Apparently, in Finland, a lot of the land is state owned; perhaps we should nationalize a lot of land in NZ. Also, the implementation of such policies takes many years, suggesting that a bi-partisan political approach would be needed.
A bi-partisan approach would require a reawakening of social responsibility among the Gnats – this is not to be expected while covert neoliberals remain within Labour, poisoning the well.
Nationals political treatment of education, health and infrastructure rather than just fund it as population dictates puts us where we are.
Key and blinglish did a lot of damage by not continuing to build and spend. Playing politics with kids futures, kiwis health, RONS and a general hatred of public transport etc.
Emmissions trading of course, is a fraud – greenwashing inaction. Tesla might look on paper like a greenish enterprise, but every carbon credit they earn offsets carbon production elsewhere. The net result of all the subsidies is nothing.
And where are the commensurate outcomes? Lord knows they collaborated on the creation of the housing crisis for long enough.
What do we have to do to get it through their thick skulls that they are paid to take the country forward, not chase their personal rainbows or line their pockets.
We are a nation of sheep led by goats and monkeys.
We currently have about 30% of New Zealand land owned by the State.
Just how much more would you think was necessary to accomplish your aims?
Ihumatao land was supposed to be used for housing. Protestors occupied it of course and that stopped anything happening at the time. Have things changed or is the land still bare?
Well, at a guess, the same amount we had before Roger Douglas's great leap backward set us on the path to poverty, ignorance, and entrenched political corruption.
The last is the kicker. The current government spent $50 million not building a cycle bridge – Sochi-level corruption – yet no-one has been incarcerated for it. I imagine National colludes because their own corruption in the Christchurch rebuild will not bear scrutiny.
I am not greatly interested in this topic but it appears that there is a great deal of publicly owned land within the Auckland area.
If this linked story is accurate there are 93,500 ha of publicly owned land and of that 41,500 ha is publicly owned open space.
The larger figure is described as "That doesn't include roads, railway lines or waterways. It does include schools, hospitals, parks, Housing New Zealand holdings and community halls used traditionally by groups who often don't realise they don't own the land they meet on"
The smaller amount is described as being open space though and there must surely be a reasonable amount that could be used for housing.
Any time I have encountered Finnish people in my working life, I've been impressed. Well educated, pragmatic people who get shit done.
There is a lot to like about this pathway to address homelessness. But then again NZ has some distinct aspects that we'd need to consider. One is that our building industry struggles with cost, the other is that if you live in Australia you can see plenty of good examples of housing densification that NZ could do a lot more of.
The other element of concern would be how to manage the impact of gangs and criminality infiltrating these units.
It appears as though their Ministry of housing, directly subsidises the building of rental housing. Which is definitely an interesting approach (though probably anathema to those lefties who think that private enterprise has no place in housing)
The state supports the production of affordable and social rented housing by paying interest subsidies on loans taken out for this purpose and issuing a state guarantee for them. These loans, known as long-term interest-subsidy loans, generally have a loan period of 40 years. During this time, tenants must be selected on social grounds and the rent must be determined based on the cost price principle.
Yes – when we first started building to rent 20+ years ago we approached the then HNZ in Porirua for some guidance, because according to their website at the time there was some sort of similar pathway available. I forget the exact details, but it offered a guaranteed contract for a minimum of 10 years. The incentive was that HNZ would not only offer market rent, no management fee, full maintenance and a renovation package back to original standard on handing back to the owner.
Given we were also build to a Universal Access standard, the person we spoke to was initially very encouraging, but for reasons that have slipped off into the mists of memory, we never finished up pursuing it. I got the impression they were either not quite ready – or there was no reality behind it. I could be wrong.
Or maybe we did not quite fit their desired profile; but my point is that someone did a bunch of work on this already in NZ. Not sure what became of it.
This is an example of what we mean in psychiatry when we differentiate between a delusional and culturally entrenched belief that would otherwise be delusional. This seems to be borne out of the culture where kids are having to come up with more outrageous grievances for likes.
Is the internet/social media creating belief based social constructs that are akin to religion except they are created very fast and there are many, many of them.
I'll add that I think there are religious people who are rational and know how to use google to fact check things, and there are religious people who hold some out there beliefs and don't seem to be able to tell the difference between metaphor and literality.
To Weka at 2 : Agree with your observation that some cannot differentiate between metaphor and literality, and have long thought this fact predominates in contemporary global problems, emphasising the need for education that includes e.g. critical thinking and world history rather than patriotic.
the critical thinking part is really hard to address, because. you need to have some degree of critical thinking to understand where the limits on your critical thinking are. I agree education would make the difference. Not sure how that could be done. Government probably can't touch it directly, maybe NGOs?
to weka at 2.1.1 : I was envisaging an ideal world scene with optimal universal access to education. Dreams don't cost and if the huge global wealth presently squandered in war games was diverted to providing higher human needs (education being specific to this column), wonders could be achieved .
integrating into the education system shouldn't be that hard if the will was there. I was thinking more about those outside of the education system and how to reach them.
More allegoric, representing through fiction, than metaphoric, comparing unrelated things. One person's inability to differentiate doesn't alter the truth of the allegory.
I wish it were one person's inability instead of whole swathes of people. The English obviously did eat the Irish, just not in the way she meant. Truth among humans relies heavily on being able to parse and communicate historical reality. Even allowing for different interpretations there are still facts and some ways of relating to them are better than others.
The swallows will probably keep coming back and won't be persuaded to leave. Our carport has been guano city for a few years. The upside is going into the garage at night and seeing 3-4 newly fledged swallows fast asleep and perched on the ledge just above my head. Nothing seems to disturb them – flashing lights, banging doors or rubbish bin lids clattering.
From my desk, as I type, pink and grey galahs lined up on a branch, black cockatoos hooning about, a couple of pelicans crusing, a mass of black sheerwaters fishing, and a pair of rainbow lorikeets feeding their fledglings.
for anyone interested in knowing what Speak up for Women are all about (especially with the latest attempt by Stuff and the disinformation project to associate them with Alt right, Nazis etc, this is well worth a read.
It is extremely well written and very clear about where SUFW stand
yes but I suspect it will not be read/understood by the trans 'masses'…too well written, calm knowledgeable and nuanced. However good resource for others to have.
Aftern the unbalanced, once over lightly effort by Stuff on 6/5 I have decided to forego my sub to The Post.
I suddenly thought on Saturday 'this is not difficult' ie to get balance, write a balanced story and I fail to see why I should actually pay for dis/misinformation. I had already made the move to getting Saturday's edition only as it has had less of a tabloid feel than during the week. I have had a continuous sub to both Wellington dailies since October 1973, latterly just Saturdays.
It is known as "transperbole" and there is a lot of it about. Any failure to afford them the "validation" they desire is seen as an attack on their "right to exist".
It is known as "transperbole" and there is a lot of it about. Any failure to afford them the "validation" they desire is seen as an attack on their "right to exist".
kind of supports their point. If you are talking about trans people as a class all wanting validation and seeing failure in that as an attack on their right to exist, it comes across as bigoted, thus never speaking up for the humanity of trans people.
I don't think it is a failure to want validation at all. But it seems for some trans people unless you actively validate their gender identity (think pro nouns, affirming any stereotypical female behaviour the trans women has engaged with and even endorsing their belief that they are a woman) they feel that you are intent on annihilating them and wish for them not to exist. IMO such an extreme need to external validation is unhealthy as it is in anyone who needs constant validation and is unable to tolerate it if they don't get it. By this I mean any non trans person who requires such an extreme amount of validation.
BTW when I say unhealthy it isn't meant as a judgement. Maybe a better word would be extremely unhelpful.
I am sure not all trans people want such a high degree of validation. I think SUFW make that point i.e that some trans people.
Humanity goes both ways. If trans people were concerned about the humanity of women and/or the humanity of lesbians they would not be demanding that they be admitted to all our services and spaces – literally and figuratively.
I have known trans people for decades and one of the things I find most jarring is how different todays "trans rights activists" are from the trans people of the past. I used to collect the key to a lesbian club I helped to run in Wellington about 50 years ago from Carmen's Coffee Bar. Carmen sublet us the premises and at the end of the night we had to take the key back and pay the rent. There were no conflicts between the lesbian community and the trans communities then – they were same sex attracted and very much part of the Gay community.
These days one cannot have a club for lesbians, or a lesbian dating service without being required to admit any man who opens his mouth and utters the magical incantation "I identify as". Our sexuality is described as a "genital fetish" which we should overcome in order to validate the requirements of autogynephiliac men.
My problem is with you arguing as if all trans people believe the same ideology and act accordingly. They don't. It's easy enough to talk about TRAs instead, but when you talk about trans this and trans that, it's enabling bigotry.
And one of the inconvenient truths for people trying to smear Kellie Jay and the Let Women Speak event as Alt Right/Nazi Aligned is that Mana Wahine Korero were one of two groups who invited and hosted Kelly Jay to NZ. Doesn't quite fit does it that a Maori Womens group would be so involved in bringing a Nazi to NZ
Doesn't quite fit does it that a Maori Womens group would be so involved in bringing a Nazi to NZ.
Big problem there Anker. Nobody with journalistic integrity accused Posie Parker (or whatever her name was but its the one she chose for her public personna) of being a Nazi. What they did note is that she attracted such people to her cause which, quite rightly, caused many to question the validity of her campaign. Big difference.
If you and your friends want people to take you seriously, then don't allow extremists to align themselves with your cause.
It is a very thorough review of the NZ medias narrative that Parker was associated with the far right. Of course one of the most absurb of all the media claims was Three News, who blacked out what they claimed was Parker giving a white supremicist signal on a video clip ("too blah, blah blah to show you)". But once the clip was no longer blacked out, it was plan to see Parker was playing with her jersy zipper. After that pics circulated on the internet of a range of people giving the white supremiscist signal (this included Jacinda Ardern, and Shaneel Lal himself. Of course Parker wasn't even giving it)
There are no Nazis associated with any of the gender critical causes I know, including Parkers. And I am involved in many GC networks in NZ.
Took me 10secs to find. You are in denial Anker. We saw them on the telly. Right wing extremists in all their ugly glory. Some were at Albert Park, others were kicking up their heels close by. One on a motorbike tried to run Marama Davidson over. Yet Posie and co. seemed quite happy to have them attach themselves to her campaign. Very bad look.
Not taking part in this one eyed debate apart from this one-off. Off to bed to read a good John Le Carré. Much more illuminating.
