If there’s symbolism, perhaps, it’s that he is focusing on managing the group, very much in the CEO mould. “I want to be able to float,” said Luxon.
“The lineup I’m announcing today is based on merit and matches people to their strengths and skill sets,” he added, in full chief executive mode. I’d love to review the KPIs, sit in on the performance reviews. “In the vision of performance, we will have another little review inside ourselves in 12 months.” He wants to float. He wants us to look inside ourselves. May the force be with you.
Interesting Hooton influence there … for some reason, a couple of years ago he wanted to reprise National's very unsuccessful 1972 Election Campaign slogan: "Man for Man the Strongest Team" … albeit updated for 21st Century sensibilities.
Looks like the Nats are now running with this recalibrated slogan.
The biggest surge, however, is Erica Stanford. She jumps 18 rungs to No 7, and adds education to the immigration role in which she has proved tenacious and conscientious. (Disappointingly, she has not been given Corrections, meaning that the "Stanford prison experiment" headline must be saved for another day.)
I wonder how many readers will have to look it up? Oft featuring in popular psychology books & cultural analyses, it not only has a wiki but also its own website: https://www.prisonexp.org/
Todd McClay plummets from sixth in Collins' last shadow cabinet to the swirl of the unranked. He has trade and tourism, however, which makes his unranked status puzzling.
Only if you haven't noticed the intensity of his prolonged attempt to hunt down & surpass Hilary Clinton's track record (longest prominent political career whilst never saying anything intelligent). Obviously Luxon noticed.
After a short stint in the nebulous role of shadow treasurer, Collins ally Andrew Bayly falls 12 spots to 15, but has a grab-bag of significant roles including small business, manufacturing, commerce and revenue. Bayly's double-act with Michael Woodhouse was a total fizzer; the former finance spokesperson is left clinging on to a top-20 role, down 14 to 18th. Another staunch Collins supporter, David Bennett, hangs on to the shadow cabinet by the skin of his teeth, coming in nine places lower at No 20, losing transport, where he's been mostly invisible, and gaining regional economic development.
Sending these guys a message to stop fizzing and go bang. Kind of him to retain the deadwood though, eh? Kindness is trendy.
According to my data journalism division, more than 21 per cent of the current National caucus either is now or has been the leader or deputy leader of the party.
Data journalism, eh? Swordfish take note! I guess we could call this subgroup of their caucus the rotating leadership cabal.
The new leader had promised to involve them in significant spots. He didn't really mean it. Judith Collins drops 18 rungs to 19th, and she gets – checks notes – research, science, innovation and technology. "Judith has a real passion for the portfolio she's been offered there … She cares very deeply about it," said Luxon, unconvincingly.
I look forward to JC producing an analysis of cutting-edge tech trends with serious political implications. Oh, but they'd never release it. Of course.
Well from our very own sidebar there is this issue tailor made for JC to sink her teeth into:
As a defender of free speech, I sometimes feel like a man falling through a collapsing building. Just when you think you’ve finally reached rock bottom, the floor gives way again. That was my sensation last week when I read about the disciplinary investigation of Professor Garth Cooper by the Royal Society of New Zealand.
This is incredibly worrying. One of the 7 scientists wrote the respectful letter to the Listener is a Maori. He is being investigated by the Royal Society. WTF
I attended UofA many decades ago as a very lowly undergrad. The sound STEM education I received has served me very well ever since. I've worked in engineering and heavy industry fields all my life. At the same time I've been a long-standing member of a faith community also most of my life.
Both shape and inform my life, but I can tell the difference between them. And Maori mythology is a religious schema – not a science. That the peak science body in this country refuses to acknowledge this simple distinction – is evidence not so much that they're idiots, but that they're all cowards.
I find it strange that there is such eagerness for Maori cultural understandings to be endorsed by and subsumed into the European developed method that we call science
All pre-industrial societies survived on a body of 'observational knowledge', handed from generation to generation. In most instances it was often sophisticated and complex in detail, but usually framed in mythological or superstitious terms that constrained it's usefulness.
As an example – for millennia various isolated individuals understood and worked with the rudiments of electric charge and batteries. It was an observational knowledge that appears in fragmentary archeological records. But it was not until the scientific revolution formalised strutures of hypothesis, experiment and evidence, that individuals like Kirchoff and Maxwell could transform our knowledge of electricity into the universal, world changing tool it has become.
It's perfectly possible to value and respect both bodies of knowledge, without the completely failing to distinguish between the two. On this wider theme you may enjoy this essay, that's energetically expressive – if a tad unhinged :
But beyond that more obvious stuff is the way the wasp venom of indulgence conflates and blunts the capacity to tell the difference between 'discrimination' and critical discernment, 'humanity' and narcissism, 'dignity' and caricature, ‘rights’ and entitlements, 'inclusion' and opportunistic colonization, ‘humanistic compassion’ and an indiscriminate soft touch, ‘freedom’ and disinhibited life without boundaries, ‘authoritarianism’ and firmness, ‘justice’ and sectional interest, 'fairness', special pleading and excuse making, ‘tolerance’ and indulgence, ‘respect’ and unjustified regard, ‘compromise’ and being compromised, 'flexibility’ and weakness, ‘concern for ‘the value of human life’ and cowardice, ‘dissent’ and treason, ‘repression’ and discipline, ‘assault’ and chastisement, ‘abuse’ and toughness, and 'violence' and the legitimate use of force.
Yeats said it a hundred years ago in The Second Coming, better and certainly shorter than Luther's Last Laugh, good though it was. A wise person wrote that poets foresee about fifty years ahead. Yeats was longer-sighted.
I found the reference to Yeats'. I thought the reference was to foresight but it goes further to say the poet influences issues but 50 years later. It's a good article.
Well Robert, as far as gardening goes and some medical things(I've been a long time user of flax gunk on intractable sores and wounds) I do take note of and follow Maori lore.."where were you when the riroriro were singing?"…time to get the kumara started, although it's really a little red hen retort
And hearing the arrival of the shining cuckoo ,I know it's spring..as if I didn't otherwise.And I love that kind of knowledge, but it's a beautiful narrative that also makes sense, not a rigorous discipline.
As to why and how all this magic happens, the minutiae of soil science and plant disease, wound healing, the behaviour of microrganisms, how my body works, the endicrinology system, and the endless and ongoing development of all this knowledge, I turn to western science for that.
So, you use "flax gunk" and find it effective (“long-time user") and in order to understand the why and how, you've turned to western science, and now you are assured.
Without that scientific confirmation, you wouldn't continue with that practice.
I am always curious , and the western scientific method which might tell me why this works, what compounds are in play etc engenders even more of a sense of wonder.I would keep using the gunk without the science behind it because it works for me, knowing why it works is a huge buzz.
Matauranga uses observation and notes that certain plants work for certain complaints for example.
European science also begins with observation and intuition then continues to find out why it works, what are the pathways , what are the recommended doses, what is the best delivery, can we upscale and synthesise , endless trials and safety data to minimise accidental death
Extreme self-indulgence of the affluent culturalist Woke … narcisssists prioritising prestige enhancement over all else (defend highly privileged class position & increasingly authoritarian accumulation of power by signalling "unique moral goodness" via the ritualistic repetition of various abstract codes of belief … including a deeply paternalistic-heroic rescuer Noble Savage / Exotic Other Romanticism regarding indigenous people in general).
You don't think that refraining from living on a fault line is "science" derived from observation? Even if it is addressed as "mythological" understanding. It meets the "science" requirements of observed and consistent, repeatable reality.
However I will join you in objecting to the suppression of"free speech".
The sun comes up every morning .I know that with a fair degree of reliability.Day after day, the observation is repeated.
The scientific knowledge of our solar system, and our place in it, and what's actually happening during our orbit, goes beyond the observational(with the naked eye)
In fact a lot of the more detailed understanding we have is because of better methods of observation.
Particle accelerators instead of optical microscopes.
Newtonian physics is not invalidated by our nowadays much more detailed observation of quantum physics. Neither is Polynesian navigation..
Polynesian navigation to name just one example, entirely fits the definition of "science".
As someone proffesionally trained in "Western" Navigation, which actually mostly originated in China and the far East BTW, I can appreciate the skills in observation and what we would call “scientific research” that it involved.
Noting that most of the criticism of science is in reality criticicism of people that didn’t follow the “science”. Like the paid “researchers” for tobacco or oil companies.
Basically what we like to call “pure science” is physics & chemistry + mathematics.
Other sciences seem to me to be basically observational studies & analysis, & on that score matauranga Māori is based on observational science every bit as much as other earth sciences are.
The difficulty we seem to get into is that much of it is wrapped within Māori folklore & atua stories as a way of ensuring it was remembered and respected. The mythology parts of it are what scientists seem to mostly object to. Diverting roadways because a taniwha supposedly lives there, kind of stuff.
Rather than get into heated debates over whether matauranga Māori is “science”, we might do better to define Enlightenment or “pure” science, perhaps.
There are certainly areas of Māori traditional knowledge & practices relating to botanical knowledge & medicinal or chemical properties of native plants, trees & shrubs that are attracting the current interest of university & maybe even some commercial researchers looking for useful products & medicines etc.
Observation is a large part of science.I agree , so is intuition.But science doesn't stop there.
Yes, observation (as in Capt Cook, transit of Venus)is aided by the invention of telescopes and chronometers etc.I'd put them in the category of scientific advance.
