“…Marijuana is a lovely addition to a life filled with sensual pleasures like good wine, chocolate and espresso.
Cannabis has been a part of my life since 1968, when I turned 20.
Although we have had long periods of not seeing one another, Ms. Mary Jane Cannabis Pot has been a good friend in my social and cultural scene for more than 40 years.
MJ and I grew up in a generation that deemed this herb a vital staple of our daily diet – and a means of enlivening connections with our fellow man or woman.
Despite warnings that marijuana is a gateway drug, I never found cannabis to be a gateway to anything other than enhancing social situations such as concerts or parties, or increasing pleasure in sexuality.
All’s well that ends well. At least they didn’t get arrested. A good outcome. You have to consider though, that unless they were purposely making a political statement, they were pretty silly crossing the border with their stash on board. Maybe they had short term memory loss and “forgot”.
I had it described thus … General thought processes follow a continuous line where one thought leads to another and a train of thought develops. You can understand how you got to a particular thought and also where that thought might generally go by looking at the train.
When stoned though, the thought process is broken at a thousand places along that train – picture if you will a train consisting of a thousand decoupled wagons sitting individually on the rails.
The brain then randomly finds itself stuck on a particular thought wagon but because the link forwards and backwards is broken it has no idea how it got there or where it will lead, and it is this which results in paranoia as the person cannot work out how that thought came about or where it will lead. Oh noes! Although, similarly, that particular thought wagon gets analysed in considerable detail (and in isolation).
So the stoners end up randomly thinking on individual thought wagons but cannot link anything together, which can make it impossible for others to understand them.
The train of a thousand indivudal de-coupled thought wagons. Bit like your writing Phil. But each to their own, good on ya. What do you think of the above?
I don’t believe there was any criticism of pot or alcohol users in my post above, merely a description of what happens to the brain processes when in use. Alcohol effects are probably more like… jump on the train, load up the firebox, get the steam to maximum, let loose the brakes and full steam ahead no matter the obstacles ahead or wagons in tow. Bloody dangerous if you ask me. Better a whole heap of stationary decoupled wagons.
I don’t disagree totally with this Phil.. it’s not just pot, but a whole lot of mind altering/expanding substances can be used and enjoyed peacefully at the right time, in the right place..
Personal experience has shown me however that anything with a potential for brain function alteration needs to be tightly controlled/banned for those brains that haven’t developed yet.. unfortunately it is not an arbitrary age or easily measurable.
I love a drink, a cigarette, a good coffee or tea, and much more, and I agree that our punitive and failed “war on drugs” is a total cockup .
I lean towards a solution involving the supply of any “drug” (based on a harm quotient) to anyone either too young to safely assimilate (or make that decision) very harshly punishable. Ditto for anyone using/affected by in a situation where judgement/co-ordination/reaction deficiencies have harmful consequences to others (work, family, driving etc)
Tax the product, remove the gangs, educate potential users, leave happy stoners to enjoy.
As I said on FB this morning Len Brown is now officially toast. Non engagement usually benefits the boss, in this case the POA union busters. Len’s appalling lack of class understanding and backbone is well and truly on public display.
It just further confirmed my declining interest and total lack of faith in our political system, as Obama has also so brilliantly brutally illustrated. They can proclaim their progressive credentials as much as they like, but once inside this dysfunctional system, they all become cogs.
It leaves me with little hope to be honest, and increasingly depressive…
Len Brown is the latest in a long line of people invested with considerable responsibility who just refuse to do their jobs: Barack Obama, Ban Ki Moon, “Sir” Geoffrey Palmer, Craig Joubert, Bryce Johns…
Shoot down to Pete’s post a few below, and listen. It examines the binary small governmnet/big government options; trusting others to spend/act on people’s behalf; and highights the truth that as you say, it is indeed our systems that need to change. More or less of a broken system is not the solution. Changing the person who represents a broken system is not the solution. No need to be depressed about it at all. It opens the way for real people to start making decisions based on basic values that are good them and everyone, not just a few, excluding no one, impacting their lives immediately and constructively.
Brown came over as a right “dick’.
Hope he retires at next election and lets Mike Lee stand.
Then we will see some real backbone, not like the spineless Brown.
Don’t know why I voted for him.
On another note an example of how politicians might be captured by interest groups in contradicition of their own constituencies best interests…..in this case listening to “expert” advice from their own employees.
Hawkes Bay council officials were taken by Apache (an appropriately named fracking enterprise) to Canada to prove that all we have heard about the contamination of ground water etc by fracking is “misinformation”. I am assuming that 5 Star hotels and meals were inclusive, plus the usual sanitised tours (propaganda as pioneered byCommunist states)….how could I be so cynical?
All across the country right now, local and state governments are finding they can’t pay their bills. Schools are losing teachers, street lights are going dark, garbage is piling up in public parks, and cops are suddenly an optional expense. This week we travel to Colorado Springs, to Trenton and to the office of Grover Norquist to ask: Is the kind of country we want? One where government gets smaller? Or should we all pay higher taxes, and keep government bigger?