Anne, given your oft-repeated experience of vilification at work (which sounds horrendous, and even more so, because it is believable), I would expect some form of due diligence and reservation at believing everything that is spoon-fed to you about others.
However, if John Le Carré is where you want to spend your time, I'm not going to stop you.
I leave these alternate links for others who might want to know more before taking such a strong position.
Bravo Kellie-Jay. You did the job that needed to be done.
For all the talk in the days preceding Keen’s arrival in New Zealand of countering free speech with ‘more free speech’, that was never going to happen. We don’t have The Oxford Union or Speaker’s Corner. That’s not how we debate ideas downunder.
The die was cast from the moment our Immigration Minister, Michael Wood, announced that Keen would be permitted to enter the country despite, in his words, her “inflammatory, vile and incorrect world views”. The Minister declared that he would prefer it if Keen “never set foot in New Zealand” and added, “I find many of her views repugnant, and am concerned by the way in which she courts some of the most vile people and groups around including white supremacists.”
The message had been sent – by all means, come to New Zealand, but you’ll be on your own. Keen’s hotel cancelled her booking as she was mid-flight to New Zealand, and her security arrangements were also cancelled without explanation.
In New Zealand, there is not a single right denied to people because they identify as gender diverse. The demand for males to be able to self-identify into women’s sport, to access women’s changing rooms, and for the sex on their birth certificate to be altered to state something that isn’t true is not a demand for rights. It is a demand for special treatment for a particular subset of people that requires women to put their dignity, privacy, and safety second.
As for all those women saying “you don’t speak for me”. Remember how outraged you were when a group of women in the US gave away the reproductive rights of all women? Remember your anger, your marches, and your tears. Well you’re now them.
You don’t get to give up other women’s sex specific spaces, services, and sports. You don’t get to say that a survivor of rape is not entitled to a female only space. You don’t get to say that a Muslim woman is not entitled to a female only swim session. And you do not get to give away the words that have described us for millennia. Woman. Mother. Daughter. Sister.
If you want to be a menstruator, vagina-haver, or pregnant person then go for it. If you want to share your changing room, public toilet, or sports team with a male who identifies as a woman then go for it. But you don’t speak for me.
I have been thinking Molly that all the women who want to give away women only spaces could be asked to support changing mens toilets and change rooms to unisex. That way these women who are so keen to give our spaces away to support transwomen, could support them by using the mens (unisex).
The women's only remain women's only for women and girls.
Interested to know what women who trumpet the trans cause think of that as a solution?
Well Anne, I just had a look at your article and this is what it says.
While the groups do not see eye to eye and some have routinely bad-mouthed one another, their various analyses shared a few elements: support for Keen-Minshull’s position; anger at the counter-protesters’ wall of sound which made it impossible for the British speaker to be heard; disgust at the examples of violence that were recorded at the Auckland event (though I could find no condemnation of the the incident in which a motorcycle hit Marama Davidson on a pedestrian crossing); and fury at the police for not stepping in sooner.
You may have saw right wing extremists at Albert Park. Its an open space. Posie Parker could hardly stop them being their. Not sure how you were able to identify them. What I saw was an angry mob who intimated and were violent towards women (many older women, many lesbian).
As for Marama's incident, I condemned it. But the accounts I read and the photographic evidence seems to suggest Marama wasn't run over but was bumped by a handlebar of a bike as she stood on a road taking a selfie. I couldn't say that is definitely what happened but that is the evidence I saw produced. Surely if Marama had have been run over the police would have found and charge the culprit by now????
So, what did you see and what is just your opinion and what you thought you saw? Hard to tell with nothing to differentiate which is which. I'm surprised a moderator hasn't stepped in and admonished you.
Anyways… your comment makes little sense and I suspect quoted out of context.
"While the groups do not see eye to eye and some have routinely bad-mouthed one another, their various analyses shared a few elements: support for Keen-Minshull’s position; anger at the counter-protesters’ wall of sound which made it impossible for the British speaker to be heard; disgust at the examples of violence that were recorded at the Auckland event (though I could find no condemnation of the the incident in which a motorcycle hit Marama Davidson on a pedestrian crossing); and fury at the police for not stepping in sooner."
"We saw them on the telly. Right wing extremists in all their ugly glory. Some were at Albert Park, others were kicking up their heels close by. One on a motorbike tried to run Marama Davidson over. "
From Annes comment above.
You are saying that because there were right wingers close by (I imagine you mean Tamakis mob on Queen Street) that what? KJK shouldn't have held her event? That because we share one view with other groups that makes us right wing? That we should drop our gender critical views because some on the right agree with us? Is that what you are saying?
I have no doubt the Disinformation Project will be looking into and reporting back on Ahi Wi- Hongi's claims. Unless, of course, their's is the right sort of disinformation.
“Hattotuwa and Hannah have managed to gain a great deal of media coverage about their social media research, largely because they make quite extraordinary and colourful statements about what is going on online and it makes for good stories.
Last week, for example, Hattotuwa claimed that in the aftermath of the Posey Parker visit levels of vitriol directed at the trans community had risen to “genocidal” levels. He argued that nefarious disinformation spreaders had entered into the transgender debate spreading hate about the transgender community, and claimed that it represents the importation of content from foreign “neo-Nazi, neo-fascist, anti-Semitic networks and individuals”.
“These claims received plenty of sympathetic media coverage without question. Although commentator Thomas Cranmer said the claims about genocide were “absurd” and “outlandish”, and only serve “to highlight that the Disinformation Project lacks any perspective or objectivity”.
“The Disinformation Project’s lack of scrutiny towards government officials and medical “experts” has raised concerns about its impartiality, with some accusing the organisation of being an extension of Labour.
“The abundance of material available for scrutiny only adds to the suspicion that the project’s motives for avoiding criticism of the government may be motivated by ulterior political or ideological motives”.
Spent way too long searching and reading them and about them. I had read somewhere (unreferenced) they had been set up as by/part of the PM's office. (I forget the official title). Trying to ascertain how they are funded too.
In their own words:
"The Disinformation Project is an independent research group studying misinformation and disinformation in Aotearoa New Zealand"
"… including discourse shifts over time."
Sums up Ahi Wi- Hongi and the quickly deleted Stuff article nicely. The discourse shifted a little too rapidly for Stuff by the sounds of it.
I'm with Anker, the langauge they use, the framing of their pronouncements, the self importance… tdp (I can't take them seriously enough to capitalise their initials).
Yes, what TDP report can sound histrionic sometimes, while I find the main media interface person writes in a rather irritating tone.
However, what TDP do is plumb the sewagey depths of our social media, when we only see the surface. The Telegram channels full of hate and lies; conspiracy pile-ons like Nuremberg 2, which drew up death lists of NZ politicians, dear Dr Bloomfield, etc; posted by the same people who brought nooses to Parliament. I saw a post around then where someone said they wanted to kill and eat Neve, Ardern's daughter. Those kinds of sewers.
TDP sort through rhetoric that inspires NZ fruitloops of any persuasion to go out with a knife, a gun, a 4×4 people-smasher, or a bomb for Ernie. Even more, those ideas and memes, like 'Jabcinda', percolate into our daily discourse, shifting our broader society to a less tolerant, more polarised place. If you want hide your head in the sand, go ahead and call TDP discredited. That doesn't invalidate their work, or their messages.
Wake up to the NZ alt-right conspiracy 'rent-a-crowd' anti-vaxers. They have picked up (or more accurately, been fed) anti-trans messaging as the latest outrage of the month, amping up the violent talk.
Not helped by dear Posie Parker, who would like men who 'carry' in the US to protect their fragile womenfolk from ravening trans women perverts, by going into womens' toilets to keep them safe. With their gun(s).
"DP sort through rhetoric that inspires NZ fruitloops of any persuasion to go out with a knife, a gun, a 4×4 people-smasher, or a bomb for Ernie. Even more, those ideas and memes, like 'Jabcinda', percolate into our daily discourse, shifting our broader society to a less tolerant, more polarised place. If you want hide your head in the sand, go ahead and call TDP discredited. That doesn't invalidate their work, or their messages".
I am sure there are these people out there. But why isn't it our security service doing this work? If there are very bad actors who are a threat (by that I mean violent threat) then it is the job of our security services to monitor them. They are the professionals. To my knowledge they don't publish much about what they are up to, because they need to keep a low profile to carry out their role.
The publicity seeking DP are using their apparent finding for political purposes and to try and get contracts for funding. The fact that they engage in such hyperbolie shows them for what they are .
Sure you do, but I maintain firmly that you are misinterpreting TDP’s research.
FYI, have a look at TDP’s resources (https://thedisinfoproject.org/resources/) and you’ll see that what you alleged @ 4.3.2 is simply not at all what TDP are doing.
The other stuff in your comment is a school of red herrings.
If you don’t like the message, don’t take it out on the messenger.
I don't doubt that during the Covid pandemic and lockdown conspiracy theories were circulating, particularly amongs the anti vaxers. There have always been conspiracy theorists and most of us are capable of judging this for ourselves.
That buried in the internet there were some bad faith actors that were possible threats I wouldn't doubt either. (i think one has been jailed recently for some plot to blow something up. Good).
I don't doubt there are alt right people on telegram or 4 chan (sorry I don't really know what these things are, but have heard them referenced). I hope the security service is following them up and if it helps to use any of the research mthods that the DP use, well fine.
The problem with the DP is they make public statements alleging an outrageous amount of threat (in one of the articles I posted above it means a significant amount of NZders are engaging in hate speech.) So they are alarmist and it is both polictically and financially motivated.
And from the link above posted by Red logix 4.3 From Mana Wahine Korero.
"Māori history, culture, and knowledge (mātauranga) are carried forth orally and visually through the generations—via stories, songs, proverbs, carvings, tattoos, and performing arts. These have meaning beyond artistic expression and technical skill; they tell the genealogies of individuals, families, and tribes that have gone before, and mark great moments in their histories. There are no examples of anything resembling western ideas about “gender” in any of these cultural traditions.
Nor are there any carvings,waiata (songs), or mōteatea (poetic tales of sadness, farewell, or grieving, put to music) dedicated to such themes. Not one mōteatea references the sorrow of a child “born in the wrong body.”
When you say gender – do you mean sex, or a form of personal expression?
(And also, so what? Many traditional societies have a history of misconceptions and misunderstandings – they tend to change over time. And can often be misconstrued or reinterpreted by later revisionism.)
The question is not really about gender though, I see the expression of different identities at any time throughout history as unremarkable. Just showing that expression of difference is part of human life through the ages and often welcomed, or at least not railed against..
