It is going to be interesting to see if the anti-abortion crowd have any clout or if they'll be exposed like the gun lobby as full of humbug and hot air. I am picking the government will find surprisingly little resistance to the law reforms it is proposing.
Right to life. Life doesn't get a choice of whom talks for it! really. What would life say when the foetal whisper asks them? When the mother knows best, the lifers who neither ask for, explain how, or expect debate upon the issue, are told by the baby whisper, the mum that abortion is best. Are they really lifers, when choosers say without prodding, that abortion being a medical procedure should not be over used, that choosers are antilife. Mums die giving birth, mums have to live with the reality of aborting or not. Yes, not abort can be a fatal choice too. So what are we to do when bottom of the cliff ambulance chasers declare they are the only unborn whispers. Miscarriages, caused by industrualization, abort by big corp? Or driving accidents? Sure a women can have god abort, the local drunk, or big industry, but not the choice themselves despite the plain fact that they will live with decision, not the prolifer sic. A senior exec, a drunk, hell even the nonexistent god all are more culpable to their statements that the prolifer who cuts and runs at all the deaths from pregnancy, all the disasters of choosing to keep the baby. The question therefore really do you believe infreed will, that an inalienable right to choose, exists. Or that we free people's should favor religion. Lifers are pro life, they aren't even proliberty, or God. It's just a disgusting display of vanity being better people. Nobody wants an abortion, that the lie they push.
so what is it: conscious vote or referendum? Would have thought Jacinda and co sorted this out before calling a media conference. Or is that mere detail?
David Seymour of all people show Jacinda Ardern and Labour what standing up to China looks like, as it turns out that Labours pragmatism also extend to allowing the Chinese dictatorship to encourage violence on our own shores in the name of protecting the almighty dollar and business…guttless fucking liberals.
'China Consulate praises 'patriotism' of students in Auckland' Universityscufflehttps://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/08/china-consulate-praises-patriotism-of-students-in-auckland-university-scuffle.html
One can only imagine the shit hitting the fan on this site if this had happened under Nationals watch…or the moral outrage if this had been Russia or the US encouraging this violence vis a vie Putin/Trump..disappointing but not unexpected at how fluid some peoples moral and ethical positions are.
What a stupid wrongheaded piece of logic..if one extrapolates your position, you are saying that any citizen who is not in a position of power of some sort or another is a nobody and I assume shouldn't be heard.
@Sacha, So to be clear, you are fine with the Chinese dictatorship encouraging violence on New Zealand soil?
So I assume then you would just as fine if it where Putin or Trump encouraging violence on New Zealand soil..or is it just OK if we have X amount of trade with the country in question?
If this is the case, how much trade does a country have to do with New Zealand before it's OK with you and Labour NZ to allow this state sanctioned violence…give us a number, an amount you think if fair for us to sell our morals and dignity…I am interested to know that dollar value you think your (and NZ's) morals and ethical values are worth selling for on the open market of free trade?
When real judges judge based on assumptions we know justice is not going to be served (well).
The same applies to our own judgements and ‘natural justice’ and we need to be careful with our assumptions, opinions, prejudices, and the likes, before we jump to conclusions IMHO.
There's the problem, right there. It's a common problem and those who practice "assuming" usually can't see what they've done, even when it's pointed out to them. See, walk and chew!
There's nothing wrong with the logic. Seymour is standing up to China now he's an opposition MP and the NZ government can't be held responsible for his statements. When he was part of the government and the NZ government therefore could be held responsible for his statements, he behaved differently – rather like the government is behaving now, for example.
OK so we agree, both Labour and National and their proxies place higher value on uninterrupted trade and commerce than they do on standing up for any kind of supposed moral or ethical position that most New Zealanders would probably expect a sitting government to defend and stand for as sovereign nation.
As suggested earlier, typical liberal behaviour…always profits before people, both the ideology of National and sadly our own spineless useless third way Labour party, no wonder they are polling so badly.
What stupidity. Diplomacy is not all about public sabre-rattling – often more can be achieved by polite, private, but firm, discussions. This is not an issue that I would any New Zealand government to be publicly involved in. New Zealand's position regarding Hong Kong is undoubtedly known to China.
Are you saying that standing up to China who have publicly supported the assault of a protester on New Zealand soil is saber rattling?
I would say that China are the ones who are openly saber rattling, and bulling,obviously testing this weak government on it's resolve…but for some bizarre reason most Labour sycophants here seems to think that is quite OK?
What a bunch of arselickers…grow some fucking backbone for crying out loud.
I'm curious, if we are willing to turn a blind eye to State endorsed violence being perpetrated upon foreign born visitors/residents in New Zealand at what point would we intervene.
I seem to recall some New Zealand citizens on TS being really really really upset at the thought of the Russian State supposedly targeting Russians in the UK..maybe we should clarify the rules with the Chinese ..a bit of niggle, a bit of biff, thats okay..but you know, keep it seemly pretty please..
Meantime I would imagine the female victim of this State endorsed violence is shit scared of returning to Hong Kong….then again I'm not sure anywhere is safe..
Every New Zealand government of any stripe is basically a Kakapo when it comes to China – it's only natural defense mechanism is to freeze in place when scared.
I don't think so – there was Lange and anti-nuclear standing up to the US and Australia straight and strong.. plus Kirk facing down the French with two frigates. Plus Clark refusing to join the 'coalition of the aggressive'. It seems Jacinda is a rung or two below these previous strong Labour leaders. (Nat leaders don't come close of course)
We are not that small and powerless you know.. we command a place on the globe and have influence…
and we need to stand up when required, like we have done in the past.
China takes half our exports and props up our housing market as well by providing most of the people in the new fifth column that keeps the housing ponzi spluttering along.
Upsetting them will take a lot of balls and an existential threat.
I haven't tried to influence the GP since winning the battle against the leftists on the waka-jumping legislation. Since I've won every major battle against groupthink that I've undertaken in the Greens, your misread doesn't bother me.
Okay there's the leftist alignment still in place, but since I've already owned up to convincing the GP to adopt it back when it was actually necessary (several times here), I just have to wear the karmic consequence until the Greens decide to retreat from isolation…
""We're likening our response to climate change as our response to Te Korokoro o te Parata, to move beyond that challenge and survive," says Te Arawa Lakes Trust Environmental Manager Nicki Douglas."
The legal threat and the big opportunity in Māori engagement on climate change response
In the clip on that page he says "these sinister ideologies must be defeated". Better late than never. I look forward to all the commentators here who have in the past called him a racist white supremacist (while consistently providing no proof of that) apologising in unison for getting it wrong. What? Really? You mean they'll keep on denying the facts?
James will be busy composing his explanation as to why Sarah Dowie isn't to be investigated/charged with inciting a person to self-harm. Coz James is very sensitive to cover-ups.
i find it sad how many on here accept accusations as fact (some even after it’s been proven false) if it’s a national member – yet are happy to ignore such a large issue and so many complaints of a serious nature in labour’s office. ‘Not proven mate – we ran another dodgy process – move on – no appeals’
Like the five victims of the other mass sexual assault at a labour youth camp – that is still unproven- but lucky after labour did little the police got involved and now he’s in court in a few weeks.
Lets all hope name suppression isn’t granted if he gets convicted.
Perhaps the police will get involved in this one as well.
[Off topic James. Please deal with this topic in open mike – MS]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
"Lets all hope name suppression isn’t granted" suggests to me you are not interested in the good of an intelligent positive resolution for all involved but a vindictive partisan political outcome.
Same as they did when a man was found running naked down the street claiming rape / sexual assault from Darren Hughes at labour’s deputy leaders house.
I guess you would be ok with that one tho huh?
[Off topic James. Please deal with this topic in open mike – MS]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Radio stations usually have a 'back up track' in case they have to vacate the building for such as a fire alarm. I woke in the night and newstalkZB had the situation. They had a carping, grating track on which had the intellectual level of a child, (at the time any kid should've been in bed though).
I don't know where they got it or if they could their money back for the faulty product. Apparently it was a 'Bruce Russell.'
The level of seriousness of the senior Labour staffer's claimed behaviour would surely have warranted a police investigation but apparently it hasn’t happened.
Then I saw the origins of the story. Newstalk ZB plus Barry Soper and Mike Hosking.
I recall the first stand up interview with P.M.Jacinda Ardern, where Soper tried to throw her off balance. He failed and you could see the anger and hatred written all over his face. It's been there ever since.
If, as I suspect, it is a story which has been distorted for political purposes, then it is incumbent on the party personnel involved to front up with the results.
Indeed, some (the usual) culprits in MSM try to politicise, polarise, and sensationalise this situation. Unfortunately, a few commenters here are trying to do the same thing. Even more unfortunately, it seems to be working and is driving a wedge between good people some of whom are being accused of being an “enabler” of sexual violence. In my view, this does absolutely nothing to deal with the issue of sexual violence.
However, Soper said he'd discovered the man at the centre of the allegations had hired a lawyer who told him "that he is innocent, there was an inquiry, he has nothing to answer for and they warned us to leave this issue alone otherwise they will be suing".
Call their bluff. Make them sue. The whole sad and sorry saga aired in a Court of Law.
I hesitate to refer you to last night's Daily Review and the very long thread under 2 loosely based on an earlier Tova O'Brien Newshub "Exclusive", i.e.
Here are two excerpts from the Newshub report which make me smell a rat:
As far back as August 2018, Labour Party president Nigel Haworth was informed the staffer told a woman she was elected within the party because she "would be nice to sleep with".
He was also told a senior ministerial staffer had warned an alleged victim that if she told anyone about the staffer's behaviour she would be shut-down.
