In the world of Twitter/social media sound-bite commentary …
A person says they liked being one of the boys in their youth at age 12, but was glad she was not influenced to consider being a transgender male because of this. Those who support her get called transphobic.
Another person says she was a tomboy who became a butch lesbian. Those who support her (might still) get called feminists who are challenging the religious heritage and or natural order of civilisation …
In the real world males and females have a diversity, the more literary/artistically inclined male and activity inclined female are operating within human norms, just not median part of the herd.
There is a risk of imposing a stereotype/norm on individuals – whether a conservative one or a pseudo-progressive PC one. The imposition of a expected conformity/norm is not progressive.
Support for a person who says they liked being one of the boys in their youth, but was glad she was not influenced to consider being a transgender male is fine. Support for a person once a "tomboy", now butch lesbian, is also OK.
That should be the easy part.
The next easy part should be limiting access to self ID as "transgender women" to those who have not committed violence against women.
And the other easy part is to note the evidence as to early medical intervention causing problems.
Both the safety of women and the principle of not doing harm with medical treatments being of some importance.
I don't see on what basis any part of womanhood should be open to any man who opens his mouth and utters the magical incantation "I identify as".
I can understand why – 50 odd years ago when sex between men was unlawful, some gay men internalised their homophobia and risked their lives to have surgery to mimic the sex characteristics of women, and lived as women from then on. I can understand why – in those more intolerant times, some butch lesbians disguised themselves as men in order to live safer lives.
However, none of that is necessary in Aotearoa today.
Bodily dysphorias of various kinds are a psychological problem and they should have psychological solutions and treatment. Instead – fueled by the demands of autogynephiliac men with deep pockets, society is being required to participate in the full time exercise of their paraphilia, and to normalise that behaviour a whole ideology of bodily disassociation has been created.
I presume you reject Camile Paglia having the right of declare as a transgender man "because of her internalised homophobia" (she was the only out "lesbian in “her” graduate school).
Did men really have "bottom half" surgery 50 years ago? Carmen Rupe never did and nor was there any reference to being a closet homophobe
Calling transgender people as those with mental problems (to be managed as per aversion therapy for homosexuality I presume) or internalised homophobia/guilt over their sexuality, is just a repeat of the 1952 DSM approach.
And it in no way explains the non binary etc. Or is that closet "bi-sexuality"?
Trying to write a narrative which other humans have to conform to is like ordering children from a lab with the desired DNA programming and all. And then making a return (or placing into a treatment centre) when that does not work well enough.
I don't believe that being gender non-conforming is a mental health issue. But equally, I don't believe that people who identify as trans who have gender dysphoria, ie people who hate their bodies and can't resolve that, should be in charge of major societal and policy changes without taking into account all of society.
The problem we have now is that AGP males have pushed this so far, along with liberals, that women are fighting back hard. Ten years ago, maybe even five years ago, if No Debate and self-ID hadn't happened, there would have been some accommodation, because most women care about others and seek a functional society for all. This is why we see large support for TW in women's spaces until it's clarified that this means any man who says they are a woman. But those days are gone. The sheer level of abuse directed at GC women demolished any chance.
What we can hope for now is that the shit fight ends, women re-establish the right to women's space, and trans people set up their own spaces with support from liberal society. This would be a good outcome, one that many women would get behind. But the longer the war goes on, the less sympathy there will be. In places like the UK and the US there is a very real risk of a huge backlash against trans people, and that is on the gender activists and the liberals who were illiberal towards women.
As gender is a collection of sexist stereotypes – being non conforming to that is a sign of mental health!. The bodily dysphorias that demand the removal of healthy body parts, or chemical reversal of natural bodily processes do certainly require psychological treatment. It is a softwear problem – not a hardware problem.
They certainly did have "bottom surgery" back then. Carmen did not and the explanation was that the clients liked that. Most of the others did. I knew a number of them in Wellington in the 1970's and am Facebook friends with others today. They see themselves as "transheterosexual" but are still part of the Gay community because they are sexually attracted to men. The AGP men are the ones that hang around lesbian dating groups.
Most of the others? Really? G Beyer did, but she was of a later period (and she did so after discrimination against homosexuals – 1986 – was already over). Because she was as you put “transheterosexual”. Which sort of negates the line you used about these people being guilt ridden homosexuals.
And it's "bottom half" surgery.
There is the case of Mr Jenner a once heterosexual man who now identifies as “transheterosexual” (but without bottom half surgery).
I suppose he might be called non binary and whose sexuality has become fluid (reminds me of one of those Sex in the City actors – many years married to a man and then partnering up with a lesbian).
The next easy part should be limiting access to self ID as "transgender women" to those who have not committed violence against women.
The problem with this is that if TWAW, but suddenly only some TW are women, self-ID becomes meaningless. I'm good with that, but I think you will find that the gender activists aren't there yet.
And beyond that, there's no way to predict which males will be violent towards women. This is part of why we have female only spaces to begin with. Denying access to women's spaces after women have been assaulted is abhorrent.
It's not about convincing activists, but asking government to make "considered" decisions
For now there is this
Nicola Sturgeon refused to say whether Bryson was a man or a woman.
She said she did not have “enough information” to say either way, though she accepted it was “almost certainly the case” that Bryson was pretending to be trans.
and
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said it is “biological sex” which matters when it comes to protecting women-only spaces, including female prisons.
The principle of women's safety (a governments roles includes security/public safety as well as the rights of its citizens) being recognised is now in play.
As Laila Harre once said when asked (replying to a letter) why she was focused on parental leave (support for women with jobs when they had children over those who did not), one good thing leads to other good things.
Its not Sturgeons role to decide someones elses gender , nor yours
Do you really want to be the 'pants police' checking them out after all you have joined the culture war, maybe a new badge and can model yourself on the Islamic religious police who enforce 'standards'
We have seen all this before , is some Maori enough or black enough.
It was also the catchcry of ‘safety’ which was used for segregation of schools , cinemas, housing etc in the US.
the online pitchforks are very evident in comments on this situation
I guess we can place you in the absolutist self ID camp then …
PS … the Scottish parliament has passed self ID legislation but it has been vetoed by the UK government led by Sunak. The Scottish government has decided to block the placement of those who have raped women from womens prisons.
The case Sturgeon was questioned involved a man who raped a woman and then later chose self ID as a transgender woman.
However, enjoy the cheap shot social media posturing as holier than thou on the issue (gaslighting).
Do you dance?
Today #LetWomenSpeak protested against male sex offenders in women’s prisons. This is the counter protest organised by the LGBTQ+ lobby who say we have to believe any man who says he’s a woman. Yep, they’re dancing to keep men in women’s prisons. The LGBTQ+ lobby are nuts.🤦♂️👇 pic.twitter.com/4ifpXkU0xc
A 7.30 investigation can reveal three former female staff at Reiby have been convicted of sexual offences against detainees
What say you to sexual abuse by women against boys in detention ? Surely its the person rather than the gender that is the issue
Prisons unfortunately are rife for violence as many inmates have never known love and safety growing up , like you would have had.
Its a breakdown in security that a violent woman could harm other women in jail. Thats all .
Just like the above historical situation in Australia
Im sure other violence by women against women happens often enough without gender being an issue for the cultural warriors to carry their digital pitchforks.
Same happens in women only bars, which I have witnessed from a few doors away.
That's downright weird coming from Granny. The article is a teaser for a podcast (will listen t it when I've got time) that has this,
Despite this opposition, a recent poll conducted by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand suggested that 72 per cent of accountants supported having a comprehensive capital gains tax as opposed to the evolving status quo.
