The Police are once again trying to be the determiners of how we should live our lives in light of their inference in the Kumara Races this week.
Since when was it the job of the Police to be the social engineers of NZ cultural life.
They seems to have appointed themselves not as the law keepers but the lawmakers in regards to all sorts of areas.
That is not their job.
This is interesting…from Westland Mayor Bruce Smith..
“If they want to outlaw it [BYO], what it will do is kill the Kumara races. And where is the benefit? Tell them to stick to Auckland and tidy the mess up up there and leave us to ourselves.”
Is the success of the Kumara Races determined on whether people can bring in their own booze to the event? Crikey that’s sad. I thought it was a community event, why the reliance on booze for a good time or a successful event?
Since when was it the job of the Police to be the social engineers of NZ cultural life
The police are the ones who pick up the pieces from road deaths and family violence due to alcohol. Is NZ culture really so steeped in booze that people are angry at the police for wanting to protect their community from drinkers.
Maybe locals should speak to List MP Pugh about the topic, she lives in Kumara.
Interesting opinion piece on free speech. This bit ” talkback host Tim Beveridge got to the heart of the matter when he said the real problem in the Huntly incident wasn’t racism or xenophobia; it was drunkenness.”
I disagree with Beveridge, unfortunately his opinion has as much depth as most of the other Newstalk radio hosts, which is pretty shallow.
The woman was interviewed a day or two after she abused the muslim women and said she was battling a number of mental health conditions and wasn’t getting the help she needed and proceeded to burst into tears.
I think if we had a properly functioning mental health system there would only be a small chance that she would have been drunk and that this incident would have ever occured.
Dual diagnosis, alcoholism and depression, is quite common and difficult to treat. It is also met with little or no enthusiasm by many mental health professionals
This article says bi-polar, social anxiety and PTSD, which are very treatable and if the mental health system is shying away from helping people with those conditions (which from the article it sounds like it is) then we really are in a mess.
No argument as to what the article says ….but the video shows someone heavily intoxicated. I modify my earlier statement.
“Dual diagnosis, mental health problems and alcoholism, is quite common and difficult to treat. It is also met with little or no enthusiasm by many mental health professionals”
I am talking from real life experience as to alcohol and mental health problems and the difficulties around accessing treatment.
“All three districts on the West Coast have higher rates of alcohol related deaths than New Zealand as a whole, with the highest rate in Westland, followed by Grey and Buller. The rates of wholly attributable alcohol related deaths are more than twice the New Zealand average”
“The West Coast overall has higher than the New Zealand average rate of alcohol involved traffic crashes (11.6 vs 7.8/10,000 population)”
The WestCoast has a massive drinking culture problem, maybe that’s why people are upset about the BYO at the races, they are upset, because they are the ones with a drinking problem, and worried they won’t be able to take in their precious booze to the races. Do people go to these races for the horses and social aspect or for the drinking and gambling?
A family event is a place for everyone to feel safe, kids included. Why the reliance on booze to make an event a success? It’s not just the drinking on the day, it’s what happens afterwards as well. I’m not anti alcohol, but I’m anti the damage it causes, trying to prevent that kind of damage and suffering is a good thing.
Whose job is it to tackle the drinking problems on the WestCoast? Or is it easier to turn a blind eye and have a go at the police?
I would not. “Protect the community” is a very vague term that could encompass all kinds of intrusion into people’s everyday lives. First and foremost, the job of the Police is to investigate crime and apprehend the perpetrators – other things are peripheral, and busybodying people who’d like to have a drink at the races goes way beyond peripheral. That kind of thing should come under the heading of “exceeding their mandate.”
Booze is embedded in most of our lives, to some extent, and it is hard to get community events for adults going anyway, so why not some booze, but has to be bought there? And then control that. The more problems we have, the more the booze is overdone, and then more problems we have.
Stopping a rare social event that is enjoyed by many and enables some business in the area and the horse owners etc. would be wrong. The climate is getting so punitive onto the people from the higher ups – the class system oppresses, the blame system demeans, and the deliberate impoverishment of so many by the actions of those higher up, is making life grim and unhappy and makes us all less kind and more hard on each other. Back to early colonial times with the squatters and their progeny winning. Nothing learned, nothing ennobling gained.
I’m a little unclear. Have there been alcohol-related violence problems at the Kumara races? If so, then why doesn’t the council sort that out? If not, what’s the problem?