I had a shocking experience back in the early 1990s (and I later realised it had occurred previously) where a malicious woman laid complaints against me to my Public Service bosses (and elsewhere) which caused me to be placed under surveillance and routinely bullied and intimidated. She had twisted and distorted my actions and words to fit a totally false narrative. Her motivation had been in large part political.
This is why I'm deeply suspicious of the extent of the claims being made in this case. But I agree, we will have to wait and see what the outcome is before we can pass firm judgement.
Something sounds fishy alright. Of course even if the issue turns out to be hollow, the damage will already have been done. Can you imagine Soper withdrawing and apologising?
"Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper said that there were 12 alleged complainants and the allegations involved not only sexual assault, but also rape and offers to pay for sex."
I agree we need to wait and see the outcome (If Labour actually release it, which given their "Most open and transparent govt ever" record, is highly unlikely), but it would have to be a pretty massive conspiracy theory if there wasn't some truth to it.
I accept there is likely to be a grain of truth, but the level of seriousness could have been ratcheted up a notch or three to make it appear worse than it was. If so, it was done for political purposes and the journos involved only increase that suspicion.
Example:
The staffer's alleged comment "she would be nice to sleep with". He said something I'm sure, but it could have been in the form of a quip and the actual wording altered.
"There are 12 complaints". The article indicates there were 12 complaints following an incident some time ago; there has been one complaint recently, and four resignations recently – with an implication without any facts that these may possibly be somehow related. Very often complainants will not want any publicity, whatever the results of an enquiry – it is reasonable to expect that privacy of those involved will be protected – (but not to protect the political party or parliamentary services). Being a good employer has obligations; we should not criticise an employer for not bending over backwards to sate our prurient interests. Let us be cautious . . .
You do know that the Labour Party and the Labour-led Government are not the same thing, don’t you? You seem be confused about it all or you are trying to confuse. You see, James also struggled with the distinction between a member of a party and an MP. Sometimes it pays to be a pedant and strive for accuracy …
You would have thought so. The days when women were too frightened to go to the police for fear of being disbelieved are now over. The cops have changed their culture re-rape cases in large part due to Louise Nicholas.
They say they have given up on the Labour Party so why didn't one of them turn to the police? Instead they go running off to the rightest of right wing media. That's what is fishy.
So a woman’s choice to go to the police or not directly links to her credibility according to Anne.
[You put that as an assertion, not as a question, which means that you were making up shit again. However, it is even worse that you did this on a sensitive topic and to a commenter who had shared her personal experience @ 9.3.1 with a work bully in the Public Service who “had twisted and distorted my actions and words to fit a totally false narrative. Her motivation had been in large part political.” That sounds remarkably similar to your behaviour here, certainly over the last couple of days. Take a week off and stop stirring – Incognito]
Ordinary people need to care about what the elites are doing to the planet and its animals, and play our part in protecting and sustaining both. Ane remember if we don't stay aware and take care, we are next. Countries are being bombed almost out of existence, and the people left from the wrecks of their homes, fields, and water sources – where do they go? Stay alert, stay alive, or we will be next. And share some of what we have where there is need. That's the important theme of these days I believe.
RNZ’s Alison Ballance, a zoologist and film maker, has been documenting the highs and lows of kākāpō conservation over 22 podcast episodes. When asked about the value for money spent on trying to save this funny little parrot, she says – “they’re priceless”.
Conservation biologist Rochelle Constantine is another looking for solutions to save species – her speciality is in the marine environment. She has a successful track record of helping with conservation efforts for Brydes whales in the Hauraki Gulf….
DOC categorised the whales as nationally critical, which is when population numbers dip below the 200 mark. “This is the highest listing you can get for a conservation concern.”
When a number of the mammals started washing up dead, Constantine investigated. “When we did a necropsy on them it became pretty apparent that a lot of these whales, up to 84 percent, were dying from ship strike. Clearly large vessels.”…
Constantine says a working group of DOC, local iwi, shipping companies, Ports of Auckland and academics were able to gather, argue freely and reach a solution. International shipping companies agreed to voluntarily slow to a pace of 10 knots when entering the port.
If we try, we may find a solution, and have cause for another high-five. Multiply those, and we have done our best to overcome today’s problems – and be ready for the next!
South Otago mayor supports Hipkin's reforms. From Stuff
Cadogan said many of the other polytechnics had been quite accepting of Thursday's announcement and he would prefer a similar approach from those in the deep south."At the moment we should be working to discuss the positives and what we can do to position us for the future."
He said SIT's strength put it in a strong position when working through the detail of the merger.Rather than fighting it, Cadogan said the focus should centre on working with the Establishment Board for a positive outcome for the lower South Island.
He has applauded Hipkins' "bold" move to restructure what Cadogan said was a broken polytechnic and training institute system.
He said he had watched closely over the past five years as that broken model had delivered 'misery' on Telford, a Balclutha based training campus. First when Telford came under Lincoln University, and then under Taratahi.Telford was granted a lifeline by the SIT this year when the Government agreed for SIT to take over the running of Telford for a year.
Telford and the like must not be allowed to fade away with a lack of concern and proper funding. After all why would people go to university to gain higher specialised learning when there are no jobs in NZ for them when they graduate? If NZ is not interested in being a thriving country of capable people at an advanced level of development drawing on a range of educational disciplines, why should students invest their good money in our education system? It could be that there will be more foreign students than NZ ones the way that National and RW Labour had been driving the higher education system – towards a cliff.
A great documentary on the Maori Channel last night. This is the sort of compulsory viewing that we don't see on 1,2, or 3. And if you watch this you'll see why.
For real journalism, it's necessary to follow the alternative media outlets, many of them online. We are lucky to have Democracy Now! on Freeview, then there areThe Young Turks, The Real News, Consortium News, and others. Some of these are quite long – the latest CN report on youtube being 2.5hrs long, and featuring Kim Dotcom, William Binney, Mike Gravel, and George Szamuely. I know many are turned of by KDC but Binney is a voice of reason and always worth listen to.
Now is the time to build that infrastructure that the evidence shows that we need, so come on government, and keep doing your keep-fit exercises Robertson. We don't want fat, contented finance ministers round here.
Keep Our Assets Canterbury (KOA) will announce it is standing John Minto in a campaign for the Christchurch mayoralty at a media conference to be held
Today Tuesday 6th August, 2pm at WEA (Room 3), 59 Gloucester Street
We have decided to stand John because Christchurch faces unprecedented challenges:
Global warming from greenhouse gas emissions has created a climate catastrophe which threatens us all.
Our precious drinking water is tainted with contaminants and threatened by nitrates.
Deep divisions across the city mean many people struggle on poverty incomes without dignity or self-respect. Housing conditions and social impacts for many are as bad as the 1930s depression
Is the tide ready to turn on US gun control? When even 45 is obliged to express concern the matter is coming to a head. It may be that strategic repeal of legislation defunding research into gun deaths would be a productive step.
With immigration as high as it is, new people will be looking to make some changes on our electoral system where it is moribund. Such as a longer term – 4 years makes sense to me, 5 mmm bit long. But 4 years enables the resident government to probably get good policies through and ticking before the next election.
However, it should be noted that the composition of New Zealand electorates has changed dramatically since then. Particularly in the 1990s, when the changes to immigration policy based on the selection of immigrants based on skills, not country of origin, were introduced in 1986 and 1987, and the proportion of the ethnic migrant population significantly increased.
According to a recent population projection by Statistics NZ, nationally the Asian population will make up 21 percent of the population by 2038 (up from 12 percent in 2013).
Herald online (aka the Hosking Blower) is doing its best to ignore the Labour Stats released today. The lowest unemployment and biggest rise in wages for 10 years since, well since the last Labour government actually.
They also now have an unsubstantiated headline running re another matter but have removed the content, the whole page should be gone instead just the accusation remains.
I am fed up with media thinking they are judge and jury on matters that are not even before police let alone up for judgment.
so wages went up over 4%lat year… great for those who benefited, and teachers were rewarded with no pay increase over the same period, and now they should be thankful for what they Fought tooth and nail to achieve. I gather that given what has just been achieved that teachers, nurses etc will be going backwards in real terms😤
US ramps up the pressure for regime change in Venezuela. The Chinese and Russian reply will be interesting. Am guessing the UN will be its usual spineless self on this.
"On Tuesday Bolton, and US Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, represent the United States at the International Conference for Democracy in Venezuela."
Nice of Maduro to be so warm & cozy with Trump by inviting two of his cabinet ministers to come & chat about democracy. I presume he's still struggling to figure out how to do it, and needs high-level explanations from the experts…
Great a change to our drug laws The police at there own discretion can send drugs addicts to get drug rehabilitation.
The problem I have is that this law actually gives the police more power to manipulate these people ie you do this you get to go to a rehab facility if not off to the hinaki jail. Its good that the police are going to target the organized drug sellers ka pai they are poisoning tangata with PEE.
You see whanau they use people like that to try and intimidate me brown people gangster the Hawskbay lot must have a close link to the gangster they are throwing them at me all the time here.
A intelligent person will know that the ORC drop is needed with the trade war going on with Te Papatuanuku 2 biggest economies that could drag Aotearoa economies to a slower growth rates It's not ROCKET SCIENCE.
You have just lost all your credibility looking through your $$ glasses making that statement about trump.
