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).
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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TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
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 Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
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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://twitter.com/TwisterFilm/status/1622293940002066432?ref_src
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 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/robert.guyton.77582/posts/pfbid02rUNZyLYuh7ridzXKsCHBBmswW12dFjZBZYKEHu3w8YjJWsUmNTqJqHoUqJZkWP2Sl
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.
https://twitter.com/DanaSchwartzzz/status/1622454450354008064
more Steiner I think.