But the important thing is to create the right impression in the public mind. As long as everyone feels that climate change is being dealt with, political pressure to do more will abate. Remember that, in democracy, the sheeple rule. Weight of numbers.
Minster Shaw has done a fairly average job in his two terms – in the same league as Stuart Nash for portfolio performance.
But there's a chance he'll return out of COP 26 with political upside.
There's also a chance he will get some redemption in May 2022 Budget with his whole-of-government plan and budget implications.
If he can continue to keep National on side through the Carbon Plan rollout as he has through the legislation, he will have embedded his plan for future Parliaments.
That makes for a tough first half of 2022 for him, but there's all to play for.
I am not a fan of the current set up of the green party, i find all of them without expection to be overhyped at best, useless at worst. So yeah, they will try and milk it for what its worth, being a MP beats working in real live – see covid – and the pay is much better too.
As i said, MPs, money for nothing perks for life, go elect us, what else would we be good for. 2023.
Don't trees absorb Carbon? Carbon from fossil fuel burning. We are constantly told that trees do exactly that, and people need to stop felling trees. Why is planting trees a farce?
because we cut them faster then we can plant them or they can grow into something large enough to be cut again.
Unless we leave these trees in the ground for the next say 300 years to actually become old forests you are playing nothing more then a losing game of catch up.
But hey, he got to go to Scotland during a pandemic, and now he can pretend to bring home some solutions – like we haven't known that we should be planting trees since the late 70's early 80's when trees died of acid rain.
But then, they birth one of them every year, and they grow into adults and really believe that know one knew until they came along and told us so.
Planting trees, a farce? Replanting the lost forests and woodlands of the planet is the most important action we can take to ensure our survival. The benefits of tree-planting extend far beyond the simple carbon issue you’re describing. In fact, I'd call those benefits immeasurable.
You are correct of course, planting trees does extend beyond the simple carbon issue.
However, pretending that it will do much or even save something (us) is a farce, considering that we cut our forrests far quicker then we ever plant them. Heck, go to suburbia, and count the trees. Guess what, they are the first thing to go in order to make way for carports and concreted over places for the 6 cars of the 6 adults living in a three bedroom house.
So yeah, he is quite right, it is a farce to make believe that we are actually doing something. But we don't.
But in saying that, i will plant some more trees, to make up for the 8 trees that were cut down on the property on the other side of the fence to make way for ……cars!!!, never mind the birds that have been made homeless. But lets blame cats for that.
I may be wrong, but unless those trees are burnt for fuel, the carbon remains within the timber surely ?.Yes, they are no longer taking carbon from the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis,but the actual carbon they've gathered is not lost . The felled trees then need to be replaced with seedlings which will uptake carbon at a faster rate than mature trees (still uptaking carbon at a lower rate, but overall at a still significant rate )
More trees, forests in perpetuity, longer rotations , higher value for forestry plantations, more of the continuous canopy forestry model
Thats a bit of an issue with what society pays an income for. But there is a huge real payoff to certain reforestation projects which we don't get from the timber industry (though I suspect timber is better than farming for carbon sequestration, as its usually replanted).
Felled trees in a forestry situation tend to be milled into timber.I sure hope that wooden framing and cladding doesn't start decomposing straight away
Decomposing wood ( from naturally fallen trees) becomes part part of the current carbon cycle , carbon released to the atmosphere taken up again by those hopefully replanted forests .This carbon is separate from that released by burning fossil fuels. It's essential for the integrity of the carbon cycle that felled trees are immediately replaced by new plantings.
Dead right Tricledrown. But it would be more to our credit to rapidly phase out exotic pines from NZ totally. Indigenous forests only – short term pain but long term – total sense.
Pine whist in the short term does buy us time in consuming CO2. But at what cost to the long term uniqueness to NZ. And will that not and have created other problems, as they spread beyond the man made forrests ? "Wilding conifers are invasive weeds that threaten to permanently alter the unique landscapes that are only found in New Zealand."
Perhaps we need deeper thinkers to the solution and not take the easiest option
I said thinking planting trees to offset fossil fuel us is a farce ,dir to the fact that anywhere that a tree gets planted was most likely home to a tree we (royal we)cut down in the past, so at best we are only capturing the carbon lost from that action
Carbon gets released when the trees cut down? Dont think so.
It entirely depends on the next steps for the cut trees (and the land they are grown on)… do they rot back into the soil, are they burnt, used for building materials, or making furniture? Unless burnt, the carbon eventually ends up back in the soil and sequestered, as long as the soil is looked after.
And that is the key, protect the soil, and we sequester carbon. Traditional monoculture tree growing and clearfelling techniques are not good because of the damage to the soil during growing and after harvest.
Carbon is carbon, it doesn't care where it comes from (fossil fuels or whatever)
If you increase carbon in standing biomass (by planting trees in places that are currently not forest), this will absorb carbon from the atmosphere for as long as the increased biomass remains.
Yeahbut we could plant the whole planet and it would not offset 1 bit of carbon released since Og accidentally burnt the cave down when his shiny new hearth stones turned out to be the until then unknown coal.
But people just wrap themselves up in the feel good cloak of planting a few trees and charging along as normal.
Until scientists come up with a viable carbon capture you going to be a slowly roasted prawn my friend
If you take a hillside currently in pasture, and you reforest it, that area of land is sequestering carbon until it reaches a climax forest state. At the point, leave it the fuck alone (ie don't treat it like a grab bag of resources), because as Robert points out, there are multiple benefits to a forest. Maybe it's a wild forest, maybe it's a food forest, maybe it can be selectively logged, maybe it's part of a grazing system. But leave it there.
NZ has a very large amount of land that we could do this with. Here's the rub: you can't use it as a swap for releasing GHGs. We would have to use it as a carbon sink and reduce GHG emissions at the same time.
We also know that regenerative agriculture both reduces emissions and sequesters carbon, if done well it's a net sink. Think about all the pasture on the planet that is currently being ploughed every year (releasing carbon) and what would happen if we stopped ploughing (far less carbon release) and managed the land regeneratively (carbon stored permanently as the soil rebuilds).
Again, do that and reduce GHGs emissions at the same time, don't use it as a trade off to burn fossil fuels or do industrial dairying.
If we had any bloody sense we would be giving our R and D sector (private and government) shit loads of funding because those techs already exist. But hey, people want to believe in the fantasy of high tech CCS that doesn't even exist yet instead of what is already in our backyards. That's the problem we face right now.
As that grassy hill was once forest, when you plant it you are just recapturing the carbon released when it was cleared, (that doesn't make it a bad thing to do .)
What I'm saying is this fucking delusion that many ,including this government and Mr Shaw, think that planting trees here or in brazil will offset carbon being released now. It won't .
We have been releasing carbon since we made our first adze and mastered fire through deforestation so any planting can only recapture that carbon ,
What humans and nature did prior to the Industrial Revolution was largely manageable for the planet within the natural carbon cycle. There are some notable exceptions, but it wasn’t significantly from human activities.
There are regenag people who make the claim that regenag can sequester all the carbon released by humans since the IR. Whether that's overstating and by how much I don't know, but it is true that regenag can sequester more carbon than is commonly thought. eg Joel Salatin says over something like five decades he's rebuilt inches of topsoil on his farm. Mainstream scientists say it takes millennia to do that (I'm being rough with my figures here, don't have them in my head).
For your theory to be true, the amount of carbon released when the paddock deforested would have to be the same or more than the carbon captured when the forest is replanted. The account would also need to take into account the growing deficit over the decades since then globally.
But ultimately this is reductionist thinking. From a whole systems point of view, we have to reforest, restore native ecosystems, and convert pasture and cropping to regenag, because those are the things that put us back in the natural carbon cycle. We also have to stop polluting the atmosphere further. Whether all of that is enough, I doubt that anyone knows, but it's still the right thing to do because the only way that life on earth, including our own, will survive is if we become part of those natural cycles again.
And yes, NZ's climate commitment of buying credits from other countries so we can still have industrial export dairying is insane. But guess who voted for this? It wasn't James Shaw.
Salatin explained that the farm his family has been on since the 1960s was inexpensive to purchase because it was poor quality land due to years of adverse soil practices. To illustrate that, he told how there wasn't even enough topsoil to anchor posts from which to string electric fencing wire.
But years of focus on soil health has added 12 inches of soil with a high percentage of organic material, he said.
Someone else can look up the amount of carbon lost on that land when it was originally degraded, because I find the focus on linear maths a cul de sac without the whole systems view.
Lynn has things to say about why he thinks the maths are wrong on sequestration (to do with long geological time frames) but I’ve not understood his points well.
"What humans and nature did prior to the Industrial Revolution was largely manageable.." IMO the dramatic increase of the world pop., increase in life expectancy + improvements in standard of living appears to align with the graph on "global primary energy by source". Never come across this site before, has some interesting information/data.
Yes I was taken back by this – Such info should be widely circulated as to the immense size of the issue. Unfortunately it is very deflating, and if any in Glasgow are honest there is IMO a massive trade off that we have to face. Screw the planet and suffer the consequences the .005% will be ok. or allow humans to manage the issue and face massive issues pop. reduction and reduced living stds and hope that the consequences are less severe.
I personally believe (and it is a belief) that we still have time to do this in an ok way. I don't fear the Powerdown because I've lived most of my adult life with the benefits of that kind of living and I know many others that are the same. I get the good aspects of that in my bones.
I also rate regenag highly for its ability to both produce food/materials and restore ecological sanity. NZ can probably produce food for other places in the world regeneratively, and large land masses like the US can too. We've seen that urban farming is successful, and that humans can work together.
The biggest issue is we just don't have the stories of how to do this in the mainstream and many people are addicted to high consumption lifestyles and just can't imagine being ok without them.
In September 2019 prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced that New Zealand history would be taught in all schools from 2022.