Early childhood teachers have known for some time that this government does not care about quality but is more interested in big numbers stating lots of participation so it was good to see this morning an opionion piece by Dr Sarah Alexander published in the Herald this morning. As an early childhood teacher who has worked in for profit centres I totally identify with what Dr Alexander is saying. The focus of management is about passing ERO by meeting all the minimum standards so they can stay licensed and continue to be funded. The problem is that the minimum standards are really poor. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11810800.
Also, as I mentioned in Daily Review last night there is a move to form a new union for ununionised ECE teachers in the private sector. I am really excited by this and hope that there may be light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel. I hope that this group of teachers find their voice so they can advocate for themselves and the children.
I too am a recently retired ece teacher/lecturer and it has broken my heart to see what has happened to the pre-school sector in this country as a result of the focus on profit rather than the quality of education and care of children. It is no longer just the for-profit centres that are affected now – the bug has spread to both kindergartens and registered charities (one of which has some of the worst centres in NZ!).
Once I would have been excited and encouraging if someone came to me wanting to study to be an early childhood teacher – like I was when I began. Now I would advise them to steer clear if they value their sanity.
I also need to say, though, as a lecturer with a lot of experience of visiting centres, that there are some shining exceptions – I used to tell any student who was in one to stay put – there are bears in the jungle!!
Thanks for that Jan M totally agree with you. Ece is generally, apart from a few shining spaces not a very good place for teachers or children. I am hopeful that if teachers get organized and are prepared to take action we can change things. I also think a Labour Green government would help.
A Labour/Green government would definitely help, and not just in the ece sector – teachers at all levels are just about at the end of their rope.
My children were lucky enough to go to kindergarten back when that was a definite plus – my grandchildren went to a community day-care which I would describe as ‘good enough’ – as in no harm done, but no great advantage either. The thing is, of course, that the standard of teaching has less impact on the children of educated parents, so they’ll be ok.
Speaking of which, one of the things I noticed on my rounds was that the highest standard of centres was often to be found in the poorer areas – the ones chasing the dollars were not interested; they were in the more affluent areas.
Agree there mostly but some centers in poorer areas cut standards do they can make a profit without charging any parent fees. They do 30 hours free and just rely on moe funding so minimum standards pressure on teachers paid hourly rates to attend parent nights staff meetings etc with no pay.
I’m very glad my children all went to playcentre and spent the rest of their ece years with family and playing at friends houses. If grandchildren come along I will do everything I can to keep them out of ece centres unless there is a massive change.
I was one who poo pooed Susan Devoy when she got her role as race relations whatsit. And I have watched her education, her realisations about the truth of this country and the way one Treaty PARTNER has been and is treated. Like Judd in Taranaki she has heard and felt the stories, the histories and, sorry to get sad, the pain and suffering of yesterday and today.
Once people actually engage with the indigenous culture they cannot not be affected and that can happen to most if they give themselves the opportunity. Onya Susan.
The first homes opened in the 1950 and by the 1970s, almost half of all kids in state care were Maori. In 1978 89 per cent of admissions to Hokio were Maori and Pasifika.
In 1985, Maori boys made up 78 per cent of all youngsters held in six social welfare homes across Auckland.
…More recently the Ministry of Social Development tracked the lives of more than 58,000 people born in 1989 in a retrospective study.
Of those who were in prison by the time they were 20: 83 per cent had a previous Child, Youth and Family record.
The ministry itself found they were 15 times more likely to end up with a Corrections record by the time they were 20, 107 times more likely to be imprisoned before they turned 20.
This tells us that those children who progress across care and justice services fare poorly and we know Maori children are particularly highly represented here.
…Today, Maori New Zealanders make up more than half of our total prison population, a damning indictment on a system that is many times more likely to arrest a young person if he is Maori. Maori girls and women are even more over-represented.
Even the United Nations recognises the systemic causes that are at play, regularly urging our Government to search for “solutions to the root causes” which lead to disproportionate incarceration rates for Maori.
Hundreds of witnesses gave evidence to Judge Carolyn Henwood’s Confidential Listening and Assistance Service about the abuse they suffered while children in state care: a large number of Maori men interviewed did so from their prison cells.
We need an inquiry into what went on in our state-run institutions because it is the right thing to do.
Yep lets find out how bad it was so it can be stopped and never started again and so the poor people who suffered can speak their truth and feel heard. It IS the right thing to do for all sorts of reasons.
The history also looks to me like part of the continuing legacy of colonisation.
The history covered in the quote above is largely within my lifetime. And 65 years before that would be about 1885 – and that was when colonisation was in full swing. Not so long ago really, to have impacted negatively on the lives of Māori born mid-20th century… and so the legacy continues.
I think the question to ask is why did these kids end up in state care in the first place?
