They did get away with it – Roger Douglas has still not received punishment commensurate with his crimes against his countrymen – but hey, rainbow squirrel!
Conversion therapy is torture which is already illegal. So all that's really required is recognition within the legal system that it is torture. Basically, it could be done in about half a day so not exactly a huge distraction.
As far as that goes, the 'therapy' would fall under the mental health act.
There are rights to refuse, to be respected, to have the company of others etc.
No doubt often honored in the breach, but the smacking law comparison is apt – no cases were affected by the electorally fatal insistence on that legislation. There are an almost infinite number of serious issues more deserving of parliamentary time.
Though I reckon he'd still try, I'd bet even Andrew Little couldn't save someone who posts "but hey, rainbow squirrel" in a debate about the need to halt homo/transphobic torture from continuing to occur on these shores.
Believing that governments have a wide focus regarding policy and are able to proceed with more than one piece of legislation at a time, it obviously doesn't have to be an either or thing, but if it were, I'd forgo negotiations on workers rights until the horrific abuses were made illegal first.
According to the tvnz vote compass survey, 72% want what is still legal, to be banned in NZ, if you're not one of the 12% who don't know, then you're in the 14% that see no reason to end the immediate suffering and long term damage inflicted on the poor sods who have to go through it.
Well, the USA is morphing the last few steps into a Nazi Gilead state, so no time like the present.
If there's no current need, it spells it out for the future. If there is a current need, it makes illegal an intervention that might triple the suicide rate in affected youths.
Either way, I like that the policy cup is even half full. I won't demand it be tipped out just because it doesn't have my favourite half. The, in my case, generally comes from the Greens.
What we have too much on in the left is viewing policies that are not our own priorities as "distractions", even if those policies are priorities for other lefties.
All that leads to is incessant whinging because there will never be a policy announcement that satisfies everyone.
Well I've waited twenty-five years. I no longer expect anything good from Labour – but they'll pick up any kind of dodgy pc crap faster than you can say 'knife'. Looks like this is one of those.
Yes – it must be a heady thing to have all the apparatus of state bent to one's personal whim instead of serving the public good for which it was created. But it would be more persuasive to document the prevalence or otherwise of the practice here.
Chris Carter had to be let go. His virtues were less apparent than he supposed.
It wasn't his virtues that were the problem, it was his political vices. Getting caught sending anonymous letters to the press gallery to knobble your leader is not a long term career move.
Firstly, define the activities that are "psychological procedures".
Secondly, show how they are "psychological" in nature, rather than, say, "spiritual" or "cultural".
Thirdly, demonstrate that parents cannot consent to "psychological procedures" or indeed any medical procedures on behalf of their children.
Fourth, demonstrate harm to a level that overrules parental rights.
Fifth, start the child protection process.
OR:
First, notify the parents and operator that : "This violates the prohibition on 'conversion therapy', and is grounds for a protection order on behalf of the child", or something along those lines.
Second, continue the rest of the child protection process.
Still not getting the Chris Carter in the making bit. It's like you want to say something about the young man but don't have the same sort of courage he clearly has to do so.
See, just as I don't need to know rape statistics or numbers of domestic violence victims to know it's wrong, and that these crimes against a person's health, safety and personal dignity should be legislated against – The same with conversion therapy. You?
Conversion therapy is covered by several different pieces of existing legislation. So what's really happening here? Is the young man acting in the public interest, or taking the shortest possible path to publicity and reputation?
Whatever his motive, even your suggestion which does read as quite mean spirited, the fact remains that conversion therapy is still legal here, and a majority (in public and in the next parliament) want it stopped before it damages more young New Zealanders. No biggie.
Or you could take that, since it is already illegal on several counts under existing law, the young fellow should concern himself with obtaining redress for those threatened by it or having suffered it, instead of requiring a whole new law.
But that's just it, it isn't illegal, hence why there will be a new law after the election.
Edit:
“Currently, it is regarded as “unethical behaviour” to provide conversion therapy. However, this only applies to licenced therapists and counsellors. Technically, anyone in New Zealand can claim to offer services in conversion therapy, and suffer no legal repercussions.”
Assault might apply, but it's not physical force as punishment and frankly a lot of these fuckers are more about mental abuse rather than physical. And when it's done under the transferred authority of the parents, that ,ight be a hard legal row to hoe.
One might think OT would be able to step in, but then they get into discussions about definitions of ill treatment and whether the "therapy" is good or bad for the child.
But an explicit legal "conversion therapy is bad, m'kay" cuts through all those QC-level arguments.
Tell those affected it shouldn't be a priority. What's interesting is how collins wouldn't give a view on it because she needs to know more. It's more likely she's not opposed to it but doesn't want to lose the liberal vote.
IMO, her praying in church in front of the cameras indicate that she's all for it or, at the very least, won't do anything about it so that other God Fearing practitioners can continue to abuse their children without being sent to jail.
Torture, Kidnapping, Abuse, Assault – just to name a few. All of which are already illegal.
As I've said before, what we really need is a law that prevents any product coming on to the market until it has been properly classified and regulated.
His Father and I told the Dr. that was why we and our son were changing to the other Dr. in the practice, as he did not let his personal views and religion interfere with medicine or treatment. Talk about lose faith!!
That was 15 years ago. We were 'gobsmacked ' it was being touted when our son was 38 at the time.
So yes and it is demeaning as it sent a "you are not normal you are broken" message.
lol. Judith certainly made hard work of answering any questions Suzy fired at her. And her parting quips about being 'energised' be being on the programme held a subtle undercurrent of menace. So I agree, RNZ had better hope the Natz don't win!
Last night Collins accused Labour party leader Jacinda Ardern of disrespecting the pacific nation after Ardern called her claims "factually incorrect".
Damn pesky facts. If the Gnats get in they will be gone by lunchtime.
so, in the last few weeks ,collins has pretended to like farmers, children, christians , now samoans are current besties. who will be collins next crush?
Jane Patterson is a neutral political journalist who likes to point out the flaws on the Left and gloss over the flaws on the Right. Rumours of her getting "support" from the National Party are so very untrue.
Actually was a bit of a harsh call this morning, particularly after seeing the interview and the rest of the article. Just glanced at this:
#Collins' Samoan husband and her "Talofa" greeting generated a fair amount of feedback in the first debate and it was mention of Samoa's record on Covid that provoked an angry retort with the National leader telling Ardern "not to disrespect Samoa". She had not, insisted Ardern, and couldn't figure out why Collins had reacted so strongly. Afterwards Collins said she felt "possessive" of the Pacific nation and felt it had been disrespected when Samoa has done so well managing Covid#
which is fairly slack ol wedgetable politics, but yeh, not such a haigiography.
Steve Braunias declares it for Guardian readers: The winner of the third NZ election leaders' debate? Death. Hovering in the wings, I presume, since I didn't see it onstage.
It was the third debate of the election campaign and both leaders brought their B-game. Nothing new in that from Ardern.
She’s been generally kind of like actually completely hopeless in every debate; a bit of a total howling bore, unwilling or unable to say a single memorable thing.
There was one change in her performance on Tuesday, though: she moved. She went full-on jazz hands, and came very close to busting out some tasty air guitar.
Two newspaper editors moderated the debate, and demonstrated that the last people you want moderating a debate are two newspaper editors.
Asked what kind of cars they drove, Ardern said she had a Hyunda EV, Collins said she had a BMW. There was a stir from the studio audience; if the siren song of the debate was death, Collins’s reply was a reminder of the one truly good Oasis song, Supersonic, in which Liam Gallagher sings: “Can I ride with you in your BMW?”
I like Joe Walsh with his Maserati, does one-eighty-five, I lost my licence, Now I don't drive. That's more JC style actually. Don't worry about global warming, farming; keep on smarming JC (apparently getting a christian high on her initials)! Just remember JC life's been good so far, and the real JC had to suffer for his beliefs and values, so don't pretend to actually care about Christ-like agape-love, you'll never make it and it's bad to see you trying to fake it.
Have a decadent moment with Walsh who is revelling in decadent as he records:
What is the actual point of these onstage political debates?
It's not as if the skills needed to "win" a debate have any overlap with the skills needed to govern well. Policy substance never ever gets explored, at best there might be a surface once-over-lightly. Performance art for an audience isn't leadership, it's not persuasion, it's not bringing together different viewpoints to form a workable solution.
The rare instances that a debate actually produces a game-changing moment, it's because of its theatrical impact, not actual governing substance. Such as "there you go again" or "show me the money" or someone glancing at their watch.
to sell advertising?televised political debates are a long way from televised blood sports. closer to competitive cooking shows, and there isnt much point to those. think arkie has it about right. when the star of a televised political debate is either the worm or the host(sometimes, the same thing), it shows just how pointless they are.