Definitely worth a listen. If others don’t have the time, jump to Act Three, which sums the story up nicely and promotes further thought on small government/privatisation/government spending.
Listened, it proved that ideology gets on the way of common sense…
can’t wait for the dystopia of darken streets, potholes and barren parks so we can all save a few bucks trying to eliminate Govt, while we wait for some benevolent overlord to throw a few crumbs to keep things in his neighborhood going.
Happy International Women’s Day. http://www.internationalwomensday.com/
Still a long way to go in NZ and further in many other countries before any sort of equality is reached.
However, I suspect the Standard readership is overwhelmingly male, and don’t see IWD as relevant to them.
[lprent: Nope.
From the little data that we do have from the advertising side, it appears that the readership is lower for females than males (in the order of ~40% to ~60%) but not massively out of whack. There could be some bias in those numbers because of the way that they collect the data.
However if you’d said that the commentators were still largely male then you’d have been correct from my observation (no easy way to be certain). But it is a much smaller population that the readers. It was less than a tenth of the humans that read the site when I last dug through the IP numbers for the readers and commentators.
The number of identifiable female commentators seem to fluctuate considerably and they do seem to leave fewer comments. But I think that both are slowly climbing. ]
uhuh… and this kind of comment is meant to endear me to the idea of supporting it?
I love my wife, I respect her and I support her. However I have no great love for the outspoken extremes of the continuing feminist movement because of comments such as yours that denigrate me as a male. What did I ever do to you other than being born with the wrong genitalia? (and yes, the irony is intended)
Depends on the reliability of a random comma as used on the interwebz 🙂
In general, I’d probably agree with the suspicion that even in these enlightened days an overwhelmingly male group would not prioritise IWD highly, if at all. The major difference these days is that said groups might say or do the appropriate things when reminded of e.g. who always ends up cleaning the cups after the meetings. “Empathy” is thin on the ground.
Let me rephrase that. There are of course a lot of very good men out there (probably a majority on the left). They would have been doing the childcare while their wives were out gathering signatures for the women’s suffrage petition in the 1890s etc.
However, while there remains significant structural and actual discrimination by society based on some ‘average white male norm’, against groups on the basis of gender,ethnicity, sexuality or disability, there is work to do. The gender battle has been going on for many millennia and in many countries doesn’t seem to be making any progress. Addressing this is a responsibility for all of us.
International Womens Day hasn’t been mentioned in the mainstream media or the blogs that I have seen today. I suspect that this is because women are too busy doing the 24/7 grind keeping the world going, rather than having spare time or resources to contribute.
So I am not promoting IWD or wanting your support if you are wavering. Just commenting on an observation.
Also amongst my friends in Italy, it’s a really big thing there
It’s huge in Eastern Europe too. Seems to be something that has come out of the communist era and has been merged with the later IWD. Apparently it’s more of an appreciation day rather than a political event – official or non-official public holidays, little presents etc.
Annie Lennox has done some excellent promotional work for International Women’s Day here.
She makes this pertinent comment:
“I don’t think feminism is about the exclusion of men but their inclusion … we must face and address those issues, especially to include younger men and boys”
One must always bring other stakeholders on board to be successful. The alternative, their exclusion, if successful, will never last. This applies to anything.
Yes inclusion – an inclusive society would be nice. Also safe and secure for everyone. Up to everyone to work on this together, not leave it as a problem for the excluded.
LP: Thanks for the info. From my perspective, the Standard is often a total sausage fest, whith a strongly macho element to the debates. This isn’t unusual on blogs; the loudest voices eventually stifle the quieter contributions in a way that echoes the dominance of men in wider society.
I’m not excusing myself, either. I had to have a good think about how I behave here myself when I was accused of misogyny by a woman poster a year or so ago. I don’t believe it to be true, but it did give me the opportunity to think about how women contributing here might see things.
So kudos to Hillary. Even if the words weren’t perfect, the sentiment is pretty close to correct. I’d be interested to know how others think the Standard could become a more inclusive site and lift those numbers to a more reflective 50/50.
I’d be interested to know how others think the Standard could become a more inclusive site and lift those numbers to a more reflective 50/50.
As far as I am concerned that is easy to envisage, a lot harder to achieve. More woman authors who post more than they currently do.
Hard enough to get authors. But it feels like what I’d envisage is the pain threshold of waxing arsehairs to get female authors doing regular posts. It is enough of a real pain recruiting authors and having them do more than a few posts, but I draw the line at the pain of waxing. Hell, I avoid facial shaving if I have a chance…
In my case I can see their email, their comment history, and I get far more email from female commentators when they need assistance. I look at the topics of interest, what they have said, and see a pattern – just as i do for everyone. There is also a difference in writing style – can’t tell you what it is, but it is distinctive when you read as many comments as I do (Irish is the master at the art of detecting personality in writing).
It isn’t precise. But it is good enough to look at trends.