“I was at that conference when the vote was taken and I was surprised by the result,” says Nightingale.
“What you had at that conference was a bunch of technical experts. And if you analyse this objectively and technically, the case for capital gains taxes is reasonably strong. It’s not perfect, but it’s reasonably strong. But I don’t think the experts will carry the day. We, experts, don’t have to get voted in by anybody. Politicians have to get voted in, so they have to judge the mood of the public.”
Now, do accountants support a CGT because it's good for the collective economy, or because it'll be good for their personal economies?
The wild weather lately has had a calamitous effect on the vege garden the garlic simply withered and gave up the ghost, tomatoes came down with every blight and fungal disease known to man and in the orchard plums are non existent and the peachcrop harvest this year is gonna be four small jars preserved .A disastrous attack of some sort of mite or thrip has attacked the new growth on the citrus so no blossom and no mandarins or grapefruit next season alas .
Still its an ill wind that blows nobody no good as they say and as far as other members of the plant family go trees , ferns ,shrubs ,native flora in general ive never seen this part of northland looking so verdant and lush .The tui round here are singing their heads off in appreciation !!
Hi Weston – we are fortunate indeed, it's been a boomer of a plum season (all of the fruits, in fact). This photo shows about a 5th of the total plum harvest; there are still a number of trees/varieties to pick; greengages, Victoria etc. The smaller plums in the photo (they aren't small in reality) are an unnamed/unknown "Southland" plum we "found" in an old farm orchard – never seen anything like them before and can't track down the name. We are selling them, gifting them, eating them and turning them into plum sauce. The big plums, bottom right, are not quite ripe yet; picking that tree (2 trees) will be fun! The first tree we harvested from, George Wilson Early, was loaded to groaning and necessitated multiple visits by grandchildren to clear 🙂 Happy days!
Our George Wilson Early – a very old tree left over from a Plum orchard planted years before – blew over in a recent storm 🙁 It was my go to for plum jam. The other plums here have suffered the same fate Weston describes above but here in the Coromandel. Just far too much rain (6 months in 30 days), and humidity. So fungal, insects, and birds have got the lot. Just nothing worth picking except the odd Omega which survived.
Yeah, George Wilson make great jam and sauce! Sorry yours blew over. If the humidity ruined your plum crops, I guess you aren't celebrating a great peach season either!
We've had the same bad luck in Northland. The only fruit that survived the wet – no plums, no peaches- were the grapes. Alas the wild turkeys found them.
I harvested about 5kg of grapes today. About 50% of the crop was pillaged by sparrows, silvereyes, a thrush, wasps, bees, ants, even a bumblebee was getting into the action.
There are about 1000 rotting grapes left on the vine and another 1000 squished all over the ground.
A few days ago, its was still gloomy and wet and the grapes were still not ripe. But a couple of days sunshine and they sweeten up. You know they are ready when you hear a gang of 16 sparrows going mental on sugar outside my bedroom window
We've had (Auckland) guava moth infesting all of the plums and ruining the crop (all the wet, didn't help either, with fruit splitting).
Seems to be a widespread issue in Auckland, with some saying that virtually every fruit and nut tree (that isn't citrus) is affected.
The only effective treatment is pheromone traps – catch the males before breeding – but that, of course, doesn't stop the fertilized females from next door arriving to lay eggs on your unripe fruit.
I've heard that too, Belladonna, from visitors from the North; very sobering for a fruit grower. I hope our sou'westers keep the guava moth at bay. Not very keen to have brown rot arrive either; "Brown rot", now there's something we really don't want down here. I met him once. We didn't click 🙂
“With more than half of the vital infrastructure either completely destroyed or severely damaged, the imposition of unilateral sanctions on key economic sectors, including oil, gas, electricity, trade, construction and engineering have quashed national income, and undermine efforts towards economic recovery and reconstruction”, said Ms. Douhan.
In light of this latest earthquake, I wonder if America will lead the way in reversing their sanctions, you would think so, you know, given what a benign and reasonable Imperial power people seem to see them as..at the very least lift the sanctions to allow direct aid..the fact that they can't (European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland), just goes to show who the real victims of sanctions are..
Law needs to change if security guards aren't allowed to touch these people as police can't be expected to always get there in time. Good on the lady for filming and speaking out about the thieves sense of entitlement.
Would be interesting to see the items loaded in to the trolley as often that is not the case due to what they steal. As the Countdown manager advised me when I witnessed a robbery, they usually steal the small expensive items from the pharmacy aisle or either alcohol. So I guess more likely their 'sense of entitlement' is ageing concerns or they are thirsty!
Jimmy, Who cares about your "reckons" about what or why people steal. They need to face the Law plus get help rather than Judgemental Arseholes circle jerking about their circumstances.
You are "preaching to the converted". I agree that they need to face the law. Everyone in NZ is entitled to some sort of benefit / help. I was simply answering Weka's comment that they are simply hungry. Usually these people are not satisfied with the help/benefits they are receiving and feel entitled to steal.
I don't know if they're hungry. Maybe they're stealing to sell for profit. I was simply responding to your reckons with a counter proposal – they might be stealing because they have no food.
WINZ isn't easy to access, so while people might be technically entitled whether they will get the assistance they need is a different story. The government could fix this and then maybe we'd have less supermarket theft.
Usually these people are not satisfied with the help/benefits they are receiving and feel entitled to steal.
Hunger isn't an excuse for theft. The theft part could be seen as a sense of entitlement. Those in poverty need help, not a free reign to break the law.
can't see how they've got free rein to break the law, given what's in the video.
if this is an ongoing problem, rather than a one off, the solution is to make sure people have enough to live on. Stigmatising desperate people will make the situation worse.
Supermarkets have people on camera from the second they step into the store. Every one of us can be tracked through the store and constantly observed. Security guards have no need to stop anybody – a number plate would be useful, or a direction of travel.
However, most of the frequent shop thieves are known to the Police already and all that is needed is for the relevant footage to be compiled and sent off to the Police.
yeah, I was kind of surprised at the staff getting so physical. Get good photos, follow them out and get their number plate, rather than risking injury.
"a number plate would be useful, or a direction of travel."
Often they wont be in their own vehicle, and as for direction of travel "they went that way,", yeah I can see the police writing down "we are looking for someone heading in the direction of Manukau"…that will be a great help!//
If you are pushing a trolley – and the losers up the road from us have a collection outside their "affordable" accommodation – it is useful to know where they went.
Yeah. Police basically don't do anything with all of the security camera footage provided. They are so overwhelmed with dealing with violent crime, that theft is a long way back in their priorities. The standard response is "lack of police resources".
This is an example of a case being re-opened – because of the persistence of the victim (actually going to the police complaints authority).
We've seen others being actioned, because of media publicity.
But the vast majority just get filed. If the criminal is caught for some other reason, the case might be added to their total – but probably not.
In the meantime – the chances of the victim getting the property back (unless they take independent action) are pretty close to zero. And the shops have to wear the cost (which means increased prices for everyone else).
"They are so overwhelmed with dealing with violent crime, that theft is a long way back in their priorities."
What is it that qualifies as violent crime? From the look of this story you have to carry out at least a couple of violent assaults before they will do anything about it.
Here is someone who, on the 26th August stabbed a neighbour in the stomach with a knife because the person attacked wouldn't give him a cigarette. They lived on the same street and were known to each other. Then on the evening of the 28th August he stabbed another neighbour, this time with a screwdriver.