It felt like a momentous decision given abundant evidence that most students left school having had little or no exposure to the history of their own country. Generations of New Zealanders had grown up without even a basic awareness of pivotal moments in the nation’s past, unable to understand how events like the nineteenth-century New Zealand Wars and subsequent land confiscations resonated today in myriad ways, including in the often dire socio-economic statistics of Māori communities around the country.
Aotearoans have been performing their long march out of colonialism for many decades. Perhaps this sees them entering the home straight?
In 1992 Arlana Delamere was in her final year of secondary school at Green Bay High School in Auckland. Students opting to take history as part of the seventh form (now year 13) syllabus were offered two choices: Tudor and Stuart England or 19th-century New Zealand. Except in many cases the decision had already been made for them by their schools, which offered a choice of English history or nothing.
Arlana’s father, and future Cabinet minister, Tuariki John Delamere, was working in Wellington as a negotiations manager at the Treaty of Waitangi Policy Unit when he received a phone call from his upset daughter. “She was in her last year of high school in Auckland. And she wants to study New Zealand history and found out she couldn’t, she could only study British history, and she was pretty incensed about it. She thought this is bullshit.”
It's related to why Auckland cops call their HQ Bullshit Castle. Obviously the police hierarchy are required to administer neo-colonialist procedures, so the ranks are just calling a spade a spade. And you can't blame teachers for teaching what was required in the 19th century during the 21st century. The inertial effect of bureaucracy rolls on forever. Until the PM threw the binary switch on them!
So now we'll get pakeha teachers trying to teach our history from a Maori perspective as well as from a settler perspective. That'll be fun! Will they wheel in a token Maori instead? Treaty zealots will point out that each school ought to have a Maori teacher on staff to provide historical balance – but you can expect the Education Dept bureaucrats to die in the ditches trying to prevent such progress from happening…
Also personally looking forward to Matariki next year.
I suspect it's going to be a day of national relief. One to say thanks to each other.
Never ceases to amaze me how well New Zealand has held together despite all the potential for ethnic division that could have been caused over the last two years.
German teachers are teaching German history from the perspective of the victims. It can actually be done, without issues and without guilting the kids for the sins of their forfathers. We call it 'denazification', 'umerziehumg' – to turn education over. Surely this too can be done here, unless you are saying that Pakeha teacers – which is every one bar Maori, are unable to do so. And frankly that would be a very sad statement from you on behalf of teachers.
The irony in those comments by DF, RL whoever is they're from a coloniser POV, yet they don't see that. "Why can't we all just be one people". It'll get better.
I am worried about one thing, namely that hte education runs down to 'all whites are racists'.
I was ashamed as an eleven year old – Sister Rosa did a good job, it helped that she was alive during the time a student in Munich. The White Rose ment something to her physically, emotionally and intellectually. Maybe that was the difference. But i went on to try to find 'good germans'. It makes for funny adults later in life.
Dachau is a place 60 kms from where i live, let me tell you something, Everyone knew what was going on, everyone was aware of whom was killed there, and everyone was scared shitless that they too could have ended up in the ovens. that is something that i understood much later in life.
So i really really hope that the MOE drives a fine line of education of the past as written by those that were killed, removed from their lands, raped and hanged, but still understands and teaches that they white kids of today – are not the perpetrator, heck some may not even be 'Kiwis' but first generations immigrants.
A fine line indeed. And frankly i am not sure our calibre of government stooges is actually able to create that curriculum.
It is a great idea but I remember the seventies debacle on trying to have a maori teacher of Maori in all secondary schools. What a ballsup.
Also what about all the Conservative Private schools? Can you imagine them avidly teaching the errors of colonialism and settler attitudes (still prevalent now).
I thought that was pretty dumb as well. But it happens I learned history at school from an Austrian (also the German teacher). While we were covering the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I brought the idea that Nagasaki was bombed in the knowledge that Japan was ready to surrender, to class. Now either that wasn't in the curriculum or you had to be Japanese to teach it like that (and no, I didn't get that idea from anybody who is Japanese).
I was taught the History of the British Empire and Commonwealth by a Tanzanian Gujarati history teacher in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) as a kid – absolutely riveting version!
That was US American History and Austria was also occupied by the US. I guess there is so much more to the nuclear bombings of Japan that hte US would not want taught. Even in Germany you will be hard pressed to find much history teaching of US modern history that reflects the voices of Native and African American and Mexican voices.
Sister Rosa walked us through these bombings and we left this particular scene of slaughter with the knowledge that no one can claim moral superiority and do such an act, not to win, but to enforce total submission.
As i said, it can be done. But it actually takes courage.
a curious thing i noticed with this development – a concentration on 19th century wars only.
aotearoa's history is fascinating, with a lot more to discover yet
but it needs to go way back to the currently understood beginning and, if it is going to include conflict, include all conflicts, pre-euro as well. The arrivals of the polynesians is fascinating, as is their rapid spread around the islands, their societal changes a couple centuries after arrival, on it goes …
i fear the curriculum will be selective though and not comprehensive, with less appealing components left out, as is always the case
Cool, thanks I'll check it out. Have been devouring anything and everything on NZ history the last couple years, plus anything and everything anthropological… early manwoman walking out of africa, the numerous hominid species and their interactions, the constant colonisation and recolonisation of lands since forever, how late they lived (very recently and the source of our 'myths' around fairies, mountain people, bigfoot, etc the world over I think). The entire area is on a very steep upwards trajectory of increasing knowledge..
As a teacher of Year 7&8s, with degree in History and a wide reading of New Zealand history, I'm fucking incensed at your patronising bullshit, Dennis.
Yes, I'm male, yes I'm Pakeha, yes I'm old, but none of that invalidates my ability to lead students through the history of their own country. We will cover as much pre colonial as we can. Early contacts, Te Tiriti, The New Zealand wars, the ongoing affects of colonisation, the role of women, and plenty more.
Okay, you're an exception to the rule, good for you. I'm reflecting my experience of the education system, from a prior generation. Would be good if today's teachers were more like you! We lack any evidence to assume they are.
Maybe you should put that disclaimer up first, or last what ever, before essentially proclaiming that you don't think todays teachers don't pass the muster.
Sometimes one must be provocative to flush out the truth of things. Emotional reactions from those who see things differently are understandable. However we haven't had the kind of mass signalling from the establishment that would persuade us that a substantial shift has occurred. Until someone fronts with evidence on the points I made, I'll probably have to keep making those points.
I just reread what I wrote and can't see any evidence to validate your claim. I'm not responsible for any guilt trip that teachers impose upon themselves.
Well that's good to know. I sure as hell didn't, in Taranaki in the '50s – nor at Intermediate, here in New Plymouth. Nor at college in Wanganui.
And my dad's father, who told me his grandfather had lived in Parihaka, failed to fill in any details of that. Being a kid when he mentioned it, I never thought it might be worth asking. If it were not for the `seen but not heard' ethos in regard to children, I may have expressed curiosity. He never even said his grandad was a soldier at the time – maybe wasn't told.
That is you. Many of my contempories had enterly different experiences.
And, When I was Teaching, I met burnt out Teachers, frustrated Teachers, mediocre Teachers, superb Teachers and everything in between. But very few that didn't care deeply about the job, and the kids they were Teaching.
The “time servers” were rare, and tended to roost in private or high decile schools where they could go home at 1500.
Several of my older Pakeha relatives, gone now of course, taught in "Native Schools" in Maori and English. Looking back, they helped inform that generation of Maori activism. Being almost all "old soldiers" and or trade Unionists, and sceptical of "English Imperialism".
I found history fascinating at high school (Christchurch), and the teachers enthusiastic and interesting.
They were all pakeha – but among other things, all were deeply cynical about the motives, attitudes and behaviour of the British and other colonialists.
One way to teach history, Dennis, is to use books. Books on history written from different perspectives. Teachers then teach their students about bias.
Teachers then recognise their own bias, as well. My Training College tutor had a trilogy of knowledge he passed on to me fifty years ago- "First, know yourself, then your students, then your subject'.
I taught History. Part of the course was NZ History. At the end of the year, I asked my students to tell me how I voted, based on perceived bias in my teaching. More than half got it wrong.
It is possible to teach without undue bias. Part of the role of history teacher is to explain historical bias, to help students recognise it and factor it into their own thinking- be it national, religious, cultural, class, political.
The unusual nature of history teaching is the reality that same practice I was giving to students to account for bias in the authorial content of the books they were reading was also directed at their own innate bias, and that of their teacher.
All in an ideal world, of course.
And I am, for these reasons and for general knowledge, understanding, the development of literary and argumentative skills and the need for evidence to support opinions, in favour of this government’s move to teach our history. Having been a part of this history for 72 years, I can see the need…….
I agree that teaching kids how to read bias is a good idea. Psychology around that tends to come from social niche as matrix, so shifting outside that square is a mental trick. Hard to do first time, then gets easier the more you do it.
I think you were probably more insightful than most teachers. Interpreting stuff does require a grasp of nuance most teachers lack.
One thing I learnt from being forty years in the teaching game.
People who have been to school think they know about teaching. Another thing is that people certainly remember who they call bad teachers, and some times the influential teacher/s in their lives. That then informs their judgment upon teaching as a practice,
That's like me knowing about medicine because I've been a patient, or coaching because I've been a player, or parenting because I've been a son.
Dennis, you missed an important point in my first comment- the need for evidence to back up opinions. You criticised current teachers, without offering evidence, when you wrote, “Would be good if today's teachers were more like you! We lack any evidence to assume they are.”
Upon what research do you base that last sentence? Your only evidence so far is based on your own schooling, like mine, many years ago.
‘Reckons’ are not enough.
I have been a teacher. I have been a relief teacher thereby seeing what other teacher's classrooms are like. I have read reports on students written by fellow teachers. I have been a parent on parent interview nights using my own teaching smarts to evaluate what I am hearing.