Thanks for that data. It actually takes a bit of courage/confidence to participate in this site which (like many others) frequently has testosterone-fuelled and personally aggressive comments. Perhaps that is why women choose to opt out.
Good work Hone in putting this open letter out there so overseas investors are under no misunderstandings about what will happen in the future
“As the leader of the MANA Movement and Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, I wish to advise that MANA is opposed to the privatisation of state assets and will strongly argue for any shares sold to overseas investors to be returned to New Zealand hands.
Btw, I recall last week some coughing and spluttering from yourself when I referred to the military machinations of Ngai Tahu. In the last week I have had cause to visit various tourist sites around the South Island, several of which had informations available regarding Maori history at the particular sites. I was quite appalled at the lack of reference to those who existed prior to Ngai Tahu’s invasions and the dominance of recent history (last 200 years i.e. Ngai Tahu) over longer history. I guess that some things never change – the victor writes the history books.
oh vto rest easy the histories are there for those who are able to see them. Look up mana whenua and whānui, they might give you some clue – but seriously stick to the stuff you nearly know rather than things you know nothing about – makes you less stressed and less antagonistic.
anyway I’m off to drive tourists on farewell spit now so I’ll reply to your inevitable prodding a bit later…
” the histories are there for those who are able to see them. Look up mana whenua and whānui, they might give you some clue – but seriously stick to the stuff you nearly know rather than things you know nothing about – makes you less stressed and less antagonistic.”
Actually marty, my point was that “the histories weren’t there”. That is what I specifically looked for. That is what my comment above concerned – the particular point of histories made available at tourist sites. Do you expect people to google stuff at each place they visit? Is that what people do out on Farewell Spit?
And please stop attacking me personally and accusing me of not knowing stuff and being antagonistic. You wouldn’t have a clue about my knowledge base. I have seen tiny little knowledge from you, just coughing, spluttering, harrumphing, etc. And where on earth is the antagonism in my post above? Nowhere. Which indicates an uncomfortable defensive reaction on your part.
Try answering the issue and not playing the person. You make a habit of it and all it does is detract further from the points you haven’t made. In fact, whenever Maori issues get questioned those like yourself get highly defensive and abusive, just like our dear farmers whenever they get questioned about the shit in the rivers – all they do is harrumph and abuse and storm off.
Fact: Histories at tourist sites around the South Island are excessively slanted in favour of Ngai Tahu, the victors.
Answer: Happy to hear yours but more personal plays without substance on the issue at hand will confirm a growing suspicion re yourself.
you keep raising the same point in a snide way, such as – “when I referred to the military machinations of Ngai Tahu” and “I was quite appalled at the lack of reference to those who existed prior to Ngai Tahu’s invasions and the(ir) dominance of recent history.” Those statements are ignorant – sorry if that offends you. Just who are you talking about vto? Ngāti Mamoe? Waitaha? Guess what, most Ngāi Tahu whānui, like me, whakapapa to all three iwi – that’s what it means to be part of the iwi – it’s on the front page of their website, not hard to find. Perhaps you are talking about other peoples who inhabited the island – please tell me who you are talking about. Hopefully you don’t bring up some brailsford bullshit.
The reason behind the statements – give me that also and I will treat it with respect.
marty mars, this issue began when you raised yourself to some higher moral ground to look down on the european colonists and their military ways, forgetting your own past and its own military ways. The basis of the issue was hypocrisy and it was that which I was pointing out.
As for “Brailsford bullshit”, well, that is entirely the consistent reaction to anything which challenges current orthodoxy. The victors write the history books – always have.
so you’ve got nothing – no answers to any of my questions – you are totally delusional and a waste of time – how have I forgotton my past again LOL. If you don’t want me to flick you with a wet teatowel then don’t bait me for no reason.
Where was the baiting? It was you who climbed the lofty depths of confused moral high ground and forgot your own past and its military ways while at the same time deriding others for the same thing. I call that a baiting.
If you don’t like being questioned then don’t spout such bullshit.
“… and through inter-marriage and conquest these migrants merged with the resident Waitaha and took over authority of Te Waipounamu.” Ngai Tahu website.
LOL, this is exactly what I was referring to. A painting of history at odds with the reality. For example, why write “…through inter-marriage and conquest … took over authority” which implies inter-marriage was somehow equal at the time to conquest? I tell you why – because it makes for a better looking history when compared to writing “though military conquest the Waitaha were conquered and authority assumed by mamoe at the end of a taiaha. … ” As for inter-marriage, how long after the “conquest” was that? Or was it a result of the rape by soldiers?
face it marty mars, the history as written is not settled. Why else would it get raised in conversation when in certain parts of the South Island?
And as for your moral high ground when referencing european military escapades as compared your own, sheesh, your own website blows that one out of the water. Wake up fulla.
@ Vto – perhaps if you identified the particular sites where you had concerns with the interpretation, it might be possible to advise you more precisely as to where to address your complaints. Of course, where Marty lives and works has different stories as he is outside the rohe potae of Ngāi Tahu whānui.