Why on earth hadn't the police picked him up in the interval? I can't believe they hadn't heard about it, either from the first victim or the hospital?
the biggest type of theft, one that doesn’t make front page news in the way ram raids do. The police aren’t sending teams of cops to raid the perpetrators. Not a single person is going to jail. For these crimes to be resolved, the victim has to make a claim themselves, and there’s no guarantee it’ll be successful. Even if it is, there might not be a fine for the perpetrator. And everyone more or less knows it’s happening. It’s not physical theft: it’s wage theft.
…
We’re so used to minor wage theft like this that we don’t even think about it as a crime – and it’s not. While wage theft involves breaking the law, and there are processes to enforce that law, it is not considered a criminal offence.
The way our legal system is designed means that the most widespread theft under the law isn’t treated as a crime.
…
We need to rethink what we consider crimes, and our priorities for how we go about dealing with people that commit these crimes. It’s worth asking ourselves what the goal of our criminal justice system is. Is punishment really the point? And is that what is best for everyone?
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Hi,Just a quick online-only update after yesterday’s newsletter, How Michael Organ Weaponised the Family Court... and Sean Plunket. First up — wow. Thanks for all the support, and to all those who shared their own personal stories in the comments. And welcome to any new Webworm readers.I just wanted ...
Let that sink in for a moment - Christopher Luxon, who has spent the last year demonising Māori, wants Marama Davidson to apologise to white men.You will likely have seen the video, or read about it. Marama Davidson rushing along Princes St on Saturday evening, the road that runs between ...
Stuart Nash, the great-grandson of former Prime Minister Sir Walter Nash, has lost his political career. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Stuart Nash was sacked for telling donors what happened in Cabinet. Wellington’s City and Regional Councils are going cold on light rail plans. Wayne Brown is under ...
NZ First Leader Winston Peters is sympathising with Stuart Nash and defending him but dodging questions on whether he would be welcome in New Zealand First. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins last night sacked Nash from the Cabinet after an email he had sent to two of his campaign donors ...
So, after interfering with the police, and then interfering with immigration decisions, Stuart Nash has finally been sacked: Stuart Nash has been sacked as a minister, after Stuff revealed he had emailed business figures, including donors, detailing private Cabinet discussions. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed the people Nash emailed ...
Nearly 25% of mortgages in Auckland are deemed at risk in a 1-in-100 year flood event. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Once a year, every year, from now on, in our not-so-slow-cooking climate crisis, there will be a moment when the most important number in Aotearoa’s own personal, national ...
Item One: About a confected crisis Please bear with me for a moment, readers outside Auckland, I wish to sound the klaxon. Auckland, we have until 11pm today to have our say. About what? About this, as copied and pasted from Pippa Coom’s Facebook page:The "austerity" budget is built on ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yet again, the statement we were looking for could not be found on the Beehive website. Nor was it on the Scoop or Green Party websites. But – come to think of it – we are probably wasting our time by searching. Our quest is for the ...
The following is from a speech given by Arundhati Roy at the Swedish Academy on March 22, 2023, at a conference called Thought and Truth Under Pressure and reprinted from Literary Hub. I thank the Swedish Academy for inviting me to speak at this conference and for affording me the privilege ...
After almost two decades of racism, Australia is finally getting off its "stop the boats" bullshit. But don't worry, racists - Michael Wood has your back!The Government wants to increase the time it can detain without a warrant people seeking asylum en masse from four days to 28 ...
Last year, the Education and Workforce Committee recommended that the government legislate for pay transparency to prevent employers from secretly discriminating. This ought to be a bread and butter issue for Labour - discrimination sees women (and particularly Māori and Pasifika women) paid significantly less than men. But since then ...
Thomas Cranmer writes – ———— An unruly mob in Albert Park has catapulted New Zealand into the global headlines with ugly images that may become iconic in the debate about the dangers of transgenderism. ———— Bravo Kellie-Jay Keen. She did the job that needed to be done. For all the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global warming is melting the Arctic ice cap, and that’s having unforeseen effects on the world’s weather — even thousands of miles away from the North Pole. Some climate scientists have begun to link increasingly common heat waves in Europe to what is ...
Hot on the heels of the demotion of former police Minister Stuart Nash for breaching the Cabinet Manual, Radio New Zealand has revealed the close links between lobbyists and politicians- an area of New Zealand politics that is completely unregulated. The evidence in Guyon Espiner’s series Mate, Comrade, Brother, the ...
At the Auckland Transport board meeting today a series of papers really highlight the cost of sprawl. For the last few years, the Supporting Growth work has been looking at designing the strategic transport networks for future greenfield areas in the South, Northwest, North (around Dairy flat) and in Warkworth. ...
Hi,Today’s newsletter is something I’ve wanted to report for ages, but I have been waiting on a New Zealand judge to make a ruling. That ruling has been made — so here we go.Enjoy.A scene from Mister Organ.Two Police Officers Knock on My DoorOn November 4 last year, I was ...
Only three days after Nanaia Mahuta had dinner with China’s Foreign Minister, New Zealand’s intelligence chiefs were talking about state actors interfering in New Zealand politics and using ethnic communities here for espionage purposes. Neither GSCB Director (and new SIS director) Andrew Hampton nor acting SIS CEO Phil McKee ...
In what has been one of her most important diplomatic mission, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has opened the door for a visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins later this year. Such a mission is regarded as vital with a new Prime Minister Li Qiang settling into office. ...
Saturday morning, we went to Albert Park.We were there to show support, to challenge words of demonisation.To repeat those words from Michèle A’Court:Making them sound “other” is a technique used by racists and homophobes to dehumanise whole groups of people who “aren’t like them”. If you dehumanise people, it is ...
Over a million New Zealanders will receive a little extra to help with the cost of living as a result of our 1 April changes. Around the world, inflation is causing costs to rise and we’re feeling it here at home. In tough times, we need to support those who ...
With benefit changes coming into effect tomorrow, the Green Party is calling on the Government to lift benefits to liveable levels to make sure everyone has what they need to thrive. ...
Following decades of work by the Green Party alongside the organics sector, people will finally be able to be confident that products labelled organic have met standards. ...
The Green Party supports immediate Government action to close the pay gap as called for in an open letter released today by the Human Rights Commission and 50 other organisations. ...
The Green Party is today welcoming the release of the Government’s waste strategy, but says it has a big gap without action on the container return scheme for beverage containers. ...
The Government’s decision to introduce ‘mass arrivals’ legislation goes against the values we all share of Aotearoa as a place where all people are treated fairly, the Green Party says. ...
MINISTER DAVIDSON MUST RESIGN AFTER 'VIOLENCE' COMMENTS Marama Davidson should stand down as ‘Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence’ for the clear and outrageous statement she made at the Posie Parker protest that ‘white straight men’ are the cause of violence. Her offensive, racist, and sexist remarks ...
In response to Newshub and Amelia Wade’s obvious and ham-fisted attempt at a typical and predicted political hit job. As any politically aware reporter would know, any Cabinet subcommittee has a duty and obligation as a part of any government to respond to any UN declaration, in this case ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today and in your busy lives turning up to this meeting. Forty five years ago, in Howick, often described as racist, and where few Maori lived because it had been a ‘Fencible’ settlement at the time of the Anglo-Maori ...
The Green Party has marked the National Party’s new education policy and given it a fail, especially for its failure to address the underlying drivers of school performance. ...
“This is it; 2023 will be the last opportunity New Zealand has to get a government that will confront the climate emergency with the urgency it demands,” says the Green Party’s co-leader and climate change spokesperson, James Shaw. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised in their State of the Planet speech today. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party after the election must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised today. ...