What the current queries are all about though is sex. Apart from very small numbers of intersex or where sex at birth is not able to be immediately observed there are only two sexes.
So the magic thinking that a man can turn into a women with the application of words, chemicals or surgery is a nonsense biologically.
"Quillette was founded in 2015 by Claire Lehmann, an Australian who in 2017 also served as an on-air contributor to the Canadian far-right, anti-Muslim network Rebel Media, where she once delivered a “report” titled “How feminism has fuelled obesity crisis.”
"Lehmann has said she started Quillette to counter what she calls “blank slate fundamentalism,” or the proposition that educational outcomes, career success, capacity for ethics, and economic class are determined more by environmental factors than genetic ones. That is to say, she believes that social status, morality or immorality, and, yes, income itself are all genetically based."
Quillette has been rated by media-rating orgs as a bit right-biased, producing articles with a range of factual integrity, ie it does little fact-checking. The Nation is an Aussie progressive opinion magazine.
I put up this info not to address the content of the article (but note the Māori organisation mentioned is closely associated with NZ Speak up for Women). I put it up so that TS readers are aware of Quillette's ideological position when they cruise the back catalogue.
"I put up this info not to address the content of the article (but note the Māori organisation mentioned is closely associated with NZ Speak up for Women). I put it up so that TS readers are aware of Quillette's ideological position when they cruise the back catalogue."
Isn't that always the case though tWiggle?
Thank you for your concern that people's critical thinking may not be impaired by source, and your attempt to rectify that.
Adults are often capable of following through on aspects in articles, to check out for themselves.
1. No Debate means the usual outlets that progressives would get published in have closed their doors. This is in part ideological, and in part fear of being cancelled. The neoliberal left's enabling of this means that they can't complain about progressives publishing in non-left media. Or they can, but it's disingenuous to do so (we don't publish you and if you get published elsewhere you will be scorned, so basically fuck off Naziterf).
2. if the genderist left won't read non-left media, they're in a bubble that will eventually implode. It's a disturbing theme across the left currently, an inability or unwillingness to tolerate dissent and difference which is why the left didn't see VFF coming and still don't have a good understanding of what is going on
2 You are 'on a hiding to nothing', as they say, in trying 'to push a barrow' that women's issues have a strong left right political component. I know from talking, reading that women's issues and this issue in particular is apolitical. In different countries the impetus is coming from different ends of the political spectrum.
So the shock, horror value in making a comment that a publication & its editorial slant come from a particular political leaning is not there.
Following on from Molly I too would welcome you responding to the queries that people may have raised or acknowledging work, in an effort to see where the arguments (and possible points of agreement) are. As an example it would have been great to have had views/answers to my queries. As it is we seem to have to go back to ground zero every time the issue is raised.
I know thus supporting my view that people supporting women's issues are likely to be issues-based rather than political-side based.
And surely that is the way we would want it to be, universal truths/needs are not or should not be the preserve only of a certain political leaning/party. If we can use our links to the political parties/side we support to achieve the ends we want that is a different matter.
1 Why are men not urged to accept and protect non conforming males into their spaces. 2 Why provisions could not be made for separate facilities to be built?
I did not answer these questions because you advocate for removal of existing access of transgender women to e.g. female toilets and women-only sessions at swimming pools, which has been going on for years in NZ with no issue. You want to segregate people that you personally feel uncomfortable around from public spaces they currently share with you.
Hence the onus is not on me to reply to your two proposed 'solutions' to what appears very strongly to be a non-existent problem in NZ. It is on you to justify your assertion that there is a problem, using solid facts and figures from our own society.
I have already covered this in my posts around the 22 April, which you appear not to have read. I'm still waiting for the hard data from NZ that proves the problem you claim: please answer MY questions from 22nd April.
I post here on this topic to provide a small balance for others who see mostly only your points of view. I post my own interpretation primarily, I am not parroting a party line. I analyse the information sources you post, because I believe that who someone's fellow travellers are says something significant about the social value of their argument.
Thanks……I was mainly after your point of view. I do not quote a party line, mine are views honed over years including formal women's studies research and with a family background in women's issues.
The point about harm though is that as perceptive and far sighted indiviudals countries we should not have to wait until the harm that has been found overseas manifests itself here in NZ before taking steps to minmise the potential. So if this is your view the real query is
how many women in NZ have to be harmed before we say the trend has been demonstrated?
or are we sensible as a country and put in palce mitigations so our female population does not need to be experimented with?
Is there some reason you are now saying transgender?
Does anyone else have a view as to these queries. tWiggles views about my views, are incorrect.
As a matter of scholarship and getting to grips with the transwomen argument for allowing male bodied people (many who do not have any steps along the way such as surgery or use of chemicals to enhance the characteristics of femaleness) into womens places and sports.
1 Why are men not urged to accept and protect non conforming males into their spaces.
2 Why provisions could not be made for separate facilities to be built?
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An effective campaign against the RMA reforms will be a nightmare for Hipkins.Graham Adams writes – After a Budget that failed to excite voters and a lacklustre party conference where his senior colleagues faintly praised him for his proletarian taste in food, the very last thing Chris Hipkins ...
Buzz from the BeehiveEducation Minister Jan Tinetti brings news of a book of rules for school board members at the same time as her own grasp of Parliament’s rule book has been brought into question. Tinetti has announced a compulsory code of conduct to “ensure school board members are ...
Photo by Branden Tate on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour from midday (my apologies for the late start today), including:the Government’s vague promise of sharing the costs of cyclone rebuilding and buy-backs ...
Last night was a big night for our most celebrated radio presenter.Mike Hosking was named the Sir Paul Holmes Broadcaster of the Year - for the third straight year - as well as Best Talk Presenter (breakfast/drive) at the New Zealand Radio awards. Do you feel proud Aotearoa?In the presenter category ...
Speak of the devil. The Australian website Crikey has just launched an investigative series about the notorious lobbying firm Crosby Textor, or C/T as it now prefers to be called. It transpires that two clients of C/T’s American subsidiary will benefit greatly from the AUKUS defence pact between the US, ...
Aotearoa’s failure to deal with the escalating pace of human-induced climate change was starkly on display yesterday. Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: Our planet is now warming and generating extreme climate events faster than our politicians, voters and institutions can agree to reduce the costs and share the burden of those events ...
It’s Friday and we’ve got a long weekend ahead of us. Here’s our latest roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. The Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt reviewed National’s new housing policy. On Tuesday Matt looked at some of the highlights from Auckland Transport’s ...
The facts are bald and simple; India is now the most populous country in the world and the fifth largest economy and is on track to becoming the fourth. Despite that, New Zealand’s relationship with India could best be described as in its infancy, even though New Zealand has ...
Open access notables Multiple studies indicate changes in the properties of Antarctic bottom water (AABW) over the past half century. These changes involve density and hence will affect both local and distant circulation of the oceans, not least overturning effects that are vital for marine biology but also climate and ...
Completed reads for May: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Jules Verne Round the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne The Secret of the Island, by Jules Verne From the Earth ...
Ben Roberts-Smith is apparently "Australia’s most decorated living soldier", having won a Victoria Cross for killing people in Afghanistan. But today, after a stupendous self-own defamation case, he's also been proven to be a war criminal who committed multiple murders: Ben Roberts-Smith VC, Australia’s most decorated living soldier, has ...
Hey Uncle Dave, My house got wrecked in the summer floods. Do you know if the government’s got any plans to help me, or are they too busy making bilingual road signs?Noah InsuranceYou picked a good day to ask, Noah, the Govt has just announced there’ll be an offer of ...
The government has looked at imposing a tax on nitrogen fertiliser, used heavily in NZ agriculture, but yesterday Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor conceded he had not convinced farming leaders to go ahead with it. ACT”s Mark Cameron claimed credit in Parliament for “killing” the plan. Both Federated ...
Are women the new Māori?Since Christopher Luxon has been leader National have shown they’re prepared to throw Māori under a bus. Be it not wanting them to have a seat at the table on water management, referring to the Treaty as a “little experiment”, or the monocultural candidate selection polices ...
Are women the new Māori?Since Christopher Luxon has been leader National have shown they’re prepared to throw Māori under a bus. Be it not wanting them to have a seat at the table on water management, referring to the Treaty as a “little experiment”, or the monocultural candidate selection polices ...
Buzz from the Beehive An email from Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta had yet to be posted on the government’s official website, when Point of Order made its morning check on our ministers and what they are (officially) up to. She was providing us with an account – a ...
Multiple reviews are examining options to address a $25M to $40M funding hole in its operating budget and a reported $300M, 70,000 hour maintenance backlog for huts, tracks and visitor assets.Thomas Cranmer writes – Following Friday’s revelation that Budget 2023has left the Department of Conservation ...
Property values fell a further 0.7% in May from April across Aotearoa, but Core Logic sees evidence in the data “the current downturn is winding up.” Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: There are fresh signs this morning the housing market-with-bits-tacked-on economy is brightening up going into winter, and just ...
This is a cross post by Malcom McCracken at Better things are possible. It was from between when National signalled their change in housing policy but before they announced it but highlights why the Medium Density Residential Standards are important. Yesterday, the leader of the National Party, Christopher Luxon, ...
Do the global climate models (GCMs) we use for describing future climate change really capture the change and variations in the region that we want to study? There are widely used tools for evaluating global climate models, such as the ESMValTool, but they don’t provide the answers that I ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). The world is getting hotter and the headlines are scary. So does climate change mean the world is about to pass ...
Politik (paywalled) reports that He waka eke noa, the farmers' scam to have the rest of us subsidise their emissions forever, so they can keep on destroying the planet, is dead: Reality appears to be about to shatter Jacinda Ardern's dream that New Zealand could lead the world in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two ministerial press statements today draw attention to the Government’s incorporation of mātauranga Māori in its science policies and programmes. One of these announced the launch of the national space policy, which will oblige our space boffins to bring indigenous knowledge into their considerations. The ...
The Stations of the Cross, as all of us know from our devout and Godly ways, is a series of fourteen stations that depict the final hours in the story of Christ our Lord - appearing before Pilate, shouldering the wooden cross, whistling the Monty Python tune, so on and ...
The Stations of the Cross, as all of us know from our devout and Godly ways, is a series of fourteen stations that depict the final hours in the story of Christ our Lord - appearing before Pilate, shouldering the wooden cross, whistling the Monty Python tune, so on and ...
