresh out from England. So I have sympathy for their medical decisions, and they may have a case as on two occasions they had no ability to get back. They still may have to give up something to pay the bill. As our pragmatic PM says "Such is life".
Didn't know that PB. But if you travel when old you take a risk-we all know that. To blame and attack the government for the odd few cases where MIQ hasn't got it right is unfair.
Nobody claims MIQ is perfect but it has enabled more than 200,000 people to come home while allowing those already here to live normal lives most of the time and that is some achievement.
He did manage to travel twice in April and it is their yearly ritual to spend NZ's winter at their unit on the …GC.
I expect they didn't need the winter power subsidy either and declined it.![wink wink](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/wink_smile.png?x42494)
Surprised to learn a leaking aeorta can not be treated here.
I understood it was an "after surgery" event in July, Which stopped their using their July booking. Cheers. Sorry for my before coffee spelling booboo. (aeorta)
They were not eligible for the allowance for most of their time overseas.
You can only get it for a maximum of 28 days in their circumstances.
Cheers alwyn.
Btw can they go overseas for say 2 months, 2 or 3 times a year,keep inside the 6 month requirement and still receive their…super?
It would appear so, for the basic Super part, but not any extras. I never had any trouble and I always told them when and where I planned to go.
Like all these things though they throw in the little kicker "may" and "call us".
https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/pensions/travelling-or-moving/going-overseas-super/travelling-26-weeks-or-less.html
It's an accumulative thing, so a max of 6 months out of the country in any one 12 month period.
@ Blazer (5) … Health issues aside, they don't seem to be too hard done by, considering the assets they have. They would have known the rules when they travelled last year and the risks involved, including post surgical issues etc no doubt. So why the bleating about part of their received superannuation being requested to be paid back and being trapped in Australia?
There are always people a lot worse off than ourselves. I just wish some of us would realise this.
I posted the following late in Daily Review on 1 Feb, and not surprisingly did not see any responses:
I was surprised to see this from Josie Pagani
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/127627615/transmission-gully-shows-we-need-to-rethink-the-public-sector
Apart from problems caused by Covid and weather and possibly problems with the private construction consortium doing their job, what could the government have done in terms of the PPP Contract. Are the delays yet another PPP botch, or alternatively where have the public sector failed since 2017?
I am one of those people who, when I see the name Josie Pagani on an article…jog..on.
Stuff seems to think there's going to be a five-stage re-opening announced.
If this Government indeed caves to the media like a wet paper bag, rather than defending its record of keeping NZers healthy (and alive), then frankly it deserves to lose 2023. Re-opening to satiate Grounded Kiwis and sociopathic journalists will result in hundreds of deaths, the collapse of our health system, and the loss of the Big Achievement of the Ardern Government.
Meanwhile, for the media it's win-win. They get to have their Melbourne lattes and the Labour Government (whom they are working so avidly to destroy) screws itself out of its own cowardice.
It is now very possible Labour will lose the next election – even if they are as successful with this variant as with all others.
There's a simple political reality to people losing patience with Ardern, even if cabinet followed the health advice to the letter.
The loss of patience is a media creation. The only thing the majority of the public cares about is not having the health system collapse.
The media knows that too, of course. They want to destroy the Government – that's why they're pushing this.
Every poll has Labour tanking lower and lower for over a year.
Many have speculated that Labour can bring it all back … I don't think they've bottomed yet.
I wonder if this tanking is one of the reason Robertson wants to bring in his redundancy legislation?
It will help calm down the Labour back-benchers if the 20+ ones who are going to be out of a job would be eligible for up to a year of $100k allowances.
No, I don't think he is that devious.
There is a statistical quirk that says if you see a really high number then it's much more likely to go down next time it's measured then to go up (aka regression to the mean). Politics could have frozen in time and the next measurements were most likely to go down. But that's the thing with politics, even achieving mega-stardom can be made to look bad.
Spot on there DS (7.1.1)
Like most "decisions" made by this government in relation to the pandemic they don't have any choice. All the decisions made around covid have not been about making the right or wrong decision. Its been about Ardern's undoubted courage to take governing seriously and choose to do the only option on the table, instead of chickening out and doing nothing and retreating into fantasy and denial like the other major world leaders.