As far as I'm concerned it's not a put down or dismissal of Maori knowledge to say that it doesn't fit the definition of European science(the scientific method)
Part of the problem is that the word “science” has been debased – or redefined – by its use being extended to cover very broad range of fields of study at universities.
I mean, for example, “political science”? What is scientific about politics?
Cool, you won’t have objection to hesitant Maori vaxers turning to kawakawa instead of Pfizer.
When I say both , we can have them in separate kete, we don’t have to shoe horn them into the same box
Matauranga is Maori science , there may be some resemblances, but it isn't European science .No value judgement in that statement
Both have limitations
This debate is starting to resemble the whole trans activist thing where language has to do the work of the current orthodoxies in the name of inclusion.
Matauranga is Maori science , there may be some resemblances, but it isn't European science .No value judgement in that statement
Both have limitations
Afaik te kupu 'matauranga' means knowledge, not science. Science is a part of it, it's not the whole thing itself.
True that both have limitations. The problem we have is that science wants to be the boss and matauranga wants plurality. Also, science is reductionist by nature, matauranga is based in systems thinking, so while there are two sides to a coin, one side opens into multiple options and the other continues to narrow things down including its own ability to see outside its own self.
that last bit is tripping us up. Science heads resist it, but it's possible that if they give up the reductionist stuff they won't be able to do science. Equally, for system thinkers, if science is applied to how kawakawa works too rigourously, it might break some of the power that kawakawa has (which is intrinsically in the relationship between the plant/healer and the person needing healing. Sorry science, but you cannot study that very well with your current tools). I don't think science heads care about that, because science is god. The rest of us are going, holy fuck, here comes the collapse of nature.
I don't think science heads care about that, because science is god.
This sort of attitude is just what's needed if we really want to see clearly the contributions of science, and other ways of knowing, to an understanding of reality. Imho scientific understand always reveals new mysteries – it never ends…
Did you know that some 'science heads' have been attempting to horn in on those other ways of knowing – when will these johnny-come-lately learn?!
I don't think science heads care about that, because science is god.
This sort of attitude is just what's needed if we really want to see clearly the contributions of science, and other ways of knowing, to an understanding of reality. Imho scientific understand always reveals new mysteries – it never ends…
DKM, you think it's good that science doesn't care about what it breaks?
Did you know that some 'science heads' have been attempting to horn in on those other ways of knowing – when will these johnny-come-lately learn?!
Horn in being the operative word. Very patriarchal. Here's another way: adopt a philosophy that allows for multiple ways of understanding, science being one of them, and then no horning in is necessary.
weka, my “this sort of attitude” comment was provoked by your apparent attitude towards “science heads” and their supposed “science is god” beliefs. Should I bite my tongue?
As long as some on each 'side' (science vs other ways of knowing) are wedded to propagating division and exclusion, progress will be slower than it needs to be. One could argue that there's a need to slow down 'progress' in selected areas, but dampening curiosity is problematic.
I like to think of myself as an open-minded 'science head' (if that term was intended to be pejorative, then I choose not to take it that way) . To me it means being curious (wanting not only to know, but also to understand), and skeptical – regularly reminding myself that my current knowledge and understanding ranges somewhere between non-existent (or flat-out wrong), and incomplete. Which is great; to me that's what makes science such a fantastic adventure – a continually evolving journey of discovery – an exploration of reality.
Science isn't the only way to know and understand reality, but imo it has a place, especially for the curious. Disclaimer: I'm a 'cat person'.
weka, my “this sort of attitude” comment was provoked by your apparent attitude towards “science heads” and their supposed “science is god” beliefs. Should I bite my tongue?
No, you could instead explain your thinking. What I saw was you taking a sound bite from my detailed comment, out of context, and saying something about it that appeared to be approving of science breaking things. If that's not what you mean then please explain what you did mean.
If you wanted to just talk generally about my attitude towards science, then my suggestion is don't sound bite quote from my comment but just reply directly with what you are thinking about the whole 👍
Did you know that some 'science heads' have been attempting to join in without invitation or consent on those other ways of knowing – when will these johnny-come-lately learn?!
I have no idea what you are trying to say. That science wants to colonise other ways of knowing? Instead of giving me a dictionary definition and expecting me to mind read, please just explain what you are meaning. Then we can converse.
As long as some on each 'side' (science vs other ways of knowing) are wedded to propagating division and exclusion, progress will be slower than it needs to be. One could argue that there's a need to slow down 'progress' in selected areas, but dampening curiosity is problematic.
It's science that is creating the binary division. Other ways of knowing already include science. Science wants to be the boss.
There's nothing about other ways of knowing that involves damping curiosity, where did you get that idea from?
Science isn't the only way to know and understand reality, but imo it has a place, especially for the curious. Disclaimer: I'm a 'cat person'.
Ae, it has a place. This is the point 👍
To give you an idea of what I have been meaning about science heads wanting to be boss,
I ain't no scientism-ist. But it's the best technique that human civ has devised to understand the mechanics of how stuff works.
That position closes the door on the best understanding coming from science and otherways of knowing. Again, it's the science heads that are making it either/or.
Science is not my "god" as some continue to obnoxiously assert. But there is a fairly well defined line between established testable scientific knowledge that is based on a quantifiable and experimental evidence, and traditional folk wisdom.
Both have their place. But attempting to shoehorn cultural mythologies into the domain of "science" looks to me like donning a white coat and calling oneself a doctor. It's not accurate.
I know science isn't your god, you have your own religious faith. But that's not what I am saying. I'm saying people who hold science up as the best way of knowing treat science as if it's the best way of knowing. 'science as god' is a metaphor.
But there is a fairly well defined line between established testable scientific knowledge that is based on a quantifiable and experimental evidence, and traditional folk wisdom.
Here's the problem: framing traditional folk wisdom as if it's not based on empiricism. You think the old wives just made shit up?
Both have their place. But attempting to shoehorn cultural mythologies into the domain of "science" looks to me like donning a white coat and calling oneself a doctor. It's not accurate.
Is that actually being done? What would be a specific example?
What I saw was you taking a sound bite from my detailed comment, out of context, and saying something about it that appeared to be approving of science breaking things.
@weka (6:08 pm): That sound bite from your detailed comment contained the term "science head" and the phrase "science is god". The purpose was to highlight your use of those terms/phrases.
The purpose of my main paragraph ("This sort of attitude…") was to critique your use of those terms by way of sarcasm, and I apologise for that, but hope you can understand what triggered me to respond in such a provocative/confusing fashion – science occupies a prominent position in (forming) my worldview. In spite of its manifold imperfections, I unashamedly value 'science' – it’s only human.
Hopefully we both want a genuine discussion about what and how science and other ways of knowing can contribute to understanding, and can have that discussion without resorting to "science head" and 'non-science head' jibes. Imho "breaking things' is generally a poor approach to solving problems (regardless of what/who is doing the breaking), although it may occassionally have it's place.
Science isn't the only way to know and understand reality, but imo it has a place, especially for the curious. Disclaimer: I'm a 'cat person'.
Ae, it has a place. This is the point
Yes, this is both our points – we agree. This unashamed 'science head' believes that all ways of knowing are worthy of critical consideration, be they tradition-based, science-based, other-based, or some overlap of multiple ways.
I have no idea what you are trying to say. That science wants to colonise other ways of knowing?
That's helpful, thanks – trying to put it into words: that 'science' (or at least some scientists; 'science' is large and unwieldy), are well aware of other ways of knowing. and that the knowledge generated by these other ways informs both their research and their methods.
As for "Science wants to be the boss.", well, most of us wouldn't mind being the boss on occasion. I'm just happy that science managed to secure a place at the table a few centuries back, or it would have been curtains for me.
There's nothing about other ways of knowing that involves damping curiosity, where did you get that idea from?
I assumed that there would have been times, during the development of knowledge via those other ways of knowing, when individuals might have sought to suppress (further) enquiry. For example, the positions of influence that 'medicine men', wise women, shamans and priests/priestesses held in traditional and/or older cultures might depend to some extent on keeping secrets and discouraging questions. Maintaining the influence of the Delphi oracle, and the heresy of heliocentrism, spring to mind as examples.
That position closes the door on the best understanding coming from science and otherways of knowing. Again, it's the science heads that are making it either/or.
I prefer to leave the 'door' ajar – always leave room for doubt.
Western science and traditional knowledge: Despite their variations, different forms of knowledge can learn from each other [May 2006] These considerations seem to be particularly relevant for studying biological, ecological and social phenomena that include different levels of complexity. As already mentioned, the Western tradition of thinking is developing a different approach to gaining knowledge from complex systems, but it would be equally useful to learn how traditional approaches explain such complexity. Not only are they more holistic, but also they seem to be better suited to coping with the uncertainty and unpredictability that are viewed as intrinsic characteristics of natural systems. Western science and traditional knowledge constitute different paths to knowledge, but they are rooted in the same reality. We can only gain from paying attention to our cultural history and richness.
If matauranga Maori can be added to the official curriculum then so should the Christian foundations of Western culture. Seriously.
with all due respect, I think you have a mistaken idea about what mātauranga Māori is. Sacha just posted a list of links that include this,
Mātauranga Māori spans Māori knowledge, culture, values and world view. Pūrākau and maramataka, forms of mātauranga Māori, comprise knowledge generated using methods and techniques
developed independently from other knowledge systems. Hitherto mostly ignored or disregarded by the science community because it seemed to be myth and legend, fantastic and implausible, mātauranga Māori includes knowledge generated using techniques consistent with the scientific method, but explained according to a Māori world view. Acknowledging this extends the history of scientific endeavour back to when Māori arrived in Aotearoa and Te Wai Pounamu, many centuries ago
The way I think about it is that when Māori arrived in NZ, did they learn what to eat here by prayer and using mythologies from other lands, or did they have methods of empiricism that enabled them to learn what could be eaten and what could be not? It seems extremely unlikely to me that they had no empirical methods for learning how to live here.