The Herald reports on a trivial but telling incident from Parliament: Labour Cabinet Minister Kiri Allan read the wrong speech at the third reading of a freedom camping bill in Parliament last night. She re-read almost word for word a speech given at the Self-contained Motor Vehicles Legislation bill’s ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Very well-intentioned politicians, judges and others have taken New Zealand down into a Treaty rabbit hole, from which few know how to exit without creating more social divisions. The modern interpretations of the Maori version of Treaty have set aside a common understanding of ...
It’s like deja-vu all over again. House prices are primed to surge 10-20% soon after any clear National-ACT win on October 14. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: There are increasing signs in economists’ forecasts, auction clearance rates, migration rates, divergent tax policies and house building rates that a clear ...
I did something yesterday that I hadn’t done in ages. Watch Oral Questions in parliament. I’m not sure what happened in all the episodes I missed, but nothing much seemed to have changed.For those unfamiliar, Question Time takes place in parliament at 2pm each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the ...
Slow Learner: Effective leaders develop a political “muscle memory” of their own. The National Party should get one.SPEAKING IN PUBLIC tops most people’s list of fearful situations. There are some careers, however, for which public fluency is a non-negotiable pre-requisite. There’s little point in pursuing an acting career, for example, ...
Reality appears to be about to shatter Jacinda Ardern’s dream that New Zealand could lead the world in showing how to deal with farm emissions. The Government is facing a breakdown in negotiations over its much-vaunted He Waka Eke Noa deal with farmers to price greenhouse gas emissions and ...
Hi,Webworm won a Voyager media award over the weekend for “Best Team Investigation”! This would not have been possible without readers. Without you. Thank you.Also, there’s a new Flightless Bird out today, where I look at drug rehab clinics in Florida. I talk to three former addicts, and their stories ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive The Government is coy about some aspects of its relationship with China – and with the United States. Earlier this month, the PM spent a hectic 23 hours in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, where he responded to the superpower security deal just ...
What do Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and your daily newspaper all have in common? They all tell tales of imaginary worlds.In Game of Thrones the honourable Stark family find themselves in deadly conflict with the ruthless House of Lannister.In the NZ Herald the Rt Hon Chris Hipkins finds himself ...
What do Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and your daily newspaper all have in common? They all tell tales of imaginary worlds.In Game of Thrones the honourable Stark family find themselves in deadly conflict with the ruthless House of Lannister.In the NZ Herald the Rt Hon Chris Hipkins finds himself ...
In 2022 the government announced a periodic review of the Intelligence and Security Act, the legislation governing New Zealand's spies. Yesterday the review presented its report, Taumaru: Protecting Aotearoa New Zealand as a Free, Open and Democratic Society. Its a chunky read, and I'm not finished yet, but from the ...
The Charities Services decision to require the Waipareira Trust to claw back $385,000 of interest-free loans from John Tamihere brings renewed attention to the links between Whānau Ora and the Trust.Thomas Cranmer writes – Revelations earlier this month in the Herald that the social services charity Waipareira ...
National has developed a novel election strategy. It involves being both for and against almost every issue that comes down the pike. The use of te reo on public signage? Recently National Party leader Christopher Luxon came out against the bi-lingual use of te reo in the naming of government ...
Anti-densification residents’ and ratepayers’ groups are cock-a-hoop over National’s partial backflip on MDRS over the weekend and have ramped up their campaigns to stop densification in their areas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: NIMBY groups are cock-a-hoop this morning, calling on councils and the Government to completely abandon the MDRS housing ...
It’s been two months but today the Auckland Transport board meet for again. There’s a lot on the agenda so I can’t cover it all in this post but here are some of the highlights from their regular board papers. The open session starts at 9am and can be watched on ...
This story by Aaron Cantú was originally published in Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Monic Uriarte was thrilled to get approved for an affordable apartment in Los Angeles’ University Park, close to USC. But soon after she and her ...
This incomplete picture speaks of everything we love most about a summer holiday in Aotearoa: The bach, the beach, the barbecue, the sand, the christmas ham sandwiches, the serenity.We love it, don’t we, Aotearoa? Getting away to somewhere warm and quiet with a high tide and a hammock. And if ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers who took time out from the Labour Party congress to attend to portfolio duties were focused largely on promoting the country’s interests overseas. The statements with the widest implications dealt with: Trade – Damien O’Connor joined ministerial representatives at a meeting in Detroit, USA, ...
In the last year of a second term in government. the election outcome shouldn’t even be close. All that’s required for a competent Opposition to be streets ahead in the polls, is an ability to look like a credible government-in-waiting. Instead, we’ve got a very tight contest. There’s a reason ...
The Herald reports that WINZ debt has reached the staggering total of $2.4 billion, with the usual racism and sexism in who owes and how much they pay: Anti-poverty groups say the poorest Kiwis are caught in a debt trap as the total amount of money owed to the ...
There was a poll last week which asked if now was the right time for a tax cut. Which is quite an odd thing to ask really, don’t you think?We’ve got to pay back the money used to keep paying people and stop businesses going under during the pandemic. Our ...
The Treasury released its budget economic forecasts. What do they say about the economy over the next four months?Brian Easton writes – Let me begin me with an irritation. One post-budget headline was ‘Treasury optimistic over recession risk in Budget 2023‘. Treasury being optimistic is almost an ...
As a politician swallowing a rat under a very public spotlight, Chris Bishop gave a spirited and relatively smooth account of himself yesterday. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Chris Bishop has detailed National’s new housing policy for Election 2023 that confirms a National Government would not force councils ...
After signalling it a week ago, yesterday National launched their new housing policy which abandons their support for the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) that they had worked with the government to deliver back in 2021 and shifts the focus to more sprawl. Overall there are three key areas National ...
The audacity of National’s “u-turn” over housing intensification is an extraordinary slap in the face for Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis. If it does nothing else, it raises questions about their political judgement, not for the first time.. Some in the Caucus have still not forgiven them for their ...
As the general election approaches, the Association of Former Members of the Parliament of New Zealand has organised an essay competition to to foster democracy. Secondary school students are being challenged to identify the important elements of a successful democracy, explain their value and consider whether they can be improved ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: For paying subscribers, here's my pick of the week’s top six news developments, quotes and charts of the week with my personal reflections, plus my suggestions for Sunday reading and listening. There’s also one fun thing. In summary this week, my six takeaways were:Christopher ...
With Open Arms: Is it at all reasonable to suppose that a colonial society in which whites traditionally occupied all the upper rungs of the ethnic hierarchy, and where the colonised were relegated to the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, will respond positively to a concerted indigenous push from below, ...
Hi,Just a quick online-only update that Webworm won “Best Team Investigation” last night at the Voyagers.This means a lot, especially considering we were up against giant newsrooms like Stuff and TVNZ:WINNER: David Farrier and Hayden Donnell | Webworm – The Downward Spiral of Arise ChurchJUDGES: Alan Sunderland and Ali Ikram“This ...
May 28, 2025.Ladies and gentlemen. It’s a beautiful clear morning here in Auckland City. We’re heading for a maximum temperature of 14 degrees, and the local time is now 10:30am. Please remain seated if you’d like to, or get up and walk around the plane if you prefer. New regulations ...
Somebody has made a new survey and it tells us this little waterlogged nation of ours is rocketing up the misery charts. Maybe they took it before the sun came back out.Or maybe they took it any time in the last two years. Because negativity is quite surely the new ...
The appointment of Elizabeth Longworth as Chair of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO was one of just two press statements on the government’s official website today. Perhaps that’s because ministers have been busy preparing speeches for the Labour Party faithful who have gathered in Wellington for the party’s ...
Focussed immigration has always been essential to our future, but New Zealanders need to be aware of the immediate dire situation our government is putting us in with a predicted record of one hundred thousand new immigrants moving to New Zealand in this year alone. That means we will have ...
Today, President of Te Pāti Māori, John Tamihere has confirmed that Heather Te-Au Skipworth will stand for Te Pāti Māori in the Tukituki electorate this election. ...
During New Zealand First coalition negotiations our policy was to train and resource 1800 new frontline police. We secured this coalition policy win to ensure our streets had a police force that could tackle crime - after years of neglect. Remember those previous nine years of neglect saw a ‘tag ...
Katie Kenny from Stuff published an article today with a lazy attempt at so-called ‘fact checking’ my recent comments on the World Health Organisation’s concerning new regulations being developed. What is most surprising is that throughout this entire ‘fact checking’ process, Kenny never once rang me asking for my side ...
The National Party has released another confused and rushed policy that will only further worsen the inequality that is driven by unaffordable housing. ...
Welcome to sunny and calm Wellington, which I know those of you who are visiting would of course expect to be the case. It’s been a busy week since we put forward the 2023 Budget. Labour MPs have been out across the motu giving the good oil on the Budget. ...
Kia orana, Talofa lava, Mālo e lelei, Taloha ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Noa’ia e mauri, Ni sa bula vinaka, Kia ora, Tena Koutou Katoa. Labour Party President Jill Day, Prime Minister Hipkins, Party faithful, delegates and comrades, whānau and friends, it’s a privilege to be here today. I begin my ...
One of my kaumātua up North stood before the Waitangi Tribunal and said: ‘He aha kē ahau, te tangata kore hara i mua i te Atua, e tu nei kia whakawaatia e koe, te tangata tāhae, te tangata hara, te tangata kore tikanga?Ko koe kē te tika, kia tū ...
New Zealanders will be highly concerned that the World Health Organisation proposes to effectively take control of independent decision making away from sovereign countries and place control with the Director General. W.H.O International Health Regulations on future outbreaks of disease aim to give the Director General extraordinary and wide-sweeping powers. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take responsibility for reducing inflation by taxing wealth instead of leaving RBNZ to continue hiking the Official Cash Rate. ...
The Green Party has released its list of candidates for the 2023 election. With a mix of familiar faces, fresh new talent, and strong tangata whenua voices, this exceptional group of candidates are ready to set the direction of the next Government. ...
Thank you for your invitation to be here, after yesterday's budget, and for the opportunity to talk with you. In the economic and social turmoil following the arrival of COVID 19 in New Zealand many concerns emerged. How would we keep our economy going and maintain our exports which are ...
At the heart of Budget 2023 is a cost of living package, designed to ease the pressure on New Zealanders in the face of global inflation and the challenges of rebuilding from extreme weather events. It provides practical cost of living relief across some of the core expenses facing Kiwis ...
A long standing Green Party policy has been extended yet again in this year’s Budget. This will deliver warmer homes for thousands of people, lower power bills, and cut climate pollution. ...
The Green Party is fully on board with free bus and train travel for under 12s and half price travel for under 25s - next stop, free travel for all under 18s, students, and apprentices. ...
