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.
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 ...
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Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
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It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
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Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
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I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
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Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
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Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
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“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
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How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
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TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
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The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
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.