Unlike most, I have been a counselor/student discipline staff member. That work took me to the teachers who were struggling with a student. I heard both sides of the issue. I went into classrooms on a regular and uninvited basis. I walked the corridors during teaching time. I brokered agreements between staff and students. I read the comments on students written by teachers.
I wrote leaving assessments on students for years based on information from their teachers, on reports from every staff member.
For years I ran a Friday afternoon bar in the staffroom where I remained as a sober host observing my fellows as they processed a week's efforts.
I am married to a teacher and observed her practice and her colleagues.
I have been a student teacher, observing possibly fifty teachers in four schools in a year, a house master and a coach where I met other teachers. I have been on courses with teachers from other schools, and been on trips away with staff and students. I have socialised with staff on weekend fishing trips, been on two school boards as a parent representative and served on the local REAP.
Finally, I ended my working life as a school cleaner, interacting with teachers in their classrooms at the end of their working day, after the students had gone. I observed their classrooms.
I even cleaned the graffiti off their students' desks.
In all that 45 years experience, I did not meet many poor teachers.
Well, that's all worth considering. What comes to mind is the old adage that `the road to hell is paved with good intentions'. Can you actually quote sections of the curriculum which prove today's teachers are required to supplement the teaching of settler history with the teaching of Maori history?
Okay, let's assume you do understand that a draft document is a suggestion, not policy. As such, it is a scenario indicating a possible future for the nation. My comments have been in regard to the status quo, as a perpetual recycling of the past. Hypotheticals irrelevant.
Yeah but this sub-thread dealt with Mac's prior experience so I commented on that basis. I agree that the future looks brighter so if you think the draft rectifies history, I'll take your word for it. I'm not in leisure time currently (working on a project) so happy to try & be a wee bit more selective (re attacking public servants)…
Dennis, as a student and once a teacher of history, I know that even if the curriculum specifies 1840 as a starting point, there are always needing to be considered and taught the factors existing at 1840 that came from an earlier time.
This is why, when we teach the history of WW1 for example, that we don't begin on 28 July 1914. The context of that conflict goes back to 1870 and beyond.
Similarly, the Treaty of Waitangi did not come out of a vacuum.
Similarly, the Treaty of Waitangi did not come out of a vacuum.
It was – in the context of the era – a quite remarkable agreement. It was for instance the first time I know of that an indigenous peoples were granted citizenship in the empire of the world super-power of the day. Nor should we omit the Victorian motivation to eradicate chattel slavery. We all know this didn't play out perfectly – but it's still a turning point in world affairs.
Equally we tend to overlook Maori motivations – after 40 years of internal genocide many chiefs understood the need for change. The best parallel I can think of was the formation of the UN in the immediate aftermath of WW2. That didn’t turn out perfect either – but remains a monumental step in the right direction.
The signing of the Treaty was in many ways a brave and idealistic endeavour on both sides – an idea that can be celebrated and unite us as a nation.
One of the most moving tributes I ever saw was in Manchester in a square where I saw a statue of Abraham Lincoln.
Wondering why that should be there, I read the words on the plinth that were a 'respectful address' in 1862 to the President of the US supporting him in his fight against 'chattel slavery' from the Guilds, or Unions, of Manchester.
These were of course the cotton workers of Manchester who had a meeting and decided to support Lincoln even though they were hurting because of the blockade of the South and its cotton.
What a big-hearted, magnanimous gesture of these workers looking beyond their own interests to those of black American slaves.
In Birmingham cathedral that year they were honouring the 200th anniversary of the fight against slavery, which included an account of a huge meeting in the cathedral of antislaver citizens addressed by William Wilberforce in 1807.
The Treaty came out of that period of enlightenment.
Thanks for that insight mac1. Also there had been a wholehearted embrace of Christianity across Maori culture, sadly snuffed out by the betrayals of the settlers stealing Maori land for the decades following 1840. But there are still a few reminders of those fervent days, in the Ratana churches, and remembrance of Te Whiti and Parihaka.
Damn right. The United Tribes flag means something real! I think our future as Aotearoa will have to blend Te Tiriti with multiculturalism though.
We're fortunate that genetics invalidated racism. No word yet on how Moriori relate genetically to Maori, as far as I know, or if the Waitaha independent origin is real rather than legend…
Thanks mac. Both my parents were teachers and I can relate to what you have said here very much.
Not all teachers are the same, and there will always be those who are remembered for something special. But overall it's my sense that almost all are there for the kids.
Dennis, Ministry of Education not Department of Education. That changed 30 years ago.
Yes some Decile 1 2 3 schools may find the change challenging, but not as challenging as a whole of curriculum change, with the syllabus arriving with the children on the first day of school, as happened with National and then minister Lockwood Smith.
There was no training for its implementation for 12 long months.
This current change has been well signaled and resourced. Courses, resource people, units of work are being developed for each region as well as online resources
Southern DHB member Ilkha Beekhuis was the only member of the Southern DHB to vote against this motion yesterday.
The SDHB motion voted for by all members apart from Ilka Beekhuis: ‘‘Southern DHB, thankful to all those involved in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout programme, acknowledges achieving the milestone of 90% of the population receiving at least one dose; AND, with a commitment to the equitable protection of our people, is determined to meet a result of at least 90% double vaccinated for all ethnic groups (Maori, Pasifika, Asian, European and other), all age groups, and all urban and rural communities across the district.’’
It seems the DHB member is anti-vaccination. Clearly she struck to her principles and wouldn't vote a congratulations and a commitment. It is easy to conclude she thinks that the best Covid vaccination rate for the SDHB region is 0%.
"Ms Beekhuis said she had been approached by ‘‘an alarming number of people in our community who are experiencing life-changing reactions to the Covid vaccination’’.
‘‘I’ve personally been told of heart attacks, blood clots, renal problems, unexplainable pain, a loss of menstruation, and breast pain.’’
It's a wonder she didn't chuck in car crashes, inability to sleep and a desire to eat lots of chocolate.
If I were on the board I'd have fun forming motions to elicit her support to expose her attitudes. So insane of course the rational people, the others there, would vote against them.
"Motion: That the SDHB encourage all residents to not have covid vaccinations and do everything in its power to prevent campaigns encouraging it." She'd be into that boots and all.
The members are representative of the public. I suppose that would reflect the % of outliers. We thought the internet would inform, not misinform. Thanks Pete.
Speaking of history, both Māori and Pakeha, in two day's time it will be Parihaka Day, the 5th of November. And yes it is high time Aotearoa recognised this as a replacement for Guy Fawkes. 140 years ago on the 5th November 1881 government forces invaded the peaceful Māori settlement of Parihaka. They were met with children playing and offering bread. No one was killed on that day but in the days following rape and pillage was experienced. Parihaka is as important to us as Waitangi. It is our "Thanksgiving".
Popular in North America is to celebrate the grace shown by the indigenous peoples even when they had been invaded and and had their land and way of life stolen. So too Parihaka and what it stands for is an inspiration and source of pride for us all.
Yeah, good one Keith, I'll back you on that. The deep history of Parihaka needs to be clarified in our public life. My reading of Dick Scott's account long ago revealed Te Whiti's non-violent politics as seminal & inspiration for Gandhi.
Neo-colonialists would say, `yeah but he was a communist'. Well, so what? Moral righteousness is the question. Settler land-grabs based on the selling of common land that no Maori had a right to sell was a popular strategy. There's ongoing murk around chiefly entitlement to sell common land, not to mention whatever chiefly mana was held by those who signed the contract, rightly or wrongly…
Facebook Inc is now Meta Platforms Inc, and the company is squarely focused on pivoting into building a new virtual world, the eponymous ‘metaverse’. ‘Metaverse’ itself is a spectacularly unspecific word, which means different things depending on who you ask.
Postmodern thinking requires a world to be user-defined. The cult of individualism creates a supportive matrix for that.
Particularly for Aucklanders stuck working from home in a doom spiral of endless Zoom calls, the idea that anyone would actually choose to forgo an in-person social experience to inhabit a virtual room in the metaverse might be hard to imagine.
Zoom into that room to meet your doom.
Fortnite has rapidly morphed from a game to a social network, with over 250 million users, and a majority of those citing Fortnite’s social elements as their main reason for ‘playing’… Fortnite serves as an embryonic case study of what Facebook touts as the future.
Real world too boring? Try another world.
In July this year, President Joe Biden actually said that Facebook “was killing people”
Or maybe he virtually said that. Hard to tell nowadays…
In his novel Rainbows End Vernor Vinge explored this theme extensively.
There are many realities to choose from in the novel; however, the largest and more robust of them are built by large user bases in the manner of a wiki or Second Life. The confederation of users that contribute to the virtual world is called a belief circle. Several belief circles are presented in the novel, including worlds based on authors such as H. P. Lovecraft, Terry Pratchett, and the fictional Jerzy Hacek. Also mentioned are worlds based on the artwork of M. C. Escher, and fictional entertainment companies such as SpielbergRowling. The Egan Soccer set piece can also be seen as a type of subscribed Belief Circle.
This whole idea of "Belief Circles" is perhaps the most interesting – the idea that we could lose our social coherence and diverge into mutually exclusive populations with relatively little in the way of overlapping language, beliefs and values. To my mind this is a good example of taking tech modernity too damn far – chillingly so.
In this I can understand how a world view that emphasises a connection with nature and the physical demands of life can still play a vital role in anchoring humanity into at least one common reality. This is partly why I don't throw rocks at say Robert G and weka who are the main proponents of this here – while I disagree quite strongly on some points with them – that does not mean I want to diminish or reject that world view either.
The question worth asking here is this – if a high tech reality divides us into mutually incomprehensible fragments, and a reversion to the pre-industrial world dismantles modernity and globalisation – what belief system might unite us as a single species? What would it look like?
Incidentally, in consequence of your recommendation to us a while back, I acquired a couple of his books from a reseller & enjoyed them in recent months.
lose our social coherence and diverge into mutually exclusive segments with relatively little in the way of overlapping language, beliefs and values
Cultural morphing does seem to include devolving along with evolving.