In the West we separate religion and science, in te ao Māori, there's an integration. To the Western mind this looks crazy, to Māori and decolonised minds it makes sense and works. The argument at the moment is whether the western mind can be taught the value of the whole systems thinking.
Thanks for clarifying! I find sarcasm a poor mix with philosophy unless I am following someone on twitter whose work I understand and know. But for conversation, I'm always better if people speak straight.
Yes, I'm speaking provocatively. However I personally don't see science head as a pejorative any more than I see geek as an insult when talking about tech heads. I'm curious why you took it as a insult, and also if you have a term that you prefer (I'm not especially attached to my term).
I also appreciate you taking the time to make your own position clear. I think it's fair to say that we have overlap in our beliefs that may lend to some interesting conversations. Much of my challenge here is for those who treat science as god, but listening to you I'm not sure this applies to you.
I've given you the example of the discussion with rob, who does appear to see science as being the best and at the top of the hierarchy. This creates all sorts of problems which I am trying to name.
Yes, some scientists are aware of other ways of knowing. Some also are multilingual in ways of knowing. My comments here are more about the people who have certains philosophical beliefs about science (whether those people are scientists or not).
Re damping curiosity, the irony here is that it's now the other ways of knowing that are being shut down. And I was thinking about science now not in the past. Are you thinking that science may end up not being acceptable?
I'm curious why you took it [the term 'science head'] as a insult…
Might have something to do with the negative way that form of labelling is used in other contexts – you must know some of them: 'petrol head', "piss head", 'pothead', 'big-head', 'butt-head', etc., etc.
Maybe there are some complimentary examples too [Wisehead? Nope, even that's not too good.] – would be interestng
Happy to close the door on whether you intended "science head" to be an insult – most people can spot one, especially if they're hit over the head a few times.
Re damping curiosity, the irony here is that it's now the other ways of knowing that are being shut down. And I was thinking about science now not in the past.
I interpreted your original comment:
There's nothing about other ways of knowing that involves damping curiosity, where did you get that idea from?
as suggesting that these (historical and current) other ways of knowing were/are free of influences that might dampen curiosity, but since knowledge is power that seems unlikely to be universally true of any way of knowing – human behaviour 101.
Are you thinking that science may end up not being acceptable?
Other ways of thinking, including non- and/or unscientific ways, may gain traction over time – certainly if modern civilisation collapses then the odds would be better than even, imho.
It seems increasingly common for people to bemoan that they, or a cause/idea they support, is being shut down, so maybe you have a point about other ways of knowing being shut down. I can think of a few examples of other ways of knowing, and practises derived from same, that science has attempted to ‘get to the bottom of‘, and so shut down, albeit sometimes with little success. For example, homeopathic 'medicine'.
Re homeopathy, I remember back to a paper published in the highly-regarded scientific journal Nature – made a bit of a splash at the time! Fortunately science is largely self-correcting (some corrections take longer than others); probably goes for most other ways of knowing as well – trial, error, all that. And so the homeopathy door closed a little further (for me) – still ajar though.
Water memory
Water memory contradicts current scientific understanding of physical chemistry and is generally not accepted by the scientific community. In 1988, Jacques Benveniste published a study supporting a water memory effect amid controversy in Nature, accompanied by an editorial by Nature's editor John Maddox urging readers to "suspend judgement" until the results could be replicated. In the years after publication, multiple supervised experiments were made by Benveniste's team, the United States Department of Defense, BBC's Horizon programme, and other researchers, but no one has ever reproduced Benveniste's results under controlled conditions.
"In the West we separate religion and science, in te ao Māori, there's an integration. To the Western mind this looks crazy, to Māori and decolonised minds it makes sense and works."
I don't think Galileo would agree with that attitude. The last 3 or 4 centuries since the Enlightenment have seen the establishment of science as an independent domain of study, before that it was tangled up with theology and particular interpretations of holy scripture. (also, science isn’t an exclusively western phenomenon.. that’s a rather eurocentric view)
Ive got a feeling not everyone’s read the article, and are bringing to the discussion their own beefs about colonisation , or beefs about having to accomodate new definitions in the name of inclusion .
I’ve only read it thanks to Swordfish .Thanks!
Thanks. Finally got around to reading it. Makes it's case very clearly and well worth the read.
Frankly people who think Matauranga Maori and science are on an equal footing fall into one of two camps; those who don't know enough science to understand how preposterous this claim is, or those who do but are too cowardly to say so.
Another parallel example would be Traditional Chinese Medicine – a completely different model of how the body works that personally I find quite fascinating – but isn’t science.
Your mention of Chinese medicine reminds me of our experience of it.
We were facing fertility issues and endometriosis. The G.P. and other experts weren't making progress and we ended up with the conclusion that pregnancy would help alleviate the endo.
Partly despair, partly curiosity we went to Wellington to see a Chinese herbalist. His initial consult was in stark contrast to what we had experienced prior. Very holistic enquiry, to the point of 'What has that got to do with anything?'.
He ended up 'prescribing' 2 lots of pills. One, were once a day, the other (looked like a licorice ball), once a week. I clearly remember him, at the end of the consult, putting his arm around my wife's shoulders, saying "You will have a baby". Needless to say, just short of 20 years ago we were blessed with a son.
You may not view it as science but my experience tells me it works.
This doesn't mean Chinese good, Western bad.
Commerce's tendrils can and does undermine, influence and taint science. G.P.s getting perks for shifting a certain amount of product. Big Pharma skewing or omitting trial results.
The hillbilly heroin epidemic comes to mind. Sackler family, Purdue Pharma and Oxycontin is an example of the worst excesses of this.
Part of the Vax hesitancy is down to deep mistrust of the industry and the science.
I've been following that particular little shit storm…our defender of scientific truth and pink coiffure did not cover herself in glory at all. Shouldn't we have done our research before launching into the rabble rousing?
As I said the issue for me isn't about is Matauranga Maori is science or not (although I feel better informed for reading swordfishes link).
My issue is that 7 academics/scientists wrote a very respectful article to the Listener, stating their opinion that Matauranga Maori isn't sciene. One of these scholars is Maori.
They are now being investigated by the Royal Society. I think it is a good thing the Free Speech Union is defending their right to express their professional opinion on this. Are you saying that the Maori biochemist who is one of the 7 is a colonial racist?
You might be interested to read the link Swordfish put up as this explains why some academics believe that Matauranga Maori isn’t science.
Rotorua MP Todd McClay says he isn't bothered after he was announced as an unranked member of the National Party caucus. McClay was one of the biggest losers in the reshuffle
Clearly a master of the art of exhibiting the legendary kiwi complacency. He didn't say "The ranking was based on performance, as our leader outlined, not merit." Since those who believe they have merit often don't feel the need to prove it, it'll be interesting to see if he continues to be an empty space.
Is the copybook western regime change occurring in the Solomons!-opinion…
Solomon's Govt pivots from Taiwan/U.S patronage to China.
With tensions rising in the region, the western security services do not want this behaviour to become contagious.
The inter tribal rivalry in Solomons politics is fertile ground for the opposition to ferment action against the Govt.
Organised protests escalate into rioting and violent civil disorder.
The P.M's residence is torched.
Clearly he needs help.Australian military respond and arrive in Honiara in the blink of an eye.
You Kiwi's will be backing us on this…won't you…yes…very good.
The western forces are despatched to restore order and provide stability.
Meanwhile the Parliament becomes the scene for fierce debate ,with the primarily Malaita opposition demanding the resignation of the P.M Sogavare,who shows no signs of leaving.
Malaita's allegience lies with Aus/U.S.
Possible outcome -the military will intervene and declare an interim Govt,until the situation is stable.
But don't worry democracy lovers,free elections will be held by 2023.
To KJT, the Romans blamed Vulcanus, the Greeks Poiseidon,, the ancient Japanese a catfish named Namazu, the Norse a giant wolf called Fenis Wolf, all of whom stomped around below the surface just like Ruaumoko and the reason in Latin is 'sive deus sive dea ' roughly whichever God is pissed off with us now. Not wanting to live next to an obvious fault line is observational knowledge, clever and sensible but not science. Science is finding out where the ones you can't see are and why they are there and what causes them, using scientific methodology, not faith, belief and myth as explanation. there is not a single religious ethos that is provable, which is handy as your whole house of cards would come tumbling down if some smartarse proved otherwise, which also explains why it was nesseccary to feed him or her to the lions or burn them at a stake, ostensibly to please the gods,but really to keep the whole lucrative scam running. Much like Destiny Church, where the destiny is as much wealth as the Tamakis can accumulate.
I wouldn’t pretend to be clear about what distinguishes science from other knowledge, although I have some training in what constituents good evidence. For me it’s more about seven of our very best scientists/academics voicing their view in a very respectful letter in the Listener. Next thing one of their colleagues is emailing people in the science community decrying them/organising in a very political way. Now the Royal Society is investigating them (what about holding a respectful debate instead?)….one has since died and despite being an outstanding scientist, the Royal Society, last I heard had done no obituary.
We shall all march lockstep, and anyone who deviates from that march shall be abandoned on the roadside. Signed, certain scientists that are very very woke, and very very ugly.