Scoring ‘points’ to improve your personal and/or team ‘rankings’ is one point. Another point is the ‘promotion’ of the ‘sport’, i.e. the whole circus is an ‘ad’ in and of itself. It is also building relationships with the media. The NZ press & media landscape is tiny and narrow and yet we’ve had three leaders debates with the same names popping up again and again. Just my views.
the small size of nz press and media is a double edged sword. as we have seen, many of last weeks truth tellers become next weeks spin doctors. still dont see any real point to televised political debates. the polies all know the media by now. the veiwing public deserve something better than this rubbish, wheres julie christy with another reality shitshow? a combo of dancing with stars(?) and competitive cooking,with the live audience given missiles to throw. now, THAT I would watch, at least up to the first ad break(bone breaks would keep me watching).
The purpose of the debates is to deliver viewers to advertisers.
Nobody ever 'wins' or 'loses' them because there can be no objective measure of winning or losing – mostly they just confirm viewers in their existing opinions.
When determinations are made of who 'won' or 'lost' these are usually based on the frisson generated by trivial inter-personal moments (who looked grumpy/frustrated/lost for words, etc.) rather than some overall sense of that party's fitness to govern.
They could be replaced by long-form one-on-one interviews with intelligent and well-informed interviewers who have zero interest in 'gotchas' or self-aggrandisement – but such people don't exist in the contemporary media landscape.
so, who, apart from political junkies are there target audience? most kiwis with a pulse, would rather watch something(anything?) else.Im with incognito.
Woods said she wanted to increase the supply of affordable housing “without radically readjusting house prices so that people are losing equity in their homes”.
“What we want to see is some stabilisation of prices,” Woods said.
I party-voted Green an hour ago. The local candidate list didn't show a Green option so I quizzed the polling booth officials about that (I'd done the zoom selection meeting months ago, read his bio, a 17 year old Indian guy living in PN, keen).
Getting the gist that he hadn't made it down the home straight, I ended up voting for Glen Beck, the Labour guy. Like Obama, a community organiser. Since I've been telling people for years that we got too much individualism & now need more community, I'm cool with his vocation.
Naturally, as an archetypal individualist, I frame this as personal development! I can go further & posit attainment of a high level of maturity late in life, eh? Except Gabby would rightfully draw attention to an element of pretension in such a pose.
Anyway good on you for going Green. I had you picked as staunch Labour due to relentless extreme left stances. Got that wrong!
Oh, btw, emailed our GP organiser & she promptly informed me she'd notified us back when he had to pull out. The branch emails have operated on a hit or miss basis the past couple of years, for reasons I couldn't be bothered investigating, and I know it didn't reach me. Could be the Russians, perhaps…
I'm not sure why you would think someone with an extreme left stance would think Labour were a better bet over the Greens? Have you compared the policy?
As for your green mail, check whatever spam filters you have in your email client and also running on your webmail. I found that my Orcon account was deciding randomly that some green emails were spam. Not all, just the odd one, which was odd. I ended up disabling the thing entirely.
Good spam filters work on a combination of trigger/keywords, which may make them appear ‘random’. Think about it, too crude would let too many through or block too many.
We could face 4 more years of Trump, due largely to this hopeless gerontocracy
One of the most embarrassing politicians in all of American history is the ridiculous NY congressman Jerrold Nadler, who achieved immortality by claiming that alleged Russian hacking in 2016 constituted an "act of war" equivalent to Pearl Harbor and 9/11.
Trump is terrible and in any functioning democracy he and his cronies from hell would be long gone—but the incompetence of the Democratic gerontocracy, from the doddering Diane Feinstein, to the smiling and ineffectual Nancy Pelosi, to the hilarious Nadler, and of course Sleepy Joe Biden, means that it's still uncertain as to whether he will be defeated next month.
As Matt Christman points out at the end of this clip, "These people are not doing the job you are fantasising they do. They are mentally and physically incapable."
As Matt Christman points out at the end of this clip,
"These people are not doing the job you are fantasising they do. They are mentally and physically incapable."
I don't know who M Christman is but he said an intelligent mouthful there. It really is the piece of resistance (Peter Sellers) of out post-modern political scene.
(Where did that surname come from? It sounds so phony. Does it reflect his deeper leanings, or is it part of his sponsorship. There would be money in that, having the blessing of Nike on you every time you sign/say your name, would you get paid in a lump sum of just on clickbait counts.)
Christman is a fairly common surname. I know a couple of people in Auckland with the name. Matt Christman is, as you obviously picked up, a brilliant and trenchant political commentator. The Chapo Trap House podcast is always outstanding; it restores one's faith in the future of America to hear young, thoughtful, serious people talking with such wit and such insight. Highly recommended!
Its always uncertain until there's an election Mo – but it looks like an old man will certainly win, and its unlikely to be your pick. Your pigeon-holing of being old as doddering, ineffectual, incompetent, sleepy, hopeless (with more words related to shitting and farting, etc in your attachment), says something very weird about you, and nothing whatsoever about a congressman on the other side of the world.
I didn't and I don't pigeon-hole old people. I, and obviously many disgusted Americans also, do indeed see Pelosi, Feinstein, Nadler, Biden as doddering, ineffectual, incompetent, sleepy, and hopeless. They were equally disastrous thirty years ago.
There are many people in the United States, far older than those four, who are bright, thoughtful and fully engaged in public life. Bernie Sanders, for instance. And Noam Chomsky.
Land in Wellington has so much history embedded in it – it's not just handy spare ground to build houses on as a quick fix to the years of neglect of proper provision of necessary infrastructure by government.
Two Anglican priests wearing their collars walked into a Labour Party office. "We have not seen anyone praying and holding her hands like Judith Collins in an Anglican church in thirty years".
What NZ non-Muslim women could do is to start wearing a scarf over the head tied at the neck. That would give the passers-by on the street the experience of seeing similar to the Muslim head covering of the hijab (without half-veil).
Someone I know did that and said it was noticeable that a rather large young boy going past fixed his eye on her and just stared. Nothing said or done, but the steady gaze was noticeable. So why not give it a try, show some solidarity – not as much as the wearing of the yellow star by the Danish in WW2. (Which apparently was a fable. This would be real.)
When the Australian right is too toxic for a Faux news talking head.
"It's incredibly selfish of older people or neurotic people who are timid & afraid & won't come out of their basements to confine children & young people to miss out on the most important part of their lives" – Fox News is now straight up blaming old & vulnerable people for Covid pic.twitter.com/mLhiwDHmrN
Bonus Question for yesterday's Trump Covid game, worth triple points:
Down 10% in polls and the election 4 weeks away that you desperately need to win for your future to not include a lot of orange jumpsuit, and a lot of your electorate out of work and wondering how they will pay their bills and even just eat, do you:
A – Publicly work hard with all the lawmakers you need to pass a relief package helping out those in desperate straits and make it clear there will be more where that came from if needed after the election
B – Flounce out of negotiations in a hissy fit vowing to not even consider a relief package until after the election
Anyone experiencing polling booths not open for early voting in their areas. Devonport a rather twee quaint area of our Auckland North Shore has two out of the three booths closed because it is school holidays and kids need the buildings for their holiday activities.
Now I am not going to hammer the littlies for their activities but I am head scratching here as to what is more important – a once in three year event to vote in the next Government or keeping our kids occupied during the holidays. The area is crammed with elderly and retired folk and there will be some without cars.
The pleading with people to vote early as to keep the pesky bug at bay and not clutter up the booths on the final day was a damp squib this afternoon for a relative of mine trapsing all over to find a booth open.
Well, the North Shore Rugby Club on Cambridge Terrace is open for early voting every day except Saturday. There's other places nearby for Saturday early voting. So it doesn't look to me like Devonporties are deprived of opportunity for early voting.
Making her way down the affluent suburb’s main stretch from the Seed Heritage store toward the Ponsonby Central eatery, Collins was greeted by smiling people speaking praise for Collins and National and congratulating her on last night’s debate.
It later transpired many of them had been installed there for the cameras. National’s Auckland Central candidate Emma Mellow admitted as much when asked by media.
When only 2 people unplanned have chance interactions on your lonely campaign walkabout in Posonby, spin it like a Trump to the media needling you.
"That tells me that there is a real problem, and that problem is the fact that, you know, businesses are shut, people are simply not out and about much … I actually think that's showing the downturn in the economy.”
Poor Judith, perhaps Lyttleton's economy was better.
The Herald was running it as their top story online this afternoon, with a big picture of a smiling Collins. Very odd as it was 2 days old and from another news site.
10 hours ago — Several polls in recent months have put Labour not just heading for victory, but capable of governing as a single-party majority Government – …
'Several' polls? The last 21 (!) CB, RR, RM, UMR and Curia polls have all put Labour between 47% and 60%, with about 18 of them suggesting Labour could govern alone.
"There's no gain without pain" well, obviously for these Covid Fortunates ..
'Billionaire wealth reached record high levels amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a report by UBS and PwC found, as a rally in stock prices and gains in technology and healthcare helped the wealth of the world's richest break the $10 trillion mark ($NZ15 trillion).'