Philosophically, this suggests a differentiation process along with an integration process, together producing the building of community. When it comes to non-local community-building, such as online social media, humans seem to default to differentiating. I suspect the cult of individualism drives that.
We evolved as social animals. Despite the ebb in the influence of nature and local community in our matrix, we have an internal drive to socialise.
if a high tech reality divides us into mutually incomprehensible fragments, and a reversion to the pre-industrial world dismantles modernity and globalisation – what belief system might unite us as a single species?
Depends which buttons in the psyche get pushed. We are motivated by desires, needs, fears, enthusiasms, and the necessity of decision-making choices. Onsite here, politics is spectator sport only. No thrill from participation. I contribute in the hope that folks will be stimulated into thought – a somewhat tepid altruism. Unity, in contrast, can only ever arrive on a genuine basis. Sufficient common interest. Collective survival threats looming may suffice…
Yeah, reminds us that it is actually possible for rightists to maintain an intelligent conversation. The search for the right rightists is always the problem.
Hoover was ranked as the tenth most influential think tank in the world in 2020 by Academic Influence, and the 22nd of the "Top Think Tanks in the United States" by the Global Go To Think Tank Index Report in 2019
Belief circles is only one of many scenarios and I would argue develop independent of technology anyway e.g. gated communities, expensive white suburbs, religion, cults, gangs, etc.
It is easy to ignore the benefits – greater awareness of world events in real time as well, connections with people you would never have made otherwise – my 30+ year old son is friends with people he met playing online when he was 8 (and yes they have met face to face), increased awareness and reading and research capabilities, the ability to build communities like this blog where different voices are heard – often over issues that I would never have come across/considered previously, increased productivity, reduced travel to and from work, the ability to read historical documents and books, etc, etc, etc.
“…what belief system might unite us as a single species? What would it look like?”
Animism 🙂
The mutually exclusive segmenting you describe is already occurring in society, at a rapidly increasing pace, but where it's going to impact most, is intra-personal; that is, inside of the head/mind of each of us. We're going to find/are finding greater and greater numbers of anomalies/misconceptions/contradictory beliefs, in our own minds. This, I believe, is the challenge facing us all 🙂
Yes. It was a big story here in WA for weeks. The cops dropped a hint a few nights ago that they were hopeful of a positive outcome.
From what I've seen the search and investigation were done well – as anything can be in such circumstances. Credit to the police and all those who've worked on this.
Let's see the numbers when AKL goes into Level 2. How high is the number of jobs currently subsidised via the Government? And could that be counted as 'seasonal' unemployment, or would that be cycnical? Seriously, lets call these last 12 weeks of covid unemployment by numbers.
And last, do we still count people who work at least one hour paid as 'employed'?
But nice numbers here. Looking good, forge ahead, lets move on.
18000 people off the job seekers means an annual saving well over $200 million. Instead, they're earning and paying tax. At the same time, wages go up; more money in circulation.
However the "underutilisation rate" is 9.2%. That includes people like me who are under-employed – e.g. have a part-time/casual job but need more hours and permanent work.
unemployment looks good at glance until you realise that
a. most jobs are created in Auckland, how many of these are covid realted? Jabbers and Contract Tracers in particular.
b. women are still way behind men. – nevermind though.
c. unterutilasation is over 10% for women, its better for men thus the under 10% number
d. 0 hour contracts are still high with 350.000+ people still working on the basis of these 'contracts' – essentially these guys have no job, but are on a on call / casual position at best.
e. how many of hte jobs in auckland – specifically hairdressers, retail, hospitality are hanging on due to the wage subsidy – ditto waikato, for what its worth, its starting to look shaky in Level 2 country too.
last, i don't expect anyone to really answer my questions as to how low ‘fulltime employment is’.
All of those scenarios are included in the underutilisation figures. Underutilisation is everyone who wants to work full time (30 hours/week) but isn't, whether they are not employed or working 1 hour a month, or 29.75 hours a week, or anything between those points.
Hence the calculation in my answer to your question.
That said, agree that 30 hours on current wages will not always be enough to live on, but then, 100 hours (total) isn't enough for many families, so addressing that isn't solely a matter of more hours.
It was 10.5% in the last release 3 months ago, so that's a significant drop as well. Women dropped from from 13% to 10.9% which is the lowest rate in the table, which dates back to 2004.
Does Judith Collins ever sound like a reasonably normal decent woman? On Radio NZ this morning she was, as usual, sarcastic, snide, unpleasant as she carped on about the PM going to Auckland.
Dr Reti on the other hand was quite the opposite. Don't know how he stomachs working with his leader.
Had a third dose of vaccine today, apparently not fully approved so had to answer questions and sign a special consent, just had to check I had a bandaid to be sure I had had it. Seems to have had less impact each dose, I'll have to be careful or ill find myself going out to get more doses for fun.
There’s a clear choice involved here. As Fallow concludes, a lot of the injured innocence emanating from those in council offices now clutching their precious water assets to their chest like so many Gollums, smacks more of a desire to protect jobs for the boys than a credible defence of local democracy. For people who gave Labour a clear mandate to govern at the last election, Three Waters is one of the few examples (so far) where the government seems prepared to spend its political capital on delivering an unpopular, widely misunderstood but essential package of reform.
Well done to the guy who gets in front of them with his climate change sign (and annoys one woman in particular!). Then we are treated to the anti-vax message from another woman, who really needs a hug.
The woman in the video said Ardern is on notice for crimes against humanity. If we switched that to neoliberalism, housing and poverty policies, and climate/ecology, isn't the statement hyberbole but containing some kind of truth?
It’s hard to know when to give up on something you like that consistently disappoints you, a lesson QAnon supporters learned for the umpteenth time when at least 100 conspiracists gathered in Dealey Plaza in Dallas on Tuesday. The die-hards — who have kept the plot in the air despite its likely architect bailing on Q after the Capitol riot — traveled to the place where John F. Kennedy was assassinated 58 years ago this November in the hope that his son, JFK Jr., would appear and reveal himself as their no longer anonymous leader.
But that didn’t stop rallygoers from wondering if they saw other deceased celebrities — like Robin Williams, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Michael Jackson — joining them at the rally. In the end, all they got were their “Trump-JFK Jr. 2021” T-shirts and an ouroboros moment for American conspiracism
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...
Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...
The Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...
It took a post-post-cabinet statement to confirm that 810 new beds will be built at Waikeria, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Lili Tokaduadua was only 15 when she left her family in Fiji to pursue her netball dream in New Zealand. She’d been playing the sport for 10 years and was offered a netball scholarship at Auckland’s Howick College. Now, in her first year out of high school, the 19-year-old defender ...
The beloved local grocers lost a legal challenge to stop a new cycleway outside their store. Joel MacManus reports. In the annals of New Zealand legal history, there are a few brave people who have dared to stand up to the powers that be, no matter how bleak the odds ...
How what we produce and what we eat connects us to the world beyond our shores, visualised. Walking around a supermarket or vege shop, it might be obvious that everything on the shelves came from somewhere. But you might ...
Opinion: Last week, important recommendations for our criminal justice system were made by the international community. Every five years, each member of the United Nations has its human rights practices reviewed. This rolling event – the Universal Periodic Review – is the culmination of a government reporting on its human ...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1, or bird flu – has been flying around the world since the late 1990s. New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it’s been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it’s only a matter of time ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 7 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The following interview with auto electrician and former caver Stu Berendt, 68, of Charleston on the West Coast, came about because he was part of the caving team that found the rare and amazing fossil remains of the giant Haast eagle, the subject of one of the year’s best books, ...
A $1.8b funding boost for Pharmac still won’t enable it to buy more drugs, raising questions about the Government’s approach to the agency The post Can Pharmac do more with the same pot of money? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Professor Jemma Geoghegan, of the University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, co-leads a Te Niwha project aimed at understanding how and where avian influenza could affect Aotearoa New Zealand, as the highly infectious H5N1 virus spreads globally. The virus has now spread to all continents except Oceania and was recently ...
Thirty years on from Rwanda’s genocide, is guilt over the atrocities is blinding the world to the true nature of its current leadership? The post The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regime appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Stokan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. ...
Wansolwara The news media’s crucial role in climate change and environment journalism was the focus of The University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme 2024 World Press Freedom Day celebrations. The European Union Ambassador to the Pacific, Barbara Plinkert, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna were the chief ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Adams, Professor of Corporate Law & Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus, University of New England Last August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against Qantas. The consumer watchdog accused the airline of selling thousands of tickets ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne I covered the May 2 United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Blackpool South parliamentary byelection was also held, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you love a dark comedy: Bodkin (Netflix, May 9)An English podcaster, an Irish podcaster and American podcaster walk into a pub and…make a TV show? ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment of ...
The Boil Up’s Lucinda Bennett considers the oyster – from freshness to pearls to the joy of shucking your own. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. In Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘Eight Bites’, a woman begins her last supper before bariatric surgery with “a cavalcade ...
Asia Pacific Report A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine. They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by ...
The Student Volunteer Army is on the march, generating approximately 1.6 million hours of volunteering from roughly 35,000 secondary school students in just five years. For Rebekah Brown, the pathway to volunteering started with her singing coach. With a passion for the arts, the suggestion to volunteer at Acting Antics, ...
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/126851003/can-we-pay-other-countries-to-save-the-climate-for-us-should-we
You do understand that planting forests can only replace the carbon those forests released when they were cut down?
Planting trees to offset fossil fuels is farce of the the highest order.
farce
But the important thing is to create the right impression in the public mind. As long as everyone feels that climate change is being dealt with, political pressure to do more will abate. Remember that, in democracy, the sheeple rule. Weight of numbers.
DF, I am sure the sheeple would not feel that cc is being dealt with if they were properly informed about this issue.
Where are the media on this travesty? Absent as usual because the vested interests(their advertisers and owners) prefer to push neoliberalism.
A great question for the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw.
He is the Minister responsible.