If the answer is that they came from dysfunctional, broken homes then I suggest that the kids had been irreparably damagd before entering the state system.
Once in the system I suspect most people realize that it is basically a bottom of the cliff system that wait til the kids turn 16 and kick them out.
I suspect a specialised education program for these kids would work that ensures they reach 16 knowing the 3 R’s, basic life skills, and receiving specialized counseling would acheive better results.
“Years ago in a small town a Maori boy was caught stealing lollies at the local Four Square.
A report labelled him a “thug” and he was made a state ward. He was 10 years old. Put in a boy’s home where he was physically and sexually abused, he ended up doing very long stretches in isolation.
He’d spend months at a time in a single cell. While there his parents died. When he was let out he was sent to live with a series of strangers, some of whom sexually and physically abused him.
He was to spend time in and out of prison. He was an old man by the time he made meaningful contact with his whanau again. By then he’d lost so many things: language, whakapapa, whanau, childhood.”
That is the anecdote that Susan uses and I would suggest it is not atypical. The key to remember was that he was a “Māori boy” and boys like that get bigoted, racist treatment often, and sadly for him, them and us, this continues to this day with things like racial profiling and so on.
Given your reply, I’m guessing that you have had very little to do with either families in crisis, or the state system.
Some of these kids are very adept at “life skills”, however the life skills that they need to survive and thrive are not the 3 R’s. Reading and writing – on their own – are no panacea.
A specialised education programme for these kids – more alienation from community – would more than likely be poorly designed, and even more poorly executed.
“Specialised counselling” by effective counsellors may be of some use, but only as part of a concerted effort to lift people out of financial poverty and bring about a healthy form of community support systems.
“… then I suggest that the kids had been irreparably damagd before entering the state system.”
I despair that you – quite wrongly – as a matter of fact, think you have any information that allows you to make such a blanket condemnation as a “suggestion”.
Failure to understand systemic problems require systemic changes and solutions are one of the reasons we continue to fail our children and our families in crisis.
And the comment is about the failure of the state system to improve the lives of these children. In fact, the further damage done to the already vulnerable by the state.
Do you have it in you to critique that without redirecting?
Molly
Good on you – good points. Everyone who has learned to tie their own shoelaces think that they know so much about society and those who don’t tie shoelaces or even have shoes and let us have the ‘benefit’ of their ‘wisdom’ at every opportunity.
Probably they are the sort that wouldn’t bother taking their puppy to training school and know less than a compost worm about how behaviour is induced or learned. I have much respect for compost worms, they know what to do and they do it well and don’t venture out of their territory. Know nothings should keep their mouths shut, breathe through their noses, and do a bit of study about society and how attitudes and habits are formed through a registered university, not from a private, right-wing or religious tract. And then if they are of the mean uncaring fault-seeking disposition they can at least get their facts right.
If the answer is that they came from dysfunctional, broken homes then I suggest that the kids had been irreparably damagd before entering the state system.
If you had a clue you’d know that in the main these kids, both Māori and Pākehā, came from different, and usually poor, but entirely functional homes and that their removal and subsequent treatment by Eurocentric authorities rendered them irreparably damaged.
1. It's important to keep track of how Sessions story has changed JUST IN THE LAST 12 HOURS https://t.co/7RZ1FKoe0y— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) March 2, 2017
“President Donald Trump said he has “total” confidence in Attorney General Jeff Sessions and that he sees no need for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation of Russian meddling in US politics.
Trump voiced his support for Sessions in response to a shouted question before speaking at an event aboard a Navy aircraft carrier in Virginia. Sessions has come under fire from Democrats and some Republicans after the Justice Department acknowledged that he, at a time he was acting as a prominent surrogate for Trump’s campaign, had contacts last year with the Russian ambassador.”
Now we go nuclear. IC war going to new levels. Just got an EM fm senior IC friend, it began: "He will die in jail."https://t.co/e6FxCclVqT— John Schindler (@20committee) February 15, 2017
More dubious news broadcast by the Clinton Fake News Network to undermine both Trump and Russia. How people buy into this fanciful world of Russia rigging the election, Trump and Russian prostitutes, etc with sketchy evidence is a worry.
you have been sucked in I’m afraid – the evidence is damning – didn’t someone already resign for lying about their russian relationship? More to come for the same reason – which may rock your world I think…
BREAKING: Trump says he has "total" confidence in Jeff Sessions, amid calls for the attorney general to resign or recuse himself.— The Associated Press (@AP) March 2, 2017
yep and we know the cover-up is what drops them in the end – don and steve will have to speed up the demonisation of the press if they want to escape this wave.