"A US House of Representatives panel looking into abuses of market power by four of the biggest technology companies found they used "killer acquisitions" to block rivals, charged exorbitant fees and forced small businesses into "oppressive" contracts in the name of profit."
I remember (many !) years back, hearing a talk by a guy on RNZ warning of the rise of Facebook. This when it was first starting. Very prescient. And I never did join it.
"The head of the World Food Programme is using his new platform to tell billionaires to share their wealth that has increased during Covid-19 to help the world's hungry."
Since none of you bastards talk at night like normal people (me), I'll carry on anyway. Climate Change is everything — vote Green. Complacence of comfort describes all other views. Not an argument.
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Since the pandemic began, the UK government has restricted protests in an effort to contain the plague. But of course, they're plotting to make these restrictions permanent: Concern over the government’s limitation of the right to protest during lockdown continues to mount after it emerged that the home secretary, ...
Completed reads for February: The Dream of Scipio, by CiceroThe Dragon Masters, by Jack Vance The Dream of Scipio is Pearman’s translation. A very quiet month in the reading department… but a truly excellent one in the writing department. Better yet, this was not merely short stories, but solid ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh (Colombia, 18 February 2020) Two soldiers, Jhony Andrés Castillo Ospino and Jesús Alberto Muñoz Segovia, fell into the hands of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN; National Liberation Army). Their capture produced the usual reactions that they had been kidnapped when in fact they were prisoners ...
As much of the world is still implementing lockdowns, including New Zealand, it is a good time to see how Sweden has fared. After being demonised for a year for having relatively moderate restrictions the Swedish death toll is rather much in line with other years. Sweden followed the standard ...
Under The Influence Of The "Governance" Kool-Aid: The furore surrounding Mayor Andy Foster's "review" of the Wellington City Council's "governance" is but the latest example of the quite conscious delegitimization, and sinister re-framing, of spirited political opposition and debate as irresponsible, immature and “dysfunctional”. It shows how very far from ...
Hello there everybody. I’ve been asked by Mr Thinks to come on his blog today and speak my mind about stuff. The government has a lot to answer for. I was sitting there last week as Auckland came out of it’s latest lockdown and I knew the government was making ...
There are times when tikanga needs to be broken for tikanga to survive.I recently gave a presentation on Māori economic history based on my Not in Narrow Seas. Its most important message was that Māori proved to be a very adaptable people continually evolving as new opportunities arose. The European ...
Some of you may remember our blog post "A conundrum: our continued presence on Facebook" in which we detailed our misgivings about and decision to stick with Facebook for the time being. So these latest developments - reposted from the Cranky Uncle homepage - might come as a bit of surprise! ...
Image credit:Quick Data Lessons: Data Dredging Oh dear – another scientific paper claiming evidence of toxic effects from fluoridation. But a critical look at the paper shows evidence of p-hacking, data dredging and motivated reasoning to derive their conclusions. And it was published in a journal shown to be ...
We've had a housing crisis for the past decade, and successive governments have done nothing to solve it. Why not? Bernard Hickey gets it right when he says its all about protecting the rich: The Government is reluctant to push down house prices fearing they'll loses the support of ...
There’s more of the Obama legacy here and Deporter in Chief: Obama chucks out 2,000,000 and Can Trump really deport more people than Obama? and Obama, gay rights and the killing drones ...
My Department Right Or Wrong: Far from “politicians involving themselves in some Corrections matters” being a bad thing, their involvement – along with that of the Ombudsman – constitutes a necessary check upon the unreasonable and unlawful exercise of authority over prison inmates by prison staff. A Corrections Minister who ...
New Zealand is supposed to have a progressive tax system, which taxes people according to their ability to pay. But it turns out that the rich are cheating: The wealthiest New Zealanders pay just 12 per cent of their total income in tax on average, according to research from ...
Ground truths on warming When we think about rapid climate change of the kind we've accidentally unleashed and the warming of Earth systems inherent in the process, we tend to focus on phenomena in order of their immediate tangibility, their drama. Sea ice loss in the Arctic, atmospheric and ocean ...
by Daphna Whitmore The Department of Corrections has called in the police over a pamphlet that supports protests at Waikeria Prison, saying the material might incite another riot. The group People Against Prisons Aotearoa denies it advocates for riots and has said it “encourages persistent, peaceful protest action such as striking from ...
One theme in the literature dedicated to democratic theory is the notion of a “tyranny of the minority.” This is where the desire to protect the interests of and give voice to electoral minorities leads to a tail wagging the dog syndrome whereby minorities wind up having disproportionate influence in ...
I've just lodged my fourth complaint to the Ombudsman for deemed refusal of an OIA request by police this year. That brings their total to four for four - every request I have sent them has not been answered within the legal timeframe, even when they extend it to give ...
Will the health reforms proposed for the Labour Government make the system better or worse? Health commentator Ian Powell (formerly the Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists) gives his analysis of what change is most necessary, and what should be avoided. The review of the Health ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections An off-course polar vortex meandered toward the Mexican border, bringing with it frigid Arctic air rarely seen as far south as Texas. Frozen equipment rendered power generation systems in the state inoperable, forcing grid operators to begin rolling blackouts to customers then left to fend ...
Just as National once produced a “rock star economy” that Grant Robertson rejected as being only for the rich, the Labour Government has produced an economic “bounce back” that leaves out the poor. Branko Marcetic argues for a rise in benefit levels to give the poor a real bounce back. ...
Virginia has voted to abolish the death penalty: State lawmakers gave final approval on Monday to a bill that will end capital punishment in Virginia, a dramatic turnaround for a state that has executed more people than any other. The legislation repealing the death penalty now heads to the ...
Yesterday a New Zealand Judge issued a formal finding that the Department of Corrections had treated prisoners in a cruel, degrading and inhumane manner, illegally detaining them, using excessive force, denying them basic necessities unless they performed degrading rituals of submission first. Some of the conduct appears to be criminal: ...
The Herald reports that there is a "storm brewing for the Climate Change Commission". The "problem"? Polluters are unhappy with its economic projections saying that action will not be as costly as they have previously claimed: Last week a coalition of over a dozen New Zealand business and industry ...
The Green Party are calling on the Government to assess how the COVID-19 leave support scheme can be better improved, distributed and enforced so that workers can properly take leave when self-isolating. ...
We know that when our rural communities do well, all of New Zealand benefits. Labour is committed to supporting our regions so that, together, we can achieve even more. Here are just some of the ways we’re backing rural communities. ...
Government data today shows that the wealthiest New Zealanders aren’t paying their fair share of tax, whilst everyone else chips in, Green Party spokesperson on Finance Julie Anne Genter said today. ...
The Green Party welcomes the change in the Reserve Bank’s remit to consider the impacts on housing when making financial decisions, but housing affordability shouldn’t be left to the Reserve Bank, Green Party Co-leader and Housing spokesperson Marama Davidson said today. ...
The Green Party welcomes the passing of the Local Electorate Act Māori Wards Amendment Bill which ensures Māori have a say on local issues across Aotearoa New Zealand. ...
New UMR research reveals that 69 percent of New Zealanders agree that the government should increase the amount if income support paid to those on low incomes or not in paid work. ...
The Green Party are celebrating the Labour Government bringing forward the timeline to ban conversion therapy, and will push to ensure any draft bill properly protects all of our Rainbow communities. ...
The Green Party is joining the call for ‘brave policy action’ to address rapidly increasing inequality in New Zealand, which is likely to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
Green MPs currently in Auckland, Marama Davidson, Chlöe Swarbrick and Golriz Ghahraman, will remain in Auckland for the next 72 hours. Those in Auckland today for Big Gay Out who have flown home will self-isolate for 72 hours. These decisions will be subject to any new information that may arise ...
Health Minister Andrew Little welcomes the Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission’s assessment that transformation of New Zealand’s approach to mental health and addiction is underway. “This is an important step in the Government’s work to provide better and equitable mental health and wellbeing outcomes for all people in New ...
The Government’s Consumer Travel Reimbursement Scheme has helped return over $352 million of refunds and credits to New Zealanders who had overseas travel cancelled due to COVID-19, Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark says. “Working with the travel sector, we are helping New Zealanders retrieve the money owed to them by ...
An additional 88,000 students in 322 schools and kura across the country have started the school year with a regular lunch on the menu, thanks to the Government’s Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches programme. They join 42,000 students already receiving weekday lunches under the scheme, which launched last ...
New Zealand’s economic recovery has again been reflected in the Government’s books, which are in better shape than expected. The Crown accounts for the seven months to the end of January 2021 were better than forecast in the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). The operating balance before gains ...
More than half of New Zealand’s estimated 12,000 border workforce have now received their first vaccinations, as a third batch of vaccines arrive in the country, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. As of midnight Tuesday, a total of 9,431 people had received their first doses. More than 70 percent ...