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister announced a billion dollar flood and cyclone recovery package as part of Budget 2023. This is about doing the basics - repairing and rebuilding what has been damaged and making smart investments, including $100 million of protection funding to ensure future events don’t cause ...
New Zealand’s most recent defence assessment identified climate change and geostrategic competition as the two greatest security challenges to our place in the South Pacific. To the first issue, partners engaging and re-engaging with Pacific Island Countries are finding that climate change is a security and existential threat in our ...
The government is continuing to support rangatahi in providing more funding into Maori Trades training and new He Poutama Rangatahi programmes across Aotearoa. “We’re backing 30 new by Māori for Māori Kaupapa employment and training programmes, which will help iwi into sustainable employment or progress within their chosen careers” says ...
Murihiku Marae was officially reopened today, setting a gold standard in sustainable building practices as well as social outcomes for the people of Waihōpai Invercargill, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan says. “The marae has been a central hub for this community since the 1980’s. With the support of $9.65 million ...
The first major public housing development in Whangārei for decades has reached completion, with 37 new homes opened in the suburb of Maunu today. The project on Tapatahi Crescent and Puriri Park Road, consists of 15 one-bedroom, 4 two-bedroom, 7 three-bedroom, 8 four-bedroom and 3 five-bedroom homes, as well as ...
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damen O’Connor will depart tomorrow for London to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ Meeting and then to Paris to vice-chair the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. “My travel to the United Kingdom is well-timed, with the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (UK FTA) ...
The Fuel Industry (Improving Fuel Resilience) Amendment Bill would: boost New Zealand’s fuel supply resilience and economic security enable the minimum stockholding obligation regulations to be adapted as the energy and transport environment evolves. “Last November, I announced a six-point plan to improve the resiliency of our fuel supply from ...
The Government is making sure those on low incomes will no longer have to wait five weeks to get the minimum weekly rate of ACC, and improving the data collected to make the system fairer, Minister for ACC Peeni Henare said today. The Accident Compensation (Access Reporting and Other Matters) ...
A compulsory code of conduct will ensure school board members are crystal clear on their responsibilities and expected standard of behaviour, Minister of Education Jan Tinetti said. It’s the first time a compulsory code of conduct has been published for state and state-integrated school boards and comes into effect on ...
Tena koutou katoa and thank you, Mayor Nadine Taylor, for your welcome to Marlborough. Thanks also Doug Saunders-Loder and all of you for inviting me to your annual conference. As you might know, I’m quite new to this job – and I’m particularly pleased that the first organisation I’m giving a ...
The Government will enter into a funding arrangement with councils in cyclone and flood affected regions to support them to offer a voluntary buyout for owners of Category 3 designated residential properties. It will also co-fund work needed to protect Category 2 designated properties. “From the beginning of this process ...
The Government has announced changes to strengthen requirements in venues with pokie (gambling) machines will come into effect from 15 June. “Pokies are one of the most harmful forms of gambling. They can have a detrimental impact on individuals, their friends, whānau and communities,” Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds said. ...
The total Police workforce is now the largest it has ever been. Police constabulary stands at 10,700 officers – an increase of 21% since 2017 Māori officers have increased 40%, Pasifika 83%, Asian 157%, Women 61% Every district has got more Police under this Government The Government has delivered on ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Nanaia Mahuta met with Korea President Yoon, as well as Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna, during her recent visit to Korea. “It was an honour to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the first Korea – Pacific Leaders’ Summit. We discussed Pacific ambitions under the ...
The Government’s Research and Development Tax Incentive has supported more than $2 billion of New Zealand business innovation – an increase of around $1 billion in less than nine months. "Research and innovation are essential in helping us meet the biggest challenges and seize opportunities facing New Zealand. It’s fantastic ...
The next ‘giant leap’ in New Zealand’s space journey has been taken today with the launch of the National Space Policy, Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds announced. “Our space sector is growing rapidly. Each year New Zealand is becoming a more and more attractive place for launches, manufacturing space-related technology ...
A new Year 7-13 designated character wharekura will be built in Pāpāmoa, Associate Minister of Education Kelvin Davis has announced. The wharekura will focus on science, mathematics and creative technologies while connecting ākonga to the whakapapa of the area. The decision follows an application by the Ngā Pōtiki ā Tamapahore ...
Protecting the environment by establishing a stronger, more consistent system for freedom camping Supporting councils to better manage freedom camping in their region and reduce the financial and social impacts on communities Ensuring that self-contained vehicle owners have time to prepare for the new system The Self-Contained Motor Vehicle ...
A new law passed last night could see up to 25 percent of Family Court judges’ workload freed up in order to reduce delays, Minister of Justice Kiri Allan said. The Family Court (Family Court Associates) Legislation Bill will establish a new role known as the Family Court Associate. The ...
New Zealand businesses will begin reaping the rewards of our gold-standard free trade agreement with the United Kingdom (UK FTA) from today. “The New Zealand UK FTA enters into force from today, and is one of the seven new or upgraded Free Trade Agreements negotiated by Labour to date,” Prime ...
The Government will reform outdated surrogacy laws to improve the experiences of children, surrogates, and the growing number of families formed through surrogacy, by adopting Labour MP Tāmati Coffey’s Member’s Bill as a Government Bill, Minister Kiri Allan has announced. “Surrogacy has become an established method of forming a family ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little departs for Singapore tomorrow to attend the 20th annual Shangri-La Dialogue for Defence Ministers from the Indo-Pacific region. “Shangri-La brings together many countries to speak frankly and express views about defence issues that could affect us all,” Andrew Little said. “New Zealand is a long-standing participant ...
Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall and the Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang met in Wellington today and affirmed the two countries’ long-standing science relationship. Minister Wang was in New Zealand for the 6th New Zealand-China Joint Commission Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation. Following ...
5 percent uplift clearer and simpler to navigate Domestic productions can access more funding sources 20 percent rebate confirmed for post-production, digital and visual effects Qualifying expenditure for post-production, digital and visual effects rebate dropped to $250,000 to encourage more smaller productions The Government is making it easier for the ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs (Pacific Region) Carmel Sepuloni will represent New Zealand at Samoa’s 61st Anniversary of Independence commemorations in Apia. “Aotearoa New Zealand is pleased to share in this significant occasion, alongside other invited Pacific leaders, and congratulates Samoa on the milestone of 61 ...
The Government is continuing to support retailers with additional funding for the highly popular Fog Cannon Subsidy Scheme, Police and Small Business Minister Ginny Andersen announced today. “The Government is committed to improving retailers’ safety,” Ginny Andersen said. “I’ve seen first-hand the difference fog cannons are making. Not only do ...
The Government has received the first independent review of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says. The review, considered by the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, was presented to the House of Representatives today. “Ensuring the safety and security of New Zealanders is of the utmost ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has expressed condolences on behalf of New Zealand to the Kingdom of Tonga following the death of Her Royal Highness Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu Fotofili. “New Zealand sends it’s heartfelt condolences to the people of Tonga, and to His Majesty King Tupou VI at this time ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has expressed condolences on behalf of New Zealand to the Kingdom of Tonga following the death of Her Royal Highness Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu Fotofili. “New Zealand sends it’s heartfelt condolences to the people of Tonga, and to His Majesty King Tupou VI at this time ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little and Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta have today announced the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) deployment to Solomon Islands, as part of the regionally-led Solomon Islands International Assistance Force (SIAF). “Aotearoa New Zealand has a long history of working alongside the Royal Solomon ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta will travel to the Republic of Korea today to attend the Korea–Pacific Leaders’ Summit in Seoul and Busan. “Korea is an important partner for Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific region. I am eager for the opportunity to meet and discuss issues that matter to our ...
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor joined ministerial representatives at a meeting in Detroit, USA today to announce substantial conclusion of negotiations of a new regional supply chains agreement among 14 Indo-Pacific countries. The Supply Chains agreement is one of four pillars being negotiated within the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework ...
Our most spoken Pacific language is taking centre stage this week with Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa – Samoa Language Week kicking off around the country. “Understanding and using the Samoan language across our nation is vital to its survival,” Barbara Edmonds said. “The Samoan population in New Zealand are ...
Over 90 per cent of New Zealanders are expected to receive this year’s nationwide test of the Emergency Mobile Alert system tonight between 6-7pm. “Emergency Mobile Alert is a tool that can alert people when their life, health, or property, is in danger,” Kieran McAnulty said. “The annual nationwide test ...
ENGLISH: Whakatōhea and the Crown sign Deed of Settlement A Deed of Settlement has been signed between Whakatōhea and the Crown, 183 years to the day since Whakatōhea rangatira signed the Treaty of Waitangi, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little has announced. Whakatōhea is an iwi based in ...
Elizabeth Longworth has been appointed as the Chair of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Associate Minister of Education Jo Luxton announced today. UNESCO is the United Nations agency responsible for promoting cooperative action among member states in the areas of education, science, culture, social science (including peace and ...
Tourism and hospitality employer accreditation scheme to recognise quality employers Better education and career opportunities in tourism Cultural competency to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces Innovation and technology acceleration to drive satisfying, skilled jobs Strengthening our tourism workers and supporting them into good career pathways, pay and working conditions ...
Tourism and hospitality employer accreditation scheme to recognise quality employers Better education and career opportunities in tourism Cultural competency to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces Innovation and technology acceleration to drive satisfying, skilled jobs Strengthening our tourism workers and supporting them into good career pathways, pay and working conditions ...
Greater access to primary care, including 193 more front line clinical staff More hauora services and increased mental health support Boost for maternity and early years programmes Funding for cancers, HIV and longer term conditions Greater access to primary care, improved maternity care and mental health support are ...
Greater access to primary care, including 193 more front line clinical staff More hauora services and increased mental health support Boost for maternity and early years programmes Funding for cancers, HIV and longer term conditions Greater access to primary care, improved maternity care and mental health support are ...
The Government continues progress on the survivor-led independent redress system for historic abuse in care, with the announcement of the design and advisory group members today. “The main recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Abuse in Care interim redress report was for a survivor-led independent redress system, and the ...
RNZ Pacific Transparency International Papua New Guinea has welcomed the conviction of lawyer Paul Paraka as the police confirm they are widening the investigation into the fraud case. The NGO admits the depths of Paraka’s activities, revealed by the case, are very worrying. Paraka, who had operated his own eponymous ...
In June 1997, a new reality TV juggernaut arrived on New Zealand screens. Tara Ward and Alex Casey look back on a quarter-century of Treasure Island mayhem. Twenty-six years ago this month, we watched 12 fresh-faced New Zealanders arrive on a Fijian beach with nothing but their hopes and dreams ...