The plain, brutal realpolitik reality is nothing we do, no matter how successful we are, no matter how many times we eliminate COVID, we will have zero impact on the wider world. But what the wider world does has a massive impact on us. If the USA and UK and Australia were governed by people took their job as seriously as Ardern has then maybe we'd have had a chance. But they weren't, they were and are governed by a charlatan, a fool and a weak willed evangelical determinist respectively. So we've got bugger all choice, unless we want the government to issue our very own Sakoku edict and close the country off forever – and we've seen with the cacophony of wailing from the ruling classes that is completely unacceptable. You have every right to feel bitter about that, but that is the way it is. For better or worse, we now have to hope science has defanged COVID enough to allow us to live with it without a massacre of the weak and the disadvantaged occurring.
As Hegel said, "freedom is the recognition of necessity" and this border opening is the recognition of necessity.
That is a great summary. We are lucky we did not have a "charlatan a fool and a weak willed evangelical determinist" as our Leader. Love your turn of phrase Sanctuary.
.
Yep … that's bang-on.
I see the govt is going to open the border in 5 stages.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300509477/covid19-nz-border-reopening-to-begin-from-late-february-to-proceed-in-five-stages-stuff-understands
Why do I get the feeling we are seeing this…![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXpS3GsWAAIJ0xZ?format=jpg&name=small)
Just needed to extend the line back in time as a sine curve peaking with the first variant, then smaller peaks, to now.
Is Omicron still strong enough to curtail so many of our rights?
The plummeting support for the government and Prime Minister is the answer being made for them.
You think that polling will go back up after they kill hundreds of people because some privileged dimwits can't understand solidarity?
(Also, how about some polling on border-reopening before declaring this all the fault of MIQ?)
Get your booster. That gives real protection with the added health measures. We are going to be affected…but the 1.5 wage/salary component requirement for imported overseas workers WOW that is not BAU!!!
Fair question, DS. Of more importance to me is will the incoming Kiwis forgive and forget? If yes, National is in big trouble. If no, Labour is in big trouble.
I didn't realise there's a criteria for Kiwis overseas who want to vote. I thought if you wanted to vote you just rocked up to the embassy and voted.
The overseas Kiwi vote will be interesting this time around.
And, can our gutted economy cope with an influx of people?
.
The Overseas Vote comprises a much smaller % of Special Votes than most commentators assume … a mere 12% of Specials in 2020, 14% in 2017.
and generally they tend to go left. So this not huge number of overseas votes can still make or brake the numbers for a smaller party such as the Green Party.
I may be unduly cynical but I have always had the feeling that the reason the overseas votes tend to favour the Green Party is that the people voting know that they are not going to have to put up with the result.
Who cares really. Everyone votes to their ideals and desires, and frankly the suits are all empty, no matter the color and ideology.
the resetting of polls back to normal after a post-emergency surge is the answer being made for them. Will they hold their nerve? Probably not.
I think a poll of polls still has a Lab/Gr/MP government Ad*. Luxon isn't impressive-Jacinda will make mincemeat of him in the election debates.
*has anybody out there done one?-come in Swordfish.
''Jacinda will make mincemeat of him in the election debates.''
That's a BIG CALL. Luxon has a tonne of ammo to hit Jacinda with. He's fluent with his speech and thoughts (comparative to Collins). And he can only get better over the coming months.
He has two problems: He runs his mouth before he has concrete policy to back up what he says. Hell, even Maiki Sherman has caught him out regarding RAT tests for schools.
His other problems is Jacinda has a magazine of ammo too. She's Mother Nice. She has saved us from big bad Covid. She will give overseas disasters as an example of her totem of benevolence over us. Non-thinkers will lap that up. And why not – it's true. Of course, being non-thinkers, means they don't understand our low death and infection rate has come at an incredible cost.
ps- having shaken the PMs hand and had a brief conversation with her, I have to admit it’s hard to not like her. I even went gooey when she did a girly giggle while talking. I have never recovered.
Blade-have you watched her in parliament at question time? She is excellent.
Yes, a few times. She seems to harden up in the chamber. I think many, myself included, have wrongly considered her lacking mongrel.
I have never recovered.
That'd be due to relating to her in person. We are biological entities & feelings generated via interaction with others create emotional intelligence.
Seeing her as cheerleader of neoliberalism is a category-thinking-driven thing. Seeing her as Labour leader is different again if you allow identity politics to turn you into a partisan opponent (which you did).