The Government is significantly increasing its investment in restoring Central Otago’s waterways while at the same time delivering jobs to the region hard-hit by the economic impact of Covid-19, says Land Information Minister, Damien O’Connor. Mr O’Connor says two new community projects under the Jobs for Nature funding programme will ...
The Government has confirmed details of COVID-19 support for business and workers following the increased alert levels due to a resurgence of the virus over the weekend. Following two new community cases of COVID-19, Auckland moved to Alert Level 3 and the rest of New Zealand moved to Alert Level ...
The Government remains committed to hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2022 should a decision be made by World Rugby this weekend to postpone this year’s tournament. World Rugby is recommending the event be postponed until next year due to COVID-19, with a final decision to ...
Community and social service support providers have again swung into action to help people and families affected by the current COVID-19 alert levels. “The Government recognises that in many instances social service, community, iwi and Whānau Ora organisations are best placed to provide vital support to the communities impacted by ...
The Government is following through on an election promise to conduct an independent review into PHARMAC, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister Andrew Little announced today. The Review will focus on two areas: How well PHARMAC performs against its current objectives and whether and how its performance against these ...
Some of the country’s most forward-thinking early-career conservationists are among recipients of a new scholarship aimed at supporting a new generation of biodiversity champions, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. The Department of Conservation (DOC) has awarded one-year postgraduate research scholarships of $15,000 to ten Masters students in the natural ...
I acknowledge our whānau overseas, joining us from Te Whenua Moemoeā, and I wish to pay respects to their elders past, present, and emerging. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you all today. I am very pleased to be part of the conversation on Indigenous business, and part ...
Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced today that main benefits will increase by 3.1 percent on 1 April, in line with the rise in the average wage. The Government announced changes to the annual adjustment of main benefits in Budget 2019, indexing main benefit increases to the average ...
A Deed of Settlement has been signed between Ngāti Maru and the Crown settling the iwi’s historical Treaty of Waitangi claims, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little announced today. The Ngāti Maru rohe is centred on the inland Waitara River valley, east to the Whanganui River and its ...
With a suite of Government income support packages available, Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni is encouraging people, and businesses, connected to the recent Auckland COVID-19 cases to check the Work and Income website if they’ve been impacted by the need to self-isolate. “If you are required to ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has expressed her condolences at the passing of long-serving former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare. “Our thoughts are with Lady Veronica Somare and family, Prime Minister James Marape and the people of Papua New Guinea during this time of great ...
E te tī, e te tā Tēnei te mihi maioha ki a koutou Ki te whenua e takoto nei Ki te rangi e tū iho nei Ki a tātou e tau nei Tēnā tātou. It’s great to be with you today, along with some of the ministerial housing team; Hon Peeni Henare, the ...
The Government is backing a new project to use drone technology to transform our understanding and protection of the Māui dolphin, Aotearoa’s most endangered dolphin. “The project is just one part of the Government’s plan to save the Māui dolphin. We are committed to protecting this treasure,” Oceans and Fisheries ...
Major water reform has taken a step closer with the appointment of the inaugural board of the Taumata Arowai water services regulator, Hon Nanaia Mahuta says. Former Director General of Health and respected public health specialist Dame Karen Poutasi will chair the inaugural board of Crown agency Taumata Arowai. “Dame ...
The newly completed Hibiscus Coast Bus Station will help people make better transport choices to help ease congestion and benefit the environment, Transport Minister Michael Wood and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said today. Michael Wood and Phil Goff officially opened the Hibiscus Coast Bus Station which sits just off the ...
New funding announced by Conservation Minister Kiri Allan today will provide work and help protect the unique values of Northland’s Te Ārai Nature Reserve for future generations. Te Ārai is culturally important to Te Aupōuri as the last resting place of the spirits before they depart to Te Rerenga Wairua. ...
Today the Government has taken a key step to support Pacific people to becoming Community Housing providers, says the Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio. “This will be great news for Pacific communities with the decision to provide Pacific Financial Capability Grant funding and a tender process to ...
Conservation Minister Kiri Allan is encouraging New Zealanders to have their say on a proposed marine mammal sanctuary to address the rapid decline of bottlenose dolphins in Te Pēwhairangi, the Bay of Islands. The proposal, developed jointly with Ngā Hapū o te Pēwhairangi, would protect all marine mammals of the ...
Attorney-General David Parker today announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges. Two of the appointees will take up their roles on 1 April, replacing sitting Judges who have reached retirement age. Kirsten Lummis, lawyer of Auckland has been appointed as a District Court Judge with jury jurisdiction to ...
Government announces list of life-shortening conditions guaranteeing early KiwiSaver access The Government changed the KiwiSaver rules in 2019 so people with life-shortening congenital conditions can withdraw their savings early The four conditions guaranteed early access are – down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Huntington’s disease and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder An alternative ...
The Reserve Bank is now required to consider the impact on housing when making monetary and financial policy decisions, Grant Robertson announced today. Changes have been made to the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee’s remit requiring it to take into account government policy relating to more sustainable house prices, while working ...
The Labour Government will invest $6 million for 70 additional adult cochlear implants this year to significantly reduce the historical waitlist, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “Cochlear implants are life changing for kiwis who suffer from severe hearing loss. As well as improving an individual’s hearing, they open doors to ...
The Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill passed its third reading today and will become law, Minister of Local Government Hon Nanaia Mahuta says. “This is a significant step forward for Māori representation in local government. We know how important it is to have diversity around ...
The Government has added 1,000 more transitional housing places as promised under the Aotearoa New Zealand Homelessness Action Plan (HAP), launched one year ago. Minister of Housing Megan Woods says the milestone supports the Government’s priority to ensure every New Zealander has warm, dry, secure housing. “Transitional housing provides people ...
A second batch of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines arrived safely yesterday at Auckland International Airport, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. “This shipment contained about 76,000 doses, and follows our first shipment of 60,000 doses that arrived last week. We expect further shipments of vaccine over the coming weeks,” Chris Hipkins said. ...
The Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni has today announced $18 million to support creative spaces. Creative spaces are places in the community where people with mental health needs, disabled people, and those looking for social connection, are welcomed and supported to practice and participate in the arts ...
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little today welcomed Moriori to Parliament to witness the first reading of the Moriori Claims Settlement Bill. “This bill is the culmination of years of dedication and hard work from all the parties involved. “I am delighted to reach this significant milestone today,” Andrew ...
22,400 fewer children experiencing material hardship 45,400 fewer children in low income households on after-housing costs measure After-housing costs target achieved a year ahead of schedule Government action has seen child poverty reduce against all nine official measures compared to the baseline year, Prime Minister and Minister for Child Poverty ...
It’s time to recognise the outstanding work early learning services, kōhanga reo, schools and kura do to support children and young people to succeed, Minister of Education Chris Hipkins says. The 2021 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards are now open through until April 16. “The past year has reminded us ...
Three new Jobs for Nature projects will help nature thrive in the Bay of Plenty and keep local people in work says Conservation Minister Kiri Allan. “Up to 30 people will be employed in the projects, which are aimed at boosting local conservation efforts, enhancing some of the region’s most ...
The Government has accepted all of the Holidays Act Taskforce’s recommended changes, which will provide certainty to employers and help employees receive their leave entitlements, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood announced today. Michael Wood said the Government established the Holidays Act Taskforce to help address challenges with the ...
The Government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and faster than expected economic recovery has been acknowledged in today’s credit rating upgrade. Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) today raised New Zealand’s local currency credit rating to AAA with a stable outlook. This follows Fitch reaffirming its AA+ rating last ...
Tena koutou e nga Maata Waka Ngai Tuahuriri, Ngai Tahu whanui, Tena koutou. Nau mai whakatau mai ki tenei ra maumahara i te Ru Whenua Apiti hono tatai hono, Te hunga mate ki te hunga mate Apiti hono tatai hono, Te hunga ora ki te hunga ora Tena koutou, Tena ...
The Minister of Justice has reaffirmed the Government’s urgent commitment, as stated in its 2020 Election Manifesto, to ban conversion practices in New Zealand by this time next year. “The Government has work underway to develop policy which will bring legislation to Parliament by the middle of this year and ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage and Social Development Hon Carmel Sepuloni today launched a new Creative Careers Service, which is expected to support up to 1,000 creatives, across three regions over the next two years. The new service builds on the most successful aspects of the former Pathways to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Camilo López-Aguirre, PhD Candidate, UNSW Scientists have found another piece in the puzzle of how echolocation evolved in bats, moving closer to solving a decades-long evolutionary mystery. All bats — apart from the fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae (also called flying ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jordy Meekes, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne That Australian women earn less than Australian men is well-known. The latest calculation put the gap – the extent to which the average female full-time wage is ...
All the major news events, which will hopefully not be too many. Get in touch at info@thespinoff.co.nz Help keep The Spinoff alive and kicking. Click here to learn how you can support The Spinoff from as little as $1.8.00am: The day aheadThere are a couple of things we’ll be looking out ...