Governments around the world are searching for how to fix housing affordability, but the solutions will have to be local and community based, writes Nicole Gurran of the University of SydneyOpinion: From Sydney to San Francisco, the housing affordability crisis is affecting communities across the world. Younger generations priced out of ...
A lack of female football stars in the media didn't stop Claudia Bunge on her journey to the top; now the Football Fern hopes a new campaign helps girls see what they can become The first time Claudia Bunge watched a women’s football game, it featured some of the Football Ferns she now ...
Councillors still weighing up their options before next week’s budget vote say there has been insufficient information, communication and time to assess the consequences of a full selldown of airport shares Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is famous for his straight to the bone style of communication, but Thursday’s budget announcement ...
Love, Instagram, and a new bed, from a dazzling new short story collection Alice had wanted a heart-shaped bed since she was sixteen, which was when she had started wanting most of the things she wanted now. She had imagined she would meet some Lolita-loving, Sugar Daddy type who ...
Every day, pets are being removed from domestic violence situations around the country. Alex Casey talks to one of the workers on the front line. This story contains discussion of domestic violence and emotional abuse, please take care.Alice Hayward has never been busier. As a caseworker for Pet Refuge, ...
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The Finns can do it – and it saves money – so, let us hear no more neoliberal excuses.
How Finland Found A Solution To Homelessness – YouTube
Apparently, in Finland, a lot of the land is state owned; perhaps we should nationalize a lot of land in NZ. Also, the implementation of such policies takes many years, suggesting that a bi-partisan political approach would be needed.
A bi-partisan approach would require a reawakening of social responsibility among the Gnats – this is not to be expected while covert neoliberals remain within Labour, poisoning the well.
True that.
Nationals political treatment of education, health and infrastructure rather than just fund it as population dictates puts us where we are.
Key and blinglish did a lot of damage by not continuing to build and spend. Playing politics with kids futures, kiwis health, RONS and a general hatred of public transport etc.
Interesting times.
National-Labour unity has been done before on multiple major legislative proposals, including this term and previous term.
No reason it couldn't happen, none at all.
Sure, all things are possible in Heaven and earth.
But little good will come of Labour, and none whatsoever of the current Gnats.
NZ needs something a bit more progressive and forward-looking than Brownlean motion.
Housing Supply Bill December 2021, both sides of House voted support.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/bill-boost-housing-supply-passes
Emissions Trading Reform Bill May 2022, both sides of the house voted support.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300583605/climate-change-national-endorses-governments-carbon-budgets-act-opposes
Both were groundbreaking legislation. Just takes dogged officials and skilled politicians.
Emmissions trading of course, is a fraud – greenwashing inaction. Tesla might look on paper like a greenish enterprise, but every carbon credit they earn offsets carbon production elsewhere. The net result of all the subsidies is nothing.
And where are the commensurate outcomes? Lord knows they collaborated on the creation of the housing crisis for long enough.
What do we have to do to get it through their thick skulls that they are paid to take the country forward, not chase their personal rainbows or line their pockets.
We are a nation of sheep led by goats and monkeys.
We currently have about 30% of New Zealand land owned by the State.
Just how much more would you think was necessary to accomplish your aims?
Ihumatao land was supposed to be used for housing. Protestors occupied it of course and that stopped anything happening at the time. Have things changed or is the land still bare?
Apparently it may take another 5 years to have any sort of outcome
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ihumatao-group-appointed-soon-but-decision-on-lands-future-could-take-five-years/A4J4V336BZ7VCGZGRG6E7QY4WM/
Well, at a guess, the same amount we had before Roger Douglas's great leap backward set us on the path to poverty, ignorance, and entrenched political corruption.
The last is the kicker. The current government spent $50 million not building a cycle bridge – Sochi-level corruption – yet no-one has been incarcerated for it. I imagine National colludes because their own corruption in the Christchurch rebuild will not bear scrutiny.
A very large chunk of that will be the Conservation Estate – generally not suitable for housing at all.
If we want to emulate Finland we would need to locate the necessary housing in towns and cities.
I am not greatly interested in this topic but it appears that there is a great deal of publicly owned land within the Auckland area.
If this linked story is accurate there are 93,500 ha of publicly owned land and of that 41,500 ha is publicly owned open space.
The larger figure is described as "That doesn't include roads, railway lines or waterways. It does include schools, hospitals, parks, Housing New Zealand holdings and community halls used traditionally by groups who often don't realise they don't own the land they meet on"
The smaller amount is described as being open space though and there must surely be a reasonable amount that could be used for housing.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/auckland-mapped-every-pocket-of-public-land-now-identified#:~:text=The%20Crown%20owns%2027%20percent,local%20government%20owns%2040%20percent.
Any time I have encountered Finnish people in my working life, I've been impressed. Well educated, pragmatic people who get shit done.
There is a lot to like about this pathway to address homelessness. But then again NZ has some distinct aspects that we'd need to consider. One is that our building industry struggles with cost, the other is that if you live in Australia you can see plenty of good examples of housing densification that NZ could do a lot more of.
The other element of concern would be how to manage the impact of gangs and criminality infiltrating these units.
It looks as though a large chunk of the government-owned land in Finland is also conservation estate – so probably comparable to NZ.
https://www.metsa.fi/en/lands-and-waters/state-owned-areas/
It appears as though their Ministry of housing, directly subsidises the building of rental housing. Which is definitely an interesting approach (though probably anathema to those lefties who think that private enterprise has no place in housing)
https://ym.fi/en/rented-housing
Yes – when we first started building to rent 20+ years ago we approached the then HNZ in Porirua for some guidance, because according to their website at the time there was some sort of similar pathway available. I forget the exact details, but it offered a guaranteed contract for a minimum of 10 years. The incentive was that HNZ would not only offer market rent, no management fee, full maintenance and a renovation package back to original standard on handing back to the owner.
Given we were also build to a Universal Access standard, the person we spoke to was initially very encouraging, but for reasons that have slipped off into the mists of memory, we never finished up pursuing it. I got the impression they were either not quite ready – or there was no reality behind it. I could be wrong.
Or maybe we did not quite fit their desired profile; but my point is that someone did a bunch of work on this already in NZ. Not sure what became of it.
Approx 1/3 of New Zealand is State owned. Approx 8 million hectares.
this is fascinating. A tiktoker says her Irish family say the English ate her ancestors, and she thinks it's probably literally true.
https://twitter.com/hatpinwoman/status/1655194238890520576
One of the replies,
https://twitter.com/lascapigliata8/status/1655218862114086915
Is the internet/social media creating belief based social constructs that are akin to religion except they are created very fast and there are many, many of them.
I'll add that I think there are religious people who are rational and know how to use google to fact check things, and there are religious people who hold some out there beliefs and don't seem to be able to tell the difference between metaphor and literality.
To Weka at 2 : Agree with your observation that some cannot differentiate between metaphor and literality, and have long thought this fact predominates in contemporary global problems, emphasising the need for education that includes e.g. critical thinking and world history rather than patriotic.
the critical thinking part is really hard to address, because. you need to have some degree of critical thinking to understand where the limits on your critical thinking are. I agree education would make the difference. Not sure how that could be done. Government probably can't touch it directly, maybe NGOs?
to weka at 2.1.1 : I was envisaging an ideal world scene with optimal universal access to education. Dreams don't cost and if the huge global wealth presently squandered in war games was diverted to providing higher human needs (education being specific to this column), wonders could be achieved .
integrating into the education system shouldn't be that hard if the will was there. I was thinking more about those outside of the education system and how to reach them.
More allegoric, representing through fiction, than metaphoric, comparing unrelated things. One person's inability to differentiate doesn't alter the truth of the allegory.
thanks, yes allegoric is better.
I wish it were one person's inability instead of whole swathes of people. The English obviously did eat the Irish, just not in the way she meant. Truth among humans relies heavily on being able to parse and communicate historical reality. Even allowing for different interpretations there are still facts and some ways of relating to them are better than others.
Indeed. The inability to identify allegory is quite something.
lol, nice one.
To joe90 at 2.2 : agree
Our tūī have arrived. They're three weeks late so I've not begun a count, but they're here, and they're warbling up a storm.
btw, I thought the welcome swallows had buggered off after their chicks fledged but they've decided to use the back porch as a winter roosting spot.
Thanks for the guano, guys.
The swallows will probably keep coming back and won't be persuaded to leave. Our carport has been guano city for a few years. The upside is going into the garage at night and seeing 3-4 newly fledged swallows fast asleep and perched on the ledge just above my head. Nothing seems to disturb them – flashing lights, banging doors or rubbish bin lids clattering.
I'm going to do a shameless topping on that!
From my desk, as I type, pink and grey galahs lined up on a branch, black cockatoos hooning about, a couple of pelicans crusing, a mass of black sheerwaters fishing, and a pair of rainbow lorikeets feeding their fledglings.
https://www.speakupforwomen.nz/post/responses-to-media-questions
for anyone interested in knowing what Speak up for Women are all about (especially with the latest attempt by Stuff and the disinformation project to associate them with Alt right, Nazis etc, this is well worth a read.
It is extremely well written and very clear about where SUFW stand
yes but I suspect it will not be read/understood by the trans 'masses'…too well written, calm knowledgeable and nuanced. However good resource for others to have.
Aftern the unbalanced, once over lightly effort by Stuff on 6/5 I have decided to forego my sub to The Post.
I suddenly thought on Saturday 'this is not difficult' ie to get balance, write a balanced story and I fail to see why I should actually pay for dis/misinformation. I had already made the move to getting Saturday's edition only as it has had less of a tabloid feel than during the week. I have had a continuous sub to both Wellington dailies since October 1973, latterly just Saturdays.
Vive la change!
Good on you Shanreagh. Are you going to let them know?
Oh yes!
Brilliant. Way to go Shanreagh!
Thanks Anker
How anyone could characterise that eminently sensible and considered response as hate speech and an attempt to erase transpeople is unfathomable
Utterly ridiculous
It is known as "transperbole" and there is a lot of it about. Any failure to afford them the "validation" they desire is seen as an attack on their "right to exist".
For a local example – see this one.
kind of supports their point. If you are talking about trans people as a class all wanting validation and seeing failure in that as an attack on their right to exist, it comes across as bigoted, thus never speaking up for the humanity of trans people.
Well yes and no Weka.