“Under growing pressure from Democrats and Republicans alike, Attorney General Jeff Sessions agreed Friday morning (NZ time) to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
His action followed revelations he twice met with the Russian ambassador and didn’t say so when pressed by Congress.
Sessions rejected any suggestion that he tried to mislead anyone about his contacts with the Russian, saying, “That is not my intent. That is not correct.”
The attorney general said he made his decision after his staff recommended that he recuse himself from any investigation related to the Trump campaign, since he had been involved in that campaign.
Sessions said his announcement “should not be interpreted as confirmation of the existence of any investigation.””
A new NZ news website to go from it’s summer version to launch itself proper on 13 March 2017. It claims it will provide independent quality news coverage.
Newsroom.co.nz is being developed by editors Mark Jennings and Tim Murphy, and plans to concentrate on “things that matter”.
It will have an editorial team of 14 based in Auckland and Wellington, supplemented by expert contributors reporting from around the country.
That’s Tim Murphy formerly of NZ Herald and Mark Jennings formerly of TV3. So I’m not expecting anything too independent from the current neoliberal status quo.
National cops out again today and lets the multinationals (facebook, google, apple etc) off any meaningful tax clampdown even though every man and his dog realises they are rorting the system and costing the NZ public $500m a year.
In Oz and the UK they have introduced a diverted profit tax. Pussy Cat Collins says this will not be introduced here. This is a do-nothing government particularly where it helps its greedy mates.
Chance here for Labour to introduce a strong tax policy at the election including a diverted profits tax.
Given the large number of posts on housing at the moment, could I put forward a suggestion for a future book club read?
Danny Dorling’s – All that is Solid (2014) is written about the UK housing crisis, but does have quite a few chapters that relate to our continuing and developing housing crisis here.
I got it from Auckland Libraries which has a few hard copies and an ebook.
“Being too strict about New Zealand’s recreational water quality would unnecessarily deny Kiwi families the right to swim in the country’s rivers and lakes, Environment Minister Nick Smith says.”
I don’t get to this point very often, but am fast approaching the wanting to punch him in the face place, lol. A complete and utter fuckwit.
“Rivers don’t have a constant level of E.coli – they vary all over the places,” Smith said. “The key policy question is when it varies all over the place what would you describe as a swimmable river?”
If you can’t answer that, then you shouldn’t be the Minister of Shit in Rivers. It’s really easy. Those of us that grew up and then spent our lives swimming in rivers all know that the thing that has changed is mass increase in industrial dairy and stocking rates. There’s not mystery here except for why you are basically saying that money is more important than fresh water. I’m tempted to say fuck you and the shitting horse you rode in on, but it’s hardly the horse’s fault. Instead just fuck you and your soulless excuse of an existence.
A stunning article. The New York Times reporting the Obama administration scrambled during its final days in office to preserve evidence of Russia’s collusion with the Trump campaign. Citing unnamed former officials, the Times says Obama’s aides left a “trail of evidence” across different government agencies to prevent the incoming Trump administration from covering up or destroying the evidence, the trail including passing sensitive information to Congress, keeping evidence at a relatively low classification level so a number of people could see it, also sharing information with European allies.
“The efforts to preserve the intelligence continued until the administration’s final hours. This was partly because intelligence was still being collected and analyzed, but it also reflected the sentiment among many administration officials that they had not recognized the scale of the Russian campaign until it was too late.”
Does anybody know if the law allows foreign companies or multi national companies to contribute to political parties in this country. I am wondering if the Diverted Profits Tax was declined by Government because of all the money coming into their coffers from non-resident companies. We all know the Chinese wealthy are generous in their donations. If these companies are allowed to give funds to our political parties then maybe its time that it was outlawed and only NZ residents and wholly owned NZ companies should be permitted to donate.
Then we might see our political parties coming down hard on these parasitical overseas companies rorting the system and not contributing and paying their way, but political parties sure as hell will not outlaw it if it means a backlash and they find they are punished and short changed of funds in their war chests as a consequence.
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Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
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. ...
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. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
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Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
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The Police are once again trying to be the determiners of how we should live our lives in light of their inference in the Kumara Races this week.
Since when was it the job of the Police to be the social engineers of NZ cultural life.
They seems to have appointed themselves not as the law keepers but the lawmakers in regards to all sorts of areas.
That is not their job.
This is interesting…from Westland Mayor Bruce Smith..
“If they want to outlaw it [BYO], what it will do is kill the Kumara races. And where is the benefit? Tell them to stick to Auckland and tidy the mess up up there and leave us to ourselves.”