In this week's Critic's Choice review, Guy Somerset watches I Care a Lot on Amazon Prime and wonders if kindness has its limits Do you think Jacinda Ardern has been watching I Care a Lot? It would explain a lot, As Newsroom political editor Jo Moir wrote earlier this week, ...
By Ramzy Baroud At a glance, it may appear that the split of Arab political parties in Israel is consistent with a typical pattern of political and ideological divisions which have afflicted the Arab body politic for many years. This time, however, the ...
Discovering that her favourite summer drink is apparently an offence against wine, Charlotte Muru-Lanning sets out to uncover whether it’s actually so awful to serve red wine on the rocks.After many summers spent pouring red wine over ice without much thought, it recently struck me that maybe this combination was, ...
LISTEN: Extra Time examines two big issues in women's sport this week - postponing the Rugby World Cup and the Silver Ferns' battle for the crown that eludes them. Poised at one game a piece, can the Silver Ferns overcome a spirited young Australian Diamonds side and end a nine-year drought without netball's ...
"If Maggie said she was going to bake a cake, Lois always turned up with one that was bigger, more chocolatey and with fancier icing": a shaggy cake story by Shani Naylor. It was 2am. Maggie opened her eyes and lay still in bed. She could hear her husband Ken's ...
The art world is being bombarded with something called ‘non-fungible tokens’. We asked artist and crypto expert Simon Denny to help us explain what they are.At first glimpse, a gif of Nyan Cat is nothing special. It’s a bit cute, a bit nostalgic. So why did one sell for US$450,000? ...
Journalists avoid his calls, editors loathe it when he highlights mistakes. But he reckons he’s not scary at all. Chris Schulz meets RNZ’s Mr Mediawatch, Colin Peacock.Over his summer holidays, Colin Peacock tried to switch off. For much of the previous 12 months, the 52-year-old host of Radio ...
While it has since been deleted and apologised for, an op-ed by former Labour MP Michael Bassett published by the Northland Age and the NZ Herald this week caused an uproar for its racist cherry-picking and false reporting of historical facts. Historian Scott Hamilton sets the record straight.Michael Bassett is ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Deaths, West Europe still not “out of the woods”. Chart by Keith Rankin. Deaths, East Europe remains a major concern. Chart by Keith Rankin. At first glance through our rear-vision mirror, western Europe had a substantial spring outbreak of Covid19, and further outbreaks in spring and ...
A starter’s list for the national Aotearoa museum of the sporting damned. Richard Irvine confronts the demons.The sunGenerally it’s hard to make an argument against the giver of all life, as it provides photosynthesis, vitamin D and enables a wide range of recreational activities. But when it runs rampant around ...
Auckland can breathe a sigh relief knowing at 6am on Sunday the region will move down to Alert Level 2 after another seven long days in lockdown. Government and health officials are now turning their minds to lessons learnt, following a week of mixed messaging, rule-breaking and blame and shame, writes political ...
Three future scenarios after today’s large offshore earthquakes.A trio of serious earthquakes saw parts of Aotearoa shaken, tsunami threats triggered, and tens of thousands of people heading inland after evacuation instructions.Of the magnitude-7-plus events, the first, shortly before 2.30am, was centered off East Cape. Measuring 7.1, it was felt across ...
Analysis - The prime minister came down hard on lockdown rule-breakers but were they clearly told what they had to do? Peter Wilson looks into the reports as another crisis lurks in the background. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Gleeson, Associate professor, La Trobe University News of the blockage of a shipment of 250,000 COVID-19 vaccines from Europe to Australia has caused concern and outrage. The immediate problem will probably be quickly solved through diplomatic channels. Even if it is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Stern, Professor of Geophysics, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington The Tonga Kermadec subduction zone stretches between New Zealand and south of Samoa.USGS, CC BY-SA A sequence of three major offshore earthquakes, including a magnitude 8.1 quake near ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and Director of the Institute for Governance & Policy Analysis Dr Laine Dare discuss the week in politics. This week the pair discuss some of the 148 recommendations ...
The minister responsible for the country's spy agencies says they can't constantly monitor the internet to identify terror threats and instead rely on the public to raise the alarm. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle Celebrity testimonials abound for pills, potions and creams that purport to make you look younger. This time collagen supplements are in the spotlight, after Jennifer Aniston became the face of one ...
Have the government’s Covid-related messages been getting through to Pacific and non-Pacific ethnic communities in South Auckland? Justin Latif tried to find out.John Pulu is one of the best-known television and radio personalities in New Zealand’s Pacific community. He not only fronts TVNZ’s Tagata Pasifika Saturday morning show, but also hosts ...
James Elliott tries to work out what made Mike Hosking and Brian Tamaki tick everyone off this week. The week started with Aucklanders back under Alert level 3 and Mike Hosking on Alert Level 6. “Mike’s Minute” on NewstalkZB on Monday, which as usual lasted significantly longer than a minute, ...
Fonterra has confirmed what most analysts had been predicting and lifted its 2020/21 forecast farmgate milk price range to $7.30 – $7.90 kg/MS, up from $6.90 – $7.50. This should send a further surge of confidence across NZ’s rural regions, hopefully in a wave strong enough to encourage farmers to ...
A Financial Times leader delivers advice that Finance Minister Grant Robertson should (but probably won’t) consider. Essentially, the advice is to resist the temptation to involve the central bank in the challenge of slowing the rise in house prices. Changing regulation and reforming planning law is a smarter way to ...
The NZ Superannuation Fund has divested from five Israeli banks due to their suspected involvement in illegal settlement construction. Michael Andrew reports.The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, an autonomous crown entity and manager of the multi-billion NZ Super Fund, has divested from five Israeli banks due to their funding of ...
A contestant on the new season of The Bachelor has apologised for ‘controversial’ social media posts comparing mask wearing to ‘slavery’ and for questioning the scientific consensus around Covid-19. Stewart Sowman-Lund reports.Shivani Pragji is – according to her LinkedIn profile – a solicitor working for the Ministry of Business, Innovation ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, PhD, Media and Politics, Deakin University A couple of days ago, the musician Grimes sold some animations she made with her brother Mac on a website called Nifty Gateway. Some were one-offs, while others were limited editions of a few ...
Analysis: We are able to send a blaring alert to the phone of every New Zealanders to warn of Covid lockdowns, yet we still struggle to warn them of the danger of a tsunami This coming week, it will be 10 years since Japan was hit by the Tohoku earthquake, one ...
Moa brewery sold in February for $1.9m, leaving behind an unsavoury legacy. Michael Andrew speaks to the new owner about how the brewery plans to move forward, while at the same time returning to its Marlborough roots.Moa Brewing Company’s new owner Stephen Smith has criticised the company’s old marketing strategy, ...
By RNZ News An 8.0 earthquake has struck near the Kermadec Islands, hours after a 7.4 quake near the Kermadecs and a 7.1 off the North Island coast, A 7.4 quake struck near the Kermadec Islands earlier this morning. The islands are 800km to 1000km from New Zealand. National Emergency ...
National Parks are being closed off to allow fallow deer to be bombarded with 1080 poison. The proposal has drawn strong criticism from the Australian hunting public and also New Zealand’s Sporting Hunters Outdoor Trust. Laurie Collins, spokesman ...
In the fallout from the Dirty Politics defamation hearing, how can the Food and Grocery Council and its chief continue to deny involvement in attacks on public health academics? Tim Murphy explains its stance. The middleman has 'fessed up. So where does that leave the two prominent players on either side ...
Mike Hosking is a king of breakfast radio, a lover of blazers, and deliverer of opinions via his long-running online video series, Mike’s Minute. José Barbosa absorbed three months’ worth of those opinions in one go, and lived to tell the tale. Just. To be honest, I hadn’t thought about ...
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.AUCKLAND1 The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Bloomsbury, $25)This 2011 bestseller set during the Trojan War has ...
A new poem from Melbourne-based poet Grace Yee.I have heardthat the price of a pound of gold has gone grey over the last couple of monthsthat the first sovereign lord beheaded his grandsonthat chinese market gardeners in suburbia shipped out after decades of fastingand purificationthat evil-intentioned hooligans penetrated the palace ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dave Parry, Professor of Computer Science, Auckland University of Technology Although international travel restrictions for Australia have been extended to at least June, there may still be potential for a trans-Tasman bubble with New Zealand (and maybe some other countries), according to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamie Triccas, Professor of Medical Microbiology, University of Sydney The United States’ drug regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said last week COVID vaccines updated for variants won’t need to go through full randomised controlled clinical trials. The booster shots will ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Milte, Matthew Flinders Senior Research Fellow, Flinders University The final report from the aged care royal commission this week was damning. Speaking of a system in crisis, it calls for an urgent overhaul. The Morrison government has been facing difficult questions ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David John Eldridge, Professor of Dryland Ecology, UNSW After 200 years of European farming practices, Australian soils are in bad shape – depleted of nutrients and organic matter, including carbon. This is bad news for both soil health and efforts to address ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zoe Vaill, PhD Candidate Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology Students are heading off to universities around Australia, whether for the first time or as returning students, with expectations of a year of learning, making friends and enjoyable socialising. For some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jan Thomas, Vice-Chancellor, Massey University As first-year students flooded onto campuses around the country this week, gripped with uncertainty and curiosity about their new lives, I too returned to university to learn. For the first time since what feels like forever, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW After years of repeatedly missing its inflation target through too timid monetary policy, in the past week the Reserve Bank has decided to get tough. Not only did it hold its closely watched cash rate target ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter McNeil, Distinguished Professor of Design History, UTS, University of Technology Sydney It’s Sydney Lesbian and Gay Mardi Gras festival time. LGBTQI people are enjoying what some call “gay or lesbian Christmas”. It’s not quite the same in the era of COVID, ...