You will never truly understand, from the pictures you’ve seen in the newspapers or on the six o-clock news, the sheer scale of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle. ...
We’re boosting incomes and helping ease cost of living pressures on Kiwis through a range of bread and butter support measures that will see pensioners, students, families, and those on main benefits better off from the start of next month. ...
The error Labour Ministers made by stopping work on a beverage container return scheme will be reversed by the Greens at the earliest opportunity as part of the next Government. ...
“Cabinet needs to do better - and today has shown exactly why we need Green Ministers in cabinet, so we can prioritise action to cut climate pollution and support people to make ends meet,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. ...
Biggest increase in food prices for over three decades shows the need for an excess profit tax on corporations to help people put food on the table. ...
From today, 1.8 million flu vaccines are available to help protect New Zealanders from winter illness, Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall has announced. “Vaccination against flu is safe and will be a first line of defence against severe illness this winter,” Dr Verrall said. “We can all play a part ...
Associate Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage Willow-Jean Prime has congratulated Professor Rangi Mātāmua (Ngāi Tūhoe) who was last night named the prestigious Te Pou Whakarae o Aotearoa New Zealander of the Year. Professor Mātāmua, who is the government's Chief Adviser Mātauranga Matariki, was the winner of the New Zealander ...
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta has announced further sanctions on political and military figures from Russia and Belarus as part of the ongoing response to the war in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Alekseevna Lvova-Belova ...
A new public housing development planned for Whangārei will provide 95 warm and dry, modern homes for people in need, Housing Minister Megan Woods says. The Kauika Road development will replace a motel complex in the Avenues with 89 three-level walk up apartments, alongside six homes. “Whangārei has a rapidly ...
New Zealand welcomes the substantial conclusion of negotiations on the United Kingdom’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “Continuing to grow our export returns is a priority for the Government and part of our plan to ...
Ngā Iwi o Taranaki and the Crown initial Taranaki Maunga collective redress deed Ngā Iwi o Taranaki and the Crown have today initialled the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Deed, named Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little says. “I am pleased to be here for this ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Barbara Edmonds has announced the 2023 Pacific Language week series, highlighting the need to revitalise and sustain languages for future generations. “Pacific languages are a cornerstone of our health, wellbeing and identity as Pacific peoples. When our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated, our communities thrive,” ...
880,000 pensioners to get a boost to Super, including 5000 veterans 52,000 students to see a bump in allowance or loan living costs Approximately 223,000 workers to receive a wage rise as a result of the minimum wage increasing to $22.70 8,000 community nurses to receive pay increase of up ...
Over 8000 community nurses will start receiving well-deserved pay rises of up to 15 percent over the next month as a Government initiative worth $200 million a year kicks in, says Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. “The Government is committed to ensuring nurses are paid fairly and will receive ...
Tākiri mai ana te ata Ki runga o ngākau mārohirohi Kōrihi ana te manu kaupapa Ka ao, ka ao, ka awatea Tihei mauri ora Let the dawn break On the hearts and minds of those who stand resolute As the bird of action sings, it welcomes the dawn of a ...
The Government is introducing a scheme which will lift incomes for artists, support them beyond the current spike in cost of living and ensure they are properly recognised for their contribution to New Zealand’s economy and culture. “In line with New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreement with the UK, last ...
New Zealand is welcoming a decision by the United Nations General Assembly to ask the International Court of Justice to consider countries’ international legal obligations on climate change. The United Nations has voted unanimously to adopt a resolution led by Vanuatu to ask the ICJ for an advisory opinion on ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 59 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. “The graduation for recruit wing 364 was my first since becoming Police Minister last week,” Ginny Andersen said. “It was a real honour. I want to ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta met with Vanuatu Foreign Minister Jotham Napat in Port Vila, today, signing a new Statement of Partnership — Aotearoa New Zealand’s first with Vanuatu. “The Mauri Statement of Partnership is a joint expression of the values, priorities and principles that will guide the Aotearoa New Zealand–Vanuatu relationship into ...
The Government has passed new legislation amending the Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) levy regime, ensuring the best balance between a fair and cost effective funding model. The Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Levy) Amendment Bill makes changes to the existing law to: charge the levy on contracts of ...
The Government has passed the Organic Products and Production Bill through its third reading today in Parliament helping New Zealand’s organic sector to grow and lift export revenue. “The Organic Products and Production Bill will introduce robust and practical regulation to give businesses the certainty they need to continue to ...
The Digital Identity Services Trust Framework Bill, which will make it easier for New Zealanders to safely prove who they are digitally has passed its third and final reading today. “We know New Zealanders want control over their identity information and how it’s used by the companies and services they ...
The full Cyclone Gabrielle Recovery Taskforce has met formally for the first time as work continues to help the regions recover and rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle. The Taskforce, which includes representatives from business, local government, iwi and unions, covers all regions affected by the January and February floods and cyclone. ...
Changes have been made to legislation to give subcontractors the confidence they will be paid the retention money they are owed should the head contractor’s business fail, Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods announced today. “These changes passed in the Construction Contracts (Retention Money) Amendment Act safeguard subcontractors who ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood has unveiled five scenarios for one of the most significant city-shaping projects for Tāmaki Makaurau in coming decades, the additional Waitematā Harbour crossing. “Aucklanders and businesses have made it clear that the biggest barriers to the success of Auckland is persistent congestion and after years of ...
The Government has passed new legislation that ensures New Zealand’s civil aviation rules are fit for purpose in the 21st century, Associate Transport Minister Kiri Allan says. The Civil Aviation Bill repeals and replaces the Civil Aviation Act 1990 and the Airport Authorities Act 1966 with a single modern law ...
A Bill aimed at helping to reduce delays in the coronial jurisdiction passed its third reading today. The Coroners Amendment Bill, amongst other things, will establish new coronial positions, known as Associate Coroners, who will be able to perform most of the functions, powers, and duties of Coroners. The new ...
The Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Secretary to conduct a review into communications between Stuart Nash and his donors. The review will take place over the next two months. The review will look at whether there have been any other breaches of cabinet collective responsibility or confidentiality, or whether ...
The new Recovery Visa to help bring in additional migrant workers to support cyclone and flooding recovery has attracted over 600 successful applicants within its first month. “The Government is moving quickly to support businesses bring in the workers needed to recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods,” Michael ...
Bills to ensure non-teaching employees and contractors at schools, and unlicensed childcare services like mall crèches are vetted by police, and provide safeguards for school board appointments have passed their first reading today. The Education and Training Amendment Bill (No. 3) and the Regulatory Systems (Education) Amendment Bill have now ...
Wānanga will gain increased flexibility and autonomy that recognises the unique role they fill in the tertiary education sector, Associate Minister of Education Kelvin Davis has announced. The Education and Training Amendment Bill (No.3), that had its first reading today, proposes a new Wānanga enabling framework for the three current ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta will travel to Vanuatu today, announcing that Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further relief and recovery assistance there, following the recent destruction caused by Cyclones Judy and Kevin. While in Vanuatu, Minister Mahuta will meet with Vanuatu Acting Prime Minister Sato Kilman, Foreign Minister Jotham ...
The Government is backing Police and making communities safer with the roll-out of state-of-the-art tools and training to frontline staff, Police Minister Ginny Andersen said today. “Frontline staff face high-risk situations daily as they increasingly respond to sophisticated organised crime, gang-violence and the availability of illegal firearms,” Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government has provided Police with more tools to crack down on gang offending with the passing of new legislation today which will further improve public safety, Justice Minister Kiri Allan says. The Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Bill amends existing law to: create new targeted warrant and additional search powers ...