I expect Luxon to improve but have been underwhelmed so far. If she continues to be adept at repositioning he will struggle to score any real hits. Labour's slide in the polls can be halted via good policy delivery.
''That'd be due to relating to her in person. We are biological entities & feelings generated via interaction with others create emotional intelligence.''
Dennis, you are a Rembrandt with words.
Good move by the Associate Minister of Housing.
Difficult situation this one.
Wonder whether a dedicated estate, where all unsociable,recalcitrant offendors could be rehoused with those of a similar disposition.
Good idea – somewhere like the Auckland Islands?
Not wrong, and one that goes back several Governments.
I had to facilitate my mother's move out of her home of 40 years in Henderson in 2013 because of an incompatibility with the state tenants (HNZ in those days) in the unit next door. Fortunately we were able to find a solution that was a win for both sides but it could have very easily had a very unhappy ending for all.
That's my preferred solution, although would need a few of them around the country.
You bet. The headline Govt Fosters Domestic Terrorism had been looming awhile.
As long as the policy change actually works, and cases stop featuring in news stories, it will be a problem solved & credit to the minister.
Abot bloody time the Minister changed this policy on bad tennants. The policy was driven by some fantasy that if you treat badly behaved people nicely they will improve or stop doing their anti social acts. No that just re inforces the idea that if you behave badly you get away with it. Basic parenting to do the opposite.
Shows a lack of empathy. IMO what happens when ideology over interferes with common decency. Plenty of worthy tenants needing housing.
Well said.
Yep … I'll have a bit to say about this in the near future … currently just wondering if it will apply to Iwi-controlled housing (Ngati Toa are now managing all previous KO housing in my Parent's area … & they've been as useless as the KO manager was in terms of ending the Nightmare).
I'd like to see the actual direction that the Minister has given KO (rather than just a media report).
From the report, the directive seems much less strong than is indicated in the headline.
KO 'can' use the three-strikes policy (which, actually, they've always been able to – since it's in the Residential Tenancies Act).
Williams is quoted
"[Kāinga Ora] can deal with the situation, can terminate the tenancy, can move tenants to another neighbourhood in a much more timely way than has happened in the past," Williams said.
There's a lot of 'can' in that statement, not a lot of 'will'
Further down in the article, Williams is quoted:
" Poto Williams maintains evictions are still possible, just a last resort."
No indication if that is a recent quote (possibly not, since it's in the Willis commentary).
I'd like to know if that's still her position, and that of KO. Because I'm not seeing anything else in the article to indicate that the 'last resort' is going to be reached an awful lot more quickly for severely disruptive tenants now, than it has been over the last 3 years.
100% Belladonna…… "can move tenants to another neighbourhood".. WTF, so some poor other person has to put up with them????
Why a last resort to move tennants? Why not 2 warnings then your out? If Ms Williams had one of these people as a neighbour they would be out quick smart. Guaranteed.
Absolutely … although it represents a potentially welcome policy shift … I share your underlying wariness & suspicion about just how far it goes.
Very good questions. I live in hope.
Swordfish will be pleased.![smiley smiley](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.png?x42494)
Was surprised to read this….
'Israel, which has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world with already nearly half of its citizens having received three shots, is leading the world in new daily cases per capita, according to Jan. 20 data.'
Report pushing the 'Chinese' virus narrative.
Israel, One of Most Vaccinated Countries in the World, Sets New COVID-19 Case Record (ntd.com)
A NTD TV report. Do the Falun Gong, who are the author of that report, know anything about epidemiology? I thought that that article was a total spoof until I found out who wrote it.
There are dozens of sites relaying the same info.
Does this one pass muster?
2-4 mln Israelis to be infected with COVID-19 amid Omicron spread: PM (msn.com)
I haven't looked at either of the links, but credible sources do indicate Israel currently has high and climbing cases and deaths.
While Israel is perceived as "highly jabbed" – this is mostly based on their booster (and booster+1) rollout. Their underlying vaccination rates are mediocre and certainly will allow the virus to transmit and cause widespread disease / death quite happily. Making some people very protected while many remain completely unprotected, won't stop transmission and disease. They also scaled back their other controls.