Aziza that is cool a phone with A accessories becomes a computer I gather that the device will be able to cast the phone screen to a big monitor for lectures and large ordinances . ???? One can already do that with a Chrome Cast.or smart TV????????. we need more information on the device
We must protect these beautiful creatures of Tangaroa and stop the trade in shark fins . Humans only live on Papatuanuku for a fraction of time compared to other fantastic creatures of Papatuanuku and Tangaroa we must preserve our whenua land and Tangaroa sea for all creatures not just thinking about WEALTHY humans alone we are all in this environment TOGETHER.
400-year-old Greenland shark is oldest vertebrate animal
This article is more than 2 years old
Shark, which would have reached sexual maturity at around 150 years, sets new record for longevity as biologists finally develop method to determine age
She was born during the reign of James I, was a youngster when René Descartes set out his rules of thought and the great fire of London raged, saw out her adolescent years as George II ascended the throne, reached adulthood around the time that the American revolution kicked off, and lived through two world wars. Living to an estimated age of nearly 400 years, a female Greenland shark has set a new record for longevity, scientists have revealed.
Forget Nessie, now is the time to spot basking sharks in Scottish waters
The discovery places the lifespan of the Greenland shark far ahead of even the oldest elephant in captivity, Lin Wang, who died aged 86. It is also far longer than the official record for humans, held by 122-year-old Frenchwoman
“That indicates that most of our analysed sharks were actually older than the time mark, meaning that they were older than 50 years,” said Nielsen
The scientists then combined the carbon dating results with estimations of how Greenland sharks grow, to create a model that allowed them to probe the age of the 25 sharks born before the 1960s.
Their findings revealed that the largest shark of the group, a female measuring just over five metres in length, was most likely around 392 years old, although, as Nielsen points out, the range of possible ages stretches from 272 to 512 years.
“The Greenland shark is now the best candidate for the longest living vertebrate animal,” he said. Ka kite ano link below.
Its cool that Aotearoa gave Sir Brian a service that he deserved 5000 people attended ka pai.
Some people are going to be unhappy about the drugs floating ashore in Auckland good job.
I agree with Joe Biden.
It would be cool if Lumsden South Land got there maturity units back its quite hard for Wahine to give birth having to travel far to a hospital would add more stress to mum and baby.
Ka kite ano it been warm weather here today can not say the same about the authority's
Its a great move Wally to lower the police numbers at Ihumatao .
Kirama I can read you piece of piss .
It should be good to have a top down approach to our polytechnics and other training organizations 16 being run under one umbrella we need to give our youth the correct skills to help them climb up high on their ladders of life.
Tracy I think it's awesome that te tamariki are going be accessed at 7 years old to see if they have dyslexic a lot of times there parents have not figured out that their tamariki has a learning disorder. When one knows there is a problem well that is when things can be put in place to solve it.
I remember my Mama trying to teach me to spell it was hard mahi for her.
Awesome Pacific Art is being displayed at the Auckland museum the place with the largest Pacific population in te Papatuanuku beautiful looking Art to .
Spirit Wrestler Art studio who is hosting and helping Pacific artists to market their great Art cool Piripi
The way it works is that 99.9 % of TE TANGATA get to see the TRUTH about climate change and we put pressure on the authorities to change the way we live ie carbon neutral. Students strike is changing the political minds on climate change. Once trump is voted out American will switch back to mitagating climate change China is making huge changes to combat climate change thanks to them SOLAR POWER is the cheapest form of Electricity generation. European is changing the way they live to they are 10 years ahead of most countries with their Mitigation of climate change. climate change And is India they are building the Papatuanuku biggest SOLAR Farms Eco calls them because we are harvesting energy straight from TE RA stop being a naysayer it Friday days off for you.
Its great that Brendon Hartley is driving in E Car racing E cars are faster cleaner and the FUTURE of private transportation.
I think paula is manufacturing that situation I agree she is politicizing the situation just to gain votes. The Coalition government didn't attack national over the Ross situation that national had .That's the difference between the left and the right the right will throw anything under the bus to get votes the left no what RESPECT is .national would have had the cops arrest everyone at Ihumatao.
Aotearoa Farmers lead the Papatuanuku with their farming practices they don't get massive subsidies to keep on farming un sustainable like the rest of Papatuanuku the production efficiency gains over 30 years has been MASSIVE.
Eco Maori has Already given up flying on Planes you know 2 reasons.
Sir David Fagin is a great ambassador for Aotearoa all his feats in winning Papatuanuku Shearing competition. The previous government have dropped the ball on training and providing the correct skills .
I think it's stupid that we have to import workers how stupid or callous by the people who have been ruling Aotearoa .
Here you go whanau people are already suffering because of the Oil barons blocking tangata reality and the TRUTH about the scientific facts on Human caused climate change. Water is getting scarce as Papatuanuku heats up the problem of water for the common poor tangata is going to multiply very fast.
'People are dying': how the climate crisis has sparked an exodus to the US
As part of the Running Dry series, the Guardian looks at how drought and famine are forcing Guatemalan families to choose between starvation and migration
At sunrise, the misty fields around the village of Guior are already dotted with men, women and children sowing maize after an overnight rainstorm.
After several years of drought, the downpour brought some hope of relief to the subsistence farmers in this part of eastern Guatemala.
But as Esteban Gutiérrez, 30, takes a break from his work, he explains why he is still willing to incur crippling debts – and risk his life – to migrate to the United States.
“My children have gone to bed hungry for the past three years. Our crops failed and the coffee farms have cut wages to $4 a day,” he says, playing nervously with the white maize kernels in a plastic trough strapped to his waist
The United Nations report is good but it doesn't mean Aotearoa should not stop farming the way we do. I say we could reduce our farming carbon footprint quite a lot if we focused on that task .
Ka pai to our Coalition Governments for making big companies responsible for their recycling that will make them make their products and packaging more recyclable Awesome.
I don't think Wahine should be consuming to much alcohol during breast feeding the Wahine in my whanau pump breast milk before they drink and don't feed off their bread for a day .
Radio Hauraki was a great way to break the way Aotearoa handled the radio waves. Condolences to Mr Mcgain Whanau he was part of the changes that needed to happen with Aotearoa Radio.
There you go shonky had the government agency hire a private eye company spie on good Kiwis .
That was a big mess in that Australian truck crash.
Good on Tama Iti for going to Ihumatao and see for himself what the kauppa is Eco Maori has a lot of respect for Tama .
Ka pai To Kuakaupapa the total immersion in Te reo came just in time to save our te reo and Maori Culture from collapsing my generation and my mother generation lost te reo now we have heaps of tamariki who can carry our cultural into THEIR FUTURE its cool that the teachers are getting pay parity
I DON'T think that nurse or anyone should be shunned for speaking te reo I don't do that to anyone. Heads turn when I greet people with a kia ora .
The measles is still going on in the year 2019 who dropped the ball on that dease .
I think it's great to have the wayward young people getting a lesson in respect and learning how to be a good citizen of Aotearoa in the army based camps Ron.
Mana Wahine Cherise great that you won the bucthers championship tangata whenua are good at bucthering meat I prosessed my first mutton at 12 years old me and a m8 the same age .
Sarah L Caddy, University of CambridgeVaccines are a marvel of medicine. Few interventions can claim to have saved as many lives. But it may surprise you to know that not all vaccines provide the same level of protection. Some vaccines stop you getting symptomatic disease, but others stop you ...
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RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
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Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...
"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...
This is a re-post from Inside Climate News by Ilana Cohen. Inside Climate News is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Whether or not people accept the science on Covid-19 and climate change, both global crises will have lasting impacts on health and ...
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...
The session started off so well. Annalax – suitably chastised – spent a pleasant morning with his new girlfriend (he would say paramour, of course, but for our purposes, girlfriend is easier*). He told her about Waking World Drow, and their worship of Her Ladyship. And he started ...
In a recent column I wrote for local newspapers, I ventured to suggest that Donald Trump – in addition to being a liar and a cheat, and sexist and racist – was a fascist in the making and would probably try, if he were to lose the election, to defy ...
When I was preparing for my School C English exam I knew I needed some quotes to splash through my essays. But remembering lines was never my strong point, so I tended to look for the low-hanging fruit. We’d studied Shakespeare’s King Lear that year and perhaps the lowest hanging ...
When I went to bed last night, I was expecting today to be eventful. A lot of pouting in Congress as last-ditch Trumpers staged bad-faith "objections" to a democratic election, maybe some rioting on the streets of Washington DC from angry Trump supporters. But I wasn't expecting anything like an ...
Melted ice of the past answers question today? Kate Ashley and a large crew of coauthors wind back the clock to look at Antarctic sea ice behavior in times gone by, in Mid-Holocene Antarctic sea-ice increase driven by marine ice sheet retreat. For armchair scientists following the Antarctic sea ice situation, something jumps out in ...
Christina SzalinskiWhen Martha Field became pregnant in 2005, a singular fear weighed on her mind. Not long before, as a Cornell University graduate student researching how genes and nutrients interact to cause disease, she had seen images of unborn mouse pups smaller than her pinkie nail, some with ...
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidates for President and Vice President respectively for the US 2020 Election, may have dispensed with the erstwhile nemesis, Trump the candidate – but there are numerous critical openings through which much, much worse many out there may yet see fit to ...
I don’t know Taupō well. Even though I stop off there from time to time, I’m always on the way to somewhere else. Usually Taupō means making a hot water puddle in the gritty sand followed by a swim in the lake, noticing with bemusement and resignation the traffic, the ...
Frances Williams, King’s College LondonFor most people, infection with SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – leads to mild, short-term symptoms, acute respiratory illness, or possibly no symptoms at all. But some people have long-lasting symptoms after their infection – this has been dubbed “long COVID”. Scientists are ...