The Government today announced far-reaching changes to the way we make, use, recycle and dispose of waste, ushering in a new era for New Zealand’s waste system. The changes will ensure that where waste is recycled, for instance by households at the kerbside, it is less likely to be contaminated ...
New legislation passed by the Government today will make it harder for gangs and their leaders to benefit financially from crime that causes considerable harm in our communities, Minister of Justice Kiri Allan says. Since the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 came into effect police have been highly successful in ...
This evening I have advised the Governor-General to dismiss Stuart Nash from all his ministerial portfolios. Late this afternoon I was made aware by a news outlet of an email Stuart Nash sent in March 2020 to two contacts regarding a commercial rent relief package that Cabinet had considered. In ...
Legislation to enable more build-to-rent developments has passed its third reading in Parliament, so this type of rental will be able to claim interest deductibility in perpetuity where it meets the requirements. Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods, says the changes will help unlock the potential of the build-to-rent sector and ...
A law passed by Parliament today exempts employers from paying fringe benefit tax on certain low emission commuting options they provide or subsidise for their staff. “Many employers already subsidise the commuting costs of their staff, for instance by providing car parks,” Environment Minister David Parker said. “This move supports ...
Today marks the 40th anniversary of Closer Economic Relations (CER), our gold standard free trade agreement between New Zealand and Australia. “CER was a world-leading agreement in 1983, is still world-renowned today and is emblematic of both our countries’ commitment to free trade. The WTO has called it the world’s ...
The Government is making procedural changes to the Immigration Act to ensure that 2013 amendments operate as Parliament intended. The Government is also introducing a new community management approach for asylum seekers. “While it’s unlikely we’ll experience a mass arrival due to our remote positioning, there is no doubt New ...
The Government welcomes progress on public sector pay adjustment (PSPA) agreements, and the release of the updated public service pay guidance by the Public Service Commission today, Minister for the Public Service Andrew Little says. “More than a dozen collective agreements are now settled in the public service, Crown Agents, ...
The Government has introduced the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill to further support the recovery and rebuild from the recent severe weather events in the North Island. “We know from our experiences following the Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes that it will take some time before we completely understand the ...
Further assistance is now available to businesses impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, with Customs able to offer payment plans and to remit late-payments, Customs Minister Meka Whaitiri has announced. “This is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to assist economic recovery in the regions,” Meka Whaitiri said. “Cabinet has approved the ...
More than 41,000 sole parent families will be better off with a median gain of $20 a week Law change estimated to help lift up to 14,000 children out of poverty Child support payments will be passed on directly to people receiving a sole parent rate of main benefit, making ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The rout of the Liberals in Aston is a disaster for Peter Dutton. The party has defied history – in the worst possible way. This is the first time in more than a century ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Morgan Hancock/AAP With 44% of enrolled voters counted in today’s Aston federal byelection, the ABC has Labor expected to win ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Morgan Hancock/AAP With 44% of enrolled voters counted in today’s Aston federal byelection, the ABC has Labor expected to win ...
Analysis - When is a cabinet minister not a cabinet minister? The faulty logic of Stuart Nash has landed him and Labour in a heap of trouble but opened the door to serious reform of the Official Information Act, Tim Watkin writes. ...
Jubi News in Jayapura Indonesia’s Papua police chief Inspector-General Mathius D Fakhiri has called for action to ensure that “security disturbances” in the Puncak Jaya highlands do not widen in the face of escalating attacks by pro-independence militants. “For Puncak, we will take immediate action,” he said. According to General ...
What are you going to be watching this month? We round up everything coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ+. The biggies Party Down (all seasons on TVNZ+ from April 1) Thirteen years is a long time between drinks and ...
Ginny Andersen has landed a hot-potato portfolio and has been in Cabinet less than two months - the opposition will be eager to test her mettle this election year. ...
The executive producer of Modern Family has issued an incendiary claim about New Zealanders cheering and clapping in public. Hayden Donnell gets to the bottom of things.The sitcom Modern Family is remembered as a “warm-hearted story about the unbreakable bonds of family”; a tale of radically different people overcoming ...
As rain kept falling across January, February and into March, all band members cold do was sit at home cancelling festivals and posting sad Facebook messages to fans. The first post landed on January 3. As wild weather began hitting the country, campers around Northland packed up their tents ...
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we looked at how co-governance really works, Labour's record on climate action, what the new AUKUS nuclear submarine deal means for New Zealand, Posie Parker's visit to Auckland and the free speech debate, and the damage processed foods are ...
The radio workers were caught by the unexpected speed of the decline of NZ's consumer economy, since Christmas – and they won't be the last. Jonathan Milne reports. When broadcaster Tova O’Brien uttered the resounding words, "they’ve f***ed us", they resonated beyond the 1 percent audience share of a small talk radio operation ...
A New Zealand Battery Project centred on Lake Onslow in Central Otago is up against a cheaper North Island alternative Studies into whether a massive pumped-hydro scheme at Lake Onslow is New Zealand’s best bet for a secure energy future may have only four more months to run. While the ...
This is The Detail's Long Read - one in-depth story read by us every weekend. This week, it's Jungle Warfare, written by Ellen Rykers and published in New Zealand Geographic's March/April 2023 edition. You can find the full article, with photos by Adrian Malloch, here. Hundreds of pest plant species—many of them garden escapees—run rampant in ...
Because pro-social behaviour emerges so often after disaster, community empowerment should be central to disaster mitigation and recoveryOpinion: Cyclone Gabrielle caused major damage across the North Island. This unprecedented climate event created great uncertainty. People are wondering if, or when, they can return to their homes, the extent to ...
"We, women, loving you; you, men, finding new women to love": a Francophile love story in NZ Louis woke up and found out Marine was not lying next to him in bed. He checked his phone – 5:30am. The aurora shone a bright gold on the windows of the detached ...
The Red, White & Brass star talks spectacle, honouring family sacrifices and his debut lead role over a Tongan lunch in Otāhuhu.Name a creative pursuit and 28-year-old Tongan New Zealander John-Paul Foliaki will give it a go. That is, if he hasn’t already. Foliaki plays the lead role, Maka, ...
To mark 100 years since the great short story writer’s death, books editor Claire Mabey marathonned her collected works – these are the top 20.Reader, I did it. I read all of Katherine Mansfield’s short stories. Confession: I haven’t always been a fan. I have tedious memories of ...
In her first season as an ANZ Premiership captain, Ameliaranne Ekenasio was nervous about filling the shoes of the legendary Magic captains before her. But, as Merryn Anderson writes, the quiet leader has the full respect of the side who voted her in. When the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic created history ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Ordway, Associate Professor Sport Management and Sport Integrity Lead, University of Canberra Lawyers for Australian 800-metre star Peter Bol say allegations the runner engaged in doping should be dropped after two independent labs found no evidence he used a banned substance. ...
Vanuatu’s Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Trading Post Ltd, the owner of the VanuatuDaily Post newspaper, BUZZ FM96 and other media outlets, in a case against the government’s refusal to renew the company’s former media director’s work permit. Dan McGarry, who served as a director of the ...
Balclutha-based farmer Stephen Jack has been selected by local party members as National’s candidate in Taieri for the 2023 General Election. “Taieri is my home and I’m incredibly excited to have the opportunity to campaign for a National Government ...