Is the success of the Kumara Races determined on whether people can bring in their own booze to the event? Crikey that’s sad. I thought it was a community event, why the reliance on booze for a good time or a successful event?
The police are the ones who pick up the pieces from road deaths and family violence due to alcohol. Is NZ culture really so steeped in booze that people are angry at the police for wanting to protect their community from drinkers.
Maybe locals should speak to List MP Pugh about the topic, she lives in Kumara.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11810757
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/89964633/karl-du-fresne-we-dont-need-police-acting-as-moral-custodians
Interesting opinion piece on free speech. This bit ” talkback host Tim Beveridge got to the heart of the matter when he said the real problem in the Huntly incident wasn’t racism or xenophobia; it was drunkenness.”
I disagree with Beveridge, unfortunately his opinion has as much depth as most of the other Newstalk radio hosts, which is pretty shallow.
The woman was interviewed a day or two after she abused the muslim women and said she was battling a number of mental health conditions and wasn’t getting the help she needed and proceeded to burst into tears.
I think if we had a properly functioning mental health system there would only be a small chance that she would have been drunk and that this incident would have ever occured.
Dual diagnosis, alcoholism and depression, is quite common and difficult to treat. It is also met with little or no enthusiasm by many mental health professionals
This article says bi-polar, social anxiety and PTSD, which are very treatable and if the mental health system is shying away from helping people with those conditions (which from the article it sounds like it is) then we really are in a mess.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/02/huntly-muslim-attack-woman-responsible-makes-cry-for-help.html
No argument as to what the article says ….but the video shows someone heavily intoxicated. I modify my earlier statement.
“Dual diagnosis, mental health problems and alcoholism, is quite common and difficult to treat. It is also met with little or no enthusiasm by many mental health professionals”
I am talking from real life experience as to alcohol and mental health problems and the difficulties around accessing treatment.
“All three districts on the West Coast have higher rates of alcohol related deaths than New Zealand as a whole, with the highest rate in Westland, followed by Grey and Buller. The rates of wholly attributable alcohol related deaths are more than twice the New Zealand average”
“The West Coast overall has higher than the New Zealand average rate of alcohol involved traffic crashes (11.6 vs 7.8/10,000 population)”
https://www.cph.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/greydraftlapsubmission.pdf
The WestCoast has a massive drinking culture problem, maybe that’s why people are upset about the BYO at the races, they are upset, because they are the ones with a drinking problem, and worried they won’t be able to take in their precious booze to the races. Do people go to these races for the horses and social aspect or for the drinking and gambling?
A family event is a place for everyone to feel safe, kids included. Why the reliance on booze to make an event a success? It’s not just the drinking on the day, it’s what happens afterwards as well. I’m not anti alcohol, but I’m anti the damage it causes, trying to prevent that kind of damage and suffering is a good thing.
Whose job is it to tackle the drinking problems on the WestCoast? Or is it easier to turn a blind eye and have a go at the police?
Do people go to these races for the horses and social aspect or for the drinking and gambling?
Both. Is it your or the Police’s place to tell them what they should do instead? No.
It is the job of the police to protect the community would you not agree?
I would not. “Protect the community” is a very vague term that could encompass all kinds of intrusion into people’s everyday lives. First and foremost, the job of the Police is to investigate crime and apprehend the perpetrators – other things are peripheral, and busybodying people who’d like to have a drink at the races goes way beyond peripheral. That kind of thing should come under the heading of “exceeding their mandate.”
Booze is embedded in most of our lives, to some extent, and it is hard to get community events for adults going anyway, so why not some booze, but has to be bought there? And then control that. The more problems we have, the more the booze is overdone, and then more problems we have.
Stopping a rare social event that is enjoyed by many and enables some business in the area and the horse owners etc. would be wrong. The climate is getting so punitive onto the people from the higher ups – the class system oppresses, the blame system demeans, and the deliberate impoverishment of so many by the actions of those higher up, is making life grim and unhappy and makes us all less kind and more hard on each other. Back to early colonial times with the squatters and their progeny winning. Nothing learned, nothing ennobling gained.
I’m a little unclear. Have there been alcohol-related violence problems at the Kumara races? If so, then why doesn’t the council sort that out? If not, what’s the problem?
Early childhood teachers have known for some time that this government does not care about quality but is more interested in big numbers stating lots of participation so it was good to see this morning an opionion piece by Dr Sarah Alexander published in the Herald this morning. As an early childhood teacher who has worked in for profit centres I totally identify with what Dr Alexander is saying. The focus of management is about passing ERO by meeting all the minimum standards so they can stay licensed and continue to be funded. The problem is that the minimum standards are really poor.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11810800.