I am also interested to know why you have not engaged with the information I gave you. Is your ‘fight’ specific to Marty or do you just want to carry on believing the Brailsford fairy stories?
Hateatea, why would you think I place Brailsford over current history? I haven’t indicated that at all.
Regarding your pointers, I appreciate it. Sincerely. I don’t pick these ‘fights’ for fights sake. I have a genuine interest in these things. It is semi-amusing though how marty and I clash over these things.
I think I have made my point reasonably clearly above.
Appreciate the contact and think the conversation must be kept open – no matter how long it takes.
Get off the grass marty. Your post is as useless at the others, as I suggested previously. Once again you do nothing but point your points at me rather than the point. Have you got a point? Or do you just swallow everyone else’s goop?
And if you think the word ‘fulla’ is somehow pointing at something to do with you only then you are the one lacking reality. I’m out. Had enough.
‘A painting of history at odds with the reality. For example, why write “…through inter-marriage and conquest … took over authority” which implies inter-marriage was somehow equal at the time to conquest? I tell you why – because it makes for a better looking history when compared to writing “though military conquest the Waitaha were conquered and authority assumed by mamoe at the end of a taiaha. … ” As for inter-marriage, how long after the “conquest” was that? Or was it a result of the rape by soldiers?’
Sorry, Vto, but I don’t understand why you are beating Marty up about something that he didn’t writeThere has never been any dispute, that I am personally aware of, that firstly Ngati Mamoe and later, Ngai Tahu fought to gain dominance of most of Te Wahi Pounemu. Equally, I have never personally heard anyone refute that there were many ‘rongopai’ marriages that ensured the peace and bound the strands of whakapapa together. One of the best known of these is observed at Poupoutunoa near Clinton. http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/scripts/reports/reports/27/48D0AE4D-9734-410D-B1EE-14EB761D3F49.pdf
You have not been precise about the locales where you claim to have seen the offending lack of acknowledgement about other migration and settlement stories and your caginess lead both Marty and myself, independently of one another, to conclude that you may have been influenced by Barry Brailsford’s very romantic treatises on Waitaha.
If there is something specific to which you would like to refer, I wish you would just spit it out. I really do not like the constant jibing at Marty when neither he nor I, as far as I can tell, know of what he stands accused.
I am happy to engage in dialogue, I just need a clearer picture of what your real issue is with either Marty or Ngai Tahu (or both)
“Sorry, Vto, but I don’t understand why you are beating Marty up about something that he didn’t writeThere has never been any dispute, that I am personally aware of, that firstly Ngati Mamoe and later, Ngai Tahu fought to gain dominance of most of Te Wahi Pounemu. ”
I am questioning marty’s point some couple weeks ago that saw him clamber onto high moral ground and look down on the ways and means of the European as if they are / were somehow worse and more morally lacking than those of Maori at times of conquest or colonisation. His own history is the same, as you perfectly point out above. He chooses to ignore this and claim a superiority. That is what grates. An incorrect view of history and a hypocrisy. The line ‘the victor writes the history books’, so true through all of humanity, is entirely applicable.
That questioning by me of marty’s view then resurfaced through the example of Maori histories at tourist sites I happenned to come across some days ago, which also painted a view of their history seemingly at odds with other views. To further support this I copied just one part of Ngai Tahu’s website to indicate how the wording has been constructed to paint a more favourable picture than could otherwise have been written. He has not answered any of this except to say I am thick and no nothing. That is all he has said. Read it yourself, it is all there above and around.
You also say “You have not been precise about the locales where you claim to have seen the offending lack of acknowledgement about other migration and settlement stories and your caginess lead both Marty and myself, independently of one another, to conclude that you may have been influenced by Barry Brailsford’s very romantic treatises on Waitaha. If there is something specific to which you would like to refer, I wish you would just spit it out..”
No I haven’t been precise and I wont. The reasons for this relate to my activities in the South Island and the potential for personal exposure and its subsequent effects. You will appreciate that parts of the region are populated by few people who all know each other and live and work together. I am not putting that at jeopardy to satisfy a small example part of the wider issue I explained above.
You also say “I really do not like the constant jibing at Marty when neither he nor I, as far as I can tell, know of what he stands accused.”.
I invite you to re-read the above. Count up the personal attacks from marty and the lack of points made and evidence in support. It is marty who has on each post led the personal attack. Have a look. I am sick of it. He gets all upset everytime his understanding of the world gest questioned. Harrumphs, snorts, abuses and storms off. It is quite pathetic.
Marty claimed the moral high ground. I questioned it. He got all upset and has done nothing to support his claim.
“He chooses to ignore this and claim a superiority.”
no I don’t – please provide reference
“An incorrect view of history and a hypocrisy”
In your opinion or do you have backup for your ‘incorrect history’ story
“seemingly at odds with other views”
Which other views – come on provide your sources
“to paint a more favourable picture”
Once again in your view – favourable is subjective – my point to you is that you don’t know enough to understand the concept or content in relation to these matters, you are still looking through your blurred lense created by your own stuff.