Some folks here commented on this yesterday, but it's worth noting some features of the story they didn't mention:
Wainuiototo Bay, also known as New Chums Beach, near Whangapoua, was a privately-owned beach isolated from development. For the last decade, developers have attempted to subdivide the catchment, but their every move has been strongly opposed by Coromandel locals.
The 30ha property was tendered for sale on behalf of receivers appointed by the Bank of New Zealand after Galt Nominees, owned by businessman George Kerr, defaulted on a mortgage. The purchase was made by the New Zealand Coastal Trust with support from mana whenua, Preserve New Chum for Everyone, the Whangapoua Beach Ratepayers Association, and the Environmental Defence Society.
So the first feature worth noting is that collaboration between four different interest groups secured the purchase. This strikes me as a significant victory for Green consensus decision-making.
Trustee Gary Taylor said it’s been a fantastic outcome for the public of Aotearoa New Zealand. “New Chums is one of the very few undeveloped beaches left on the eastern Coromandel Peninsula, with native bush fringing the beautiful curved white-sanded beach. It is a reminder of what our coasts used to be like.” He said the property has outstanding landscape, ecological and cultural values. “The logistical challenges of the current bid were considerable, including raising enough funds to make an unconditional offer of $2.15m in just a few short weeks.”
Never met him, but he was Shadbolt's sidekick during the Waitemata City mayoralty years, before they had a falling out.
“Our intention is for the headland to be managed and protected forever in the public interest. We will be seeking a protective covenant from the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust or equivalent for the land.” The trust will talk through options for the ultimate management of the land with local interests and mana whenua in the new year.
So we'll have to wait & see. Looks like it has the potential to be a model of co-governance. Hope they all succeed with that.
And why do we have 300 police guarding a boarder that is in dispute of validity as months have passed to get vaccinated? The people travelling there most likely are. What an illogical argument. And yet there are no additional resources to find out who killed, maimed others, shootings, stabbings, robberies and assaults, family violence, children murdered once more in the news.
And now we hear that it is racist to be aghast by that demand. ? What!? Are you serious?
The people I know and meet are increasingly shifting from great! to indifferent and now getting seriously beefed with all the incompetence displayed. The next election will show the discontent very clearly. Politically, you can ignore a large majority for some time but not all of the time.
And why are cops out trying to catch speeding cars? Most people travelling likely are not.
And why are they following up on burglaries when they need to be following up on those killed, maimed, shootings, stabbings, robberies and assaults, family violence and children murdered?
The people I know and meet are increasingly pissed off that cops have to do things like manning borders because people can't be trusted to do the right thing. People I know pleased that cops are trying to prevent such arrogant, ignorant arseholes risking lives and livelihoods of everyone in the country.
It is the people north of Auckland who haven't found it necessary to protect their people and get vaccinated. The question remains, will this border remain indefinitely like a hmmmm separate state?
Jacinda 1, what's his name (also known as Leader #4 – or is it 5) 0
Just listened to question time – Luxon not nimble on his feet. Jacinda cut the ground from under him with her first reply, but he persisted with the same line for about 4 more supplementaries.
Just to expand in case readers are not aware of what happened:
Luxon asked why the govt. was so slow providing more ICU beds.
Jacinda replied that always the govt. policy was to avoid overwhelming the hospital system, and that the highest number of ICU beds in use has been 11.
Luxon persisted in asking why the govt. has not increased ICU beds.
The man's a plonker.
Plus, Seymour stepped in to steal his thunder at one point.
but yeah, i get it. He must be daft to not believe the good words put to him.
Here is someone else pontificating about hte state of ICU beds and more importantly the people that man/women these beds 24 hour a day – at least two if they work 12 hour shifts, or 3 if they work 8 hour shifts.
We obtained responses relating to all New Zealand public hospitals. Respondents indicated there were 176 staffed ICU beds in 25 ICUs in 24 public hospitals of which 15 were dedicated paediatric ICU beds. An additional 104 physical beds within ICUs that were not staffed were identified. A total of 49 non-negative-pressure and 68 negative-pressure single rooms in ICUs were identified nationally with the remaining ICU beds in shared spaces. Areas with high air exchange or negative pressure that could be used to care for critically ill COVID-19 patients exclusively were identified in 64% of hospitals. The total number of ICU beds in such areas nationally was 132. Outside of ICUs, 289 beds that might be used to care for critically ill patients within “surge areas” were identified. Accordingly, a total of 565 beds that, if staffed, could be used to care for critically ill patients were identified nationwide. Respondents indicated a total of 535 ventilators available in their respective hospitals (excluding anaesthetic machines).
Stated numbers of staff available for such surge capacity for a period of one month varied considerably by ICU. A total of 130.6 (range, 0 to 20), 99 (range, 0 to 20), and 356 (range, 0 to 115) full time equivalent (FTE) specialists, junior doctors, and nurses respectively were identified as being able to contribute to surge capacity. Of the 356 FTE nurses, 100 were identified as being able to provide high-dependency care only.
I guess the NZ Medical Journal is also staffed with many many plonkers.
Now if someone had asked what the max number of ICU beds used during this crisis were, her answer would have made perfect sense, but considering that the answer was 'why not more beds – and staff as the beds themselves are of no use without staff – well, one can say that her answer was lacking in substance, but was a good example of talking about something else altogether, while conveniently ignoring the questions as a good PR person would do.
Jacinda pointed out that ICU beds had a capacity of 500 if needed, but the maximum in use up until now had been 11. Yet he wasn't quick enough to change his line of questioning. To my mind, that makes him a plonker, or perhaps a plodder.
The premise of her answer is not that we have enough ICU beds. We have 500 ICU beds available. Each one of those 500 beds requires five intensive care nurses specialising in ICU Covid patients. That is a total of 2,500 Covid intensive care nurses. Each one of those nurses required specific training in Covid care, and it takes a long time for them to reach the required standard for ICU Covid care.
The strategy – to prevent a surge in numbers of ICU Covid patients – has been successful to date. The government is to be congratulated on achieving that goal and we hope they are able to continue to achieve it regardless what Covid throws our way.
To my way of thinking the Opposition parties are acting in an irresponsible and reckless manner by attempting to distort the reality purely for personal political gain. They are to be rebuked for using their powers to question the handling of the pandemic in an underhand and dishonest way.
Sir Christopher Luxon (which I'm sure is his ultimate ambition) has just proven he is no better than most of his party's predecessors.
The strategy – to prevent a surge in numbers of ICU Covid patients – has been successful to date. The government is to be congratulated on achieving that goal and we hope they are able to continue to achieve it regardless what Covid throws our way.
Agreed. An important question – what is the correct number of ICU beds, fully staffed. Should this be enough to cope with worst case scenarios? or some number below that. What number then? Should the health system always carry (at cost) those numbers forever into the future?
I keep reading that hospitals have been in crisis with ICU beds all full.
Or was just in the 'wishful thinking' things I've seen on line?
Sort of strange to consider that the fascist state dictates people wear seatbelts. That might prevent ICU beds being full of crash victims so that those beds could be used by victims of the fascist state who didn't follow dictates about covid.
Yes. Nice incompetent start by both Luxon and Bridges, bodes well for yet another new look opposition leadership before to long. Popcorn must be doing a roaring trade of late.
I really need to step away from the interweb ..just now on my Facebook..
"This morning Marama Davidson MP launched Te Aorerekura, the first National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence in Aotearoa. This strategy will see Government, tangata whenua, the sectors and communities working together to achieve change, so we can end family and sexual violence and improve wellbeing for everyone."
Here's an idea ..actually deliver on the vague electioneering promises of Change ("lets do this.".) ….and actually deliver ..or at least head in the direction of …affordable secure housing, an economy with secure jobs with livable wages, a good preemptive Health care system including access to addiction services, and Mental health care, affordable pathways to higher education, a rehabilitative Justice system (rather than excellent box ticking) …then lets talk about elimination of violence ..because otherwise its just never going to happen (rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic etc etc).
This (about halfway through) was a lol comment for me – couldn't watch any more.
It's a path that creates a radical hero of the working class in the same way that an arsehole makes fudge.
The broad church of 'the Left' is inclined to debate and castigate itself in public – no bad thing, but it can complicate efforts to slow down the 'Money is God' Tories.
Still waiting – hope it’s just a matter of good things taking time.
Yeah, nah. A woke millennial goes off on an unbalanced rant. Highlights all of Ardern's mistakes and none of her successes. The important thing in leadership is setting a direction, and the good ship Aotearoa is slowly turning left.
Nicol is blissfully unaware of the messy realities of politics and the need to make the occasional compromise.
You can’t turn left when your steering wheel doesn’t go past the centre. The Labour party is wedded to status quo ante capitalism, this is evidential.
Also who is impressed by those claiming the need to compromise while holding all the levers of power? Pointing this out is hardly nasty.
The larger and more important point is that while leadership is needed, politicians and politics in general, requires us to continually reiterate our desires and provide the necessary pressure to drive the actions we want to see. It is participatory. And that requires a society that doesn’t see itself as a collection of self-interested individuals.
The final message in the video is to encourage people to join organisations they care about, terrible, youthful, woke and nasty thing to do. /s
Hey Arkie. Thanks for the intro. Absolutely wonderful satire. I found it intelligent and very positive. Went down the rabbit whole and found some of his older stuff too. You can learn a lot from him, get a laugh and end up feeling good in spite of all the shit we get subjected to. Absolutely emphasises the need to abandon individualism and embrace the collective. This message comes through in all his work that I looked at. Thankyou!