Last night, a British court ruled that Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US. Unfortunately, its not because all he is "guilty" of is journalism, or because the offence the US wants to charge him with - espionage - is of an inherently political nature; instead the judge accepted ...
Is the Gender Identity Movement a movement for human liberation, or is it a regressive movement which undermines women’s liberation and promotes sexist stereotypes? Should biological males be allowed to play in women’s sport, use women-only spaces (public toilets, changing rooms, other facilities), be able to have access to everything ...
Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University and Gareth Dorrian, University of BirminghamSpace exploration achieved several notable firsts in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, including commercial human spaceflight and returning samples of an asteroid to Earth. The coming year is shaping up to be just as interesting. Here are some of ...
Michael Head, University of SouthamptonThe UK has become the first country to authorise the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for public use, with roll-out to start in the first week of 2021. This vaccine is the second to be authorised in the UK – following the Pfizer vaccine. The British government ...
So, Boris Johnson has been footering about in hospitals again. We should be grateful, perhaps, that on this occasion the Clown-in-Chief is only (probably) getting in the way and causing distractions, rather than taking up a bed, vital equipment and resources and adding more strain and danger to exhausted staff.Look at ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... SkS in the News... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Many Scientists Now Say Global Warming Could Stop Relatively Quickly After Emissions Go to ZeroThat’s one of several recent ...
The situation in the UK is looking catastrophic.Cases: over *70,000* people who were tested in England on 29th December tested positive. This is *not* because there were more tests on that day. It *is* 4 days after Christmas though, around when people who caught Covid on Christmas Day might start ...
by Don Franks For five days over New Year weekend, sixteen prisoners in the archaic pre WW1 block of Waikeria Prison defied authorities by setting fires and occupying the building’s roof. They eventually agreed to surrender after intervention from Maori party co-leader Rawiri Waititi. A message from the protesting men had stated: ...
As we welcome in the new year, our focus is on continuing to keep New Zealanders safe and moving forward with our economic recovery. There’s a lot to get on with, but before we say a final goodbye to 2020, here’s a quick look back at some of the milestones ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has added her warm congratulations to the New Zealanders recognised for their contributions to their communities and the country in the New Year 2021 Honours List. “The past year has been one that few of us could have imagined. In spite of all the things that ...
Attorney-General and Minister for the Environment David Parker has congratulated two retired judges who have had their contributions to the country and their communities recognised in the New Year 2021 Honours list. The Hon Tony Randerson QC has been appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the New Year’s Honours List 2021 highlights again the outstanding contribution made by Pacific people across Aotearoa. “We are acknowledging the work of 13 Pacific leaders in the New Year’s Honours, representing a number of sectors including health, education, community, sports, the ...
The Government’s investment in digital literacy training for seniors has led to more than 250 people participating so far, helping them stay connected. “COVID-19 has meant older New Zealanders are showing more interest in learning how to use technology like Zoom and Skype so they can to keep in touch ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Bartlett, Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle Reports of about 30 deaths among elderly nursing home residents who received the Pfizer vaccine have made international headlines. With Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) expected to approve the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Culum Brown, Professor, Macquarie University How do gills work? Tully, aged 7 Great question, Tully! Animals on land breathe air, which is made up of different gasses. Oxygen is one of these gases, and is made by plants (hug ...
Dairy prices increased by 3.9% across the board at the latest Fonterra global auction. The lift followed rises of 1.3% and 4.3% in the December auctions which took dairy prices to their highest level in 11 months, defying those analysts who believed Covid-19 had disrupted dairy markets. In the latest ...
America's Cup team American Magic has spoken publicly after their boat Patriot capsized when on its way to their first win of the Challenger Selection Series yesterday. Patriot dramatically capsized yesterday, becoming temporarily airborne before crashing back into the water and tipping. The boat, helmed by New Zealander Dean Barker, could not be ...
It’s a seemingly age old question: why do Auckland’s beaches become unswimmable after every single downpour? Stewart Sowman-Lund investigates.Ah, the beach. A staple of the New Zealand summer. Unless, of course, you’re based in Auckland and it’s raining. The start of 2021 has been a lot like every other New ...
We have opened a book, among members of the Point of Order team, on how long it will be before the PM offers to sort out the land dispute at Wellington’s Shelly Bay and (to win the double) how much the settlement will cost taxpayers. Just a few weeks ago ...
Breakfast TV news is back for 2021, and Tara Ward got up early to watch. “Thank god it’s almost Christmas,” John Campbell said during the opening minutes of Breakfast’s premiere episode of the year. “2021’s been rough so far. I’m buggered”. We’re all buggered, to be fair, but I’m worried that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Pearson, Professor of Journalism and Social Media, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Griffith University The blame for the recent assault on the US Capitol and President Donald Trump’s broader dismantling of democratic institutions and norms can be ...
Despite a popular and unifying leader of the governing party, divisions both in policy and culture will test the progressive movement, writes Peter McKenzie.‘I think we’re confused.” Marlon Drake is an organiser for the Living Wage Movement. His job takes him all over Wellington, trying to convince businesses to increase ...
Covid-19 Recovery Minister Chris Hipkins says vaccinations should be available to the public by the middle of the year, but other countries are prioritised. ...
It’s as true now as it ever has been: nowhere else offers an education experience like that of Dunedin. But rather than resting on their laurels, the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic have plans to make the city an even more inspiring place for students.From high in the summit ...
Haggis, neeps and tatties and whisky may not be a traditional spread for a summer gathering in NZ, but trust Auckland city councillor and Kiwi-Scot Cathy Casey on this one. Gie it laldy! Rule one: Hold it on (or near) January 25Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759. Since the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University It could be argued artificial intelligence (AI) is already the indispensable tool of the 21st century. From helping doctors diagnose and treat patients to rapidly advancing new drug discoveries, it’s our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University Through recent natural disasters, global upheavals and a pandemic, Australia’s political centre has largely held. Australians may have disagreed at times, but they have also kept faith with governmental norms, eschewing the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Seale, Associate professor, UNSW Health workers are at higher risk of COVID infection and illness. They can also act as extremely efficient transmitters of viruses to others in medical and aged care facilities. That’s why health workers have been prioritised to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jim Orchard, Adjunct Lecturer, Monash University Last week, somewhat overshadowed by the events in Washington, the Democrats took control of the US Senate. The Democrats now hold a small majority in both the House and the Senate until 2022, giving President-elect Joe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mittul Vahanvati, Lecturer, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Heatwaves, floods, bushfires: disaster season is upon us again. We can’t prevent hazards or climate change-related extreme weather events but we can prepare for them — not just as individuals ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandie Shean, Lecturer, School of Education, Edith Cowan University Starting school is an important event for children and a positive experience can set the tone for the rest of their school experience. Some children are excited to attend school for the first ...
Some families in emergency housing are reporting their children are becoming emotionally distressed because of their living conditions. Demand for emergency accommodation has escalated this past year with the number of emergency housing grants increasing by half. Data showed nearly 10,000 people were given an Emergency Housing Special Needs Grant between ...
Summer reissue: Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden are back for a second season of On the Rag, and where better to start than with the mysterious, exhausting world of wellness?First published June 23, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is ...
With few Covid-19 infections and negiligible natural immunity, New Zealand faces being a victim of its own success when it is left till last to get the vaccines, argues Dr Parmjeet Parmar. ...
Steve Braunias reports on a literary cancelling. The Corrections department has refused to allow Jared Savage's best-selling book Gangland inside prison on the grounds that it "promotes violence and drug use". An inmate at Otago Corrections Facility in Dunedin was sent a copy of the book – but it was ...
New data from the CTU’s annual work life survey shows a snapshot of working people’s experiences and outlook heading out of 2020 and into the new year. Concerningly 42% of respondents cite workplace bullying as an issue in their workplace - a number ...
An international player, selector and self-confessed cricket stats nerd, Penny Kinsella has now played a hand in recording the rich history of the women's game in New Zealand. Penny Kinsella’s cricketing career was perched on the cusp of change for the White Ferns. “My first tour to Australia, we ...
The dramatic capsize of American Magic brought out the best in the America's Cup sailing fraternity. But, Suzanne McFadden asks, what does it mean to the crippled New York Yacht Club campaign and to the Prada Cup? It was a scene as unreal as it was calamitous. Right at the moment the ...
The current number of members of parliament is starting to get too low for the job we expect them to do, argues Alex Braae. As a general rule, with the possible exception of their families, nobody likes backbench MPs. But it’s nevertheless time we accepted that parliament should have more of ...
The experience in the Brazilian city of Manaus reveals how mistaken, and dangerous, the herd-immunity-by-infection theory really is. As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop ...
As New Zealand gears up to fight climate change, experts warn that we need to actually reduce emissions, not just plant trees to offset our greenhouse gases. ...
A nationwide poll has found majority support for the government to continue to closely monitor abortions in New Zealand and the reasons for it, despite the Ministry of Health recently suggesting that there is not a use for collecting much of this information. ...
The out-of-control growth in gangs, gun crime, and violent gang activity is exposing our communities to dangerous levels of violence that will inevitably end in tragedy, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. “The recent incidents of people being shot and ...
Successive governments have paid lip service to our productivity challenge but have failed to deliver. It's time to establish a Productivity Council charged with prioritising efforts. ...
Understanding the connection between chronic fatigue syndrome and ‘long Covid’ might be helpful in treating symptoms that doctors will find all too easy to dismiss.When people began to report signs of “long Covid”, characterised by a lack of full recovery from the virus and debilitating fatigue, I recognised their stories. ...
Nadine Anne Hura, who never considered herself an artist, reflects on what art and making has taught her.I couldn’t clean or cook or wash the clothes, but I could sew. That’s a lie, I’m a terrible sewer, but I left work early to fossick around in the $1 bin of ...