Analysis - The Stuart Nash scandal has the potential to damage Labour's election chances, Marama Davidson creates controversy and Auckland's second harbour crossing to be built earlier than expected. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare JM Burns, Assistant Professor and Non-executive Director, Bond University Shutterstock The story of the Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund, whose name and marketing misled thousands of customers into believing it was Indigenous owned and run, is a stark example of ...
It’s the biannual reminder to tamper with that pesky analogue clock you still have in your kitchen for some reason (or at the least your microwave/car stereo). This Sunday at 3am, we will all gain an hour of sleep as the clocks roll back ahead of winter. Get ready for ...
The chief ombudsman has elected to reopen his investigation into an email from former minister Stuart Nash to a pair of donors back in 2020. The email, which only came to light this week, quickly triggered Nash’s dismissal from cabinet. But in bad news for the prime minister Chris Hipkins, ...
Last week we celebrated The Bulletin’s fifth birthday with Spinoff members and staff at The Spinoff’s offices in Auckland. The Bulletin launched in March 2018 seeking to curate news and great journalism and email that to people for free each weekday morning. That hasn’t changed and it’s still going strong. ...
The biggest increase in the history of the minimum wage will have a huge impact for workers on low wages, says the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. From tomorrow, the minimum wage will rise to $22.70, up from $21.20. This increase will benefit ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By George Siemens, Co-Director, Professor, Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning, University of South Australia agsandrew/Shutterstock Recent public interest in tools like ChatGPT has raised an old question in the artificial intelligence community: is artificial general intelligence (in this case, ...
Auckland’s wet summer is delivering one final blow just in time for the weekend. The Synthony festival, due to be held on Saturday at Auckland Domain and featuring performances by Shapeshifter, Dave Dobbyn and Kimbra, has been postponed following predictions of heavy rainfall across the day. More than 20,000 people ...
We would like to see a temporary by-pass of the major slip on State Highway 25A built to alleviate the concerns of the residents of the Eastern Side of Coromandel. Cyclone Gabrielle inflicted substantial damage to roading on the Coromandel Peninsula. ...
Alex Casey watches Wellmania, the new Netflix comedy starring Instagram sensation Celeste Barber. The lowdownBased on the book by journalist Brigid Delaney, Netflix comedy Wellmania follows successful yet shambolic Australian food writer Liv Bealey (Celeste Barber) as she embarks on a quest to get well as quickly as possible. ...
The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier says he has reopened his investigation into an Official Information Act complaint about a decision by former Minister Stuart Nash. "The original enquiry was discontinued in May last year in discussion with the ...
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) has welcomed this morning’s Government announcement to address pay disparities in the nursing and kaiāwhina workforces from 1 April. NZNO Chief Executive Paul ...
Don’t let broccoli’s virtuous goody two-shoes reputation put you off – these verdant and versatile florets make the perfect addition to tray bakes, salads, soups and more.I reckon broccoli’s “superfood” status has given it a bit of a bad reputation. Because it’s so healthy (and reasonably inoffensive), its nutrients ...
A poem from Michele Leggott’s forthcoming book Face to the Sky. escher x nendo I hear you Eddie Woo coming clear across the galleries of intercochlear space you have the measure of these galaxies earthmeasure you have the measure of their difference earthmisia you translate one world artemisia and here ...
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.AUCKLAND1Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Doubleday, $26) The new, smaller format of Bonnie Garmus’ ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Blunden, Professor and Head of Paediatric Sleep Research, CQUniversity Australia ShutterstockWhat would happen to a person if they didn’t get the sleep they needed? Hedya, age 11, Australia This is a really good question Heyda, because it ...
Within hours of Duncan Garner telling listeners ‘It looks like the end of us’, the station’s website, social media and archives had been scrubbed from the internet.Right now across Auckland you can still see ads for Leo Molloy’s doomed mayoral campaign and electorate offices adorned with a smiling Jacinda ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has spoken more about the Stuart Nash email scandal at a media conference at the Manurewa RSA today, saying Nash has been "ultimately held accountable". ...
By Barbara Dreaver in Port Vila Vanuatu is in celebration mode after winning a significant battle on the world stage over climate change. In a United Nations resolution spearheaded by Vanuatu, the world’s top court will now advise on countries’ legal obligations to fight climate change. It also means the ...
By Jan Kohout, RNZ Pacific journalist New Caledonia’s Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) say they will tell the French Prime Minister of the Kanak people’s “sense of humiliation” over the last independence referendum. The pro-independence alliance is set to talk to the French state from April 7-15. The ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is visiting the Manurewa RSA meeting veterans who are among hundreds of thousands to receive higher payments from tomorrow. ...
This is an excerpt from The Spinoff’s pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up to have it delivered to your inbox every Friday here. If you want a middle-aged white man to play a disappointed-with-the-state-of-their-life middle-aged-white-man, you have two options: Jason Segel or Chris O’Dowd. Clearly, Segel was already busy ...
Over four million people have returned their Individual Forms for the 2023 Census, Stats NZ said today. “This is a great milestone. We didn’t hit this milestone until 30 April in the 2018 Census. I would like to thank everybody who has been counted ...
The government's recent announcement of five high carbon options for the next harbour crossing has disappointed those concerned about climate change. TRAC, a rail advocacy collective, opposes the short-sighted decision, citing the urgent need to reduce ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Guzyal Hill, Senior Lecturer, Charles Darwin University Shutterstock Sunday will mark the end of the Daylight Saving Time (DST) in eastern Australia, but there are many who would like to see it last longer or permanently. Twice a year, New ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has launched a call for evidence to support its work on Aotearoa New Zealand’s emissions reduction targets and emissions budgets. This call for evidence is an opportunity for anyone to share information, data and ...
As the move to digital commerce continues, fraudsters are counting on consumers to let their guard down and to supply personal information. And according to new research released today by global payments technology company Visa (NYSE: V), which ...
On the other side to Sir Ed is the scene of one of our greatest conservation triumphs. Allison Hess explains.Stuffed into your wallet or passed across the till, the New Zealand $5 note circulates largely unobserved. But if you were to take a closer look at the ubiquitous burnt ...
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is asking for views on which overseas regulators it will draw on for some hazardous substance assessments and reassessments. The recognised international regulators must regulate hazardous substances in a similar ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Shortis, Lecturer, RMIT University Alex Brandon/AP Events often seem inevitable in hindsight. The indictment of former US President Donald Trump on criminal charges has been a possibility since the start of his presidency – arguably, since close to the ...
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In the world of Twitter/social media sound-bite commentary …
A person says they liked being one of the boys in their youth at age 12, but was glad she was not influenced to consider being a transgender male because of this. Those who support her get called transphobic.
Another person says she was a tomboy who became a butch lesbian. Those who support her (might still) get called feminists who are challenging the religious heritage and or natural order of civilisation …
In the real world males and females have a diversity, the more literary/artistically inclined male and activity inclined female are operating within human norms, just not median part of the herd.
There is a risk of imposing a stereotype/norm on individuals – whether a conservative one or a pseudo-progressive PC one. The imposition of a expected conformity/norm is not progressive.
Support for a person who says they liked being one of the boys in their youth, but was glad she was not influenced to consider being a transgender male is fine. Support for a person once a "tomboy", now butch lesbian, is also OK.
That should be the easy part.
The next easy part should be limiting access to self ID as "transgender women" to those who have not committed violence against women.
And the other easy part is to note the evidence as to early medical intervention causing problems.
Both the safety of women and the principle of not doing harm with medical treatments being of some importance.