Also, as I mentioned in Daily Review last night there is a move to form a new union for ununionised ECE teachers in the private sector. I am really excited by this and hope that there may be light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel. I hope that this group of teachers find their voice so they can advocate for themselves and the children.
https://www.childforum.com/news-early-childhood-education-latest/1483-early-childhood-education-union-plan.html
I too am a recently retired ece teacher/lecturer and it has broken my heart to see what has happened to the pre-school sector in this country as a result of the focus on profit rather than the quality of education and care of children. It is no longer just the for-profit centres that are affected now – the bug has spread to both kindergartens and registered charities (one of which has some of the worst centres in NZ!).
Once I would have been excited and encouraging if someone came to me wanting to study to be an early childhood teacher – like I was when I began. Now I would advise them to steer clear if they value their sanity.
I also need to say, though, as a lecturer with a lot of experience of visiting centres, that there are some shining exceptions – I used to tell any student who was in one to stay put – there are bears in the jungle!!
Thanks for that Jan M totally agree with you. Ece is generally, apart from a few shining spaces not a very good place for teachers or children. I am hopeful that if teachers get organized and are prepared to take action we can change things. I also think a Labour Green government would help.
A Labour/Green government would definitely help, and not just in the ece sector – teachers at all levels are just about at the end of their rope.
My children were lucky enough to go to kindergarten back when that was a definite plus – my grandchildren went to a community day-care which I would describe as ‘good enough’ – as in no harm done, but no great advantage either. The thing is, of course, that the standard of teaching has less impact on the children of educated parents, so they’ll be ok.
Speaking of which, one of the things I noticed on my rounds was that the highest standard of centres was often to be found in the poorer areas – the ones chasing the dollars were not interested; they were in the more affluent areas.
Agree there mostly but some centers in poorer areas cut standards do they can make a profit without charging any parent fees. They do 30 hours free and just rely on moe funding so minimum standards pressure on teachers paid hourly rates to attend parent nights staff meetings etc with no pay.
I’m very glad my children all went to playcentre and spent the rest of their ece years with family and playing at friends houses. If grandchildren come along I will do everything I can to keep them out of ece centres unless there is a massive change.
I was one who poo pooed Susan Devoy when she got her role as race relations whatsit. And I have watched her education, her realisations about the truth of this country and the way one Treaty PARTNER has been and is treated. Like Judd in Taranaki she has heard and felt the stories, the histories and, sorry to get sad, the pain and suffering of yesterday and today.
Once people actually engage with the indigenous culture they cannot not be affected and that can happen to most if they give themselves the opportunity. Onya Susan.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/89960820/dame-susan-devoy-calls-for-inquiry-into-abuse-of-maori-children
Yep lets find out how bad it was so it can be stopped and never started again and so the poor people who suffered can speak their truth and feel heard. It IS the right thing to do for all sorts of reasons.
Thanks for the link, marty.
The history also looks to me like part of the continuing legacy of colonisation.
The history covered in the quote above is largely within my lifetime. And 65 years before that would be about 1885 – and that was when colonisation was in full swing. Not so long ago really, to have impacted negatively on the lives of Māori born mid-20th century… and so the legacy continues.
I think the question to ask is why did these kids end up in state care in the first place?
If the answer is that they came from dysfunctional, broken homes then I suggest that the kids had been irreparably damagd before entering the state system.
Once in the system I suspect most people realize that it is basically a bottom of the cliff system that wait til the kids turn 16 and kick them out.
I suspect a specialised education program for these kids would work that ensures they reach 16 knowing the 3 R’s, basic life skills, and receiving specialized counseling would acheive better results.
“Years ago in a small town a Maori boy was caught stealing lollies at the local Four Square.
A report labelled him a “thug” and he was made a state ward. He was 10 years old. Put in a boy’s home where he was physically and sexually abused, he ended up doing very long stretches in isolation.
He’d spend months at a time in a single cell. While there his parents died. When he was let out he was sent to live with a series of strangers, some of whom sexually and physically abused him.
He was to spend time in and out of prison. He was an old man by the time he made meaningful contact with his whanau again. By then he’d lost so many things: language, whakapapa, whanau, childhood.”
That is the anecdote that Susan uses and I would suggest it is not atypical. The key to remember was that he was a “Māori boy” and boys like that get bigoted, racist treatment often, and sadly for him, them and us, this continues to this day with things like racial profiling and so on.
Given your reply, I’m guessing that you have had very little to do with either families in crisis, or the state system.