A tech expert is warning the government could face multiple stumbling blocks if it makes QR code scanning mandatory - in particular when dealing with tech giants like Apple and Google. ...
*This story first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. A tsunami alert has been issued after a 7.4 earthquake near the Kermadec Islands. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says it expects strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore. It says the threat is from ...
Live coverage of the snap lockdown and the search for a source of the latest infection. Auckland is now at alert level three, NZ at level two. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.50am: Two major earthquakes strike; tsunami warning in placeTwo major earthquakes have struck off the coast of New Zealand ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Cabinet to decide on lifting lockdown today, questions raised about the stability of the housing market, and people instinctively respond to tsunami threat after earthquake.A decision will be made today on whether or not Auckland will come out of level ...
The military is showing little sign of backing down, but the coup could have the unintended consequence of unifying Myanmar society in opposition, across significant ethnic divisions. A month ago, citing dubious claims of electoral fraud in the November 2020 election, Myanmar’s military deposed the country’s democratically elected National League for Democracy ...
A Harvard professor presenting his opinions on alien life as fact when the field at large doesn't agree is misrepresenting science, argues Dr Heloise Stevance For years now Abraham (Avi) Loeb has been a rather passionate advocate for what I call 'The Alien Hypothesis' 一 the idea that extraterrestrial lifeforms are the source of ...
Anna Rawhiti-Connell doesn't want an investment or an asset, but a home. Yet because of last century’s broken promises, she feels like an idiot fish, destined to swim against a current with other idiot fish who think their life savings and lifelong debt will guarantee them a house. We went to some open homes ...
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Andrew Little is awesome
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/10/nz-election-2020-andrew-little-hits-back-at-suggestion-that-labour-shouldn-t-prioritise-conversion-therapy-ban.html
If only he were as quick to support workers interests – that used to be the raison d'etre for the party before they sold out.
He would have got away with it if it wasn't for those pesky gay kids 🙄
TA – That sounds a bit skewed – I think Andy Pandy is the good guy here, and nothing more needs to be said.
Not by you if you can't see the paraphrased Scooby Doo reference is supportive of Andrew Little
They did get away with it – Roger Douglas has still not received punishment commensurate with his crimes against his countrymen – but hey, rainbow squirrel!
Fastest growing inequality in the OECD. An unprecedented housing crisis and no substantial attempt to address it. Mass low-wage unskilled immigration so prevalent that employers are publicly confessing their prejudices against NZ workers.
Conversion is not very prevalent in NZ, but it's poised to be the next anti-smacking vote losing issue if folk want to double down on it.
Conversion therapy is torture which is already illegal. So all that's really required is recognition within the legal system that it is torture. Basically, it could be done in about half a day so not exactly a huge distraction.
Throwing in a bit about it legally being recognised as the unscientific BS that it is would also help.
As far as that goes, the 'therapy' would fall under the mental health act.
There are rights to refuse, to be respected, to have the company of others etc.
No doubt often honored in the breach, but the smacking law comparison is apt – no cases were affected by the electorally fatal insistence on that legislation. There are an almost infinite number of serious issues more deserving of parliamentary time.
Unless you're a child and the parents are having it done to you.
I can't think of anything more deserving of parliamentary time than the extension of the protection of the law to all.
Though I reckon he'd still try, I'd bet even Andrew Little couldn't save someone who posts "but hey, rainbow squirrel" in a debate about the need to halt homo/transphobic torture from continuing to occur on these shores.
Believing that governments have a wide focus regarding policy and are able to proceed with more than one piece of legislation at a time, it obviously doesn't have to be an either or thing, but if it were, I'd forgo negotiations on workers rights until the horrific abuses were made illegal first.
By all means show us this "need".
Have there been cases here? Because if there haven't been, it becomes pretty reasonable to ask why this is suddenly important.
According to the tvnz vote compass survey, 72% want what is still legal, to be banned in NZ, if you're not one of the 12% who don't know, then you're in the 14% that see no reason to end the immediate suffering and long term damage inflicted on the poor sods who have to go through it.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/vote-compass-most-new-zealanders-want-conversion-therapy-banned
Don't wait for me to do your googling for you, get stuck in to some research, or just take a side on principle and let us know how you get on.
Well, the USA is morphing the last few steps into a Nazi Gilead state, so no time like the present.
If there's no current need, it spells it out for the future. If there is a current need, it makes illegal an intervention that might triple the suicide rate in affected youths.
Either way, I like that the policy cup is even half full. I won't demand it be tipped out just because it doesn't have my favourite half. The, in my case, generally comes from the Greens.
I take my manifestos as cocktails, not neat.
Well my part of the curate's egg, fisheries, is always left to keep rotting.
Excuse me if I don't cheer for yet another dose of rainbow distraction.
Not cheering is fair enough.
What we have too much on in the left is viewing policies that are not our own priorities as "distractions", even if those policies are priorities for other lefties.
All that leads to is incessant whinging because there will never be a policy announcement that satisfies everyone.
Well I've waited twenty-five years. I no longer expect anything good from Labour – but they'll pick up any kind of dodgy pc crap faster than you can say 'knife'. Looks like this is one of those.
dodgy pc crap
Thanks for clarifying things, at least we know now that you are just an arsehole.
[Can you please dial down the insult level, thanks – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 9:32 PM.
It's only "dodgy pc crap" to you because you don't think you or anyone you know is affected by it.
It seems to be a hobby horse of Shaneel Lal.
No doubt another Chris Carter in the making.
I suppose undergoing thought control procedures and being told you're not who you are will, for the strong ones, force push back.
Explain “No doubt another Chris Carter in the making” a bit more, ta.
push back
Yes – it must be a heady thing to have all the apparatus of state bent to one's personal whim instead of serving the public good for which it was created. But it would be more persuasive to document the prevalence or otherwise of the practice here.
Chris Carter had to be let go. His virtues were less apparent than he supposed.
It wasn't his virtues that were the problem, it was his political vices. Getting caught sending anonymous letters to the press gallery to knobble your leader is not a long term career move.
The procedures are psychological – which makes them subject to medical ethical considerations like consent.
An extremely debatable position.
Firstly, define the activities that are "psychological procedures".
Secondly, show how they are "psychological" in nature, rather than, say, "spiritual" or "cultural".
Thirdly, demonstrate that parents cannot consent to "psychological procedures" or indeed any medical procedures on behalf of their children.
Fourth, demonstrate harm to a level that overrules parental rights.
Fifth, start the child protection process.
OR:
First, notify the parents and operator that : "This violates the prohibition on 'conversion therapy', and is grounds for a protection order on behalf of the child", or something along those lines.
Second, continue the rest of the child protection process.
Still not getting the Chris Carter in the making bit. It's like you want to say something about the young man but don't have the same sort of courage he clearly has to do so.
See, just as I don't need to know rape statistics or numbers of domestic violence victims to know it's wrong, and that these crimes against a person's health, safety and personal dignity should be legislated against – The same with conversion therapy. You?
Conversion therapy is covered by several different pieces of existing legislation. So what's really happening here? Is the young man acting in the public interest, or taking the shortest possible path to publicity and reputation?
Whatever his motive, even your suggestion which does read as quite mean spirited, the fact remains that conversion therapy is still legal here, and a majority (in public and in the next parliament) want it stopped before it damages more young New Zealanders. No biggie.
mean spirited
Or you could take that, since it is already illegal on several counts under existing law, the young fellow should concern himself with obtaining redress for those threatened by it or having suffered it, instead of requiring a whole new law.
But that's just it, it isn't illegal, hence why there will be a new law after the election.
Edit:
“Currently, it is regarded as “unethical behaviour” to provide conversion therapy. However, this only applies to licenced therapists and counsellors. Technically, anyone in New Zealand can claim to offer services in conversion therapy, and suffer no legal repercussions.”
https://www.equaljusticeproject.co.nz/articles/nothing-to-be-proud-of-conversion-therapy-in-new-zealand2020
Which legislation?
It's not any of the Mental Health acts, because sexual orientation is not a recognised mental condition.
DtB's idea that it's torture might be limited by the fact that torture is narrowly defined and can only be committed by public officials.