Organise, get off social media and put your shoulder to a wheel.
I refute robs assertion of overwhelming compromise, especially in this administration at this time.
As Nicol alludes to we are the problem. Ardern will move if pressure comes to bear. But we are too busy, individually with the current outrage- the unvaxxed, gangs, Luxon's lack of hair and political chops.
Plus Nicol's line 'I expect the leader of Labour to not devote her life to protect the owners of capital'. Skewering.
Watched question time at Parliament this afternoon. Oh deary me, it was a no contest. Jacinda without even trying, outshone Luxon. While I realise it was his first time facing the PM in the House, his inexperience as an MP, let alone a party leader was glaringly obvious. Robertson also gave Bridges what for as well during their financial debate.
If Luxon does a few repeat performances before Parliament finishes for the year, can we expect a resignation to be forthcoming in the near future from the new National leader? Before or after Christmas anyone?
No – I think they’ve run out of options for new leaders. They’ll likely stop at Luxon.
He seems sufficiently adaptable /malleable to be instructed by his backers in the party (primarily Sir John, & maybe the party hierarchy) to try out various public personas & policy positions until they find a formula that seems to score well enuf in the polls.
If he isn’t gaining them any ground by mid nextbyear maybe they’d look again at, say, Willis, as potential leader material – but it’d be a major risk to their credibility as a major party to dump yet another leader when they have such a small pool of potential leadership contenders with genuine smarts, & when yet another leader change just might produce no improvement at all in their voter credibility & polling fortunes.
In summary, I think they’ll stick with Luxon as long as he doesn’t screw up big time & have to be dumped.
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
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:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
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. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
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 ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
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. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
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 A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
As a young gymnast, Aimee Didierjean was always conscious of making sure her underwear wasn’t showing on the competition floor. A peek of a bra strap, or briefs if a leotard rode up, would cost a gymnast points in her routines. “When I was growing and going through puberty, it ...
Jubi/West Papua Daily Repeated cases of Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers torturing civilians in Papua have been evident, as seen in the viral video depicting the torture of civilians in the Puncak Regency allegedly done by soldiers of Raider 300/Brajawijaya Infantry Battalion. There is a pressing need for stringent law enforcement ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In 2023, Anthony Albanese was shooting for the moon, his eyes on the Voice referendum. On one view, he looked like the idealist reflecting his left-wing roots. In 2024, we’re seeing a pragmatic, determined, ...
The House - The principle that all MPs are honourable and that they should be taken at their word has been tested multiple times this week in Parliament. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Dickinson, Professor, Public Service Research, UNSW Sydney Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Since the review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) released its recommendations in December, there has been a series of Town Hall events to discuss them around the country ...
Asia Pacific Report Two of the global Freedom Flotilla ships are being prepared in Turkey and almost ready for the upcoming humanitarian mission to Gaza. It is expected that the flotilla will include a New Zealand medical team. Kia Ora Gaza is a member of the international Freedom Flotilla Coalition ...
Toby Manhire on Luxon's caucus shuffle https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/06-12-2021/skills-ethics-and-grunt-has-chris-luxon-shuffled-up-a-winning-pack
The man with the funny shoes is faithful.
https://twitter.com/btlane/status/1467908891811872771
Some folk are more cynical.
https://twitter.com/rugbyintel/status/1467929997922881537
Interesting Hooton influence there … for some reason, a couple of years ago he wanted to reprise National's very unsuccessful 1972 Election Campaign slogan: "Man for Man the Strongest Team" … albeit updated for 21st Century sensibilities.
Looks like the Nats are now running with this recalibrated slogan.
It should be "national, going negative since for ever"
I wonder how many readers will have to look it up? Oft featuring in popular psychology books & cultural analyses, it not only has a wiki but also its own website: https://www.prisonexp.org/
Only if you haven't noticed the intensity of his prolonged attempt to hunt down & surpass Hilary Clinton's track record (longest prominent political career whilst never saying anything intelligent). Obviously Luxon noticed.
Sending these guys a message to stop fizzing and go bang. Kind of him to retain the deadwood though, eh? Kindness is trendy.
Data journalism, eh? Swordfish take note! I guess we could call this subgroup of their caucus the rotating leadership cabal.
I look forward to JC producing an analysis of cutting-edge tech trends with serious political implications. Oh, but they'd never release it. Of course.
Well from our very own sidebar there is this issue tailor made for JC to sink her teeth into:
https://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/column/opinion/20211205/free-speech-under-attack/
This is incredibly worrying. One of the 7 scientists wrote the respectful letter to the Listener is a Maori. He is being investigated by the Royal Society. WTF
I attended UofA many decades ago as a very lowly undergrad. The sound STEM education I received has served me very well ever since. I've worked in engineering and heavy industry fields all my life. At the same time I've been a long-standing member of a faith community also most of my life.
Both shape and inform my life, but I can tell the difference between them. And Maori mythology is a religious schema – not a science. That the peak science body in this country refuses to acknowledge this simple distinction – is evidence not so much that they're idiots, but that they're all cowards.
I find it strange that there is such eagerness for Maori cultural understandings to be endorsed by and subsumed into the European developed method that we call science
All pre-industrial societies survived on a body of 'observational knowledge', handed from generation to generation. In most instances it was often sophisticated and complex in detail, but usually framed in mythological or superstitious terms that constrained it's usefulness.
As an example – for millennia various isolated individuals understood and worked with the rudiments of electric charge and batteries. It was an observational knowledge that appears in fragmentary archeological records. But it was not until the scientific revolution formalised strutures of hypothesis, experiment and evidence, that individuals like Kirchoff and Maxwell could transform our knowledge of electricity into the universal, world changing tool it has become.
It's perfectly possible to value and respect both bodies of knowledge, without the completely failing to distinguish between the two. On this wider theme you may enjoy this essay, that's energetically expressive – if a tad unhinged :
Loving it already!
Yeats said it a hundred years ago in The Second Coming, better and certainly shorter than Luther's Last Laugh, good though it was. A wise person wrote that poets foresee about fifty years ahead. Yeats was longer-sighted.
Thats a good insight thanks. I must read more Yeates.
I found the reference to Yeats'. I thought the reference was to foresight but it goes further to say the poet influences issues but 50 years later. It's a good article.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/30/things-fall-apart-the-apocalyptic-appeal-of-wb-yeats-the-second-coming
“I find it strange…”
I don’t, Francesca.
“About time”, is what I think.
Well Robert, as far as gardening goes and some medical things(I've been a long time user of flax gunk on intractable sores and wounds) I do take note of and follow Maori lore.."where were you when the riroriro were singing?"…time to get the kumara started, although it's really a little red hen retort
And hearing the arrival of the shining cuckoo ,I know it's spring..as if I didn't otherwise.And I love that kind of knowledge, but it's a beautiful narrative that also makes sense, not a rigorous discipline.
As to why and how all this magic happens, the minutiae of soil science and plant disease, wound healing, the behaviour of microrganisms, how my body works, the endicrinology system, and the endless and ongoing development of all this knowledge, I turn to western science for that.
Thanks, francesca.
So, you use "flax gunk" and find it effective (“long-time user") and in order to understand the why and how, you've turned to western science, and now you are assured.
Without that scientific confirmation, you wouldn't continue with that practice.
Yes?
Or no 🙂
I am always curious , and the western scientific method which might tell me why this works, what compounds are in play etc engenders even more of a sense of wonder.I would keep using the gunk without the science behind it because it works for me, knowing why it works is a huge buzz.
Science for me is hugely exciting
I too, use "flax gunk" where needed.
Being curious is the most admirable of human characteristics, imo.
Yes, "knowing why it works" is a huge buzz.
Knowing that it works is pretty satisfying also 🙂
Good science, I believe, requires good imagination.
That doesn't sound right!
Does it?
No option for reply with your last comment
Matauranga uses observation and notes that certain plants work for certain complaints for example.
European science also begins with observation and intuition then continues to find out why it works, what are the pathways , what are the recommended doses, what is the best delivery, can we upscale and synthesise , endless trials and safety data to minimise accidental death
It's different , It's the European methodology
European pharmaceutical methodology includes employing intuition??
Are you sure, francesca?
Kinda felt they'd stamped that airy-fairy stuff out long ago.
Researchers very often start with a hunch,medical or otherwise,form a hypothesis and test it
"Researchers often start with a hunch…"
Indeed they do, and stooping over a microscope is often cited as the reason for that.
Intuition and imagination are the most powerful tools in the scientist/tohunga's bag of (magic) tricks.
You and I seem to share a confidence in this.
.
Extreme self-indulgence of the affluent culturalist Woke … narcisssists prioritising prestige enhancement over all else (defend highly privileged class position & increasingly authoritarian accumulation of power by signalling "unique moral goodness" via the ritualistic repetition of various abstract codes of belief … including a deeply paternalistic-heroic rescuer Noble Savage / Exotic Other Romanticism regarding indigenous people in general).
You don't think that refraining from living on a fault line is "science" derived from observation? Even if it is addressed as "mythological" understanding. It meets the "science" requirements of observed and consistent, repeatable reality.
However I will join you in objecting to the suppression of"free speech".
Once again , it's what we mean by science.
The sun comes up every morning .I know that with a fair degree of reliability.Day after day, the observation is repeated.
The scientific knowledge of our solar system, and our place in it, and what's actually happening during our orbit, goes beyond the observational(with the naked eye)
Observation is a large part of science.
In fact a lot of the more detailed understanding we have is because of better methods of observation.