Some of these kids are very adept at “life skills”, however the life skills that they need to survive and thrive are not the 3 R’s. Reading and writing – on their own – are no panacea.
A specialised education programme for these kids – more alienation from community – would more than likely be poorly designed, and even more poorly executed.
“Specialised counselling” by effective counsellors may be of some use, but only as part of a concerted effort to lift people out of financial poverty and bring about a healthy form of community support systems.
“… then I suggest that the kids had been irreparably damagd before entering the state system.”
I despair that you – quite wrongly – as a matter of fact, think you have any information that allows you to make such a blanket condemnation as a “suggestion”.
Failure to understand systemic problems require systemic changes and solutions are one of the reasons we continue to fail our children and our families in crisis.
And the comment is about the failure of the state system to improve the lives of these children. In fact, the further damage done to the already vulnerable by the state.
Do you have it in you to critique that without redirecting?
Molly
Good on you – good points. Everyone who has learned to tie their own shoelaces think that they know so much about society and those who don’t tie shoelaces or even have shoes and let us have the ‘benefit’ of their ‘wisdom’ at every opportunity.
Probably they are the sort that wouldn’t bother taking their puppy to training school and know less than a compost worm about how behaviour is induced or learned. I have much respect for compost worms, they know what to do and they do it well and don’t venture out of their territory. Know nothings should keep their mouths shut, breathe through their noses, and do a bit of study about society and how attitudes and habits are formed through a registered university, not from a private, right-wing or religious tract. And then if they are of the mean uncaring fault-seeking disposition they can at least get their facts right.
If you had a clue you’d know that in the main these kids, both Māori and Pākehā, came from different, and usually poor, but entirely functional homes and that their removal and subsequent treatment by Eurocentric authorities rendered them irreparably damaged.
Keep on digging.
(1/10)
https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/837308812453376001
“President Donald Trump said he has “total” confidence in Attorney General Jeff Sessions and that he sees no need for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation of Russian meddling in US politics.
Trump voiced his support for Sessions in response to a shouted question before speaking at an event aboard a Navy aircraft carrier in Virginia. Sessions has come under fire from Democrats and some Republicans after the Justice Department acknowledged that he, at a time he was acting as a prominent surrogate for Trump’s campaign, had contacts last year with the Russian ambassador.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/90009106/trump-says-sessions-has-his-full-confidence-as-questions-mount
Yep, going down…
Dude called it.
https://twitter.com/20committee/status/831872441597194241
More dubious news broadcast by the Clinton Fake News Network to undermine both Trump and Russia. How people buy into this fanciful world of Russia rigging the election, Trump and Russian prostitutes, etc with sketchy evidence is a worry.
you have been sucked in I’m afraid – the evidence is damning – didn’t someone already resign for lying about their russian relationship? More to come for the same reason – which may rock your world I think…
Total confidence – out like Flynn.
https://twitter.com/AP/status/837378370451222528
yep and we know the cover-up is what drops them in the end – don and steve will have to speed up the demonisation of the press if they want to escape this wave.
“Under growing pressure from Democrats and Republicans alike, Attorney General Jeff Sessions agreed Friday morning (NZ time) to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
His action followed revelations he twice met with the Russian ambassador and didn’t say so when pressed by Congress.
Sessions rejected any suggestion that he tried to mislead anyone about his contacts with the Russian, saying, “That is not my intent. That is not correct.”
The attorney general said he made his decision after his staff recommended that he recuse himself from any investigation related to the Trump campaign, since he had been involved in that campaign.
Sessions said his announcement “should not be interpreted as confirmation of the existence of any investigation.””
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11811235
another liar be caught, fire be starting…
Fire to what marty mars?
As I’m looking, that is a fire with Russia, and don’t know about you, but that scares the shit out of me.
I spose I was thinking of someones pants 🙂
the fact is these liaisons between the trump team and russia have occurred – best they see the light of day – that will reduce any war mongering imo
Not so sure. I wish I had your confidence.
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/322002-dem-senator-we-should-determine-if-russian-election-hacking-was-act-of
Simon Black points out the stupidity of thinking that a cash ban will affect criminals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y37Vux-lZqU
A new NZ news website to go from it’s summer version to launch itself proper on 13 March 2017. It claims it will provide independent quality news coverage.
Newsroom website:
It has chorus as a partner (see article under the “Articles” tab) , and this article on the site welcomes Victoria University to the Newsroom team.
That’s Tim Murphy formerly of NZ Herald and Mark Jennings formerly of TV3. So I’m not expecting anything too independent from the current neoliberal status quo.