Assault might apply, but it's not physical force as punishment and frankly a lot of these fuckers are more about mental abuse rather than physical. And when it's done under the transferred authority of the parents, that ,ight be a hard legal row to hoe.
One might think OT would be able to step in, but then they get into discussions about definitions of ill treatment and whether the "therapy" is good or bad for the child.
But an explicit legal "conversion therapy is bad, m'kay" cuts through all those QC-level arguments.
SM @ 1.1 Talk to Willie, the Employment Minister. Andrew is Justice.
I've talked and written to them for decades – and they have done nothing, and been rude about it to boot.
Tbf I don't actually see it being that much of a priority either given the Covid situation and the economy.
Would be interested to hear Little's idea for how it is going to be policed when it happens behind closed doors and what you charge them with.
Tell those affected it shouldn't be a priority. What's interesting is how collins wouldn't give a view on it because she needs to know more. It's more likely she's not opposed to it but doesn't want to lose the liberal vote.
I would put more priority on our atrocious rates of infant and child abuse,
Edit: But hey. Maybe my priorities are stupid
In many cases, it is child abuse.
Other forms of child abuse are already illegal.
Fair enough. But I would point out conversion therapy isn't always just kids.
But adding it to the child abuse category is fine by me.
Still can't see how they police it, but shouldn't take that long.
At $200/hr I think it will be fairly easy to police. Especially if those people try to take it to the blackmarket.
I have learnt something new. Thanks.
I actually, probably stupidly assumed it was done in the church, behind closed doors and not openly advertised by counsellors.
And that Riddell bloke in your link should be the first in the line of screwing over btw.
IMO, her praying in church in front of the cameras indicate that she's all for it or, at the very least, won't do anything about it so that other God Fearing practitioners can continue to abuse their children without being sent to jail.
Maybe, although I'd say she doesn't care and that her public position would be whichever loses her the least votes, hence her fence-sitting.
What to charge them with?
Torture, Kidnapping, Abuse, Assault – just to name a few. All of which are already illegal.
As I've said before, what we really need is a law that prevents any product coming on to the market until it has been properly classified and regulated.
Do tell when you think it should be a priority to stop torturing people for existing?
I think that we are concentrating on what is vitally important for the whole of NZ in this time envelope. Concentrate. concentrate.
Well it's vitally important that a bunch of NZers stop behaving like arseholes. I'd've thought.
It depends on how many people it is actually happening to.
I know the figures for people abusing the shit out of kids everyday and our stupid amounts of deaths, but conversion therapy seems a bit vague.
Conversion Therapy:
[Content deleted because it contained too many links that triggered Auto-Moderation]
Doesn't seem that vague.
ChrisT our son was offered that type of "help",
His Father and I told the Dr. that was why we and our son were changing to the other Dr. in the practice, as he did not let his personal views and religion interfere with medicine or treatment. Talk about lose faith!!
That was 15 years ago. We were 'gobsmacked ' it was being touted when our son was 38 at the time.
So yes and it is demeaning as it sent a "you are not normal you are broken" message.
Oh dear…..Miss Collins unravelling .
RNZ best hope she dosnt win the election as they'll be gone by lunchtime.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018767251/election-2020-collins-standing-by-samoa-claims
Cheers Pat.
lol. Judith certainly made hard work of answering any questions Suzy fired at her. And her parting quips about being 'energised' be being on the programme held a subtle undercurrent of menace. So I agree, RNZ had better hope the Natz don't win!
Collins brazens it out…unsuccessfully.
From the summary on the above Radionz link.
Last night Collins accused Labour party leader Jacinda Ardern of disrespecting the pacific nation after Ardern called her claims "factually incorrect".
Damn pesky facts. If the Gnats get in they will be gone by lunchtime.
so, in the last few weeks ,collins has pretended to like farmers, children, christians , now samoans are current besties. who will be collins next crush?
The Opposition benches.
woodart 10/10
That's what leaders do, Robert.
Eddie van Halen!
Sad!
You write like Trump tweets.
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-54443394?at_custom2=twitter&
Jane Patterson carrying a bit of a candle for Collins? Keen on the beat up and not so keen to call BS BS and move on.
Ah y'all already heard/read it
Jane Patterson is a neutral political journalist who likes to point out the flaws on the Left and gloss over the flaws on the Right. Rumours of her getting "support" from the National Party are so very untrue.
Actually was a bit of a harsh call this morning, particularly after seeing the interview and the rest of the article. Just glanced at this:
#Collins' Samoan husband and her "Talofa" greeting generated a fair amount of feedback in the first debate and it was mention of Samoa's record on Covid that provoked an angry retort with the National leader telling Ardern "not to disrespect Samoa". She had not, insisted Ardern, and couldn't figure out why Collins had reacted so strongly. Afterwards Collins said she felt "possessive" of the Pacific nation and felt it had been disrespected when Samoa has done so well managing Covid#
which is fairly slack ol wedgetable politics, but yeh, not such a haigiography.
Jacinda called it "We are all lucky to live here".
Judith is showing the manipulation of stats she became famous for.
We hope New Zealanders pull together to keep this virus under control.
As Jacinda says, we will face this again, and we can only have certainty if we can interact carefully and record those interactions.
Human nature is to be a bit slack, so keep up the good work so we can all look forward to Christmas and unwrap a Labour and Greens Government.
Steve Braunias declares it for Guardian readers: The winner of the third NZ election leaders' debate? Death. Hovering in the wings, I presume, since I didn't see it onstage.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/06/the-winner-of-the-third-nz-election-leaders-debate-death-jacinda-ardern-judith-collins
I like Joe Walsh with his Maserati, does one-eighty-five, I lost my licence, Now I don't drive. That's more JC style actually. Don't worry about global warming, farming; keep on smarming JC (apparently getting a christian high on her initials)! Just remember JC life's been good so far, and the real JC had to suffer for his beliefs and values, so don't pretend to actually care about Christ-like agape-love, you'll never make it and it's bad to see you trying to fake it.
Have a decadent moment with Walsh who is revelling in decadent as he records:
What is the actual point of these onstage political debates?
It's not as if the skills needed to "win" a debate have any overlap with the skills needed to govern well. Policy substance never ever gets explored, at best there might be a surface once-over-lightly. Performance art for an audience isn't leadership, it's not persuasion, it's not bringing together different viewpoints to form a workable solution.
The rare instances that a debate actually produces a game-changing moment, it's because of its theatrical impact, not actual governing substance. Such as "there you go again" or "show me the money" or someone glancing at their watch.
So, what is the point?
Revenue and relevance for the media organisation hosting them?
The same point as of any blood sport that’s televised.
to sell advertising?televised political debates are a long way from televised blood sports. closer to competitive cooking shows, and there isnt much point to those. think arkie has it about right. when the star of a televised political debate is either the worm or the host(sometimes, the same thing), it shows just how pointless they are.
Scoring ‘points’ to improve your personal and/or team ‘rankings’ is one point. Another point is the ‘promotion’ of the ‘sport’, i.e. the whole circus is an ‘ad’ in and of itself. It is also building relationships with the media. The NZ press & media landscape is tiny and narrow and yet we’ve had three leaders debates with the same names popping up again and again. Just my views.
the small size of nz press and media is a double edged sword. as we have seen, many of last weeks truth tellers become next weeks spin doctors. still dont see any real point to televised political debates. the polies all know the media by now. the veiwing public deserve something better than this rubbish, wheres julie christy with another reality shitshow? a combo of dancing with stars(?) and competitive cooking,with the live audience given missiles to throw. now, THAT I would watch, at least up to the first ad break(bone breaks would keep me watching).
Split-screen, both leaders "putting on" their faces in the morning would do it.
the many faces of judith…yeah nah
I didn’t watch and haven’t seen any of debates, not one second.
The purpose of the debates is to deliver viewers to advertisers.
Nobody ever 'wins' or 'loses' them because there can be no objective measure of winning or losing – mostly they just confirm viewers in their existing opinions.
When determinations are made of who 'won' or 'lost' these are usually based on the frisson generated by trivial inter-personal moments (who looked grumpy/frustrated/lost for words, etc.) rather than some overall sense of that party's fitness to govern.
They could be replaced by long-form one-on-one interviews with intelligent and well-informed interviewers who have zero interest in 'gotchas' or self-aggrandisement – but such people don't exist in the contemporary media landscape.
so, who, apart from political junkies are there target audience? most kiwis with a pulse, would rather watch something(anything?) else.Im with incognito.
It gives pundits something to blather about when they interview one another.
Woods said she wanted to increase the supply of affordable housing “without radically readjusting house prices so that people are losing equity in their homes”.
“What we want to see is some stabilisation of prices,” Woods said.
https://www.interest.co.nz/property/107402/why-labour-believes-taxpayers-need-underwrite-housing-developments-and-how-it-plans
So Labour happy to accept median ratios of over 7 (and 9 in Auckland) when its considered severely unaffordable
This is why I'll be voting Green.