Summer reissue: In the final episode of this season of Bad News, Alice is joined by Billy T award winner Kura Forrester to look at how well we’re honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 2020.First published September 3, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The ...
Lucy Revill’s The Residents is a blog about daily life in Wellington that has morphed into a stylish, low-key coffee-table book featuring interviews and photographic portraits of 38 Wellingtonians. In this extract, Revill profiles Eboni Waitere, owner and executive director of Huia Publishers. The Residents features names like Monique Fiso ...
Pacific Media Watch correspondent The pro-independence conflict in West Papua with a missionary plane reportedly being shot down at Intan Jaya has stirred contrasting responses from the TNI/POLRI state sources, church leaders and an independence leader. A shooting caused a plane to catch fire on 6 January 2021 in the ...
“Last year ACT warned that rewarding protestors at Ihumātao with taxpayer money would promote further squatting. We just didn’t think it would happen as quickly as it is in Shelly Bay” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “The prosperity of all ...
Our kindly PM registered her return to work as leader of the nation with yet another statement on the Beehive website, the second in two days (following her appointment of Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council on Wednesday). It’s great to know we don’t have to check with ...
A Pūhoi pub is refusing to remove a piece of memorabilia bearing the n-word from its walls. Dr Lachy Paterson looks at the history of the word here, and New Zealand’s complicity in Britain’s shameful slave trading past.Content warning: This article contains racist language and images.On a pub wall in ...
Supermarket shoppers looking for citrus are seeing a sour trend at the moment – some stores are entirely tapped out of lemons. But why? Batches of homemade lemonade will be taking a hit this summer, with life not giving New Zealand shoppers lemons. Prices are high at supermarkets and grocers that ...
You’re born either a cheery soul or a gloomy one, reckons Linda Burgess – but what happens when gene pools from opposite ends of the spectrum collide?In our shoeboxes of photos that we have to sort out before we die or get demented – because who IS that kid on ...
Summer reissue: Prisoner voting rights are something that few in government seem particularly motivated to do anything about. Could a catchy charity single help draw attention to the issue?First published September 1, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its ...
Hundreds more Cook Islanders are expected to begin criss-crossing the Pacific, Air NZ will triple the number of flights to Rarotonga next week, and about 300 managed isolation places will be freed up for Kiwis returning from other parts of the world. When Thomas Tarurongo Wynne took a job in Wellington at ...
SPECIAL REPORT:By Ena Manuireva in Auckland It seems a long time ago – some 124 days – since Mā’ohi Nui deplored its first covid-19 related deaths of an elderly woman on 11 September 2020 followed by her husband just hours later, both over the age of 80. The local ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Turnbull, Postdoctoral research associate, UNSW A global coalition of more than 50 countries have this week pledged to protect over 30% of the planet’s lands and seas by the end of this decade. Their reasoning is clear: we need greater protection ...
The Reserve Bank Governor’s apology and claim he will ‘own the issue’ is laughable given the lack of answers and timing of its release. Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Union said: “It’s been five days since they came clean, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olga Kokshagina, Researcher – Innovation & Entrepreneurship, RMIT University Are too many online meetings and notifications getting you down? Online communication tools – from email to virtual chat and video-conferencing – have transformed the way we work. In many respects they’ve made ...
The Reserve Bank acknowledges information about some of its stakeholders may have been breached in a malicious data hack. The Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has commissioned an independent inquiry into how stakeholders' information was compromised when hackers breached a file sharing service used by the bank. “We ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlin Syme, PhD in Vertebrate Palaeontology, The University of Queensland This story contains spoilers for Ammonite Palaeontologist Mary Anning is known for discovering a multitude of Jurassic fossils from Lyme Regis on England’s Dorset Coast from the age of ten in 1809. ...
A tribute to the sitcoms of old? In the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Yup. Sam Brooks reviews the audacious WandaVision.Nothing sends a chill up my spine like the phrase “Marvel Cinematic Universe”. Since launching in 2008 with Iron Man, the MCU has become a shambling behemoth, with over 23 films (not ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University The alt-right, QAnon, paramilitary and Donald Trump-supporting mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6 claimed they were only doing what the so-called “founding fathers” of the US had done in ...
The Point of Order Ministerial Workload Watchdog and our ever-vigilant Trough Monitor were both triggered yesterday by an item of news from the office of Conservation Minister Kititapu Allan. The minister was drawing attention to new opportunities to dip into the Jobs for Nature programme (and her statement was the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Kupz, Senior Research Fellow, James Cook University In July 1921, a French infant became the first person to receive an experimental vaccine against tuberculosis (TB), after the mother had died from the disease. The vaccine, known as Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), is ...
The first Friday Poem for 2021 is by Wellington poet Rebecca Hawkes.While you were partying I studied the bladeI your ever-loving edgelord God-emperorof the bot army & bitcoin mine subsistingon an IV drip of gamer girl bathwaterfinally my lonelinessis your responsibility………. you seeI need a girlfriend assigned to me by the ...
The arming of police officers in Canterbury was inevitable with the growing numbers and brazenness of the gangs across the country – this should be a permanent step, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. “It is unfortunate that we have come to the point ...
Celebrations in Aotearoa New Zealand to mark the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will begin on Thursday 21 January with ICAN Aotearoa New Zealand’s Wellington and online event, and continue on Friday ...
Hardly anyone is using their Covid Tracer app. Something needs to change.As the mercury approaches 30°C in Aotearoa, there is a good deal of slipping and slopping, but, let’s face it, piss-all scanning. As few as around 500,000 QR codes are being scanned by users of the NZ Covid Tracer ...
On the East Coast, a group of Māori-owned enterprises is innovating to create new revenue streams while doing what they love.New Zealand’s remote and sparsely populated regions are typically not the best places to create thriving brick-and-mortar businesses. In small communities miles away from any major centres, there are so ...
As we reach the height of summer, it’s not too late to do a safety check on your gas bottle. The Environmental Protection Authority’s Safer Homes programme has some tips and tricks to keep in mind before you fire up the grill. "If you’ve ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1Troy: The Siege of Troy Retold by Stephen Fry (Michael Joseph, $37)If you’re in any way unsure about ...
“We may as well knock on the gang headquarters around this country and tell them we all give up," says Darroch Ball co-leader of Sensible Sentencing Trust. “It is simply outrageous that violent offender, James Tuwhangai, has been released from ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Ireland, Israel, and Lebanon. Chart by Keith Rankin. The countries with the most recent large outbreaks of Covid19 are those with large numbers of recent recorded cases, but yet to record the deaths that most likely will result. In this camp, this time, are Ireland, Israel ...
RuPaul is in Aotearoa, kicking back in managed isolation to await the filming of an Australasian version of her hugely popular reality show Drag Race. But not everyone is happy about, explains Eli Matthewson. The world’s most famous drag queen, RuPaul, is in New Zealand, the government confirmed earlier this week ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Melleuish, Professor, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong What can we make of Clive Palmer? This week, he announced his United Australia Party (UAP) would not contest the upcoming West Australian state election on March 13. After a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gisela Kaplan, Emeritus Professor in Animal Behaviour, University of New England Have you ever seenmagpies play-fighting with one another, or rolling around in high spirits? Or an apostlebird running at full speed with a stick in its beak, chased by a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Jackson, Program Director, Centre for Policy Development, and Associate Professor of Education, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University Childcare centres across Australia are suffering staff shortages, which have been exacerbated by the COVID crisis. Many childcare workers across Australia left when parents started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Barrett, Senior Lecturer in Taxation, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Rhetoric plays an important role in tax debate and therefore tax policy. If your side manages to gain traction in the public imagination with labels such as “death ...
It is going to be interesting to see if the anti-abortion crowd have any clout or if they'll be exposed like the gun lobby as full of humbug and hot air. I am picking the government will find surprisingly little resistance to the law reforms it is proposing.
Could be just the thing to whip up another religious political party..
I do hope so. Always enjoy watching the religious bigot parties implode into scandals and hypocrisy.
Right to life. Life doesn't get a choice of whom talks for it! really. What would life say when the foetal whisper asks them? When the mother knows best, the lifers who neither ask for, explain how, or expect debate upon the issue, are told by the baby whisper, the mum that abortion is best. Are they really lifers, when choosers say without prodding, that abortion being a medical procedure should not be over used, that choosers are antilife. Mums die giving birth, mums have to live with the reality of aborting or not. Yes, not abort can be a fatal choice too. So what are we to do when bottom of the cliff ambulance chasers declare they are the only unborn whispers. Miscarriages, caused by industrualization, abort by big corp? Or driving accidents? Sure a women can have god abort, the local drunk, or big industry, but not the choice themselves despite the plain fact that they will live with decision, not the prolifer sic. A senior exec, a drunk, hell even the nonexistent god all are more culpable to their statements that the prolifer who cuts and runs at all the deaths from pregnancy, all the disasters of choosing to keep the baby. The question therefore really do you believe infreed will, that an inalienable right to choose, exists. Or that we free people's should favor religion. Lifers are pro life, they aren't even proliberty, or God. It's just a disgusting display of vanity being better people. Nobody wants an abortion, that the lie they push.
so what is it: conscious vote or referendum? Would have thought Jacinda and co sorted this out before calling a media conference. Or is that mere detail?
David Seymour of all people show Jacinda Ardern and Labour what standing up to China looks like, as it turns out that Labours pragmatism also extend to allowing the Chinese dictatorship to encourage violence on our own shores in the name of protecting the almighty dollar and business…guttless fucking liberals.