National cops out again today and lets the multinationals (facebook, google, apple etc) off any meaningful tax clampdown even though every man and his dog realises they are rorting the system and costing the NZ public $500m a year.
In Oz and the UK they have introduced a diverted profit tax. Pussy Cat Collins says this will not be introduced here. This is a do-nothing government particularly where it helps its greedy mates.
Chance here for Labour to introduce a strong tax policy at the election including a diverted profits tax.
Given the large number of posts on housing at the moment, could I put forward a suggestion for a future book club read?
Danny Dorling’s – All that is Solid (2014) is written about the UK housing crisis, but does have quite a few chapters that relate to our continuing and developing housing crisis here.
I got it from Auckland Libraries which has a few hard copies and an ebook.
Great interview on the Jimmy Dore Show with Australian journalist Caitlin Johnstone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDj9tY5s3RY
I always thought Aussie women were not a bad as Aussie males. Wrong.
Bill Drees, do you really want to put on public display your low IQ?
Bill as an avid Scotland watcher, what’s the chances of another referendum?
what is nick smith?
“Being too strict about New Zealand’s recreational water quality would unnecessarily deny Kiwi families the right to swim in the country’s rivers and lakes, Environment Minister Nick Smith says.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/90005985/water-quality-plan-not-perfect-but-better-says-nick-smith
a friend of the tick from dipton that’s who
I don’t get to this point very often, but am fast approaching the wanting to punch him in the face place, lol. A complete and utter fuckwit.
“Rivers don’t have a constant level of E.coli – they vary all over the places,” Smith said. “The key policy question is when it varies all over the place what would you describe as a swimmable river?”
If you can’t answer that, then you shouldn’t be the Minister of Shit in Rivers. It’s really easy. Those of us that grew up and then spent our lives swimming in rivers all know that the thing that has changed is mass increase in industrial dairy and stocking rates. There’s not mystery here except for why you are basically saying that money is more important than fresh water. I’m tempted to say fuck you and the shitting horse you rode in on, but it’s hardly the horse’s fault. Instead just fuck you and your soulless excuse of an existence.
That sounds punch drunk from smith.
Gets back to my point early marty mars, these guys are a lost cause, totally off the farm, and into cuckoo land.
A stunning article. The New York Times reporting the Obama administration scrambled during its final days in office to preserve evidence of Russia’s collusion with the Trump campaign. Citing unnamed former officials, the Times says Obama’s aides left a “trail of evidence” across different government agencies to prevent the incoming Trump administration from covering up or destroying the evidence, the trail including passing sensitive information to Congress, keeping evidence at a relatively low classification level so a number of people could see it, also sharing information with European allies.
“The efforts to preserve the intelligence continued until the administration’s final hours. This was partly because intelligence was still being collected and analyzed, but it also reflected the sentiment among many administration officials that they had not recognized the scale of the Russian campaign until it was too late.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html?smid=fb-share
Recent Colmar Brunton poll reveals “Housing” as the number one issue concerning voters.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/housing-revealed-most-important-issue-in-helping-kiwis-decide-vote
And then there’s this from the dipper, the headline still exists, but the extract has been removed mysteriously.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/prime-minister-blames-housing-shortage-nature-lovers
It would appear that the Nats are so far out of touch with society that they make Trump look good.
For election geeks and others.
The was a General Election in Northen Ireland yesterday. The the count starts in a few hours. The government collapsed 10 months after the last election due in the main to a scandal called “Cash for Ash”.
It is expected that the Democratic Unionist Party and its leader, Arlene Foster, will loose votes to all the other parties. The election will probably show a shift in voting patterns with STV votes crossing historical sectarian lines. It is possible that Sinn Fein, under Michelle O’Neill, becomes the largest party.
An exciting election.
Here are some links.
http://sluggerotoole.com/2017/03/02/looks-like-there-may-be-big-changes-in-the-post-for-tomorrows-count/
http://www.newsletter.co.uk
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland-assembly-election/
https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0302/856565-assembly-election/
Does anybody know if the law allows foreign companies or multi national companies to contribute to political parties in this country. I am wondering if the Diverted Profits Tax was declined by Government because of all the money coming into their coffers from non-resident companies. We all know the Chinese wealthy are generous in their donations. If these companies are allowed to give funds to our political parties then maybe its time that it was outlawed and only NZ residents and wholly owned NZ companies should be permitted to donate.
Then we might see our political parties coming down hard on these parasitical overseas companies rorting the system and not contributing and paying their way, but political parties sure as hell will not outlaw it if it means a backlash and they find they are punished and short changed of funds in their war chests as a consequence.