You started this deliberate attack on me because you know I am part of the iwi. You added comments to my unrelated comments to bring up the point that you strongly wished to say. Yet you still waffle on scared to tell your truth. Here you go – get it out – tell me the real story.
“I don’t like Ngai Tahu”
“I don’t like maori getting special treatment”
“I don’t like maori not fitting in to our country” and so on…
Frankly, if it is actually about indigenous historial narratives and their use in creating perceptions and positioning for marginalised groups, I’ll eat my hat.
I’ve told you already marty, I’m out. Had enough and can’t have a general discussion with you without personal attacks from you.
I have provided examples and evidence e.g. Ngai Tahu website. Tourist sites.
You continue with your baseless and unsupported attacks on me personally rather than debate the issue. In addition you provide not one single piece of evidence or example or sample anywhere to support anything you have claimed about me. All you say is “you’re ignorant”.
And now you think I “started this because you are part of the iwi”. For fucks sake I had no idea of that and it is irrelevant. And now you say these things too ““I don’t like Ngai Tahu”
“I don’t like maori getting special treatment”
“I don’t like maori not fitting in to our country” and so on…
If the sites you visited had historical interpretation then you had the story from the perspective of the people who live locally ie the descendants of Ngai Tahu whanui. As most people don’t know how the whakapapa of Ngai Tahu is openly acknowledged as having the several strands, you may have confused the KISS principle for writing commentary for signage with suppression of other stories. It is more usual for available space to be the problem rather than a lack of knowledge of the whole history of an area.
Historians such as Harry Evison, Atholl Anderson and Dr Te Maire Tau have all written extensively on the various migrations from north to south that have resulted in what is called Ngai Tahu today but like Marty, those who whakapapa to the iwi take great pride in the individual strands and the stories that are interwoven
‘Regarding theft of land – are you referring to Ngai Tahu and its military takeover and theft of the South Island and its resources such as pounamu, post European arrival?
You later seemed to acknowledge that you had been a little over the top
‘As for the military takeover by Ngai Tahu – that was a tiny exaggeration to go with your exaggerated claim re theft of lands in your first post above.’
Vto, it was more than exaggerated, it was a claim totally without foundation. Ngai Tahu had been in Te Wahi Pounemu long before the arrival of the sealers, whalers, traders and gun and while there were battles fought, describing it as a military takeover is more than a little OTT, isn’t it?
‘But why would it be such a shock to Ngai Tahu to learn of, or even begin to question, the warring ways to gain lands and resources which are then claimed from high moral ground under the treaty process in a subsequent century. Many parts of this period and history are quietly but forcefully shoved under the carpet. Perhaps a little more openness and honesty about what happenned then would be useful for all parties.’
Who is shoving them under the carpet? All this and much, much more was well and truly aired during the 150 years between the beginning of the Ngai Tahu Claim and the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act
‘As an example, the true history of Ngai Tahu on Te Tai Poutini combined with the undercurrents of today regarding pounamu may be a good starting point.’
There are many who feel that the role of their particular whanau or hapu has not been well served by the settlement process and I neither deny nor defend that. Indeed, many of them are whanaunga of mine.
‘I am questioning marty’s point some couple weeks ago that saw him clamber onto high moral ground and look down on the ways and means of the European as if they are / were somehow worse and more morally lacking than those of Maori at times of conquest or colonisation. His own history is the same, as you perfectly point out above. He chooses to ignore this and claim a superiority. That is what grates. An incorrect view of history and a hypocrisy. The line ‘the victor writes the history books’, so true through all of humanity, is entirely applicable.
‘No I haven’t been precise and I wont. The reasons for this relate to my activities in the South Island and the potential for personal exposure and its subsequent effects. You will appreciate that parts of the region are populated by few people who all know each other and live and work together. I am not putting that at jeopardy to satisfy a small example part of the wider issue I explained above’
That questioning by me of marty’s view then resurfaced through the example of Maori histories at tourist sites I happenned to come across some days ago, which also painted a view of their history seemingly at odds with other views. To further support this I copied just one part of Ngai Tahu’s website to indicate how the wording has been constructed to paint a more favourable picture than could otherwise have been written. He has not answered any of this except to say I am thick and no nothing. That is all he has said. Read it yourself, it is all there above and around.’
I have read it, once I tracked it all down. Mostly what I see is someone baiting and prodding (Vto) and someone who doesn’t really want to get into it (Marty) who sometimes was fairly terse in his responses to you. Forgive me if I have over simplified. The reality is that knowing our history and how it has created our particular whanau is something that is intensely personal and not one usually broadcast to the four winds
I understand the need for anonymity. I have a similar need and I may well be more easily identified than you. I don’t know. Nevertheless, your unwillingness to name any particular site where you disagree with the interpretation makes it difficult to evaluate how real the issue is
I think this matter got out of hand rather rapidly and that perhaps no one comes out of it totally without fault. I suppose that I would like to think that we can all move on from this rather than to continue to mount attacks and counter attacks everytime one of us sees the others screenname on a thread.