'China Consulate praises 'patriotism' of students in Auckland' Universityscufflehttps://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/08/china-consulate-praises-patriotism-of-students-in-auckland-university-scuffle.html
ACT leader David Seymour demands Chinese Consulate General explain 'encouraging violent behaviour'https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/08/act-leader-david-seymour-demands-chinese-consulate-general-explain-encouraging-violent-behaviour.html
One can only imagine the shit hitting the fan on this site if this had happened under Nationals watch…or the moral outrage if this had been Russia or the US encouraging this violence vis a vie Putin/Trump..disappointing but not unexpected at how fluid some peoples moral and ethical positions are.
You can afford to make noise when you are a nobody.
What a stupid wrongheaded piece of logic..if one extrapolates your position, you are saying that any citizen who is not in a position of power of some sort or another is a nobody and I assume shouldn't be heard.
China is smart enough to know who to pay attention to.
Are they? I thought they were human like the rest of us ….
A small child would spot the yapping of a chihuahua.
@Sacha, So to be clear, you are fine with the Chinese dictatorship encouraging violence on New Zealand soil?
So I assume then you would just as fine if it where Putin or Trump encouraging violence on New Zealand soil..or is it just OK if we have X amount of trade with the country in question?
If this is the case, how much trade does a country have to do with New Zealand before it's OK with you and Labour NZ to allow this state sanctioned violence…give us a number, an amount you think if fair for us to sell our morals and dignity…I am interested to know that dollar value you think your (and NZ's) morals and ethical values are worth selling for on the open market of free trade?
Never said that.
It most certainly looks that way…
I trust that others here can read better.
Your implied defense of Labours silence is what I am sure most will judge your comments, thereby your position by.
Most people can walk and chew gum at the same time.
When real judges judge based on assumptions we know justice is not going to be served (well).
The same applies to our own judgements and ‘natural justice’ and we need to be careful with our assumptions, opinions, prejudices, and the likes, before we jump to conclusions IMHO.
"So I assume then "
There's the problem, right there. It's a common problem and those who practice "assuming" usually can't see what they've done, even when it's pointed out to them. See, walk and chew!
There's nothing wrong with the logic. Seymour is standing up to China now he's an opposition MP and the NZ government can't be held responsible for his statements. When he was part of the government and the NZ government therefore could be held responsible for his statements, he behaved differently – rather like the government is behaving now, for example.
OK so we agree, both Labour and National and their proxies place higher value on uninterrupted trade and commerce than they do on standing up for any kind of supposed moral or ethical position that most New Zealanders would probably expect a sitting government to defend and stand for as sovereign nation.
As suggested earlier, typical liberal behaviour…always profits before people, both the ideology of National and sadly our own spineless useless third way Labour party, no wonder they are polling so badly.
What stupidity. Diplomacy is not all about public sabre-rattling – often more can be achieved by polite, private, but firm, discussions. This is not an issue that I would any New Zealand government to be publicly involved in. New Zealand's position regarding Hong Kong is undoubtedly known to China.
Are you saying that standing up to China who have publicly supported the assault of a protester on New Zealand soil is saber rattling?
I would say that China are the ones who are openly saber rattling, and bulling,obviously testing this weak government on it's resolve…but for some bizarre reason most Labour sycophants here seems to think that is quite OK?
What a bunch of arselickers…grow some fucking backbone for crying out loud.
It's certainly an effective way to let the local Chinese community know who's running the show.
I'm curious, if we are willing to turn a blind eye to State endorsed violence being perpetrated upon foreign born visitors/residents in New Zealand at what point would we intervene.
I seem to recall some New Zealand citizens on TS being really really really upset at the thought of the Russian State supposedly targeting Russians in the UK..maybe we should clarify the rules with the Chinese ..a bit of niggle, a bit of biff, thats okay..but you know, keep it seemly pretty please..
Meantime I would imagine the female victim of this State endorsed violence is shit scared of returning to Hong Kong….then again I'm not sure anywhere is safe..
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/29/the-disappeared-china-renditions-kidnapping/
You would know.
Indeed.
Exactly Adrian, I agree 100%. I am astounded that Jacinda's government has not done something public about this.
Another weakness showing. And poor governance on this matter.
Jacindaites better watch out her useless weak spots don't catch up on her
Every New Zealand government of any stripe is basically a Kakapo when it comes to China – it's only natural defense mechanism is to freeze in place when scared.
A Rod Donald-led Government wouldn't have kakapo'd it.
I don't think so – there was Lange and anti-nuclear standing up to the US and Australia straight and strong.. plus Kirk facing down the French with two frigates. Plus Clark refusing to join the 'coalition of the aggressive'. It seems Jacinda is a rung or two below these previous strong Labour leaders. (Nat leaders don't come close of course)
We are not that small and powerless you know.. we command a place on the globe and have influence…
and we need to stand up when required, like we have done in the past.
Jacinda is starting to look weak and useless imo
China takes half our exports and props up our housing market as well by providing most of the people in the new fifth column that keeps the housing ponzi spluttering along.
Upsetting them will take a lot of balls and an existential threat.
Yeah sure, I see that. And China has form in using levers like that if they don't like what others don't like about them.
But this is an age-old issue isn't it. It is like standing up to the bully in the classroom….
… don't stand up and forever be marked down and declining
not the route to take
Jacinda needs to stand up imo, and strongly
" props up our housing market"
Foreign buyers like those from China are essentially banned from buying houses AND land.
plus larger parcels are being investigated for a change
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/business/overseas-owned-business-to-pay-over-500k-in-fines-for-buying-five-hectares-of-auckland-land/
Jacinda is starting to look weak and useless imo
Just wait. As soon as the communists invade Hong Kong she'll grow a spine & call it Winston.
What !
Make sense man …no wonder you dont make any traction in the Green Party.
I haven't tried to influence the GP since winning the battle against the leftists on the waka-jumping legislation. Since I've won every major battle against groupthink that I've undertaken in the Greens, your misread doesn't bother me.
Okay there's the leftist alignment still in place, but since I've already owned up to convincing the GP to adopt it back when it was actually necessary (several times here), I just have to wear the karmic consequence until the Greens decide to retreat from isolation…
" she'll grow a spine & call it Winston." ….a classic line right there.
""We're likening our response to climate change as our response to Te Korokoro o te Parata, to move beyond that challenge and survive," says Te Arawa Lakes Trust Environmental Manager Nicki Douglas."
The legal threat and the big opportunity in Māori engagement on climate change response
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/114282945/the-legal-threat-and-the-big-opportunity-in-mori-engagement-on-climate-change-response
"President Donald Trump called on the nation to condemn racism and white supremacy in a speech on Monday". https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/05/politics/donald-trump-mass-shooting-response/
In the clip on that page he says "these sinister ideologies must be defeated". Better late than never. I look forward to all the commentators here who have in the past called him a racist white supremacist (while consistently providing no proof of that) apologising in unison for getting it wrong. What? Really? You mean they'll keep on denying the facts?
It was surprising but very pleasing to read that Trump had condemned racism and white supremacy.
Without it, these groups had been emboldened, threatening us all.
He also claimed the cause of the frequent mass murders is just individual mental health. Guess which message his supporters will hear?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/08/exclusive-labour-forced-to-review-investigation-into-bullying-sexual-assault-allegations-against-staffer.html
four positions available as labour staffers.
Applicants must be willing to be sexually harassed, bullied and / or sexuality assaulted.
Promotions will be given to staff who “look good to sleep with”.
Applications to senior labour staffer who will be given your personal details and application letter.
Your timing with with this is a bit off today micky
[Off topic James. Please deal with this topic in open mike – MS]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Unproven allegations are just that. Maybe you believe all those allegations from Jami Lee Ross. Do try harder, James.
James will be busy composing his explanation as to why Sarah Dowie isn't to be investigated/charged with inciting a person to self-harm. Coz James is very sensitive to cover-ups.
i find it sad how many on here accept accusations as fact (some even after it’s been proven false) if it’s a national member – yet are happy to ignore such a large issue and so many complaints of a serious nature in labour’s office. ‘Not proven mate – we ran another dodgy process – move on – no appeals’
Like the five victims of the other mass sexual assault at a labour youth camp – that is still unproven- but lucky after labour did little the police got involved and now he’s in court in a few weeks.
Lets all hope name suppression isn’t granted if he gets convicted.
Perhaps the police will get involved in this one as well.
[Off topic James. Please deal with this topic in open mike – MS]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
"Perhaps the police will get involved in this one as well. "
As they did the Sarah Dowie case?
Why do YOU think that one was dropped, James?
"Lets all hope name suppression isn’t granted" suggests to me you are not interested in the good of an intelligent positive resolution for all involved but a vindictive partisan political outcome.
i don’t have to – the police already said why.
Same as they did when a man was found running naked down the street claiming rape / sexual assault from Darren Hughes at labour’s deputy leaders house.
I guess you would be ok with that one tho huh?
[Off topic James. Please deal with this topic in open mike – MS]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Just say no to drugs jimbo, always the wise choice.
Radio stations usually have a 'back up track' in case they have to vacate the building for such as a fire alarm. I woke in the night and newstalkZB had the situation. They had a carping, grating track on which had the intellectual level of a child, (at the time any kid should've been in bed though).
I don't know where they got it or if they could their money back for the faulty product. Apparently it was a 'Bruce Russell.'
Something smells big time here.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12255887
The level of seriousness of the senior Labour staffer's claimed behaviour would surely have warranted a police investigation but apparently it hasn’t happened.
Then I saw the origins of the story. Newstalk ZB plus Barry Soper and Mike Hosking.