Data from ourworldindata.org and RNZ (whole population):
At least one Dose:
I: 72% NZ:82%
At least 2 doses:
I:66% NZ:77%
Boosted:
I:55% NZ:27%
So it looks like the government is at the very least not ruling out the possibility of rent controls,
“Nothing is off the table, including rent controls, as Government officials search for ways to help people struggling with the cost of accommodation, Associate Housing Minister Poto Williams says”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/renting/127672790/nothing-off-the-table-as-government-considers-rent-controls-to-tackle-unaffordable-housing
this, despite the fact that price controls are well known to cause shortages: eg:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/business/economy/inflation-price-controls.html
https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PriceControls.html
That being the case, rent controls will probably just make the situation worse, and at the same time, ruin their economic credibility.
The government should immediately rule out such ideas as bat shit crazy IMO.
Rather than try to control the price side of the equation, they should be encouraging the supply side of the equation. If they had actually made linear progress towards their kiwibuild 100000 houses promise, the situation would be a lot better now.
'
If they had actually made linear progress towards their kiwibuild 100000 houses promise, the situation would be a lot better now.'
'if'…
Theres a lot they could do…rent controls may have merit.Any landlord receiving accomodation subsidy money should be restricted on rental charges imo.
"Rather than try to control the price side of the equation, they should be encouraging the supply side of the equation. "
The government have actively discouraged the supply side. This government seems not to have learned that meddling has unintended consequences.
How have they actively discouraged the…supply side?
There is no…'free market'.
"How have they actively discouraged the…supply side?"
Two examples: 1. Loading costs onto landlords, and 2. removing interest deductibility.
Ultimately anything that increases costs to the landlords will push up rents and/or makes being a landlord less attractive. If the government buts in again and regulates rents, it will just get worse.
That does not affect supply!
If existing landlords put up rents on existing accomodation the supply stays the same.
If you are saying because of extra costs to landlords ,they stop renting out their properties…you may have a point, albeit a ludicrous one.
"If you are saying because of extra costs to landlords ,they stop renting out their properties…you may have a point, albeit a ludicrous one."
It's not ludicrous. But it isn't just about existing landlords, it's also about churn – whether new landlords are entering the market to meet increased demand. I'm a landlord. From where I sit it's pretty. From the point of view of tenants, not so much.
You were talking about supply…and come up with nothing!
Ah, I'm describing a normal market reaction.
Supply is related to demand. So, if the supply stays the same, and demand is rising, then prices will rise. Vice-versa, they should fall.
Or landlords could decide to sell up. And that might be to people like my son and his partner who were happily living at my house and thereby not causing any strain on the housing market, but took the opportunity to buy their own home when it was there.
So, even landlords selling houses doesn't necessarily mean a net zero effect in terms of housing availability.
In fact, if my son and his partner had purchased a house off a landlord, it might have been two people displacing a large family.
It well could.
But if becoming a landlord was not so appealing,more stock would be available to buyers who actually want to have their own home to live in and raise a family.
Who wants to be at the mercy of craven property managers/landlords hydraulicing rents for whatever reason?
Lets not forget the 40,000 empty homes in Auckland alone just sitting there accruing value.
Over 2 billion is shelled out to landlords via the AS…that money could be used for soft loans to first home buyers.
Wack stamp duty on owners of multiple rentals and it would make a huge difference to home ownership in NZ.
I have increased the rent on my rental property last year to cover the extra cost to me of only being able to deduct a lesser amount of the mortgage interest this tax year (ie. 75% deductible from Oct 1 2021 to 31 March 2022). The tenant was very understanding and is still below the true market rental when compared to next door property.
My property still available as a rental (so no supply change) but the deductibility rules are far worse for new landlords as no interest is deductible and so many will be put off entering the market.
Exactly, and developers who had been considering building properties to rent could well be put off as well.
That's precisely what I'm trying to say. Thanks.
The best way to solve the housing crisis is to encourage the building of more houses and make it attractive for people to be landlords.
That is a lot cheaper than the government building its own houses.
Disagree.
Very few landlords buy new builds.
A significant number of people who are renting are paying enough weekly to service a mortgage.
The govt should be encouraging new home ownership and discouraging landlords from hoovering up even more stock.
People need a stake in society,and home ownership is a vital one.
Young NZ'ers will vote with their feet.
Landlords are a parasitic blight albeit a rational blight,given the appeal of unearned income and untaxed CG.
Sorry but I disagree with you. Private landlords are providing a service. Imagine how many more state houses would be needed if all private landlords exited the market tomorrow.