That we all have our own world view is a given. It is what makes the blogosphere interesting but we needed be constantly butting heads here. There is enough of that out there in the real world without transferring it to the etherworld.
Pretty good summary there Hateatea, well done. I too want to keep these debates open and enjoy and seek out arenas to test various things.
The problem that comes to mind from my perspective when raising these issues is that at times people do not like their seemingly solid foundations being questioned and they respond in a personal manner. That is understandable given our foible-filled character, though not particularly useful. Conversely, perhaps the issues could be raised by me in a better way.
A similarly difficult long line of debate between marty and I occurred recently when I questioned the relevance of the structure of the Treaty of Waitangi (not its content) in today’s world. For various reasons I think it should be re-worked – but that just elicited all sorts of personal responses.
Anyways, appreciate the thought and effort you have gone to. Last night I determined to take one of the matters above, the historical narratives at various tourist sites around the South Island, and dig deeper to evaluate the suggestions I have made re their realism or romanticism. If wrong I will admit it and change course (as I have done with other issues in the past). If not I would hope the same is offered in return. Watch this space.
I think that sometimes we are all inclined to forget that we are not receiving all the other clues we get in RL debate; body posture, facial movements, tone and pace of expression, merely flat words on a page and it can be far too easy to see aggression where none was intended.
Yesterday, One News correspondent Stephen Smith reported that Ports of Auckland Chairman Richard Pearson refutes the Union claims that it was planning redundancies all along. Pearson ignores the fact that PoAL’s illegal Labour Strategy (PDF) that outlined how they would make the workers redundant has been made public…
Exactly Jackal, Pearson and the super city’s Mark Ford et al are the type of scumbags that rank right up there with Roger Douglas and Shonkey as traitors to this country.
Pay Equity Challenge Coalition says little good news for women on International Women’s Day.
Today marks the 101st International Women’s Day but according to the Pay Equity Challenge Coalition there is little good news for women workers.
“The Government has shown by moving the Minister of Women’s Affairs outside of Cabinet that working women’s issues are not a priority,” says spokesperson Angela McLeod.
“To add to that, the briefing to the new Minister doesn’t use the words “gender pay gap” let alone provide effective solutions on how to reduce it.
“According to the Quarterly Employment Survey figures, the gender pay gap for the final quarter last year was 13%, an increase from 12.85% in the September quarter. This is completely unacceptable,” says Mrs McLeod. The gender gap is even bigger in some occupations and in one public service department it reaches a high of 38%”
“Members of the Coalition will be seeking a meeting with the Minister of Women’s Affairs to talk about real solutions to close the pay gap. “We think it’s important to value the work that women do and to pay them fairly.
The Minister needs to understand that pay rates have to rise for women working in low paid occupations. The latest example is the Oceania residential aged care workers currently taking industrial action, who have been offered a pitiful 1% a year pay increase spread over three years. These workers are underpaid and undervalued yet take care of our respected and vulnerable elderly.
“Given that this is 2012 and is the Chinese Year of the Dragon, a year for prosperity, we’d like to see some more prosperity in the direction of the pay packets of these and other low paid working women,” Mrs McLeod adds.
“A Government plan to close the gender pay gap is the news we want to hear”
An unneccessary spend of Govt money-
Botany Downs Secondary School built 2005 – stormwater flow issues reported to MOE in 2005. Now after investigations we find out ….
Pipes were undersized for the size of the school,poorly constructed, materials didn’t meet necessary regulatory codes, pipes installed incorrectly without adequate insulation,no concrete laid in base in stormwater holding tanks to use in irrigation of sports fields (And water leached out causing subsidence !!!), defects included sewage and sprinkle systems. And the MOE received Code of Compliance from the council. The result replacement of entire system by the MOE, with the MOE “considering” options into recovery of costs. How can this hapen !!!!! And where are those who should be accountable ???
Oh how the chickens come home to roost…..the column on “dumb arse POA management” resonates loudly, echos of ridiculous legislation by Douglas and a succession of ideologically blind fools.
As a business person I have always thought the whole idea of “creating markets” on natural monopolies was perhaps the most stupid piece of foolishness ever. All we have done as a nation is surrender a key component of our international competitiveness to ideological folly with a very negative dollar impact upon businesses that actually do something. The only ones who benefit are the corporate big boys who have better negotiating power, the rest of business actually end up worse off.
In a nut shell utilities (SOEs for power and transport etc) have been made to compete at cost to the rest of us. Capitaql that should have gone to productive enterprise has been captured to buy shares in these “rentier” ventures. Then you get the real stupidity….ports “competing” for the business of the likes of Maersk. How fucking stupid, it costs us all money. If they all belonged to “Waterfront NZ” SOE they might be able to plan rationally and negotiate effectively.