I recall the first stand up interview with P.M.Jacinda Ardern, where Soper tried to throw her off balance. He failed and you could see the anger and hatred written all over his face. It's been there ever since.
If, as I suspect, it is a story which has been distorted for political purposes, then it is incumbent on the party personnel involved to front up with the results.
Indeed, some (the usual) culprits in MSM try to politicise, polarise, and sensationalise this situation. Unfortunately, a few commenters here are trying to do the same thing. Even more unfortunately, it seems to be working and is driving a wedge between good people some of whom are being accused of being an “enabler” of sexual violence. In my view, this does absolutely nothing to deal with the issue of sexual violence.
However, Soper said he'd discovered the man at the centre of the allegations had hired a lawyer who told him "that he is innocent, there was an inquiry, he has nothing to answer for and they warned us to leave this issue alone otherwise they will be suing".
Call their bluff. Make them sue. The whole sad and sorry saga aired in a Court of Law.
I hesitate to refer you to last night's Daily Review and the very long thread under 2 loosely based on an earlier Tova O'Brien Newshub "Exclusive", i.e.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/08/exclusive-labour-forced-to-review-investigation-into-bullying-sexual-assault-allegations-against-staffer.html
Personally at present, I am trying to keep an open (slightly) mind on this situation …
Hi veutoviper,
Here are two excerpts from the Newshub report which make me smell a rat:
I had a shocking experience back in the early 1990s (and I later realised it had occurred previously) where a malicious woman laid complaints against me to my Public Service bosses (and elsewhere) which caused me to be placed under surveillance and routinely bullied and intimidated. She had twisted and distorted my actions and words to fit a totally false narrative. Her motivation had been in large part political.
This is why I'm deeply suspicious of the extent of the claims being made in this case. But I agree, we will have to wait and see what the outcome is before we can pass firm judgement.
Something sounds fishy alright. Of course even if the issue turns out to be hollow, the damage will already have been done. Can you imagine Soper withdrawing and apologising?
There are 12 complainants
"Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper said that there were 12 alleged complainants and the allegations involved not only sexual assault, but also rape and offers to pay for sex."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12256021
I agree we need to wait and see the outcome (If Labour actually release it, which given their "Most open and transparent govt ever" record, is highly unlikely), but it would have to be a pretty massive conspiracy theory if there wasn't some truth to it.
I accept there is likely to be a grain of truth, but the level of seriousness could have been ratcheted up a notch or three to make it appear worse than it was. If so, it was done for political purposes and the journos involved only increase that suspicion.
Example:
The staffer's alleged comment "she would be nice to sleep with". He said something I'm sure, but it could have been in the form of a quip and the actual wording altered.
"There are 12 complaints". The article indicates there were 12 complaints following an incident some time ago; there has been one complaint recently, and four resignations recently – with an implication without any facts that these may possibly be somehow related. Very often complainants will not want any publicity, whatever the results of an enquiry – it is reasonable to expect that privacy of those involved will be protected – (but not to protect the political party or parliamentary services). Being a good employer has obligations; we should not criticise an employer for not bending over backwards to sate our prurient interests. Let us be cautious . . .
You do know that the Labour Party and the Labour-led Government are not the same thing, don’t you? You seem be confused about it all or you are trying to confuse. You see, James also struggled with the distinction between a member of a party and an MP. Sometimes it pays to be a pedant and strive for accuracy …
I'm going to try to avoid discussing this issue with the salivating tories.
You don't need a telescope to see where they're coming from. Any conflation or inaccuracy from them is by design, in my opinion.
There are a broad range of behaviours described, some of which are completely unacceptable in a workplace or a party, let alone both.
"I'm going to try to avoid discussing this issue with the salivating tories."
Ditto. Bloody tempting though eh! It's interesting to just watch at times.
tou thinking it’s a conspiracy with seven people making complaints?
Surely at least one of them (if serious) would have gone to police?
You would have thought so. The days when women were too frightened to go to the police for fear of being disbelieved are now over. The cops have changed their culture re-rape cases in large part due to Louise Nicholas.
They say they have given up on the Labour Party so why didn't one of them turn to the police? Instead they go running off to the rightest of right wing media. That's what is fishy.
The cops have changed their culture re-rape cases in large part due to Louise Nicholas.
Yeah, nah.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12110733bra
(Don't panic. From the pen of Kirsty Johnston.)
So a woman’s choice to go to the police or not directly links to her credibility according to Anne.
[You put that as an assertion, not as a question, which means that you were making up shit again. However, it is even worse that you did this on a sensitive topic and to a commenter who had shared her personal experience @ 9.3.1 with a work bully in the Public Service who “had twisted and distorted my actions and words to fit a totally false narrative. Her motivation had been in large part political.” That sounds remarkably similar to your behaviour here, certainly over the last couple of days. Take a week off and stop stirring – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 8:51 PM.
That might depend on the connexions of the alleged offender.
Maybe, but it hasn't stopped them from being interviewed by Soper for public consumption.
Radionz – https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018706959/what-s-the-point-in-trying-to-save-a-dying-species
Ordinary people need to care about what the elites are doing to the planet and its animals, and play our part in protecting and sustaining both. Ane remember if we don't stay aware and take care, we are next. Countries are being bombed almost out of existence, and the people left from the wrecks of their homes, fields, and water sources – where do they go? Stay alert, stay alive, or we will be next. And share some of what we have where there is need. That's the important theme of these days I believe.
RNZ’s Alison Ballance, a zoologist and film maker, has been documenting the highs and lows of kākāpō conservation over 22 podcast episodes.
When asked about the value for money spent on trying to save this funny little parrot, she says – “they’re priceless”.
Conservation biologist Rochelle Constantine is another looking for solutions to save species – her speciality is in the marine environment.
She has a successful track record of helping with conservation efforts for Brydes whales in the Hauraki Gulf….
DOC categorised the whales as nationally critical, which is when population numbers dip below the 200 mark.
“This is the highest listing you can get for a conservation concern.”
When a number of the mammals started washing up dead, Constantine investigated.
“When we did a necropsy on them it became pretty apparent that a lot of these whales, up to 84 percent, were dying from ship strike. Clearly large vessels.”…
Constantine says a working group of DOC, local iwi, shipping companies, Ports of Auckland and academics were able to gather, argue freely and reach a solution.
International shipping companies agreed to voluntarily slow to a pace of 10 knots when entering the port.
If we try, we may find a solution, and have cause for another high-five. Multiply those, and we have done our best to overcome today’s problems – and be ready for the next!
South Otago mayor supports Hipkin's reforms. From Stuff
Cadogan has it right and is calling out the Southern mayors and other players for their political posturing.
Wouldn't be the first time Otago saw a chance to grab some southern assets bobs.
Telford and the like must not be allowed to fade away with a lack of concern and proper funding. After all why would people go to university to gain higher specialised learning when there are no jobs in NZ for them when they graduate? If NZ is not interested in being a thriving country of capable people at an advanced level of development drawing on a range of educational disciplines, why should students invest their good money in our education system? It could be that there will be more foreign students than NZ ones the way that National and RW Labour had been driving the higher education system – towards a cliff.
A great documentary on the Maori Channel last night. This is the sort of compulsory viewing that we don't see on 1,2, or 3. And if you watch this you'll see why.
All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone
Yes aj. A terrifying documentary which shows the decline of honesty in journalism. Shades of The Herald apparent policy.
You have to sign on to watch free:
https://www.maoritelevision.com/shows/feature-documentaries/S01E001/all-governments-lie-truth-deception-and-spirit-i-f-stone
For real journalism, it's necessary to follow the alternative media outlets, many of them online. We are lucky to have Democracy Now! on Freeview, then there areThe Young Turks, The Real News, Consortium News, and others. Some of these are quite long – the latest CN report on youtube being 2.5hrs long, and featuring Kim Dotcom, William Binney, Mike Gravel, and George Szamuely. I know many are turned of by KDC but Binney is a voice of reason and always worth listen to.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/396051/nzx-opens-down-1-point-3-percent-after-us-hit-by-falling-yuan
Now is the time to build that infrastructure that the evidence shows that we need, so come on government, and keep doing your keep-fit exercises Robertson. We don't want fat, contented finance ministers round here.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/08/06/minto-for-mayor-for-a-future-which-makes-sense/
Keep Our Assets Canterbury (KOA) will announce it is standing John Minto in a campaign for the Christchurch mayoralty at a media conference to be held
Today Tuesday 6th August, 2pm at WEA (Room 3), 59 Gloucester Street
We have decided to stand John because Christchurch faces unprecedented challenges:
We have decided
Are you part of KOA or is that all meant to be a quote from them?
The whole thing is a quote from the link above.
Okay I should have put quote marks to be sure.
Thanks.
Minto for Mayor!
This is fun!
Is the tide ready to turn on US gun control? When even 45 is obliged to express concern the matter is coming to a head. It may be that strategic repeal of legislation defunding research into gun deaths would be a productive step.
With immigration as high as it is, new people will be looking to make some changes on our electoral system where it is moribund. Such as a longer term – 4 years makes sense to me, 5 mmm bit long. But 4 years enables the resident government to probably get good policies through and ticking before the next election.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/395651/should-new-zealand-do-away-with-a-three-year-parliamentary-term
However, it should be noted that the composition of New Zealand electorates has changed dramatically since then. Particularly in the 1990s, when the changes to immigration policy based on the selection of immigrants based on skills, not country of origin, were introduced in 1986 and 1987, and the proportion of the ethnic migrant population significantly increased.
According to a recent population projection by Statistics NZ, nationally the Asian population will make up 21 percent of the population by 2038 (up from 12 percent in 2013).