He was supposed to have the entire plan ready next month – but we will now wait until May 2022.
Surely there will be an election and once more we be will be bedazzled with all the things they will do if we were to just elect them. Lol.
Ministers of Parliament, Money for nothing and perks too. Vote 2023
Minster Shaw has done a fairly average job in his two terms – in the same league as Stuart Nash for portfolio performance.
But there's a chance he'll return out of COP 26 with political upside.
There's also a chance he will get some redemption in May 2022 Budget with his whole-of-government plan and budget implications.
If he can continue to keep National on side through the Carbon Plan rollout as he has through the legislation, he will have embedded his plan for future Parliaments.
That makes for a tough first half of 2022 for him, but there's all to play for.
I am not a fan of the current set up of the green party, i find all of them without expection to be overhyped at best, useless at worst. So yeah, they will try and milk it for what its worth, being a MP beats working in real live – see covid – and the pay is much better too.
As i said, MPs, money for nothing perks for life, go elect us, what else would we be good for. 2023.
Every party has useless timeservers, and also those who are past their prime.
I don't see evidence Shaw is one of those.
Be great if Davidson stepped aside for swarbrick so we could see some actual progress
Don't trees absorb Carbon? Carbon from fossil fuel burning. We are constantly told that trees do exactly that, and people need to stop felling trees. Why is planting trees a farce?
because we cut them faster then we can plant them or they can grow into something large enough to be cut again.
Unless we leave these trees in the ground for the next say 300 years to actually become old forests you are playing nothing more then a losing game of catch up.
But hey, he got to go to Scotland during a pandemic, and now he can pretend to bring home some solutions – like we haven't known that we should be planting trees since the late 70's early 80's when trees died of acid rain.
But then, they birth one of them every year, and they grow into adults and really believe that know one knew until they came along and told us so.
Planting trees, a farce? Replanting the lost forests and woodlands of the planet is the most important action we can take to ensure our survival. The benefits of tree-planting extend far beyond the simple carbon issue you’re describing. In fact, I'd call those benefits immeasurable.
You are correct of course, planting trees does extend beyond the simple carbon issue.
However, pretending that it will do much or even save something (us) is a farce, considering that we cut our forrests far quicker then we ever plant them. Heck, go to suburbia, and count the trees. Guess what, they are the first thing to go in order to make way for carports and concreted over places for the 6 cars of the 6 adults living in a three bedroom house.
So yeah, he is quite right, it is a farce to make believe that we are actually doing something. But we don't.
But in saying that, i will plant some more trees, to make up for the 8 trees that were cut down on the property on the other side of the fence to make way for ……cars!!!, never mind the birds that have been made homeless. But lets blame cats for that.
I may be wrong, but unless those trees are burnt for fuel, the carbon remains within the timber surely ?.Yes, they are no longer taking carbon from the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis,but the actual carbon they've gathered is not lost . The felled trees then need to be replaced with seedlings which will uptake carbon at a faster rate than mature trees (still uptaking carbon at a lower rate, but overall at a still significant rate )
More trees, forests in perpetuity, longer rotations , higher value for forestry plantations, more of the continuous canopy forestry model
Decomposing wood also releases carbon. Reforestration for carbon sequestration purposes needs to be more or less permanent.
and that is the issue, innit, if you leave the trees standing then there is no real profit.
Thats a bit of an issue with what society pays an income for. But there is a huge real payoff to certain reforestation projects which we don't get from the timber industry (though I suspect timber is better than farming for carbon sequestration, as its usually replanted).
Felled trees in a forestry situation tend to be milled into timber.I sure hope that wooden framing and cladding doesn't start decomposing straight away
Decomposing wood ( from naturally fallen trees) becomes part part of the current carbon cycle , carbon released to the atmosphere taken up again by those hopefully replanted forests .This carbon is separate from that released by burning fossil fuels. It's essential for the integrity of the carbon cycle that felled trees are immediately replaced by new plantings.
Agree. Even if you don't fell the forest trees die and are replaced.
Our Wilding pines are soaking up carbon but no credit's.
Dead right Tricledrown. But it would be more to our credit to rapidly phase out exotic pines from NZ totally. Indigenous forests only – short term pain but long term – total sense.
Pine whist in the short term does buy us time in consuming CO2. But at what cost to the long term uniqueness to NZ. And will that not and have created other problems, as they spread beyond the man made forrests ? "Wilding conifers are invasive weeds that threaten to permanently alter the unique landscapes that are only found in New Zealand."
Perhaps we need deeper thinkers to the solution and not take the easiest option
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/weeds/common-weeds/wilding-conifers/
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/biosecurity/long-term-biosecurity-management-programmes/wilding-conifers/
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/399192/green-rush-will-pines-really-save-the-planet
The environment doesn't care about uniqueness.
The environment doesn't care about ethnicities.
Nor should we.
I said thinking planting trees to offset fossil fuel us is a farce ,dir to the fact that anywhere that a tree gets planted was most likely home to a tree we (royal we)cut down in the past, so at best we are only capturing the carbon lost from that action
"so at best we are only capturing the carbon lost from that action"
Exactly. A very useful thing to do.
Carbon gets released when the trees cut down? Dont think so.
It entirely depends on the next steps for the cut trees (and the land they are grown on)… do they rot back into the soil, are they burnt, used for building materials, or making furniture? Unless burnt, the carbon eventually ends up back in the soil and sequestered, as long as the soil is looked after.
And that is the key, protect the soil, and we sequester carbon. Traditional monoculture tree growing and clearfelling techniques are not good because of the damage to the soil during growing and after harvest.
Carbon is carbon, it doesn't care where it comes from (fossil fuels or whatever)
If you increase carbon in standing biomass (by planting trees in places that are currently not forest), this will absorb carbon from the atmosphere for as long as the increased biomass remains.
Yeahbut we could plant the whole planet and it would not offset 1 bit of carbon released since Og accidentally burnt the cave down when his shiny new hearth stones turned out to be the until then unknown coal.
But people just wrap themselves up in the feel good cloak of planting a few trees and charging along as normal.
Until scientists come up with a viable carbon capture you going to be a slowly roasted prawn my friend
this is simply not true b.
If you take a hillside currently in pasture, and you reforest it, that area of land is sequestering carbon until it reaches a climax forest state. At the point, leave it the fuck alone (ie don't treat it like a grab bag of resources), because as Robert points out, there are multiple benefits to a forest. Maybe it's a wild forest, maybe it's a food forest, maybe it can be selectively logged, maybe it's part of a grazing system. But leave it there.
NZ has a very large amount of land that we could do this with. Here's the rub: you can't use it as a swap for releasing GHGs. We would have to use it as a carbon sink and reduce GHG emissions at the same time.
We also know that regenerative agriculture both reduces emissions and sequesters carbon, if done well it's a net sink. Think about all the pasture on the planet that is currently being ploughed every year (releasing carbon) and what would happen if we stopped ploughing (far less carbon release) and managed the land regeneratively (carbon stored permanently as the soil rebuilds).
Again, do that and reduce GHGs emissions at the same time, don't use it as a trade off to burn fossil fuels or do industrial dairying.
If we had any bloody sense we would be giving our R and D sector (private and government) shit loads of funding because those techs already exist. But hey, people want to believe in the fantasy of high tech CCS that doesn't even exist yet instead of what is already in our backyards. That's the problem we face right now.
time I wrote a post about this, grr.
here's one from May,
https://thestandard.org.nz/regenerative-agriculture-and-climate-solutions/
Your not understanding me.
As that grassy hill was once forest, when you plant it you are just recapturing the carbon released when it was cleared, (that doesn't make it a bad thing to do .)
What I'm saying is this fucking delusion that many ,including this government and Mr Shaw, think that planting trees here or in brazil will offset carbon being released now. It won't .
We have been releasing carbon since we made our first adze and mastered fire through deforestation so any planting can only recapture that carbon ,
What humans and nature did prior to the Industrial Revolution was largely manageable for the planet within the natural carbon cycle. There are some notable exceptions, but it wasn’t significantly from human activities.
There are regenag people who make the claim that regenag can sequester all the carbon released by humans since the IR. Whether that's overstating and by how much I don't know, but it is true that regenag can sequester more carbon than is commonly thought. eg Joel Salatin says over something like five decades he's rebuilt inches of topsoil on his farm. Mainstream scientists say it takes millennia to do that (I'm being rough with my figures here, don't have them in my head).
For your theory to be true, the amount of carbon released when the paddock deforested would have to be the same or more than the carbon captured when the forest is replanted. The account would also need to take into account the growing deficit over the decades since then globally.
But ultimately this is reductionist thinking. From a whole systems point of view, we have to reforest, restore native ecosystems, and convert pasture and cropping to regenag, because those are the things that put us back in the natural carbon cycle. We also have to stop polluting the atmosphere further. Whether all of that is enough, I doubt that anyone knows, but it's still the right thing to do because the only way that life on earth, including our own, will survive is if we become part of those natural cycles again.
And yes, NZ's climate commitment of buying credits from other countries so we can still have industrial export dairying is insane. But guess who voted for this? It wasn't James Shaw.
I wrote a post about it yesterday. https://thestandard.org.nz/alt-cop26-get-in-line-or-get-out-of-the-way/
Scale:
https://www.agweek.com/business/4532073-salatin-talks-fixes-soil-nd-soil-conservation-meeting
Someone else can look up the amount of carbon lost on that land when it was originally degraded, because I find the focus on linear maths a cul de sac without the whole systems view.
Lynn has things to say about why he thinks the maths are wrong on sequestration (to do with long geological time frames) but I’ve not understood his points well.
"What humans and nature did prior to the Industrial Revolution was largely manageable.." IMO the dramatic increase of the world pop., increase in life expectancy + improvements in standard of living appears to align with the graph on "global primary energy by source". Never come across this site before, has some interesting information/data.
https://ourworldindata.org/energy-production-consumption
https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-growth
very good.