Particle accelerators instead of optical microscopes.
Newtonian physics is not invalidated by our nowadays much more detailed observation of quantum physics. Neither is Polynesian navigation..
Polynesian navigation to name just one example, entirely fits the definition of "science".
As someone proffesionally trained in "Western" Navigation, which actually mostly originated in China and the far East BTW, I can appreciate the skills in observation and what we would call “scientific research” that it involved.
Noting that most of the criticism of science is in reality criticicism of people that didn’t follow the “science”. Like the paid “researchers” for tobacco or oil companies.
Knowledge is also broader than science.
Astrology might tell us lots of interesting stories but it's useless for plotting the trajectory of a rocket to the Moon.
Basically what we like to call “pure science” is physics & chemistry + mathematics.
Other sciences seem to me to be basically observational studies & analysis, & on that score matauranga Māori is based on observational science every bit as much as other earth sciences are.
The difficulty we seem to get into is that much of it is wrapped within Māori folklore & atua stories as a way of ensuring it was remembered and respected. The mythology parts of it are what scientists seem to mostly object to. Diverting roadways because a taniwha supposedly lives there, kind of stuff.
Rather than get into heated debates over whether matauranga Māori is “science”, we might do better to define Enlightenment or “pure” science, perhaps.
There are certainly areas of Māori traditional knowledge & practices relating to botanical knowledge & medicinal or chemical properties of native plants, trees & shrubs that are attracting the current interest of university & maybe even some commercial researchers looking for useful products & medicines etc.
Observation is a large part of science.I agree , so is intuition.But science doesn't stop there.
Yes, observation (as in Capt Cook, transit of Venus)is aided by the invention of telescopes and chronometers etc.I'd put them in the category of scientific advance.
As far as I'm concerned it's not a put down or dismissal of Maori knowledge to say that it doesn't fit the definition of European science(the scientific method)
Why not have both ?
"Why not have both ?"
That's the proposal.
You can, & we should.
Part of the problem is that the word “science” has been debased – or redefined – by its use being extended to cover very broad range of fields of study at universities.
I mean, for example, “political science”? What is scientific about politics?
Cool, you won’t have objection to hesitant Maori vaxers turning to kawakawa instead of Pfizer.
When I say both , we can have them in separate kete, we don’t have to shoe horn them into the same box
Matauranga is Maori science , there may be some resemblances, but it isn't European science .No value judgement in that statement
Both have limitations
This debate is starting to resemble the whole trans activist thing where language has to do the work of the current orthodoxies in the name of inclusion.
"Cool, you won’t have objection to hesitant Maori vaxers turning to kawakawa instead of Pfizer."
No more objection than I'd have to hesitant Pakeha vaxers turning to parsley instead of Pfizer.
No worries, aye!
.
For a useful critque guaranteed to upset our wonderfully "moral" (LOL) Noble Savage Romanticists:
SCIENCE AND MĀTAURANGA MĀORI – Elizabeth Rata's Blog
click on download half-way down.
Afaik te kupu 'matauranga' means knowledge, not science. Science is a part of it, it's not the whole thing itself.
True that both have limitations. The problem we have is that science wants to be the boss and matauranga wants plurality. Also, science is reductionist by nature, matauranga is based in systems thinking, so while there are two sides to a coin, one side opens into multiple options and the other continues to narrow things down including its own ability to see outside its own self.
that last bit is tripping us up. Science heads resist it, but it's possible that if they give up the reductionist stuff they won't be able to do science. Equally, for system thinkers, if science is applied to how kawakawa works too rigourously, it might break some of the power that kawakawa has (which is intrinsically in the relationship between the plant/healer and the person needing healing. Sorry science, but you cannot study that very well with your current tools). I don't think science heads care about that, because science is god. The rest of us are going, holy fuck, here comes the collapse of nature.
This sort of attitude is just what's needed if we really want to see clearly the contributions of science, and other ways of knowing, to an understanding of reality. Imho scientific understand always reveals new mysteries – it never ends…
Did you know that some 'science heads' have been attempting to horn in on those other ways of knowing – when will these johnny-come-lately learn?!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_science
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antireductionism
horn/hone
slip, cup, lip.
DKM, you think it's good that science doesn't care about what it breaks?
Horn in being the operative word. Very patriarchal. Here's another way: adopt a philosophy that allows for multiple ways of understanding, science being one of them, and then no horning in is necessary.
weka, my “this sort of attitude” comment was provoked by your apparent attitude towards “science heads” and their supposed “science is god” beliefs. Should I bite my tongue?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horn%20in
As long as some on each 'side' (science vs other ways of knowing) are wedded to propagating division and exclusion, progress will be slower than it needs to be. One could argue that there's a need to slow down 'progress' in selected areas, but dampening curiosity is problematic.
I like to think of myself as an open-minded 'science head' (if that term was intended to be pejorative, then I choose not to take it that way) . To me it means being curious (wanting not only to know, but also to understand), and skeptical – regularly reminding myself that my current knowledge and understanding ranges somewhere between non-existent (or flat-out wrong), and incomplete. Which is great; to me that's what makes science such a fantastic adventure – a continually evolving journey of discovery – an exploration of reality.
Science isn't the only way to know and understand reality, but imo it has a place, especially for the curious. Disclaimer: I'm a 'cat person'.
No, you could instead explain your thinking. What I saw was you taking a sound bite from my detailed comment, out of context, and saying something about it that appeared to be approving of science breaking things. If that's not what you mean then please explain what you did mean.
If you wanted to just talk generally about my attitude towards science, then my suggestion is don't sound bite quote from my comment but just reply directly with what you are thinking about the whole 👍
Ok, so what you meant was,
I have no idea what you are trying to say. That science wants to colonise other ways of knowing? Instead of giving me a dictionary definition and expecting me to mind read, please just explain what you are meaning. Then we can converse.
It's science that is creating the binary division. Other ways of knowing already include science. Science wants to be the boss.
There's nothing about other ways of knowing that involves damping curiosity, where did you get that idea from?
Ae, it has a place. This is the point 👍
To give you an idea of what I have been meaning about science heads wanting to be boss,
.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-05-12-2021/#comment-1840078
That position closes the door on the best understanding coming from science and otherways of knowing. Again, it's the science heads that are making it either/or.
Science is not my "god" as some continue to obnoxiously assert. But there is a fairly well defined line between established testable scientific knowledge that is based on a quantifiable and experimental evidence, and traditional folk wisdom.
Both have their place. But attempting to shoehorn cultural mythologies into the domain of "science" looks to me like donning a white coat and calling oneself a doctor. It's not accurate.
I know science isn't your god, you have your own religious faith. But that's not what I am saying. I'm saying people who hold science up as the best way of knowing treat science as if it's the best way of knowing. 'science as god' is a metaphor.
Here's the problem: framing traditional folk wisdom as if it's not based on empiricism. You think the old wives just made shit up?
Is that actually being done? What would be a specific example?
If matauranga Maori can be added to the official curriculum then so should the Christian foundations of Western culture. Seriously.
@weka (6:08 pm): That sound bite from your detailed comment contained the term "science head" and the phrase "science is god". The purpose was to highlight your use of those terms/phrases.
The purpose of my main paragraph ("This sort of attitude…") was to critique your use of those terms by way of sarcasm, and I apologise for that, but hope you can understand what triggered me to respond in such a provocative/confusing fashion – science occupies a prominent position in (forming) my worldview. In spite of its manifold imperfections, I unashamedly value 'science' – it’s only human.
Hopefully we both want a genuine discussion about what and how science and other ways of knowing can contribute to understanding, and can have that discussion without resorting to "science head" and 'non-science head' jibes. Imho "breaking things' is generally a poor approach to solving problems (regardless of what/who is doing the breaking), although it may occassionally have it's place.
Yes, this is both our points – we agree. This unashamed 'science head' believes that all ways of knowing are worthy of critical consideration, be they tradition-based, science-based, other-based, or some overlap of multiple ways.
That's helpful, thanks – trying to put it into words: that 'science' (or at least some scientists; 'science' is large and unwieldy), are well aware of other ways of knowing. and that the knowledge generated by these other ways informs both their research and their methods.
As for "Science wants to be the boss.", well, most of us wouldn't mind being the boss on occasion. I'm just happy that science managed to secure a place at the table a few centuries back, or it would have been curtains for me.
I assumed that there would have been times, during the development of knowledge via those other ways of knowing, when individuals might have sought to suppress (further) enquiry. For example, the positions of influence that 'medicine men', wise women, shamans and priests/priestesses held in traditional and/or older cultures might depend to some extent on keeping secrets and discouraging questions. Maintaining the influence of the Delphi oracle, and the heresy of heliocentrism, spring to mind as examples.
I prefer to leave the 'door' ajar – always leave room for doubt.
@roblogic
with all due respect, I think you have a mistaken idea about what mātauranga Māori is. Sacha just posted a list of links that include this,
https://resiliencechallenge.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Hikuroa-2017.pdf
https://maoridictionary.co.nz/
The way I think about it is that when Māori arrived in NZ, did they learn what to eat here by prayer and using mythologies from other lands, or did they have methods of empiricism that enabled them to learn what could be eaten and what could be not? It seems extremely unlikely to me that they had no empirical methods for learning how to live here.
In the West we separate religion and science, in te ao Māori, there's an integration. To the Western mind this looks crazy, to Māori and decolonised minds it makes sense and works. The argument at the moment is whether the western mind can be taught the value of the whole systems thinking.