Herald online (aka the Hosking Blower) is doing its best to ignore the Labour Stats released today. The lowest unemployment and biggest rise in wages for 10 years since, well since the last Labour government actually.
They also now have an unsubstantiated headline running re another matter but have removed the content, the whole page should be gone instead just the accusation remains.
I am fed up with media thinking they are judge and jury on matters that are not even before police let alone up for judgment.
Anyway here is the link to the employment stats.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12256022
so wages went up over 4%lat year… great for those who benefited, and teachers were rewarded with no pay increase over the same period, and now they should be thankful for what they Fought tooth and nail to achieve. I gather that given what has just been achieved that teachers, nurses etc will be going backwards in real terms😤
Horeskin will be working out how to spin this as a bad thing.
charming
US ramps up the pressure for regime change in Venezuela. The Chinese and Russian reply will be interesting. Am guessing the UN will be its usual spineless self on this.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/06/trump-freezes-all-venezuelan-government-assets-in-us
"On Tuesday Bolton, and US Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, represent the United States at the International Conference for Democracy in Venezuela."
Nice of Maduro to be so warm & cozy with Trump by inviting two of his cabinet ministers to come & chat about democracy. I presume he's still struggling to figure out how to do it, and needs high-level explanations from the experts…
Kia Ora The Am Show.
Great a change to our drug laws The police at there own discretion can send drugs addicts to get drug rehabilitation.
The problem I have is that this law actually gives the police more power to manipulate these people ie you do this you get to go to a rehab facility if not off to the hinaki jail. Its good that the police are going to target the organized drug sellers ka pai they are poisoning tangata with PEE.
You see whanau they use people like that to try and intimidate me brown people gangster the Hawskbay lot must have a close link to the gangster they are throwing them at me all the time here.
A intelligent person will know that the ORC drop is needed with the trade war going on with Te Papatuanuku 2 biggest economies that could drag Aotearoa economies to a slower growth rates It's not ROCKET SCIENCE.
You have just lost all your credibility looking through your $$ glasses making that statement about trump.
Aziza that is cool a phone with A accessories becomes a computer I gather that the device will be able to cast the phone screen to a big monitor for lectures and large ordinances . ???? One can already do that with a Chrome Cast.or smart TV????????. we need more information on the device
Ka kite ano
We must protect these beautiful creatures of Tangaroa and stop the trade in shark fins . Humans only live on Papatuanuku for a fraction of time compared to other fantastic creatures of Papatuanuku and Tangaroa we must preserve our whenua land and Tangaroa sea for all creatures not just thinking about WEALTHY humans alone we are all in this environment TOGETHER.
400-year-old Greenland shark is oldest vertebrate animal
This article is more than 2 years old
Shark, which would have reached sexual maturity at around 150 years, sets new record for longevity as biologists finally develop method to determine age
She was born during the reign of James I, was a youngster when René Descartes set out his rules of thought and the great fire of London raged, saw out her adolescent years as George II ascended the throne, reached adulthood around the time that the American revolution kicked off, and lived through two world wars. Living to an estimated age of nearly 400 years, a female Greenland shark has set a new record for longevity, scientists have revealed.
Forget Nessie, now is the time to spot basking sharks in Scottish waters
The discovery places the lifespan of the Greenland shark far ahead of even the oldest elephant in captivity, Lin Wang, who died aged 86. It is also far longer than the official record for humans, held by 122-year-old Frenchwoman
“That indicates that most of our analysed sharks were actually older than the time mark, meaning that they were older than 50 years,” said Nielsen
The scientists then combined the carbon dating results with estimations of how Greenland sharks grow, to create a model that allowed them to probe the age of the 25 sharks born before the 1960s.
Their findings revealed that the largest shark of the group, a female measuring just over five metres in length, was most likely around 392 years old, although, as Nielsen points out, the range of possible ages stretches from 272 to 512 years.
“The Greenland shark is now the best candidate for the longest living vertebrate animal,” he said. Ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/11/400-year-old-greenland-shark-is-the-oldest-vertebrate-animal
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
The sandflys think Eco Maori Doesn't KNOW who there RATS ARE
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
Kia Ora Newshub.
Its cool that Aotearoa gave Sir Brian a service that he deserved 5000 people attended ka pai.
Some people are going to be unhappy about the drugs floating ashore in Auckland good job.
I agree with Joe Biden.
It would be cool if Lumsden South Land got there maturity units back its quite hard for Wahine to give birth having to travel far to a hospital would add more stress to mum and baby.
Ka kite ano it been warm weather here today can not say the same about the authority's
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Its a great move Wally to lower the police numbers at Ihumatao .
Kirama I can read you piece of piss .
It should be good to have a top down approach to our polytechnics and other training organizations 16 being run under one umbrella we need to give our youth the correct skills to help them climb up high on their ladders of life.
Tracy I think it's awesome that te tamariki are going be accessed at 7 years old to see if they have dyslexic a lot of times there parents have not figured out that their tamariki has a learning disorder. When one knows there is a problem well that is when things can be put in place to solve it.
I remember my Mama trying to teach me to spell it was hard mahi for her.
Awesome Pacific Art is being displayed at the Auckland museum the place with the largest Pacific population in te Papatuanuku beautiful looking Art to .
Spirit Wrestler Art studio who is hosting and helping Pacific artists to market their great Art cool Piripi
Ka kite ano
Kia Ora The Am Show.
The way it works is that 99.9 % of TE TANGATA get to see the TRUTH about climate change and we put pressure on the authorities to change the way we live ie carbon neutral. Students strike is changing the political minds on climate change. Once trump is voted out American will switch back to mitagating climate change China is making huge changes to combat climate change thanks to them SOLAR POWER is the cheapest form of Electricity generation. European is changing the way they live to they are 10 years ahead of most countries with their Mitigation of climate change. climate change And is India they are building the Papatuanuku biggest SOLAR Farms Eco calls them because we are harvesting energy straight from TE RA stop being a naysayer it Friday days off for you.
Its great that Brendon Hartley is driving in E Car racing E cars are faster cleaner and the FUTURE of private transportation.
I think paula is manufacturing that situation I agree she is politicizing the situation just to gain votes. The Coalition government didn't attack national over the Ross situation that national had .That's the difference between the left and the right the right will throw anything under the bus to get votes the left no what RESPECT is .national would have had the cops arrest everyone at Ihumatao.
Aotearoa Farmers lead the Papatuanuku with their farming practices they don't get massive subsidies to keep on farming un sustainable like the rest of Papatuanuku the production efficiency gains over 30 years has been MASSIVE.
Eco Maori has Already given up flying on Planes you know 2 reasons.
Sir David Fagin is a great ambassador for Aotearoa all his feats in winning Papatuanuku Shearing competition. The previous government have dropped the ball on training and providing the correct skills .
I think it's stupid that we have to import workers how stupid or callous by the people who have been ruling Aotearoa .
Ka kite ano
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
Here you go whanau people are already suffering because of the Oil barons blocking tangata reality and the TRUTH about the scientific facts on Human caused climate change. Water is getting scarce as Papatuanuku heats up the problem of water for the common poor tangata is going to multiply very fast.
'People are dying': how the climate crisis has sparked an exodus to the US
As part of the Running Dry series, the Guardian looks at how drought and famine are forcing Guatemalan families to choose between starvation and migration
At sunrise, the misty fields around the village of Guior are already dotted with men, women and children sowing maize after an overnight rainstorm.
After several years of drought, the downpour brought some hope of relief to the subsistence farmers in this part of eastern Guatemala.
But as Esteban Gutiérrez, 30, takes a break from his work, he explains why he is still willing to incur crippling debts – and risk his life – to migrate to the United States.
“My children have gone to bed hungry for the past three years. Our crops failed and the coffee farms have cut wages to $4 a day,” he says, playing nervously with the white maize kernels in a plastic trough strapped to his waist
Ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/29/guatemala-climate-crisis-migration-drought-famine
Kia Ora Newshub.
The United Nations report is good but it doesn't mean Aotearoa should not stop farming the way we do. I say we could reduce our farming carbon footprint quite a lot if we focused on that task .
Ka pai to our Coalition Governments for making big companies responsible for their recycling that will make them make their products and packaging more recyclable Awesome.
I don't think Wahine should be consuming to much alcohol during breast feeding the Wahine in my whanau pump breast milk before they drink and don't feed off their bread for a day .
Radio Hauraki was a great way to break the way Aotearoa handled the radio waves. Condolences to Mr Mcgain Whanau he was part of the changes that needed to happen with Aotearoa Radio.
There you go shonky had the government agency hire a private eye company spie on good Kiwis .
That was a big mess in that Australian truck crash.
Ka kite ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Good on Tama Iti for going to Ihumatao and see for himself what the kauppa is Eco Maori has a lot of respect for Tama .
Ka pai To Kuakaupapa the total immersion in Te reo came just in time to save our te reo and Maori Culture from collapsing my generation and my mother generation lost te reo now we have heaps of tamariki who can carry our cultural into THEIR FUTURE its cool that the teachers are getting pay parity
I DON'T think that nurse or anyone should be shunned for speaking te reo I don't do that to anyone. Heads turn when I greet people with a kia ora .
The measles is still going on in the year 2019 who dropped the ball on that dease .
I think it's great to have the wayward young people getting a lesson in respect and learning how to be a good citizen of Aotearoa in the army based camps Ron.
Mana Wahine Cherise great that you won the bucthers championship tangata whenua are good at bucthering meat I prosessed my first mutton at 12 years old me and a m8 the same age .
Ka kite ano