"A significant number of people who are renting are paying enough weekly to service a mortgage." – if this is the case, then I would strongly advise them to stop renting and buy but I think you will find they are usually unable to or don't have a deposit.
How would the private landlords exit?….by selling their stock perhaps?…to who?….first home buyers, or the gov?.
Or would there be a mass arson event?
As I pointed out in my first post, a lot of people are living with their parents, or perhaps flatting with others, or in a boarding situation.
So, if those people buy houses from landlords, the availability of houses for rent will decline. It is not a zero effect on housing supply.
"Very few landlords buy new builds."
I think you should provide evidence to justify that statement.
If it is true, then it is because the government isn't giving the right incentives to make it worthwhile.
What I think would be good would be for the government to incentivise the building and renting of long-term rentals (10-20 years) so they can have the stability of home ownership at what should be a lower cost than paying a mortgage.
Is your rental a new build?
You have only supplied personal anecdotes yourself…no hard evidence.
All the landlords I know concentrate on existing homes.
Weathertight issues and the uncertainty around completion costs are factors that deter them from new builds.Understandable.
I believe mortgage interest is deductible still on new builds only.
Not quite…
"The Government intends to limit the ability to deduct interest to make residential properties a less attractive investment option and to help level the playing field for first home buyers.
The proposal is that, from 1 October 2021, interest will not be deductible for residential property acquired on or after 27 March 2021. For properties acquired before 27 March 2021, generally investors’ ability to deduct interest will be phased out between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2025. Some properties are excluded from these rules and some exemptions are proposed."
https://taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/en/publications/2021/2021-other-interest-limitation/1-proposals-at-a-glance
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Out of interest, how much capital gain has the property made in the last couple of years?
Probably quite a bit as it's in a nice part of Auckland and I have owned it for a long time and don't intend to sell it. But how is that relevant?
Chances are you have obtained a 250k or so capital gain in the last year or two – so you could consider that when thinking about going after your tenants for some other comparatively minor cost increase.
A shout out to Swordfish and Gezza.
Cheers, Patricia … appreciate the moral support.
And best wishes to Gezza.
So glad Poto Williams has brought in 3 strikes for unruly tenants. Cheers.
Fascinating, pre-print study from UK ("Safety, tolerability and viral kinetics during SARS-CoV-2 human challenge").
They purposely infected 36 healthy people in 18-30 year old bracket with the original (pre-Delta and Omicron) Covid. None had been vaccinated nor previously had Covid. Only 18 got infected, and all were mild-moderate symptoms. Lateral flow testing was not perfect, but worked very well with detecting presence of Covid when infectious.
It reinforces what we know: it's predominantly a disease of age and co-morbidity. Omicron in particularly is known to be significantly less serious for hospitalisation and death, as European countries infections have skyrocketed but hospitalisation and death plateaued.
Obviously, the same study on older and those with co-morbidities would have higher infection and serious symptoms rate, but I don't believe an exponential increase given the average age of Covid deaths in UK has been roughly the life expectancy.
Boosting has little impact on infection and transmission of Omicron, and unclear longer-term reduction of hospitalisation and death . Also, unless you wear FFP2/N95 mask properly and once only, then mask wearing has very little impact but significant social cost.
Solution? Have easy and targeted access to vaccines for those at higher risk. Emphasize reduction of risks from co-morbidities through healthier lifestyle and cheap lateral flow testing at home. Have clear, non-partisan information on the benefits and risks (without exaggerating either) of vaccine for others, like Japan has done.
Emphasize understand that we will all get it (and can spread it) at some point – vaccinated or not – and enable people to make their own risk assessment and choice on how to respond. Fund Covid pills for all, to further reduce likelihood of hospitalation or death. Structural investment in health system for flexibility for future pandemics.
Give information and access, and trust people to make decisions for themselves – like for every other health issue.
No vaccine mandates or passports, no forced self-isolation, no lockdowns, no mandated masks, no traffic lights, no "experts" daily sermons, no relentless fear.
Move forward.
If you live to the average age of death then you actually have about 5-7ish (IIRC) years of life yet – that's because people die in infancy (still) and as teenagers – it's a thing called survivorship bias – being healthy means you live to an old age and the converse being old means you are healthy. What you want to look at is life expectancy at birth which the kingsfund did.
"There have been two turning points in trends in life expectancy in England in the past decade. From 2011 increases in life expectancy slowed after decades of steady improvement, prompting much debate about the causes. Then in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic was a more significant turning point, causing a sharp fall in life expectancy the magnitude of which has not been seen since World War II."