I don't think it is a failure to want validation at all. But it seems for some trans people unless you actively validate their gender identity (think pro nouns, affirming any stereotypical female behaviour the trans women has engaged with and even endorsing their belief that they are a woman) they feel that you are intent on annihilating them and wish for them not to exist. IMO such an extreme need to external validation is unhealthy as it is in anyone who needs constant validation and is unable to tolerate it if they don't get it. By this I mean any non trans person who requires such an extreme amount of validation.
BTW when I say unhealthy it isn't meant as a judgement. Maybe a better word would be extremely unhelpful.
I am sure not all trans people want such a high degree of validation. I think SUFW make that point i.e that some trans people.
Humanity goes both ways. If trans people were concerned about the humanity of women and/or the humanity of lesbians they would not be demanding that they be admitted to all our services and spaces – literally and figuratively.
I have known trans people for decades and one of the things I find most jarring is how different todays "trans rights activists" are from the trans people of the past. I used to collect the key to a lesbian club I helped to run in Wellington about 50 years ago from Carmen's Coffee Bar. Carmen sublet us the premises and at the end of the night we had to take the key back and pay the rent. There were no conflicts between the lesbian community and the trans communities then – they were same sex attracted and very much part of the Gay community.
These days one cannot have a club for lesbians, or a lesbian dating service without being required to admit any man who opens his mouth and utters the magical incantation "I identify as". Our sexuality is described as a "genital fetish" which we should overcome in order to validate the requirements of autogynephiliac men.
Things have changed.
My problem is with you arguing as if all trans people believe the same ideology and act accordingly. They don't. It's easy enough to talk about TRAs instead, but when you talk about trans this and trans that, it's enabling bigotry.
Speaking of transperbole, I have a plump friend who has chosen to identify as slim, they are trans-slender.
I'm aware this has done the rounds on the web, but since I heard it, I can't get it out of my head.
On a different note – and apols if someone has already referenced this – I found this article tackling yet another aspect of this debate.
https://quillette.com/2023/05/04/fictionalizing-indigenous-history-in-the-name-of-gender-activism/
Its a great article Red Logix.
And one of the inconvenient truths for people trying to smear Kellie Jay and the Let Women Speak event as Alt Right/Nazi Aligned is that Mana Wahine Korero were one of two groups who invited and hosted Kelly Jay to NZ. Doesn't quite fit does it that a Maori Womens group would be so involved in bringing a Nazi to NZ
Big problem there Anker. Nobody with journalistic integrity accused Posie Parker (or whatever her name was but its the one she chose for her public personna) of being a Nazi. What they did note is that she attracted such people to her cause which, quite rightly, caused many to question the validity of her campaign. Big difference.
If you and your friends want people to take you seriously, then don't allow extremists to align themselves with your cause.
With all due respect Anne, your sentence "nobody with journalistic integrity accused Posie Parker of being a Nazi" needs challenging.
Of course we could debate which journalists in NZ have integrity.
But the enclosed article I think best describes the role the NZ media had in vilifying and accsuing. Parker of being alt right/white supremicist/Nazi.
https://quillette.com/2023/05/04/the-auckland-mobbing-of-kellie-jay-keen-was-fuelled-by-media-peddled-misinformation/
It is a very thorough review of the NZ medias narrative that Parker was associated with the far right. Of course one of the most absurb of all the media claims was Three News, who blacked out what they claimed was Parker giving a white supremicist signal on a video clip ("too blah, blah blah to show you)". But once the clip was no longer blacked out, it was plan to see Parker was playing with her jersy zipper. After that pics circulated on the internet of a range of people giving the white supremiscist signal (this included Jacinda Ardern, and Shaneel Lal himself. Of course Parker wasn't even giving it)
There are no Nazis associated with any of the gender critical causes I know, including Parkers. And I am involved in many GC networks in NZ.
You have fallen for the smear Anne
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/28-03-2023/how-nz-fringe-groups-latched-on-to-the-posie-parker-controversy
Took me 10secs to find. You are in denial Anker. We saw them on the telly. Right wing extremists in all their ugly glory. Some were at Albert Park, others were kicking up their heels close by. One on a motorbike tried to run Marama Davidson over. Yet Posie and co. seemed quite happy to have them attach themselves to her campaign. Very bad look.
Not taking part in this one eyed debate apart from this one-off. Off to bed to read a good John Le Carré. Much more illuminating.
Enjoy Anne
love JLC.
Anne, given your oft-repeated experience of vilification at work (which sounds horrendous, and even more so, because it is believable), I would expect some form of due diligence and reservation at believing everything that is spoon-fed to you about others.
However, if John Le Carré is where you want to spend your time, I'm not going to stop you.
I leave these alternate links for others who might want to know more before taking such a strong position.
A couple of local blog articles:
https://cranmer.substack.com/p/violent-suppression-of-free-speech?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
https://plainsight.nz/posie-parker-and-the-problem-of-inconvenient-truths/
I have been thinking Molly that all the women who want to give away women only spaces could be asked to support changing mens toilets and change rooms to unisex. That way these women who are so keen to give our spaces away to support transwomen, could support them by using the mens (unisex).
The women's only remain women's only for women and girls.
Interested to know what women who trumpet the trans cause think of that as a solution?
Well Anne, I just had a look at your article and this is what it says.
While the groups do not see eye to eye and some have routinely bad-mouthed one another, their various analyses shared a few elements: support for Keen-Minshull’s position; anger at the counter-protesters’ wall of sound which made it impossible for the British speaker to be heard; disgust at the examples of violence that were recorded at the Auckland event (though I could find no condemnation of the the incident in which a motorcycle hit Marama Davidson on a pedestrian crossing); and fury at the police for not stepping in sooner.
You may have saw right wing extremists at Albert Park. Its an open space. Posie Parker could hardly stop them being their. Not sure how you were able to identify them. What I saw was an angry mob who intimated and were violent towards women (many older women, many lesbian).
As for Marama's incident, I condemned it. But the accounts I read and the photographic evidence seems to suggest Marama wasn't run over but was bumped by a handlebar of a bike as she stood on a road taking a selfie. I couldn't say that is definitely what happened but that is the evidence I saw produced. Surely if Marama had have been run over the police would have found and charge the culprit by now????
So, what did you see and what is just your opinion and what you thought you saw? Hard to tell with nothing to differentiate which is which. I'm surprised a moderator hasn't stepped in and admonished you.
Anyways… your comment makes little sense and I suspect quoted out of context.
I can't easily tell which are your words and which are quotes. Please make quotes clear in future.
"While the groups do not see eye to eye and some have routinely bad-mouthed one another, their various analyses shared a few elements: support for Keen-Minshull’s position; anger at the counter-protesters’ wall of sound which made it impossible for the British speaker to be heard; disgust at the examples of violence that were recorded at the Auckland event (though I could find no condemnation of the the incident in which a motorcycle hit Marama Davidson on a pedestrian crossing); and fury at the police for not stepping in sooner."
Sorry the above is from Anne's link.
"We saw them on the telly. Right wing extremists in all their ugly glory. Some were at Albert Park, others were kicking up their heels close by. One on a motorbike tried to run Marama Davidson over. "
From Annes comment above.
You are saying that because there were right wingers close by (I imagine you mean Tamakis mob on Queen Street) that what? KJK shouldn't have held her event? That because we share one view with other groups that makes us right wing? That we should drop our gender critical views because some on the right agree with us? Is that what you are saying?
What is your rationale for that?
Thanks for the read, Red.
I have no doubt the Disinformation Project will be looking into and reporting back on Ahi Wi- Hongi's claims. Unless, of course, their's is the right sort of disinformation.
You are misinterpreting the kind of research TDP does, which leads you to making wrong assumptions and baseless allegations.
Oh come on Incognito, the DP have been completely discredited across the political spectrum.
I guess if you want me to provide links I can, but there are so many!
https://pointofordernz.wordpress.com/2023/04/11/thomas-cranmer-from-academic-research-to-news-headlines-the-disinformation-projects-influence-on-nz-media/
What’s this got to do with my comment? It is a red herring.
As to your link: yawn
Try this link then Incognito. I have more if you like
https://democracyproject.nz/2023/04/12/bryce-edwards-the-need-to-take-disinformation-seriously/
“Hattotuwa and Hannah have managed to gain a great deal of media coverage about their social media research, largely because they make quite extraordinary and colourful statements about what is going on online and it makes for good stories.
Last week, for example, Hattotuwa claimed that in the aftermath of the Posey Parker visit levels of vitriol directed at the trans community had risen to “genocidal” levels. He argued that nefarious disinformation spreaders had entered into the transgender debate spreading hate about the transgender community, and claimed that it represents the importation of content from foreign “neo-Nazi, neo-fascist, anti-Semitic networks and individuals”.
“These claims received plenty of sympathetic media coverage without question. Although commentator Thomas Cranmer said the claims about genocide were “absurd” and “outlandish”, and only serve “to highlight that the Disinformation Project lacks any perspective or objectivity”.
Why should I try this link or that link? Did I even ask for a link? Try what?
And if someone is yawning at your links, you simply do a copy-pasta dump to force them to read the stuff you want them to read?
My reply was to gsays who made a specific yet misleading allegation. If you don’t know what it is about you could have asked.
Discredited, or railed against?
https://www.chrislynchmedia.com/news-items/thedisinformationproject
Or this on the Disinformation Project
“The Disinformation Project’s lack of scrutiny towards government officials and medical “experts” has raised concerns about its impartiality, with some accusing the organisation of being an extension of Labour.
“The abundance of material available for scrutiny only adds to the suspicion that the project’s motives for avoiding criticism of the government may be motivated by ulterior political or ideological motives”.
More spamming with a copy-pasta dump. You’re starting to come across as a troll.
I think I have a handle on them.
Spent way too long searching and reading them and about them. I had read somewhere (unreferenced) they had been set up as by/part of the PM's office. (I forget the official title). Trying to ascertain how they are funded too.
In their own words:
"The Disinformation Project is an independent research group studying misinformation and disinformation in Aotearoa New Zealand"
"… including discourse shifts over time."
Sums up Ahi Wi- Hongi and the quickly deleted Stuff article nicely. The discourse shifted a little too rapidly for Stuff by the sounds of it.
I'm with Anker, the langauge they use, the framing of their pronouncements, the self importance… tdp (I can't take them seriously enough to capitalise their initials).
Yes, what TDP report can sound histrionic sometimes, while I find the main media interface person writes in a rather irritating tone.