I don't see on what basis any part of womanhood should be open to any man who opens his mouth and utters the magical incantation "I identify as".
I can understand why – 50 odd years ago when sex between men was unlawful, some gay men internalised their homophobia and risked their lives to have surgery to mimic the sex characteristics of women, and lived as women from then on. I can understand why – in those more intolerant times, some butch lesbians disguised themselves as men in order to live safer lives.
However, none of that is necessary in Aotearoa today.
Bodily dysphorias of various kinds are a psychological problem and they should have psychological solutions and treatment. Instead – fueled by the demands of autogynephiliac men with deep pockets, society is being required to participate in the full time exercise of their paraphilia, and to normalise that behaviour a whole ideology of bodily disassociation has been created.
I presume you reject Camile Paglia having the right of declare as a transgender man "because of her internalised homophobia" (she was the only out "lesbian in “her” graduate school).
Did men really have "bottom half" surgery 50 years ago? Carmen Rupe never did and nor was there any reference to being a closet homophobe
Calling transgender people as those with mental problems (to be managed as per aversion therapy for homosexuality I presume) or internalised homophobia/guilt over their sexuality, is just a repeat of the 1952 DSM approach.
And it in no way explains the non binary etc. Or is that closet "bi-sexuality"?
Trying to write a narrative which other humans have to conform to is like ordering children from a lab with the desired DNA programming and all. And then making a return (or placing into a treatment centre) when that does not work well enough.
I don't believe that being gender non-conforming is a mental health issue. But equally, I don't believe that people who identify as trans who have gender dysphoria, ie people who hate their bodies and can't resolve that, should be in charge of major societal and policy changes without taking into account all of society.
The problem we have now is that AGP males have pushed this so far, along with liberals, that women are fighting back hard. Ten years ago, maybe even five years ago, if No Debate and self-ID hadn't happened, there would have been some accommodation, because most women care about others and seek a functional society for all. This is why we see large support for TW in women's spaces until it's clarified that this means any man who says they are a woman. But those days are gone. The sheer level of abuse directed at GC women demolished any chance.
What we can hope for now is that the shit fight ends, women re-establish the right to women's space, and trans people set up their own spaces with support from liberal society. This would be a good outcome, one that many women would get behind. But the longer the war goes on, the less sympathy there will be. In places like the UK and the US there is a very real risk of a huge backlash against trans people, and that is on the gender activists and the liberals who were illiberal towards women.
As gender is a collection of sexist stereotypes – being non conforming to that is a sign of mental health!. The bodily dysphorias that demand the removal of healthy body parts, or chemical reversal of natural bodily processes do certainly require psychological treatment. It is a softwear problem – not a hardware problem.
They certainly did have "bottom surgery" back then. Carmen did not and the explanation was that the clients liked that. Most of the others did. I knew a number of them in Wellington in the 1970's and am Facebook friends with others today. They see themselves as "transheterosexual" but are still part of the Gay community because they are sexually attracted to men. The AGP men are the ones that hang around lesbian dating groups.
Most of the others? Really? G Beyer did, but she was of a later period (and she did so after discrimination against homosexuals – 1986 – was already over). Because she was as you put “transheterosexual”. Which sort of negates the line you used about these people being guilt ridden homosexuals.
And it's "bottom half" surgery.
There is the case of Mr Jenner a once heterosexual man who now identifies as “transheterosexual” (but without bottom half surgery).
I suppose he might be called non binary and whose sexuality has become fluid (reminds me of one of those Sex in the City actors – many years married to a man and then partnering up with a lesbian).
The problem with this is that if TWAW, but suddenly only some TW are women, self-ID becomes meaningless. I'm good with that, but I think you will find that the gender activists aren't there yet.
And beyond that, there's no way to predict which males will be violent towards women. This is part of why we have female only spaces to begin with. Denying access to women's spaces after women have been assaulted is abhorrent.
It's not about convincing activists, but asking government to make "considered" decisions
For now there is this
and
https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,rishi-sunak-biological-sex-key-in-protecting-womenonly-spaces
The principle of women's safety (a governments roles includes security/public safety as well as the rights of its citizens) being recognised is now in play.
As Laila Harre once said when asked (replying to a letter) why she was focused on parental leave (support for women with jobs when they had children over those who did not), one good thing leads to other good things.
Its not Sturgeons role to decide someones elses gender , nor yours
Do you really want to be the 'pants police' checking them out after all you have joined the culture war, maybe a new badge and can model yourself on the Islamic religious police who enforce 'standards'
We have seen all this before , is some Maori enough or black enough.
It was also the catchcry of ‘safety’ which was used for segregation of schools , cinemas, housing etc in the US.
the online pitchforks are very evident in comments on this situation
I guess we can place you in the absolutist self ID camp then …
PS … the Scottish parliament has passed self ID legislation but it has been vetoed by the UK government led by Sunak. The Scottish government has decided to block the placement of those who have raped women from womens prisons.
The case Sturgeon was questioned involved a man who raped a woman and then later chose self ID as a transgender woman.
However, enjoy the cheap shot social media posturing as holier than thou on the issue (gaslighting).
Do you dance?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-08/reiby-detention-centre-sexual-abuse-730/101913320
A 7.30 investigation can reveal three former female staff at Reiby have been convicted of sexual offences against detainees
What say you to sexual abuse by women against boys in detention ? Surely its the person rather than the gender that is the issue
Prisons unfortunately are rife for violence as many inmates have never known love and safety growing up , like you would have had.
Its a breakdown in security that a violent woman could harm other women in jail. Thats all .
Just like the above historical situation in Australia
Im sure other violence by women against women happens often enough without gender being an issue for the cultural warriors to carry their digital pitchforks.
Same happens in women only bars, which I have witnessed from a few doors away.
I see granny's clickbaiting a CGT piece 'why it failed'.
Didnt realise we had one to fail.
??
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/the-front-page-capital-gains-tax-experts-still-want-it-so-could-this-issue-rise-from-the-dead/H66T3JMYARA5XFGY2NNZBMIIAM/
That's downright weird coming from Granny. The article is a teaser for a podcast (will listen t it when I've got time) that has this,
Now, do accountants support a CGT because it's good for the collective economy, or because it'll be good for their personal economies?
The wild weather lately has had a calamitous effect on the vege garden the garlic simply withered and gave up the ghost, tomatoes came down with every blight and fungal disease known to man and in the orchard plums are non existent and the peachcrop harvest this year is gonna be four small jars preserved .A disastrous attack of some sort of mite or thrip has attacked the new growth on the citrus so no blossom and no mandarins or grapefruit next season alas .
Still its an ill wind that blows nobody no good as they say and as far as other members of the plant family go trees , ferns ,shrubs ,native flora in general ive never seen this part of northland looking so verdant and lush .The tui round here are singing their heads off in appreciation !!
Hope this cheers you up 🙂
Ya lucky bugga Robert ! what sort of plums are those little ones an what will you do with them ?
Hi Weston – we are fortunate indeed, it's been a boomer of a plum season (all of the fruits, in fact). This photo shows about a 5th of the total plum harvest; there are still a number of trees/varieties to pick; greengages, Victoria etc. The smaller plums in the photo (they aren't small in reality) are an unnamed/unknown "Southland" plum we "found" in an old farm orchard – never seen anything like them before and can't track down the name. We are selling them, gifting them, eating them and turning them into plum sauce. The big plums, bottom right, are not quite ripe yet; picking that tree (2 trees) will be fun! The first tree we harvested from, George Wilson Early, was loaded to groaning and necessitated multiple visits by grandchildren to clear 🙂 Happy days!