"By 2019, life expectancy at birth in England had increased to 79.9 years for males and 83.6 years for females (see Figure 2). However, the Covid-19 pandemic caused life expectancy in 2020 to fall to 78.6 years for males and to 82.6 years for females, the level of a decade ago."
https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/whats-happening-life-expectancy-england
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You don't make policy for older people based on 36 young people.
What are these covid pills? Ivermectin? It's not redemsivir because that is intravenous.
You totally ignores the effect of long-covid.
I'm picking a move backwards to the "grand illusion" of BAU, but time will tell.
coolcool. Now infect 36,000 and see how many drop dead. 🙄
Yeah…nah.
That is an awful lot to infer from experimental infection of only 36 people with the less-infectious original Wuhan strain. And the authors of the study certainly don't conclude or suggest the various things you are concluding – and they weren't trying to study any of that (or design their experiment to study any of that).
Did you notice that they only inoculated the subjects nasally – which is less dangerous than inoculation directly to deeper parts of the respiratory tract, which is what can occur in natural settings? And they used a low and controlled infectious dose. There was no evidence at all of lung disease in these subjects – when we know most of the many people in hospital with Covid (including those without apparent co-morbidities) have viral pneumonia.
Think I'll take my medical advice from actual experts.
Here is the link to the preprint
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-1121993/v1
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Public Opinion on Three Waters Reform: [Latest One News Kantar Poll (formerly Colmar Brunton)]:
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Public Opinion on New Zealand's Official Name: [One News Kantar / Colmar Brunton Poll Sep 2021]:
Interestingly, based on the partial ethnic breakdowns provided … I'm guessing that close to half of Māori [possibly a little more than half] want to stick with New Zealand.
Who exactly is demanding an official change?
I'd say next to no-one and this is all an exercise by Hobson's Choice/ACT/various other white supremacists groups to stir the pot, needlessly.
Oh I did that poll and voted Aotearoa New Zealand. Interesting finding that 58% want to keep it as NZ. As a pragmatist, changing our name like changing the flag will cost money and I rather see that money spent on paying nurses decent wages, free dental treatment to name but two. In general front line workers. I am afraid I half agree with David Seymour on Govt Depts, extra staff and high wages. $93,000 for example average in Education ministry I think he said. Make these Ministrys justify what they do. Eg Ministry of Children. What have they done that has improved the lot of children in this country? I am listening, cause I could be wrong about this so open to hearing actual outcomes from this ministry that have improved the lot of children.
It is pretty obvious what children need. Adequate food, housing, education, health care and dentistry. And hopefully good parenting/love (which the govt has less control over).
Finally people are beginning to feel safe speaking truth to power…
"Although landlord greed seems to be the primary target of the new housing policies, there is an even larger, greedier actor behind the housing markets: banks. Without the eagerness of banks to lend increasing amounts of debt onto the shoulders of owner-occupiers and residential investors, the current obscene prices would not be possible. Arguably, loosely regulated bank lending is the central reason behind the gulf between house prices and household incomes in New Zealand and around the world."
https://www.interest.co.nz/public-policy/114201/if-banks%E2%80%99-lending-behaviour-found-have-contributed-nz%E2%80%99s-housing-quagmire-banks
Not that every vested interest and their dog wont continue with their misdirection.
Good article.
States the obvious imo.
This-'If banks’ lending behaviour is found to have contributed to New Zealand’s housing quagmire then banks must be held to account and share the pain when the bubble inevitably bursts.'
Good luck with any Govt having success with…that!
They could have success if they had the courage….but it is worth considering who is responsible for regulating the banks and the reason why they have been allowed to create the mother of all property bubbles.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/127674468/acts-david-seymour-mocks-red-queen-jacinda-ardern-in-stateofnation-speech
someone may of posted this already. David Seymour going all out right wing. This will appeal to a small but significant number of voters.
labour will be worried by this
I'm sure you mean -National will be worried by..this.
Meant Labour. National will go for the centre vote that Labour has captured and Act for the libertarian right vote,
Labour and National both.
Interesting for the environmentally conscious.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/460839/rules-helping-foreign-investors-turn-nz-farmland-into-forestry-reviewed
Keith Woodford has some excellent analysis of this issue on Interest.co. nz.