Also that graph, if anyone still thinks we're going to replace fossil fuels with renewables and have BAU, lol.
Yes I was taken back by this – Such info should be widely circulated as to the immense size of the issue. Unfortunately it is very deflating, and if any in Glasgow are honest there is IMO a massive trade off that we have to face. Screw the planet and suffer the consequences the .005% will be ok. or allow humans to manage the issue and face massive issues pop. reduction and reduced living stds and hope that the consequences are less severe.
I personally believe (and it is a belief) that we still have time to do this in an ok way. I don't fear the Powerdown because I've lived most of my adult life with the benefits of that kind of living and I know many others that are the same. I get the good aspects of that in my bones.
I also rate regenag highly for its ability to both produce food/materials and restore ecological sanity. NZ can probably produce food for other places in the world regeneratively, and large land masses like the US can too. We've seen that urban farming is successful, and that humans can work together.
The biggest issue is we just don't have the stories of how to do this in the mainstream and many people are addicted to high consumption lifestyles and just can't imagine being ok without them.
Dr Vincent O’Malley is a New Zealand writer and historian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2021/nov/02/new-zealands-children-will-all-soon-study-the-countrys-brutal-history-its-not-before-time
Aotearoans have been performing their long march out of colonialism for many decades. Perhaps this sees them entering the home straight?
It's related to why Auckland cops call their HQ Bullshit Castle. Obviously the police hierarchy are required to administer neo-colonialist procedures, so the ranks are just calling a spade a spade. And you can't blame teachers for teaching what was required in the 19th century during the 21st century. The inertial effect of bureaucracy rolls on forever. Until the PM threw the binary switch on them!
So now we'll get pakeha teachers trying to teach our history from a Maori perspective as well as from a settler perspective. That'll be fun! Will they wheel in a token Maori instead? Treaty zealots will point out that each school ought to have a Maori teacher on staff to provide historical balance – but you can expect the Education Dept bureaucrats to die in the ditches trying to prevent such progress from happening…
Instead of taking a general sneer at MoE and teaching, why not just celebrate it as a good policy idea being implemented.
It is a great idea & should be celebrated. The next few generations are going to be awesomely well informed.
Also personally looking forward to Matariki next year.
I suspect it's going to be a day of national relief. One to say thanks to each other.
Never ceases to amaze me how well New Zealand has held together despite all the potential for ethnic division that could have been caused over the last two years.
German teachers are teaching German history from the perspective of the victims. It can actually be done, without issues and without guilting the kids for the sins of their forfathers. We call it 'denazification', 'umerziehumg' – to turn education over. Surely this too can be done here, unless you are saying that Pakeha teacers – which is every one bar Maori, are unable to do so. And frankly that would be a very sad statement from you on behalf of teachers.
The irony in those comments by DF, RL whoever is they're from a coloniser POV, yet they don't see that. "Why can't we all just be one people". It'll get better.
I am worried about one thing, namely that hte education runs down to 'all whites are racists'.
I was ashamed as an eleven year old – Sister Rosa did a good job, it helped that she was alive during the time a student in Munich. The White Rose ment something to her physically, emotionally and intellectually. Maybe that was the difference. But i went on to try to find 'good germans'. It makes for funny adults later in life.
Dachau is a place 60 kms from where i live, let me tell you something, Everyone knew what was going on, everyone was aware of whom was killed there, and everyone was scared shitless that they too could have ended up in the ovens. that is something that i understood much later in life.
So i really really hope that the MOE drives a fine line of education of the past as written by those that were killed, removed from their lands, raped and hanged, but still understands and teaches that they white kids of today – are not the perpetrator, heck some may not even be 'Kiwis' but first generations immigrants.
A fine line indeed. And frankly i am not sure our calibre of government stooges is actually able to create that curriculum.
But it can be done.
Have you had a look at The Good Germans, by Catrine Clay? I've been winding through it recently.
It is a great idea but I remember the seventies debacle on trying to have a maori teacher of Maori in all secondary schools. What a ballsup.
Also what about all the Conservative Private schools? Can you imagine them avidly teaching the errors of colonialism and settler attitudes (still prevalent now).
You know that was 50 years ago right?
It is not my preference that I happen to be a septuagenarian and that I happened to be a teacher at the time !
I too was a teacher at that time, and I would add that this is exactly the kind of area where history does tend to repeat..
I thought that was pretty dumb as well. But it happens I learned history at school from an Austrian (also the German teacher). While we were covering the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I brought the idea that Nagasaki was bombed in the knowledge that Japan was ready to surrender, to class. Now either that wasn't in the curriculum or you had to be Japanese to teach it like that (and no, I didn't get that idea from anybody who is Japanese).
I was taught the History of the British Empire and Commonwealth by a Tanzanian Gujarati history teacher in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) as a kid – absolutely riveting version!
That was US American History and Austria was also occupied by the US. I guess there is so much more to the nuclear bombings of Japan that hte US would not want taught. Even in Germany you will be hard pressed to find much history teaching of US modern history that reflects the voices of Native and African American and Mexican voices.
Sister Rosa walked us through these bombings and we left this particular scene of slaughter with the knowledge that no one can claim moral superiority and do such an act, not to win, but to enforce total submission.
As i said, it can be done. But it actually takes courage.
a curious thing i noticed with this development – a concentration on 19th century wars only.
aotearoa's history is fascinating, with a lot more to discover yet
but it needs to go way back to the currently understood beginning and, if it is going to include conflict, include all conflicts, pre-euro as well. The arrivals of the polynesians is fascinating, as is their rapid spread around the islands, their societal changes a couple centuries after arrival, on it goes …
i fear the curriculum will be selective though and not comprehensive, with less appealing components left out, as is always the case
A text I've really enjoyed recently is Pakeha Settlements in a Maori World: New Zealand Archaeology 1769-1860.
Fleshes out the Anne Salmond series with the plans, artefacts, and initial interactions.
Cool, thanks I'll check it out. Have been devouring anything and everything on NZ history the last couple years, plus anything and everything anthropological… early manwoman walking out of africa, the numerous hominid species and their interactions, the constant colonisation and recolonisation of lands since forever, how late they lived (very recently and the source of our 'myths' around fairies, mountain people, bigfoot, etc the world over I think). The entire area is on a very steep upwards trajectory of increasing knowledge..
Thanks Have noted that.
As a teacher of Year 7&8s, with degree in History and a wide reading of New Zealand history, I'm fucking incensed at your patronising bullshit, Dennis.
Yes, I'm male, yes I'm Pakeha, yes I'm old, but none of that invalidates my ability to lead students through the history of their own country. We will cover as much pre colonial as we can. Early contacts, Te Tiriti, The New Zealand wars, the ongoing affects of colonisation, the role of women, and plenty more.
So don't give me that sanctimonious crap.
Give teachers the credit they deserve.
Well said Stephen
Okay, you're an exception to the rule, good for you. I'm reflecting my experience of the education system, from a prior generation. Would be good if today's teachers were more like you! We lack any evidence to assume they are.
Maybe you should put that disclaimer up first, or last what ever, before essentially proclaiming that you don't think todays teachers don't pass the muster.
Sometimes one must be provocative to flush out the truth of things. Emotional reactions from those who see things differently are understandable. However we haven't had the kind of mass signalling from the establishment that would persuade us that a substantial shift has occurred. Until someone fronts with evidence on the points I made, I'll probably have to keep making those points.
nah, you were just insulting pretty much any non Maori teacher in this country.
I just reread what I wrote and can't see any evidence to validate your claim. I'm not responsible for any guilt trip that teachers impose upon themselves.
no teacher here, but what ever.
Going by my mostly Pakeha Teachers in the 60's and 70's, they were well aware of NZ's colonial history and it's effects. And taught us about it.
I learnt about Parihaka and Te Whiti, at primary school, in Taranaki, in the 60's, for example.
Well that's good to know. I sure as hell didn't, in Taranaki in the '50s – nor at Intermediate, here in New Plymouth. Nor at college in Wanganui.
And my dad's father, who told me his grandfather had lived in Parihaka, failed to fill in any details of that. Being a kid when he mentioned it, I never thought it might be worth asking. If it were not for the `seen but not heard' ethos in regard to children, I may have expressed curiosity. He never even said his grandad was a soldier at the time – maybe wasn't told.
That is you. Many of my contempories had enterly different experiences.
And, When I was Teaching, I met burnt out Teachers, frustrated Teachers, mediocre Teachers, superb Teachers and everything in between. But very few that didn't care deeply about the job, and the kids they were Teaching.
The “time servers” were rare, and tended to roost in private or high decile schools where they could go home at 1500.
Several of my older Pakeha relatives, gone now of course, taught in "Native Schools" in Maori and English. Looking back, they helped inform that generation of Maori activism. Being almost all "old soldiers" and or trade Unionists, and sceptical of "English Imperialism".
I found history fascinating at high school (Christchurch), and the teachers enthusiastic and interesting.
They were all pakeha – but among other things, all were deeply cynical about the motives, attitudes and behaviour of the British and other colonialists.
One way to teach history, Dennis, is to use books. Books on history written from different perspectives. Teachers then teach their students about bias.
Teachers then recognise their own bias, as well. My Training College tutor had a trilogy of knowledge he passed on to me fifty years ago- "First, know yourself, then your students, then your subject'.
I taught History. Part of the course was NZ History. At the end of the year, I asked my students to tell me how I voted, based on perceived bias in my teaching. More than half got it wrong.
It is possible to teach without undue bias. Part of the role of history teacher is to explain historical bias, to help students recognise it and factor it into their own thinking- be it national, religious, cultural, class, political.
The unusual nature of history teaching is the reality that same practice I was giving to students to account for bias in the authorial content of the books they were reading was also directed at their own innate bias, and that of their teacher.
All in an ideal world, of course.
And I am, for these reasons and for general knowledge, understanding, the development of literary and argumentative skills and the need for evidence to support opinions, in favour of this government’s move to teach our history. Having been a part of this history for 72 years, I can see the need…….