Or perhaps look at the UBF roll out…..lots of smaller contractors and big private ventures clipping the ticket, us paying more either through direct costs or by tax subsidies…why the hell did we sell Telecom????? making it run better is one thing, making us pay a lot more to shareholders is entirely another. Absolute foolishness.
As someone who thought Goff was much under-appreciated as Leader of the Opposition I must say it’s great to see him getting up in The House and serving it up to the Govt day after day on the cuts to MFAT. The Govt has no idea where the leaks are going to come from next but they have a sinking feeling that they are going to keep on coming. Payback for Goff for the three years when all those half-arsed National MPs thought he was good to kick the shit out of.
I agree. Goff seems so much more relaxed/happy but is really giving it to them on this issue. Just wish the rest of Labour were doing such a good job. IMO the jury is still out re Shearer.
Today, Peter Dunne challenged people to find evidence of him saying he was against the sale of our assets prior to the last general election… challenge accepted!
Just coming along to say that I heard you on Radio New Zealand two or so hours back, Phil!
Best song ever written… Mine’s Solsbury Hill, but i like your choice…
The consummate politician says what he thinks would go down well but with enough ambiguity to claim denial later, after an Election.
Dunne? Definitely.
Key? Very much so.
but what about now pete when the will of the people is obviously against the sales will dunne listen to the people? I hope you have his ear because surely you believe in following the will of the people and wise words are needed. Please no distracting with the election dah dee dah I know, I voted, but here and now McFlock was correct with the numbers and analysis.
Asset sales are on National’s agenda, but the jury is very much out on just how comfortable New Zealander’s are with this policy.
– My take on it is that Kiwis are not very comfortable at all with it – most certainly not with anything close to open slather.
– The many people who want John Key back in power for the next three years, want him in spite of asset sales and not because of them.
– I sense very strongly that New Zealander’s do not want to give National a blank cheque on asset sales.
I think that makes Ianmac correct when he says: “The consummate politician says what he thinks would go down well but with enough ambiguity to claim denial later, after an Election.”
“When you take peoples’ property against their consent, that is called theft. This Government is proposing to steal the assets from 100 per cent of New Zealanders and give it to the 1 per cent.”
Jofhn Christiansen of Mt Albert could give his neighbour Judith Bassett a call and go search out some homeless vagrants to take home for a nice re-assuring cuppa with her and Micky. They could enjoy those nice scones (Mike’s Mum’s special recipe) and talk about Judith’s old headliner POA and how to get lead letter in the “New Zealand” Herald. Then drive them down to Hobson St and be awfully shocked on the way home with the thought of bloated human corpses in a city built on Fordism and a complete denial of the worth of a human person.
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
A Waitangi Tribunal inquiry report has warned government that a repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act could cause harm to children in care. ...
The Treasury has published today three new papers covering government consumption multipliers, automatic stabilisers and the impacts of global shocks on New Zealand’s economy. ...
Asia Pacific Report The Pacific state of Hawai’i’s House of Representatives has joined the state’s Senate in calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, becoming the first state to pass such a resolution, reports Hawaii News Now. In March, the Senate passed a ceasefire resolution with a 24–1 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Ferrie, A/Prof, UTS Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research and ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Technology Sydney PsiQuantum The Australian government has announced a pledge of approximately A$940 million (US$617 million) to PsiQuantum, a quantum computing start-up company based in Silicon Valley. Half ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hunter Bennett, Lecturer in Exercise Science, University of South Australia Cameron Prins/Shutterstock If you spend a lot of time exploring fitness content online, you might have come across the concept of heart rate zones. Heart rate zone training has become more ...
SPECIAL REPORT:By Eugene Doyle He is the most popular Palestinian leader alive today — and yet few people in the West even know his name. Absolutely no one in Gaza or the West Bank does not know him. That difference speaks volumes about who dominates the media narrative that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will McCallum, PhD Candidate – School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University Earlier this year, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of not supporting Operation Sovereign Borders – the military-led border security operation that has “closed Australia’s borders ...
By Melyne Baroi in Port Moresby A Papua New Guinea MP, Peter Isoaimo, who had been ousted by the National Court in an alleged bribery case, has been reinstated by the Supreme Court on appeal. A three-member Supreme Court bench found that the National Court had erred in finding that ...
Publisher Chris Holdaway reflects on the unique project of collecting the work of the late, terrific poet Schaeffer Lemalu. One of the nice things you can do as a truly independent publisher is to make the books that writers want to make, whatever they happen to be. That’s how I’ve ...
Those profiled in the stamp series served on overseas deployments from 1995 onwards, and all have been awarded theNew Zealand Operational Service Medal. ...
Last night’s dismal poll result for the coalition government shows the limits of trying to govern as an opposition, argues Joel MacManus. There’s a quote from the American political activist Barbara Deming: “Vengeance is not the point; change is. But the trouble is that in most people’s minds, the thought ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shireen Morris, Associate Professor and Director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University Law School, Macquarie University Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock Foreign interference in Australian democracy poses a growing risk to our national sovereignty. It refers to coercive, corrupt or ...