I party-voted Green an hour ago. The local candidate list didn't show a Green option so I quizzed the polling booth officials about that (I'd done the zoom selection meeting months ago, read his bio, a 17 year old Indian guy living in PN, keen).
Getting the gist that he hadn't made it down the home straight, I ended up voting for Glen Beck, the Labour guy. Like Obama, a community organiser. Since I've been telling people for years that we got too much individualism & now need more community, I'm cool with his vocation.
Naturally, as an archetypal individualist, I frame this as personal development! I can go further & posit attainment of a high level of maturity late in life, eh? Except Gabby would rightfully draw attention to an element of pretension in such a pose.
Anyway good on you for going Green. I had you picked as staunch Labour due to relentless extreme left stances. Got that wrong!
Oh, btw, emailed our GP organiser & she promptly informed me she'd notified us back when he had to pull out. The branch emails have operated on a hit or miss basis the past couple of years, for reasons I couldn't be bothered investigating, and I know it didn't reach me. Could be the Russians, perhaps…
I'm not sure why you would think someone with an extreme left stance would think Labour were a better bet over the Greens? Have you compared the policy?
As for your green mail, check whatever spam filters you have in your email client and also running on your webmail. I found that my Orcon account was deciding randomly that some green emails were spam. Not all, just the odd one, which was odd. I ended up disabling the thing entirely.
Good spam filters work on a combination of trigger/keywords, which may make them appear ‘random’. Think about it, too crude would let too many through or block too many.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graymail_(email)
We could face 4 more years of Trump, due largely to this hopeless gerontocracy
One of the most embarrassing politicians in all of American history is the ridiculous NY congressman Jerrold Nadler, who achieved immortality by claiming that alleged Russian hacking in 2016 constituted an "act of war" equivalent to Pearl Harbor and 9/11.
https://theintercept.com/2018/02/19/a-consensus-emerges-russia-committed-an-act-of-war-on-par-with-pearl-harbor-and-911-should-the-u-s-response-be-similar/
Trump is terrible and in any functioning democracy he and his cronies from hell would be long gone—but the incompetence of the Democratic gerontocracy, from the doddering Diane Feinstein, to the smiling and ineffectual Nancy Pelosi, to the hilarious Nadler, and of course Sleepy Joe Biden, means that it's still uncertain as to whether he will be defeated next month.
As Matt Christman points out at the end of this clip, "These people are not doing the job you are fantasising they do. They are mentally and physically incapable."
I don't know who M Christman is but he said an intelligent mouthful there. It really is the piece of resistance (Peter Sellers) of out post-modern political scene.
(Where did that surname come from? It sounds so phony. Does it reflect his deeper leanings, or is it part of his sponsorship. There would be money in that, having the blessing of Nike on you every time you sign/say your name, would you get paid in a lump sum of just on clickbait counts.)
Christman is a fairly common surname. I know a couple of people in Auckland with the name. Matt Christman is, as you obviously picked up, a brilliant and trenchant political commentator. The Chapo Trap House podcast is always outstanding; it restores one's faith in the future of America to hear young, thoughtful, serious people talking with such wit and such insight. Highly recommended!
Its always uncertain until there's an election Mo – but it looks like an old man will certainly win, and its unlikely to be your pick. Your pigeon-holing of being old as doddering, ineffectual, incompetent, sleepy, hopeless (with more words related to shitting and farting, etc in your attachment), says something very weird about you, and nothing whatsoever about a congressman on the other side of the world.
I didn't and I don't pigeon-hole old people. I, and obviously many disgusted Americans also, do indeed see Pelosi, Feinstein, Nadler, Biden as doddering, ineffectual, incompetent, sleepy, and hopeless. They were equally disastrous thirty years ago.
There are many people in the United States, far older than those four, who are bright, thoughtful and fully engaged in public life. Bernie Sanders, for instance. And Noam Chomsky.
Not convincing – other than their age, you don't explain why you judge them in this way.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/427778/land-on-old-wellington-prison-site-too-sacred-for-housing-mau-whenua
Land in Wellington has so much history embedded in it – it's not just handy spare ground to build houses on as a quick fix to the years of neglect of proper provision of necessary infrastructure by government.
This is not the start of a bad joke!
Two Anglican priests wearing their collars walked into a Labour Party office. "We have not seen anyone praying and holding her hands like Judith Collins in an Anglican church in thirty years".
As seen by meself a few minutes ago.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/generation-next/story/2018766702/teacher-affected-by-terror-attacks-pleads-for-other-cultures-to-be-embraced
What NZ non-Muslim women could do is to start wearing a scarf over the head tied at the neck. That would give the passers-by on the street the experience of seeing similar to the Muslim head covering of the hijab (without half-veil).
Someone I know did that and said it was noticeable that a rather large young boy going past fixed his eye on her and just stared. Nothing said or done, but the steady gaze was noticeable. So why not give it a try, show some solidarity – not as much as the wearing of the yellow star by the Danish in WW2. (Which apparently was a fable. This would be real.)
That's something NZ nonmuslim large young boys could do.
When the Australian right is too toxic for a Faux news talking head.
Covita
Very funny!
Very very dark twisted humour, yes.
Bonus Question for yesterday's Trump Covid game, worth triple points:
Down 10% in polls and the election 4 weeks away that you desperately need to win for your future to not include a lot of orange jumpsuit, and a lot of your electorate out of work and wondering how they will pay their bills and even just eat, do you:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-coronavirus-stimulus-delay-twitter_n_5f7cee46c5b61229a058cd6a
Anyone experiencing polling booths not open for early voting in their areas. Devonport a rather twee quaint area of our Auckland North Shore has two out of the three booths closed because it is school holidays and kids need the buildings for their holiday activities.
Now I am not going to hammer the littlies for their activities but I am head scratching here as to what is more important – a once in three year event to vote in the next Government or keeping our kids occupied during the holidays. The area is crammed with elderly and retired folk and there will be some without cars.
The pleading with people to vote early as to keep the pesky bug at bay and not clutter up the booths on the final day was a damp squib this afternoon for a relative of mine trapsing all over to find a booth open.
My grouch for the day.
Well, the North Shore Rugby Club on Cambridge Terrace is open for early voting every day except Saturday. There's other places nearby for Saturday early voting. So it doesn't look to me like Devonporties are deprived of opportunity for early voting.
https://vote.nz/map/index.html?id=8&modified=20201007154708
Mangakakahi Rotorua 10th of October…. yes WK.
Judith having a nightmare in Ponsonby.
Staged interactions.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/123011800/election-2020-a-terrible-day-on-the-campaign-trail-for-judith-collins
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/07-10-2020/judith-collins-walks-into-a-nightmare-on-ponsonby-road/
Message from Judge Judy to Judith Collins:
Wait for Jacinda in Dunedin 6 pm news yay..lol
When only 2 people unplanned have chance interactions on your lonely campaign walkabout in Posonby, spin it like a Trump to the media needling you.
"That tells me that there is a real problem, and that problem is the fact that, you know, businesses are shut, people are simply not out and about much … I actually think that's showing the downturn in the economy.”
Poor Judith, perhaps Lyttleton's economy was better.
https://m.facebook.com/jacindaardern/posts/10157376466627441
Stuff was running this earlier today, but now seems to have dropped it:
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/05-10-2020/how-judith-collins-and-national-win-the-2020-election/
The Herald was running it as their top story online this afternoon, with a big picture of a smiling Collins. Very odd as it was 2 days old and from another news site.
Further to this, this is the Herald's intro text:
'Several' polls? The last 21 (!) CB, RR, RM, UMR and Curia polls have all put Labour between 47% and 60%, with about 18 of them suggesting Labour could govern alone.
"There's no gain without pain" well, obviously for these Covid Fortunates ..
'Billionaire wealth reached record high levels amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a report by UBS and PwC found, as a rally in stock prices and gains in technology and healthcare helped the wealth of the world's richest break the $10 trillion mark ($NZ15 trillion).'
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/427812/billionaires-reach-record-wealth-during-covid-19-pandemic
"A US House of Representatives panel looking into abuses of market power by four of the biggest technology companies found they used "killer acquisitions" to block rivals, charged exorbitant fees and forced small businesses into "oppressive" contracts in the name of profit."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/427792/us-congressional-probe-finds-big-tech-abuses-power-but-does-not-urge-break-up
I remember (many !) years back, hearing a talk by a guy on RNZ warning of the rise of Facebook. This when it was first starting. Very prescient. And I never did join it.
"The head of the World Food Programme is using his new platform to tell billionaires to share their wealth that has increased during Covid-19 to help the world's hungry."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/428011/nobel-prize-winner-appeals-to-billionaires-to-aid-world-s-hungry
Yep, you vampires.
Since none of you bastards talk at night like normal people (me), I'll carry on anyway. Climate Change is everything — vote Green. Complacence of comfort describes all other views. Not an argument.