However, what TDP do is plumb the sewagey depths of our social media, when we only see the surface. The Telegram channels full of hate and lies; conspiracy pile-ons like Nuremberg 2, which drew up death lists of NZ politicians, dear Dr Bloomfield, etc; posted by the same people who brought nooses to Parliament. I saw a post around then where someone said they wanted to kill and eat Neve, Ardern's daughter. Those kinds of sewers.
TDP sort through rhetoric that inspires NZ fruitloops of any persuasion to go out with a knife, a gun, a 4×4 people-smasher, or a bomb for Ernie. Even more, those ideas and memes, like 'Jabcinda', percolate into our daily discourse, shifting our broader society to a less tolerant, more polarised place. If you want hide your head in the sand, go ahead and call TDP discredited. That doesn't invalidate their work, or their messages.
Wake up to the NZ alt-right conspiracy 'rent-a-crowd' anti-vaxers. They have picked up (or more accurately, been fed) anti-trans messaging as the latest outrage of the month, amping up the violent talk.
Not helped by dear Posie Parker, who would like men who 'carry' in the US to protect their fragile womenfolk from ravening trans women perverts, by going into womens' toilets to keep them safe. With their gun(s).
[deleted quote without link]
Verbatim from Posie's video (which I've seen, but which is now deleted).
tWiggle not sure what your point is there.
Something Parker said that has now been deleted.
The point is that she has said it, allegedly, and she cannot un-say it.
The interwebs are forever.
https://twitter.com/mimmymum/status/1355525072400875527
there are multiple videos of that quote online that you can link to for those quotes, please supply one and I will reinstate your comment.
Yes, I have read the packet too, but didn't drink the Kool Aid.
tdp is long and loud on rhetoric and very low on evidence.
Another outfit making a living on the public test.
Pepsi vs. Coca Cola.
"DP sort through rhetoric that inspires NZ fruitloops of any persuasion to go out with a knife, a gun, a 4×4 people-smasher, or a bomb for Ernie. Even more, those ideas and memes, like 'Jabcinda', percolate into our daily discourse, shifting our broader society to a less tolerant, more polarised place. If you want hide your head in the sand, go ahead and call TDP discredited. That doesn't invalidate their work, or their messages".
I am sure there are these people out there. But why isn't it our security service doing this work? If there are very bad actors who are a threat (by that I mean violent threat) then it is the job of our security services to monitor them. They are the professionals. To my knowledge they don't publish much about what they are up to, because they need to keep a low profile to carry out their role.
The publicity seeking DP are using their apparent finding for political purposes and to try and get contracts for funding. The fact that they engage in such hyperbolie shows them for what they are .
Because it is outside the role of NZ’s security services to debunk mis- and disinformation for the general public.
Sure you do, but I maintain firmly that you are misinterpreting TDP’s research.
FYI, have a look at TDP’s resources (https://thedisinfoproject.org/resources/) and you’ll see that what you alleged @ 4.3.2 is simply not at all what TDP are doing.
The other stuff in your comment is a school of red herrings.
If you don’t like the message, don’t take it out on the messenger.
I don't doubt that during the Covid pandemic and lockdown conspiracy theories were circulating, particularly amongs the anti vaxers. There have always been conspiracy theorists and most of us are capable of judging this for ourselves.
That buried in the internet there were some bad faith actors that were possible threats I wouldn't doubt either. (i think one has been jailed recently for some plot to blow something up. Good).
I don't doubt there are alt right people on telegram or 4 chan (sorry I don't really know what these things are, but have heard them referenced). I hope the security service is following them up and if it helps to use any of the research mthods that the DP use, well fine.
The problem with the DP is they make public statements alleging an outrageous amount of threat (in one of the articles I posted above it means a significant amount of NZders are engaging in hate speech.) So they are alarmist and it is both polictically and financially motivated.
I am
And from the link above posted by Red logix 4.3 From Mana Wahine Korero.
"Māori history, culture, and knowledge (mātauranga) are carried forth orally and visually through the generations—via stories, songs, proverbs, carvings, tattoos, and performing arts. These have meaning beyond artistic expression and technical skill; they tell the genealogies of individuals, families, and tribes that have gone before, and mark great moments in their histories. There are no examples of anything resembling western ideas about “gender” in any of these cultural traditions.
Nor are there any carvings, waiata (songs), or mōteatea (poetic tales of sadness, farewell, or grieving, put to music) dedicated to such themes. Not one mōteatea references the sorrow of a child “born in the wrong body.”
And yet, many Polynesian societies recognised more than two genders societally, from pre-colonial times.
As did Babylonian Jews, apparently.
ttps://lilith.org/articles/debut-124/
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-eight-genders-in-the-talmud/
When you say gender – do you mean sex, or a form of personal expression?
(And also, so what? Many traditional societies have a history of misconceptions and misunderstandings – they tend to change over time. And can often be misconstrued or reinterpreted by later revisionism.)
The question is not really about gender though, I see the expression of different identities at any time throughout history as unremarkable. Just showing that expression of difference is part of human life through the ages and often welcomed, or at least not railed against..
What the current queries are all about though is sex. Apart from very small numbers of intersex or where sex at birth is not able to be immediately observed there are only two sexes.
So the magic thinking that a man can turn into a women with the application of words, chemicals or surgery is a nonsense biologically.
“And yet, many Polynesian societies recognised more than two genders societally, from pre-colonial times.”
There's a few societies that recognise and practice female genital mutlation.
Oops, probably a poor example.
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/quillette-fascist-creep/
"Quillette was founded in 2015 by Claire Lehmann, an Australian who in 2017 also served as an on-air contributor to the Canadian far-right, anti-Muslim network Rebel Media, where she once delivered a “report” titled “How feminism has fuelled obesity crisis.”
"Lehmann has said she started Quillette to counter what she calls “blank slate fundamentalism,” or the proposition that educational outcomes, career success, capacity for ethics, and economic class are determined more by environmental factors than genetic ones. That is to say, she believes that social status, morality or immorality, and, yes, income itself are all genetically based."
Quillette has been rated by media-rating orgs as a bit right-biased, producing articles with a range of factual integrity, ie it does little fact-checking. The Nation is an Aussie progressive opinion magazine.
I put up this info not to address the content of the article (but note the Māori organisation mentioned is closely associated with NZ Speak up for Women). I put it up so that TS readers are aware of Quillette's ideological position when they cruise the back catalogue.
"I put up this info not to address the content of the article (but note the Māori organisation mentioned is closely associated with NZ Speak up for Women). I put it up so that TS readers are aware of Quillette's ideological position when they cruise the back catalogue."
Isn't that always the case though tWiggle?
Thank you for your concern that people's critical thinking may not be impaired by source, and your attempt to rectify that.
Adults are often capable of following through on aspects in articles, to check out for themselves.
As I did, after your request, here:
.https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-20-04-2023/#comment-1946795
Which despite the time and effort expended at your request, you never responded to.
No matter.
But it remains an example of how people can fact check without needing someone to pre-approve sources for them.
two observations.
1. No Debate means the usual outlets that progressives would get published in have closed their doors. This is in part ideological, and in part fear of being cancelled. The neoliberal left's enabling of this means that they can't complain about progressives publishing in non-left media. Or they can, but it's disingenuous to do so (we don't publish you and if you get published elsewhere you will be scorned, so basically fuck off Naziterf).
2. if the genderist left won't read non-left media, they're in a bubble that will eventually implode. It's a disturbing theme across the left currently, an inability or unwillingness to tolerate dissent and difference which is why the left didn't see VFF coming and still don't have a good understanding of what is going on
The points to note are
1 Laura Lopez has been here on TS
https://thestandard.org.nz/how-i-answered-the-census-gender-question/
2 You are 'on a hiding to nothing', as they say, in trying 'to push a barrow' that women's issues have a strong left right political component. I know from talking, reading that women's issues and this issue in particular is apolitical. In different countries the impetus is coming from different ends of the political spectrum.
So the shock, horror value in making a comment that a publication & its editorial slant come from a particular political leaning is not there.
Following on from Molly I too would welcome you responding to the queries that people may have raised or acknowledging work, in an effort to see where the arguments (and possible points of agreement) are. As an example it would have been great to have had views/answers to my queries. As it is we seem to have to go back to ground zero every time the issue is raised.
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-20-04-2023/#comment-1946802
22 April 2023 at 10:32 am
Hvaing said all of this Media bias fact check is a good source.
Laura Lopez has contributed to the Standard!!!????!!! That must make her……a left winger……………………..
I know thus supporting my view that people supporting women's issues are likely to be issues-based rather than political-side based.
And surely that is the way we would want it to be, universal truths/needs are not or should not be the preserve only of a certain political leaning/party. If we can use our links to the political parties/side we support to achieve the ends we want that is a different matter.
LOL gsays!
Your questions were:
1 Why are men not urged to accept and protect non conforming males into their spaces. 2 Why provisions could not be made for separate facilities to be built?
I did not answer these questions because you advocate for removal of existing access of transgender women to e.g. female toilets and women-only sessions at swimming pools, which has been going on for years in NZ with no issue. You want to segregate people that you personally feel uncomfortable around from public spaces they currently share with you.
Hence the onus is not on me to reply to your two proposed 'solutions' to what appears very strongly to be a non-existent problem in NZ. It is on you to justify your assertion that there is a problem, using solid facts and figures from our own society.
I have already covered this in my posts around the 22 April, which you appear not to have read. I'm still waiting for the hard data from NZ that proves the problem you claim: please answer MY questions from 22nd April.
I post here on this topic to provide a small balance for others who see mostly only your points of view. I post my own interpretation primarily, I am not parroting a party line. I analyse the information sources you post, because I believe that who someone's fellow travellers are says something significant about the social value of their argument.
Thanks……I was mainly after your point of view. I do not quote a party line, mine are views honed over years including formal women's studies research and with a family background in women's issues.
The point about harm though is that as perceptive and far sighted indiviudals countries we should not have to wait until the harm that has been found overseas manifests itself here in NZ before taking steps to minmise the potential. So if this is your view the real query is
how many women in NZ have to be harmed before we say the trend has been demonstrated?
or are we sensible as a country and put in palce mitigations so our female population does not need to be experimented with?
Is there some reason you are now saying transgender?
Does anyone else have a view as to these queries. tWiggles views about my views, are incorrect.
As a matter of scholarship and getting to grips with the transwomen argument for allowing male bodied people (many who do not have any steps along the way such as surgery or use of chemicals to enhance the characteristics of femaleness) into womens places and sports.
1 Why are men not urged to accept and protect non conforming males into their spaces.
2 Why provisions could not be made for separate facilities to be built?