@DMK,
Thanks for clarifying! I find sarcasm a poor mix with philosophy unless I am following someone on twitter whose work I understand and know. But for conversation, I'm always better if people speak straight.
Yes, I'm speaking provocatively. However I personally don't see science head as a pejorative any more than I see geek as an insult when talking about tech heads. I'm curious why you took it as a insult, and also if you have a term that you prefer (I'm not especially attached to my term).
I also appreciate you taking the time to make your own position clear. I think it's fair to say that we have overlap in our beliefs that may lend to some interesting conversations. Much of my challenge here is for those who treat science as god, but listening to you I'm not sure this applies to you.
I've given you the example of the discussion with rob, who does appear to see science as being the best and at the top of the hierarchy. This creates all sorts of problems which I am trying to name.
Yes, some scientists are aware of other ways of knowing. Some also are multilingual in ways of knowing. My comments here are more about the people who have certains philosophical beliefs about science (whether those people are scientists or not).
Re damping curiosity, the irony here is that it's now the other ways of knowing that are being shut down. And I was thinking about science now not in the past. Are you thinking that science may end up not being acceptable?
Might have something to do with the negative way that form of labelling is used in other contexts – you must know some of them: 'petrol head', "piss head", 'pothead', 'big-head', 'butt-head', etc., etc.
Maybe there are some complimentary examples too [Wisehead? Nope, even that's not too good.] – would be interestng
Happy to close the door on whether you intended "science head" to be an insult – most people can spot one, especially if they're hit over the head a few times.
I interpreted your original comment:
as suggesting that these (historical and current) other ways of knowing were/are free of influences that might dampen curiosity, but since knowledge is power that seems unlikely to be universally true of any way of knowing – human behaviour 101.
Other ways of thinking, including non- and/or unscientific ways, may gain traction over time – certainly if modern civilisation collapses then the odds would be better than even, imho.
It seems increasingly common for people to bemoan that they, or a cause/idea they support, is being shut down, so maybe you have a point about other ways of knowing being shut down. I can think of a few examples of other ways of knowing, and practises derived from same, that science has attempted to ‘get to the bottom of‘, and so shut down, albeit sometimes with little success. For example, homeopathic 'medicine'.
Re homeopathy, I remember back to a paper published in the highly-regarded scientific journal Nature – made a bit of a splash at the time! Fortunately science is largely self-correcting (some corrections take longer than others); probably goes for most other ways of knowing as well – trial, error, all that. And so the homeopathy door closed a little further (for me) – still ajar though.
"In the West we separate religion and science, in te ao Māori, there's an integration. To the Western mind this looks crazy, to Māori and decolonised minds it makes sense and works."
I don't think Galileo would agree with that attitude. The last 3 or 4 centuries since the Enlightenment have seen the establishment of science as an independent domain of study, before that it was tangled up with theology and particular interpretations of holy scripture. (also, science isn’t an exclusively western phenomenon.. that’s a rather eurocentric view)
Forgive my skepticism.
That sounds very abusive RL, especially from a moderator who deletes other peoples posts for alleged abuse. Shame on you
So you approve of cancelling academics who speak out on their topics of expertise?
No
SCIENCE AND MĀTAURANGA MĀORI – Elizabeth Rata's Blog
Half-way down … click on the black download button.
That is a great article thank you Swordfish. Very clear. I know feel better informed about what distinguishes science from Matauranga Maori.
I guess it occurs to me if scientists were wanting to say they are exactly the same as Matauranga Maori, some wouldn't like that. Like with the haka.
If its o.k. for one culture to set boundaries around their toanga, then why not another?
Ive got a feeling not everyone’s read the article, and are bringing to the discussion their own beefs about colonisation , or beefs about having to accomodate new definitions in the name of inclusion .
I’ve only read it thanks to Swordfish .Thanks!
Thanks. Finally got around to reading it. Makes it's case very clearly and well worth the read.
Frankly people who think Matauranga Maori and science are on an equal footing fall into one of two camps; those who don't know enough science to understand how preposterous this claim is, or those who do but are too cowardly to say so.
Another parallel example would be Traditional Chinese Medicine – a completely different model of how the body works that personally I find quite fascinating – but isn’t science.
Your mention of Chinese medicine reminds me of our experience of it.
We were facing fertility issues and endometriosis. The G.P. and other experts weren't making progress and we ended up with the conclusion that pregnancy would help alleviate the endo.
Partly despair, partly curiosity we went to Wellington to see a Chinese herbalist. His initial consult was in stark contrast to what we had experienced prior. Very holistic enquiry, to the point of 'What has that got to do with anything?'.
He ended up 'prescribing' 2 lots of pills. One, were once a day, the other (looked like a licorice ball), once a week. I clearly remember him, at the end of the consult, putting his arm around my wife's shoulders, saying "You will have a baby". Needless to say, just short of 20 years ago we were blessed with a son.
You may not view it as science but my experience tells me it works.
This doesn't mean Chinese good, Western bad.
Commerce's tendrils can and does undermine, influence and taint science. G.P.s getting perks for shifting a certain amount of product. Big Pharma skewing or omitting trial results.
The hillbilly heroin epidemic comes to mind. Sackler family, Purdue Pharma and Oxycontin is an example of the worst excesses of this.
Part of the Vax hesitancy is down to deep mistrust of the industry and the science.
I've been following that particular little shit storm…our defender of scientific truth and pink coiffure did not cover herself in glory at all. Shouldn't we have done our research before launching into the rabble rousing?
??
I missed it
Got it!
Siouxsie joined in with the outrage
I think Siouxsie might have started it. For goodness sake, ganging up like that. Seems like she might have been trying to have them cancelled.
Very ironic when is Maori. Why not write a counter article articulating why she disagrees with them.?
There have been plenty of considered, articulate responses since July. Here is a very brief one: https://scientists.org.nz/resources/Documents/PressReleases/NZAS-M%C4%81tauranga%20and%20Science.pdf
This is only being stirred up again now because the freeze peach brigade have too many credulous repeaters. Colonial racism is easy.
freeze peach
Oooh! Is that the shade of pink? Thanks, my haidresser was asking as she gets so many inquiries from keen emulators.
thanks, great link.
tbf, I think a lot of people have a mistaken understanding of what mātauranga Māori is, and think it's just about myths, legends and religious belief.
As I said the issue for me isn't about is Matauranga Maori is science or not (although I feel better informed for reading swordfishes link).
My issue is that 7 academics/scientists wrote a very respectful article to the Listener, stating their opinion that Matauranga Maori isn't sciene. One of these scholars is Maori.
They are now being investigated by the Royal Society. I think it is a good thing the Free Speech Union is defending their right to express their professional opinion on this. Are you saying that the Maori biochemist who is one of the 7 is a colonial racist?
You might be interested to read the link Swordfish put up as this explains why some academics believe that Matauranga Maori isn’t science.
Elizabeth Rata has form. Google is your friend. Listen to Māori academic experts.
Most of them look like….'floaters'!
Or…he'll take all the credit.
Like all bosses do.
Clearly a master of the art of exhibiting the legendary kiwi complacency. He didn't say "The ranking was based on performance, as our leader outlined, not merit." Since those who believe they have merit often don't feel the need to prove it, it'll be interesting to see if he continues to be an empty space.
Jo Moir, Newsroom's political editor:
Is the copybook western regime change occurring in the Solomons!-opinion…
Solomon's Govt pivots from Taiwan/U.S patronage to China.
With tensions rising in the region, the western security services do not want this behaviour to become contagious.
The inter tribal rivalry in Solomons politics is fertile ground for the opposition to ferment action against the Govt.
Organised protests escalate into rioting and violent civil disorder.
The P.M's residence is torched.
Clearly he needs help.Australian military respond and arrive in Honiara in the blink of an eye.
You Kiwi's will be backing us on this…won't you…yes…very good.
The western forces are despatched to restore order and provide stability.
Meanwhile the Parliament becomes the scene for fierce debate ,with the primarily Malaita opposition demanding the resignation of the P.M Sogavare,who shows no signs of leaving.
Malaita's allegience lies with Aus/U.S.
Possible outcome -the military will intervene and declare an interim Govt,until the situation is stable.
But don't worry democracy lovers,free elections will be held by 2023.
… and the interim government will be selected by???
Oh, why bother asking. The fiasco is just a repeat of the usual manufactured 'democratic' coups where the usual suspects have been in play.
To KJT, the Romans blamed Vulcanus, the Greeks Poiseidon,, the ancient Japanese a catfish named Namazu, the Norse a giant wolf called Fenis Wolf, all of whom stomped around below the surface just like Ruaumoko and the reason in Latin is 'sive deus sive dea ' roughly whichever God is pissed off with us now. Not wanting to live next to an obvious fault line is observational knowledge, clever and sensible but not science. Science is finding out where the ones you can't see are and why they are there and what causes them, using scientific methodology, not faith, belief and myth as explanation. there is not a single religious ethos that is provable, which is handy as your whole house of cards would come tumbling down if some smartarse proved otherwise, which also explains why it was nesseccary to feed him or her to the lions or burn them at a stake, ostensibly to please the gods,but really to keep the whole lucrative scam running. Much like Destiny Church, where the destiny is as much wealth as the Tamakis can accumulate.
We shall all march lockstep, and anyone who deviates from that march shall be abandoned on the roadside. Signed, certain scientists that are very very woke, and very very ugly.
Some folks here commented on this yesterday, but it's worth noting some features of the story they didn't mention:
So the first feature worth noting is that collaboration between four different interest groups secured the purchase. This strikes me as a significant victory for Green consensus decision-making.