I agree that teaching kids how to read bias is a good idea. Psychology around that tends to come from social niche as matrix, so shifting outside that square is a mental trick. Hard to do first time, then gets easier the more you do it.
I think you were probably more insightful than most teachers. Interpreting stuff does require a grasp of nuance most teachers lack.
One thing I learnt from being forty years in the teaching game.
People who have been to school think they know about teaching. Another thing is that people certainly remember who they call bad teachers, and some times the influential teacher/s in their lives. That then informs their judgment upon teaching as a practice,
That's like me knowing about medicine because I've been a patient, or coaching because I've been a player, or parenting because I've been a son.
Dennis, you missed an important point in my first comment- the need for evidence to back up opinions. You criticised current teachers, without offering evidence, when you wrote, “Would be good if today's teachers were more like you! We lack any evidence to assume they are.”
Upon what research do you base that last sentence? Your only evidence so far is based on your own schooling, like mine, many years ago.
‘Reckons’ are not enough.
I have been a teacher. I have been a relief teacher thereby seeing what other teacher's classrooms are like. I have read reports on students written by fellow teachers. I have been a parent on parent interview nights using my own teaching smarts to evaluate what I am hearing.
Unlike most, I have been a counselor/student discipline staff member. That work took me to the teachers who were struggling with a student. I heard both sides of the issue. I went into classrooms on a regular and uninvited basis. I walked the corridors during teaching time. I brokered agreements between staff and students. I read the comments on students written by teachers.
I wrote leaving assessments on students for years based on information from their teachers, on reports from every staff member.
For years I ran a Friday afternoon bar in the staffroom where I remained as a sober host observing my fellows as they processed a week's efforts.
I am married to a teacher and observed her practice and her colleagues.
I have been a student teacher, observing possibly fifty teachers in four schools in a year, a house master and a coach where I met other teachers. I have been on courses with teachers from other schools, and been on trips away with staff and students. I have socialised with staff on weekend fishing trips, been on two school boards as a parent representative and served on the local REAP.
Finally, I ended my working life as a school cleaner, interacting with teachers in their classrooms at the end of their working day, after the students had gone. I observed their classrooms.
I even cleaned the graffiti off their students' desks.
In all that 45 years experience, I did not meet many poor teachers.
Well, that's all worth considering. What comes to mind is the old adage that `the road to hell is paved with good intentions'. Can you actually quote sections of the curriculum which prove today's teachers are required to supplement the teaching of settler history with the teaching of Maori history?
Great way to sneer at a lifetime of public service Dennis.
Since you're too lazy to look, here's the draft curriculum. Figure it out for yourself with some actual reading.
Social sciences / The New Zealand Curriculum / Kia ora – NZ Curriculum Online (tki.org.nz)
You being silly? What part of the word draft don't you understand yet?
Stop being lazy and insulting at the same time. Read it first. Then comment. It helps with thinking.
Okay, let's assume you do understand that a draft document is a suggestion, not policy. As such, it is a scenario indicating a possible future for the nation. My comments have been in regard to the status quo, as a perpetual recycling of the past. Hypotheticals irrelevant.
To correct you, your comment started precisely about the new history curriculum.
Don't try and re-write your own commenting history in the course of a morning.
You have developed a very bad habit of attacking public servants and you need to stop.
Yeah but this sub-thread dealt with Mac's prior experience so I commented on that basis. I agree that the future looks brighter so if you think the draft rectifies history, I'll take your word for it. I'm not in leisure time currently (working on a project) so happy to try & be a wee bit more selective (re attacking public servants)…
Dennis, as a student and once a teacher of history, I know that even if the curriculum specifies 1840 as a starting point, there are always needing to be considered and taught the factors existing at 1840 that came from an earlier time.
This is why, when we teach the history of WW1 for example, that we don't begin on 28 July 1914. The context of that conflict goes back to 1870 and beyond.
Similarly, the Treaty of Waitangi did not come out of a vacuum.
Similarly, the Treaty of Waitangi did not come out of a vacuum.
It was – in the context of the era – a quite remarkable agreement. It was for instance the first time I know of that an indigenous peoples were granted citizenship in the empire of the world super-power of the day. Nor should we omit the Victorian motivation to eradicate chattel slavery. We all know this didn't play out perfectly – but it's still a turning point in world affairs.
Equally we tend to overlook Maori motivations – after 40 years of internal genocide many chiefs understood the need for change. The best parallel I can think of was the formation of the UN in the immediate aftermath of WW2. That didn’t turn out perfect either – but remains a monumental step in the right direction.
The signing of the Treaty was in many ways a brave and idealistic endeavour on both sides – an idea that can be celebrated and unite us as a nation.
One of the most moving tributes I ever saw was in Manchester in a square where I saw a statue of Abraham Lincoln.
Wondering why that should be there, I read the words on the plinth that were a 'respectful address' in 1862 to the President of the US supporting him in his fight against 'chattel slavery' from the Guilds, or Unions, of Manchester.
These were of course the cotton workers of Manchester who had a meeting and decided to support Lincoln even though they were hurting because of the blockade of the South and its cotton.
What a big-hearted, magnanimous gesture of these workers looking beyond their own interests to those of black American slaves.
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/from-the-archive-blog/2013/feb/04/lincoln-oscars-manchester-cotton-abraham
In Birmingham cathedral that year they were honouring the 200th anniversary of the fight against slavery, which included an account of a huge meeting in the cathedral of antislaver citizens addressed by William Wilberforce in 1807.
The Treaty came out of that period of enlightenment.
Thanks. That makes the linkage of ideas I was looking for far better than I managed.
Thanks for that insight mac1. Also there had been a wholehearted embrace of Christianity across Maori culture, sadly snuffed out by the betrayals of the settlers stealing Maori land for the decades following 1840. But there are still a few reminders of those fervent days, in the Ratana churches, and remembrance of Te Whiti and Parihaka.
.
Oh for chrissakes, don't mention the Musket Wars, RL ! … the wars that dare not speak their name among polite Upper-Middle Woke Society !
Spoils the highly paternalistic Noble Savage Romanticism.
God knows I've been burned on that one before, but I thought to sneak it in one more time under the taiaha as it were.
Damn right. The United Tribes flag means something real! I think our future as Aotearoa will have to blend Te Tiriti with multiculturalism though.
We're fortunate that genetics invalidated racism. No word yet on how Moriori relate genetically to Maori, as far as I know, or if the Waitaha independent origin is real rather than legend…
Thanks mac. Both my parents were teachers and I can relate to what you have said here very much.
Not all teachers are the same, and there will always be those who are remembered for something special. But overall it's my sense that almost all are there for the kids.
Dennis, Ministry of Education not Department of Education. That changed 30 years ago.
Yes some Decile 1 2 3 schools may find the change challenging, but not as challenging as a whole of curriculum change, with the syllabus arriving with the children on the first day of school, as happened with National and then minister Lockwood Smith.
There was no training for its implementation for 12 long months.
This current change has been well signaled and resourced. Courses, resource people, units of work are being developed for each region as well as online resources
Southern DHB member Ilkha Beekhuis was the only member of the Southern DHB to vote against this motion yesterday.
SDHB member votes against 90% motion | Otago Daily Times Online News (odt.co.nz)
Couldn't even get herself to vote a congratulations and a commitment.
Hey Ilkha, come the merger, don't let that door hit you on the way out.
It seems the DHB member is anti-vaccination. Clearly she struck to her principles and wouldn't vote a congratulations and a commitment. It is easy to conclude she thinks that the best Covid vaccination rate for the SDHB region is 0%.
"Ms Beekhuis said she had been approached by ‘‘an alarming number of people in our community who are experiencing life-changing reactions to the Covid vaccination’’.
‘‘I’ve personally been told of heart attacks, blood clots, renal problems, unexplainable pain, a loss of menstruation, and breast pain.’’
It's a wonder she didn't chuck in car crashes, inability to sleep and a desire to eat lots of chocolate.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/dhb-member-voiced-‘grave-concerns’-about-jab-mandate
If I were on the board I'd have fun forming motions to elicit her support to expose her attitudes. So insane of course the rational people, the others there, would vote against them.
"Motion: That the SDHB encourage all residents to not have covid vaccinations and do everything in its power to prevent campaigns encouraging it." She'd be into that boots and all.
🤩nice one Pete
The members are representative of the public. I suppose that would reflect the % of outliers. We thought the internet would inform, not misinform. Thanks Pete.
I see she has a management background and no medical training. Not the person to go to for medical advice.
https://hcocharitabletrust.co.nz/about/trustees/ms-ilka-beekhuis/
Speaking of history, both Māori and Pakeha, in two day's time it will be Parihaka Day, the 5th of November. And yes it is high time Aotearoa recognised this as a replacement for Guy Fawkes. 140 years ago on the 5th November 1881 government forces invaded the peaceful Māori settlement of Parihaka. They were met with children playing and offering bread. No one was killed on that day but in the days following rape and pillage was experienced. Parihaka is as important to us as Waitangi. It is our "Thanksgiving".
Popular in North America is to celebrate the grace shown by the indigenous peoples even when they had been invaded and and had their land and way of life stolen. So too Parihaka and what it stands for is an inspiration and source of pride for us all.
Yeah, good one Keith, I'll back you on that. The deep history of Parihaka needs to be clarified in our public life. My reading of Dick Scott's account long ago revealed Te Whiti's non-violent politics as seminal & inspiration for Gandhi.
Neo-colonialists would say, `yeah but he was a communist'. Well, so what? Moral righteousness is the question. Settler land-grabs based on the selling of common land that no Maori had a right to sell was a popular strategy. There's ongoing murk around chiefly entitlement to sell common land, not to mention whatever chiefly mana was held by those who signed the contract, rightly or wrongly…
Some of it was "those stupid Pakeha, paying for something they cannot take away".