Our George Wilson Early – a very old tree left over from a Plum orchard planted years before – blew over in a recent storm 🙁 It was my go to for plum jam. The other plums here have suffered the same fate Weston describes above but here in the Coromandel. Just far too much rain (6 months in 30 days), and humidity. So fungal, insects, and birds have got the lot. Just nothing worth picking except the odd Omega which survived.
Yeah, George Wilson make great jam and sauce! Sorry yours blew over. If the humidity ruined your plum crops, I guess you aren't celebrating a great peach season either!
We've had the same bad luck in Northland. The only fruit that survived the wet – no plums, no peaches- were the grapes. Alas the wild turkeys found them.
And the garden's produced next to nothing.
Cows are fat though.
A Cornucopia Robert.
Enjoy the washing baskets in place of the horn of plenty .
Should've used the wicker laundry baskets, rather than the plastic, for the photo, but needs must; they were already filled with apples 🙂
I harvested about 5kg of grapes today. About 50% of the crop was pillaged by sparrows, silvereyes, a thrush, wasps, bees, ants, even a bumblebee was getting into the action.
There are about 1000 rotting grapes left on the vine and another 1000 squished all over the ground.
A few days ago, its was still gloomy and wet and the grapes were still not ripe. But a couple of days sunshine and they sweeten up. You know they are ready when you hear a gang of 16 sparrows going mental on sugar outside my bedroom window
what will you do with the grapes?
Gang of 16 sparrows, sounds like a poem.
Share them around family & friends. Nobody I know buys the expensive Chilean stuff
We've had (Auckland) guava moth infesting all of the plums and ruining the crop (all the wet, didn't help either, with fruit splitting).
Seems to be a widespread issue in Auckland, with some saying that virtually every fruit and nut tree (that isn't citrus) is affected.
The only effective treatment is pheromone traps – catch the males before breeding – but that, of course, doesn't stop the fertilized females from next door arriving to lay eggs on your unripe fruit.
I've heard that too, Belladonna, from visitors from the North; very sobering for a fruit grower. I hope our sou'westers keep the guava moth at bay. Not very keen to have brown rot arrive either; "Brown rot", now there's something we really don't want down here. I met him once. We didn't click 🙂
The only thing growing at my place is Kikuyu. 🙁
Pre Earthquake Syria story…https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/11/1130427
“With more than half of the vital infrastructure either completely destroyed or severely damaged, the imposition of unilateral sanctions on key economic sectors, including oil, gas, electricity, trade, construction and engineering have quashed national income, and undermine efforts towards economic recovery and reconstruction”, said Ms. Douhan.
In light of this latest earthquake, I wonder if America will lead the way in reversing their sanctions, you would think so, you know, given what a benign and reasonable Imperial power people seem to see them as..at the very least lift the sanctions to allow direct aid..the fact that they can't (European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland), just goes to show who the real victims of sanctions are..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctions_against_Syria
Law needs to change if security guards aren't allowed to touch these people as police can't be expected to always get there in time. Good on the lady for filming and speaking out about the thieves sense of entitlement.
'It's not right': Households paying more for groceries to subsidise criminal behaviour after thieves' brazen robbery attempt – Retail NZ (msn.com)
"sense of entitlement" aka hunger.
Would be interesting to see the items loaded in to the trolley as often that is not the case due to what they steal. As the Countdown manager advised me when I witnessed a robbery, they usually steal the small expensive items from the pharmacy aisle or either alcohol. So I guess more likely their 'sense of entitlement' is ageing concerns or they are thirsty!
Jimmy, Who cares about your "reckons" about what or why people steal. They need to face the Law plus get help rather than Judgemental Arseholes circle jerking about their circumstances.
You are "preaching to the converted". I agree that they need to face the law. Everyone in NZ is entitled to some sort of benefit / help. I was simply answering Weka's comment that they are simply hungry. Usually these people are not satisfied with the help/benefits they are receiving and feel entitled to steal.
I don't know if they're hungry. Maybe they're stealing to sell for profit. I was simply responding to your reckons with a counter proposal – they might be stealing because they have no food.
WINZ isn't easy to access, so while people might be technically entitled whether they will get the assistance they need is a different story. The government could fix this and then maybe we'd have less supermarket theft.
Your reckons.
Reckon hunger isn't Jiminy's problem
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/482553/cost-of-living-pressures-dial-up-demand-for-food-parcels
maybe they can sell the stuff and buy more food than they could steal.
Hunger isn't an excuse for theft. The theft part could be seen as a sense of entitlement. Those in poverty need help, not a free reign to break the law.
can't see how they've got free rein to break the law, given what's in the video.
if this is an ongoing problem, rather than a one off, the solution is to make sure people have enough to live on. Stigmatising desperate people will make the situation worse.
Those poor Englishmen who were sent to the colony prison camps for stealing a loaf of bread might not have agreed with you, RBO.
those entitled bastards.
True that Robert. Life in Australia for a loaf of bread, cruel and unusual punishment for sure.
Ha!
Better to starve.
Italy's highest court thinks otherwise . Novel and obviously not NZ law, but interesting.
Supermarkets have people on camera from the second they step into the store. Every one of us can be tracked through the store and constantly observed. Security guards have no need to stop anybody – a number plate would be useful, or a direction of travel.
However, most of the frequent shop thieves are known to the Police already and all that is needed is for the relevant footage to be compiled and sent off to the Police.
yeah, I was kind of surprised at the staff getting so physical. Get good photos, follow them out and get their number plate, rather than risking injury.
"a number plate would be useful, or a direction of travel."
Often they wont be in their own vehicle, and as for direction of travel "they went that way,", yeah I can see the police writing down "we are looking for someone heading in the direction of Manukau"…that will be a great help!//
If you are pushing a trolley – and the losers up the road from us have a collection outside their "affordable" accommodation – it is useful to know where they went.
Yeah. Police basically don't do anything with all of the security camera footage provided. They are so overwhelmed with dealing with violent crime, that theft is a long way back in their priorities. The standard response is "lack of police resources".
This is an example of a case being re-opened – because of the persistence of the victim (actually going to the police complaints authority).
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/police-reopen-theft-case-after-incorrectly-dismissing-concrete-evidence/VAYHVPJZLVBIPJG5IZQ5GX75TY/
We've seen others being actioned, because of media publicity.
But the vast majority just get filed. If the criminal is caught for some other reason, the case might be added to their total – but probably not.
In the meantime – the chances of the victim getting the property back (unless they take independent action) are pretty close to zero. And the shops have to wear the cost (which means increased prices for everyone else).
"They are so overwhelmed with dealing with violent crime, that theft is a long way back in their priorities."
What is it that qualifies as violent crime? From the look of this story you have to carry out at least a couple of violent assaults before they will do anything about it.
Here is someone who, on the 26th August stabbed a neighbour in the stomach with a knife because the person attacked wouldn't give him a cigarette. They lived on the same street and were known to each other. Then on the evening of the 28th August he stabbed another neighbour, this time with a screwdriver.
Why on earth hadn't the police picked him up in the interval? I can't believe they hadn't heard about it, either from the first victim or the hospital?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/131159250/man-stabbed-woman-23-times-after-she-refused-to-give-him-cigarette
Perhaps we are supposed to accept that he is not to blame for anything except suffering from the results of colonialism?
It's good to put this theft into perspective:
https://www.critic.co.nz/features/article/10405/why-the-cops-arent-chasing-the-biggest-theft-in-th
Or the Green School.
more Steiner I think.