Never met him, but he was Shadbolt's sidekick during the Waitemata City mayoralty years, before they had a falling out.
So we'll have to wait & see. Looks like it has the potential to be a model of co-governance. Hope they all succeed with that.
Another great reason to get vaccinated!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AfEhjBsKEA
And why do we have 300 police guarding a boarder that is in dispute of validity as months have passed to get vaccinated? The people travelling there most likely are. What an illogical argument. And yet there are no additional resources to find out who killed, maimed others, shootings, stabbings, robberies and assaults, family violence, children murdered once more in the news.
And now we hear that it is racist to be aghast by that demand. ? What!? Are you serious?
The people I know and meet are increasingly shifting from great! to indifferent and now getting seriously beefed with all the incompetence displayed. The next election will show the discontent very clearly. Politically, you can ignore a large majority for some time but not all of the time.
And why are cops out trying to catch speeding cars? Most people travelling likely are not.
And why are they following up on burglaries when they need to be following up on those killed, maimed, shootings, stabbings, robberies and assaults, family violence and children murdered?
The people I know and meet are increasingly pissed off that cops have to do things like manning borders because people can't be trusted to do the right thing. People I know pleased that cops are trying to prevent such arrogant, ignorant arseholes risking lives and livelihoods of everyone in the country.
It is the people north of Auckland who haven't found it necessary to protect their people and get vaccinated. The question remains, will this border remain indefinitely like a hmmmm separate state?
Jacinda 1, what's his name (also known as Leader #4 – or is it 5) 0
Just listened to question time – Luxon not nimble on his feet. Jacinda cut the ground from under him with her first reply, but he persisted with the same line for about 4 more supplementaries.
Just to expand in case readers are not aware of what happened:
Luxon asked why the govt. was so slow providing more ICU beds.
Jacinda replied that always the govt. policy was to avoid overwhelming the hospital system, and that the highest number of ICU beds in use has been 11.
Luxon persisted in asking why the govt. has not increased ICU beds.
The man's a plonker.
Plus, Seymour stepped in to steal his thunder at one point.
just because the highest number of beds used is 11 does not mean it will stay that way.
so his question, after almost two years into the plague is fair and warranted.
My questions would be:
Why is it that Rotorua has 6 beds, but can only staff 4?
Why is it that ICU nurses have been dispatched from elsewhere to make up for Akls Shortfall?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/126260217/covid19-sending-icu-nurses-to-auckland-will-put-pressure-on-other-regions–union
but yeah, i get it. He must be daft to not believe the good words put to him.
Here is someone else pontificating about hte state of ICU beds and more importantly the people that man/women these beds 24 hour a day – at least two if they work 12 hour shifts, or 3 if they work 8 hour shifts.
https://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal-articles/new-zealands-staffed-icu-bed-capacity-and-covid-19-surge-capacity
I guess the NZ Medical Journal is also staffed with many many plonkers.
Now if someone had asked what the max number of ICU beds used during this crisis were, her answer would have made perfect sense, but considering that the answer was 'why not more beds – and staff as the beds themselves are of no use without staff – well, one can say that her answer was lacking in substance, but was a good example of talking about something else altogether, while conveniently ignoring the questions as a good PR person would do.
The man's a plonker because he persisted with his line of questions about why there has been no increase in the number of ICU beds?
Those are questions that should and need to be asked.
I have no idea why you would think they are plonker questions.
Jacinda pointed out that ICU beds had a capacity of 500 if needed, but the maximum in use up until now had been 11. Yet he wasn't quick enough to change his line of questioning. To my mind, that makes him a plonker, or perhaps a plodder.
I think it's safe here, to say, "plonker".
🙂
The premise of her answer is we have more than enough ICU beds. Anyone who accepts that is a plonker.
The premise of her answer is not that we have enough ICU beds. We have 500 ICU beds available. Each one of those 500 beds requires five intensive care nurses specialising in ICU Covid patients. That is a total of 2,500 Covid intensive care nurses. Each one of those nurses required specific training in Covid care, and it takes a long time for them to reach the required standard for ICU Covid care.
The strategy – to prevent a surge in numbers of ICU Covid patients – has been successful to date. The government is to be congratulated on achieving that goal and we hope they are able to continue to achieve it regardless what Covid throws our way.
To my way of thinking the Opposition parties are acting in an irresponsible and reckless manner by attempting to distort the reality purely for personal political gain. They are to be rebuked for using their powers to question the handling of the pandemic in an underhand and dishonest way.
Sir Christopher Luxon (which I'm sure is his ultimate ambition) has just proven he is no better than most of his party's predecessors.
Agreed. An important question – what is the correct number of ICU beds, fully staffed. Should this be enough to cope with worst case scenarios? or some number below that. What number then? Should the health system always carry (at cost) those numbers forever into the future?
I keep reading that hospitals have been in crisis with ICU beds all full.
Or was just in the 'wishful thinking' things I've seen on line?
Sort of strange to consider that the fascist state dictates people wear seatbelts. That might prevent ICU beds being full of crash victims so that those beds could be used by victims of the fascist state who didn't follow dictates about covid.
I don't think his (Luxon’s) response was that of a plonker but of a plodder.
The questions had a purpose, somewhere, but where? Presumably there was a 'gotcha' or point behind them but it never got to see the light of day
Yes. Nice incompetent start by both Luxon and Bridges, bodes well for yet another new look opposition leadership before to long. Popcorn must be doing a roaring trade of late.
I really need to step away from the interweb ..just now on my Facebook..
Here's an idea ..actually deliver on the vague electioneering promises of Change ("lets do this.".) ….and actually deliver ..or at least head in the direction of …affordable secure housing, an economy with secure jobs with livable wages, a good preemptive Health care system including access to addiction services, and Mental health care, affordable pathways to higher education, a rehabilitative Justice system (rather than excellent box ticking) …then lets talk about elimination of violence ..because otherwise its just never going to happen (rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic etc etc).
Robbie Nicol talks about the communication/action dichotomy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNN8KaGZaP8&ab_channel=WhiteManBehindADesk
Thanks arkie, great link.
A couple of great lines: 'less effective than a comedy monologue behind a paywall'
This (about halfway through) was a lol comment for me – couldn't watch any more.
The broad church of 'the Left' is inclined to debate and castigate itself in public – no bad thing, but it can complicate efforts to slow down the 'Money is God' Tories.
Still waiting – hope it’s just a matter of good things taking time.
Yeah, nah. A woke millennial goes off on an unbalanced rant. Highlights all of Ardern's mistakes and none of her successes. The important thing in leadership is setting a direction, and the good ship Aotearoa is slowly turning left.
Nicol is blissfully unaware of the messy realities of politics and the need to make the occasional compromise.
Just a bit too nasty for my taste.
You can’t turn left when your steering wheel doesn’t go past the centre. The Labour party is wedded to status quo ante capitalism, this is evidential.
Also who is impressed by those claiming the need to compromise while holding all the levers of power? Pointing this out is hardly nasty.
The larger and more important point is that while leadership is needed, politicians and politics in general, requires us to continually reiterate our desires and provide the necessary pressure to drive the actions we want to see. It is participatory. And that requires a society that doesn’t see itself as a collection of self-interested individuals.
The final message in the video is to encourage people to join organisations they care about, terrible, youthful, woke and nasty thing to do. /s
Hey Arkie. Thanks for the intro. Absolutely wonderful satire. I found it intelligent and very positive. Went down the rabbit whole and found some of his older stuff too. You can learn a lot from him, get a laugh and end up feeling good in spite of all the shit we get subjected to. Absolutely emphasises the need to abandon individualism and embrace the collective. This message comes through in all his work that I looked at. Thankyou!
The message is important.
Organise, get off social media and put your shoulder to a wheel.
I refute robs assertion of overwhelming compromise, especially in this administration at this time.
As Nicol alludes to we are the problem. Ardern will move if pressure comes to bear. But we are too busy, individually with the current outrage- the unvaxxed, gangs, Luxon's lack of hair and political chops.
Plus Nicol's line 'I expect the leader of Labour to not devote her life to protect the owners of capital'. Skewering.
Well she gave herself a 25 year timeline, by then she is probably hoping that anyone has forgotten that she was supposedly to earn her money.
But hey, she did reclaim the C-word. So that is a success. Surely?
Watched question time at Parliament this afternoon. Oh deary me, it was a no contest. Jacinda without even trying, outshone Luxon. While I realise it was his first time facing the PM in the House, his inexperience as an MP, let alone a party leader was glaringly obvious. Robertson also gave Bridges what for as well during their financial debate.
If Luxon does a few repeat performances before Parliament finishes for the year, can we expect a resignation to be forthcoming in the near future from the new National leader? Before or after Christmas anyone?
No – I think they’ve run out of options for new leaders. They’ll likely stop at Luxon.
He seems sufficiently adaptable /malleable to be instructed by his backers in the party (primarily Sir John, & maybe the party hierarchy) to try out various public personas & policy positions until they find a formula that seems to score well enuf in the polls.
If he isn’t gaining them any ground by mid nextbyear maybe they’d look again at, say, Willis, as potential leader material – but it’d be a major risk to their credibility as a major party to dump yet another leader when they have such a small pool of potential leadership contenders with genuine smarts, & when yet another leader change just might produce no improvement at all in their voter credibility & polling fortunes.
In summary, I think they’ll stick with Luxon as long as he doesn’t screw up big time & have to be dumped.