Different cultures and world veiws.
Irish Return an Old Favor, Helping Native Americans Battling the Virus – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Fave new world:
Postmodern thinking requires a world to be user-defined. The cult of individualism creates a supportive matrix for that.
Zoom into that room to meet your doom.
Real world too boring? Try another world.
Or maybe he virtually said that. Hard to tell nowadays…
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/metaverse-is-the-future-but-not-facebooks
In his novel Rainbows End Vernor Vinge explored this theme extensively.
This whole idea of "Belief Circles" is perhaps the most interesting – the idea that we could lose our social coherence and diverge into mutually exclusive populations with relatively little in the way of overlapping language, beliefs and values. To my mind this is a good example of taking tech modernity too damn far – chillingly so.
In this I can understand how a world view that emphasises a connection with nature and the physical demands of life can still play a vital role in anchoring humanity into at least one common reality. This is partly why I don't throw rocks at say Robert G and weka who are the main proponents of this here – while I disagree quite strongly on some points with them – that does not mean I want to diminish or reject that world view either.
The question worth asking here is this – if a high tech reality divides us into mutually incomprehensible fragments, and a reversion to the pre-industrial world dismantles modernity and globalisation – what belief system might unite us as a single species? What would it look like?
Vernor Vinge
Incidentally, in consequence of your recommendation to us a while back, I acquired a couple of his books from a reseller & enjoyed them in recent months.
lose our social coherence and diverge into mutually exclusive segments with relatively little in the way of overlapping language, beliefs and values
Cultural morphing does seem to include devolving along with evolving.
Philosophically, this suggests a differentiation process along with an integration process, together producing the building of community. When it comes to non-local community-building, such as online social media, humans seem to default to differentiating. I suspect the cult of individualism drives that.
We evolved as social animals. Despite the ebb in the influence of nature and local community in our matrix, we have an internal drive to socialise.
if a high tech reality divides us into mutually incomprehensible fragments, and a reversion to the pre-industrial world dismantles modernity and globalisation – what belief system might unite us as a single species?
Depends which buttons in the psyche get pushed. We are motivated by desires, needs, fears, enthusiasms, and the necessity of decision-making choices. Onsite here, politics is spectator sport only. No thrill from participation. I contribute in the hope that folks will be stimulated into thought – a somewhat tepid altruism. Unity, in contrast, can only ever arrive on a genuine basis. Sufficient common interest. Collective survival threats looming may suffice…
You really don't have to agree with everything being said here, but interesting all the same:
Yeah, reminds us that it is actually possible for rightists to maintain an intelligent conversation. The search for the right rightists is always the problem.
So you can see why they sponsored the panel. I liked the style critique: animated Zuck seeming more convincingly human than real Zuck.
Belief circles is only one of many scenarios and I would argue develop independent of technology anyway e.g. gated communities, expensive white suburbs, religion, cults, gangs, etc.
It is easy to ignore the benefits – greater awareness of world events in real time as well, connections with people you would never have made otherwise – my 30+ year old son is friends with people he met playing online when he was 8 (and yes they have met face to face), increased awareness and reading and research capabilities, the ability to build communities like this blog where different voices are heard – often over issues that I would never have come across/considered previously, increased productivity, reduced travel to and from work, the ability to read historical documents and books, etc, etc, etc.
It is definitely not doom and gloom.
“…what belief system might unite us as a single species? What would it look like?”
Animism 🙂
The mutually exclusive segmenting you describe is already occurring in society, at a rapidly increasing pace, but where it's going to impact most, is intra-personal; that is, inside of the head/mind of each of us. We're going to find/are finding greater and greater numbers of anomalies/misconceptions/contradictory beliefs, in our own minds. This, I believe, is the challenge facing us all 🙂
If someone is infected with Covid, how will this affect the sandflies which suck his blood?
And will the sandfies (or any other bloodsuckers) pass on covid?
Interesting question. Theoretically yes, but HeP C is still the main virus that's transmitted by blood.
Little Cleo found alive. Unbelievably great news. Not expected I don’t think
Yes. It was a big story here in WA for weeks. The cops dropped a hint a few nights ago that they were hopeful of a positive outcome.
From what I've seen the search and investigation were done well – as anything can be in such circumstances. Credit to the police and all those who've worked on this.
yes, the best news.
So glad her family has her back.
Yes, unexpected but glorious news.
Great news!
And very nice of that man to 'help them with their enquiries' too.
Euphemisms!
Very good news.
Terrific news
3.4% headline unemployment in New Zealand.
First time since before the GFC in 2008.
Labour crunch: NZ unemployment hits lowest level on record – NZ Herald
Don't take no crap from the boss.
Let's see the numbers when AKL goes into Level 2. How high is the number of jobs currently subsidised via the Government? And could that be counted as 'seasonal' unemployment, or would that be cycnical? Seriously, lets call these last 12 weeks of covid unemployment by numbers.
And last, do we still count people who work at least one hour paid as 'employed'?
But nice numbers here. Looking good, forge ahead, lets move on.
18000 people off the job seekers means an annual saving well over $200 million. Instead, they're earning and paying tax. At the same time, wages go up; more money in circulation.
It's a shambles.
Yip we need more cheap immigrants and young tourists to get those people back on the dole asap.
However the "underutilisation rate" is 9.2%. That includes people like me who are under-employed – e.g. have a part-time/casual job but need more hours and permanent work.
I will try to link to the Stats NZ site.
“I will try to link to the Stats NZ site.”
Failed
can you cut and paste a section of the text? Others can then link from that
section of the text from Statistics NZ website
The underutilisation rate is equally as important as the unemployment rate. It gives a broader measure of untapped capacity in the labour market
this one?
https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/underutilisation-rate
this link is better, but you have to scroll.
short
unemployment looks good at glance until you realise that
a. most jobs are created in Auckland, how many of these are covid realted? Jabbers and Contract Tracers in particular.
b. women are still way behind men. – nevermind though.
c. unterutilasation is over 10% for women, its better for men thus the under 10% number
d. 0 hour contracts are still high with 350.000+ people still working on the basis of these 'contracts' – essentially these guys have no job, but are on a on call / casual position at best.
e. how many of hte jobs in auckland – specifically hairdressers, retail, hospitality are hanging on due to the wage subsidy – ditto waikato, for what its worth, its starting to look shaky in Level 2 country too.
last, i don't expect anyone to really answer my questions as to how low ‘fulltime employment is’.
"unemployment looks good " 🙂
Underutilisation for women still needs to improve, but it's the lowest figure in the table which goes back to 2004.
Full time employment is everyone who is not included as underutilised i.e. it is 90.8% of the available workforce.
1 hour per week for profit is considered employed.
Some 375.000 people are on an unemployment benefit. So maybe really it is not quite as rosy as you and the govt like to paint this.
But let me repeat this again,
1 hour per week for profit is ocnsidered employed.
having signd a 0 hour contract is considered employed.
30 hours is considered full time employed
all of the three lots of people in these scenarios are still depended on the government to pay their bills.
but yeah, right, what ever makes you feel good.
All of those scenarios are included in the underutilisation figures. Underutilisation is everyone who wants to work full time (30 hours/week) but isn't, whether they are not employed or working 1 hour a month, or 29.75 hours a week, or anything between those points.
Hence the calculation in my answer to your question.
That said, agree that 30 hours on current wages will not always be enough to live on, but then, 100 hours (total) isn't enough for many families, so addressing that isn't solely a matter of more hours.
At 8.3.1111 Yes. Thank you Weka!
👍
The underutilisation rate is also down, said the news today.
It was 10.5% in the last release 3 months ago, so that's a significant drop as well. Women dropped from from 13% to 10.9% which is the lowest rate in the table, which dates back to 2004.
Does Judith Collins ever sound like a reasonably normal decent woman? On Radio NZ this morning she was, as usual, sarcastic, snide, unpleasant as she carped on about the PM going to Auckland.
Dr Reti on the other hand was quite the opposite. Don't know how he stomachs working with his leader.
It is called "good cop bad cop" a system used to confuse and wear down the target. imo
Lasted from Chris Martenson for anyone interested.
Had a third dose of vaccine today, apparently not fully approved so had to answer questions and sign a special consent, just had to check I had a bandaid to be sure I had had it. Seems to have had less impact each dose, I'll have to be careful or ill find myself going out to get more doses for fun.
Go to the "non-vaxxed" persons only cafe in Collingwood and tell them you have had 3….that should stir them up
Actually he's a very peaceable guy and not likely to be stirred up by anything.He's quite well thought of , his eccentricities tolerated .
Things will probably change if covid comes to Collingwood
Good stuff in the sidebar.
Gordon Campbell on why Three Waters is a good idea worth supporting – werewolf
Video of the protesters in Whanganui today.
Well done to the guy who gets in front of them with his climate change sign (and annoys one woman in particular!). Then we are treated to the anti-vax message from another woman, who really needs a hug.
Evil media provide free platform for protest against evil media
Maybe with the buses doing the vaccination rounds in place like Whanganui they can send a mental health bus.
please don't do that.
That's cheered me up!
The anti-vaxxers claim to be terrified of clots, yet they are infested with them 🙂
The woman in the video said Ardern is on notice for crimes against humanity. If we switched that to neoliberalism, housing and poverty policies, and climate/ecology, isn't the statement hyberbole but containing some kind of truth?
Exactly. There' are plenty of legitimate things that this government could be criticised on.
But I don't believe managing Covid is one of them.
An AM drive-by the Whanganui protester's upper Avenue marshaling point and oh dear, the whole gang were there.
The anti 1080 crew, the forced-birthers with their new placards, the avenue butt picker-uppers, a local nat party knob….LOL
Edit: @observer – and most were gawkers
How do these folk even manage to tie their own shoe laces? 🙄
QAnon Rally Fails to Revive JFK Jr. From the Dead
he's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy.
'larious
Hard to fathom how they can live with the continual disappointment….but if a Warriors fan can…