A defendant charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining by deception in relation to a mortgage fraud scheme. Sentencing has been scheduled for 14 August 2024. ...
What to say when pesky journalists ask gotcha questions like ‘can you name a single book you’ve ever read?’ and ‘did you read it, or did you just see the movie?’This week, Act Party arts spokesperson Todd Stephenson foolishly agreed to an interview with Newsroom’s Steve Braunias regarding his ...
Explainer - What will a ban on cellphones in schools achieve? Can students use them during lunch breaks? And what happens if you need to contact your child? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney Jodi Rowley, CC BY-NC-ND In winter 2021, Australia’s frogs started dropping dead. People began posting images of dead frogs on social media. Unable to travel to investigate the deaths ...
In the year ended March 2024, 0.4 percent of home transfers were to people who didn’t hold New Zealand citizenship or a resident visa, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wasay Majid, Research Assistant , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau New Zealand’s accommodation supplement scheme is facing scrutiny, with Social Development Minister Louise Upston recently saying “there is merit in considering whether the current settings are fair and sustainable long-term”. The ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The first prime ministerial candidate has been announced in Solomon Islands and it is not Manasseh Sogavare. The man of the hour is Jeremiah Manele, the MP for Hograno/Kia/Havulei constituency in Isabel Province, who served as minister of foreign affairs in the last government. ...
Protesting the removal of bins by leaving piles of your dog’s shit for others to deal with doesn’t make you a hero – it’s precious and entitled behaviour. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve stood on the shoreline of Auckland’s Cheltenham beach, desperately trying to scoop increasingly liquid dog shit ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon will be alert to the factors driving the dire polling, but won't be waving the white flag just yet, RNZ political editor Jo Moir writes. ...
Writer, teacher and academic Vincent O’Sullivan died on Sunday 28 April. Here we gather tributes from friends, colleagues, and students who remember his extraordinary contributions. I went down to the garage tonight. There was a bird shrieking out in the bush, in the dark, maybe a kākā. Miraculously, through the ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a burnt-out corporate escapee explains how she gets by ‘working as little as possible’. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 31 Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: Contractor in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Schmidt, Professor of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney Albert Russ / Shutterstock The icebreaker of many a barbeque conversation is something like “what do you do for a crust?” “I teach chemistry at university,” is what we usually reply. Then silence. Our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Asher Flynn, Associate Professor of Criminology, Monash University Shutterstock Sexual harassment is often considered to be a person-to-person act, but new research shows Australians are also experiencing and perpetrating workplace harassment in large numbers through technology. Our latest study shows one ...
A petition signed by more than 16,500 people, demanding the government take stronger action to halt the genocide of Palestinians by the State of Israel, is being presented to the House of Representatives today by Hon Phil Twyford. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University jenmartin/Shutterstock April has been a bad month for the Australian environment. The Great Barrier Reef was hit, yet again, by intense coral bleaching. And Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek delayed ...
Winston Peters might not give a ‘rat’s derriere’ about last night’s poll, but it revealed the unusual absence of a honeymoon period and little payoff for the government’s action plan approach, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marco de Jong, Lecturer, Law School, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Details released by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet under the Official Information Act reveal New Zealand officials have been considering involvement in AUKUS from the outset. ...
The government's treatment of Māori raised eyebrows, with countries saying New Zealand needed to do more to reduce health, education and justice inequities. ...
The age of criminal responsibility was one of numerous human rights issues raised during Aotearoa New Zealand’s UPR. Other key themes were racism and discrimination, the disproportionate representation of Māori in prison, and to uphold the UN Declaration ...
In a sitdown interview ahead of his final day at Parliament this week, the former Green Party co-leader tells RNZ about his lowest point during 2017's rough election campaign. ...
Is the fringe radio station really in a financial crisis, or is it just running a hyped-up donation drive? Fringe internet radio station Reality Check Radio was launched by the anti-vaccine mandates group Voices for Freedom in March 2023. For the next year, it undertook probably the most aggressive promotional ...
Above the Fold: On Monday, the biggest Māori screen production company faced down the biggest funder of Māori content at the High Court. It was an incredibly tense moment – then, just as quickly, it resolved. Duncan Greive breaks down a strange day in the screen sector.Yesterday morning, Māori ...
It’s a ride that’s lasted almost 30 years for mother and daughter BMX riders Nancy and Toni James, and the next stop is the World Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Almost 27 years ago, Nancy and her husband Gerrard took their oldest child, Daniel, to the Waitākere BMX Club. ...
When it comes to talking about the Government’s controversial fast-track consenting process, political scientist Richard Shaw refers to the famous Chinese sci-fi novel Three-Body Problem, while RNZ’s In Depth journalist Farah Hancock talks about zombie projects. Shaw is referring to the three-party coalition Government and how the proposed legislation is ...
Opinion: The debate over single gender versus co-educational schooling has long been controversial. I went to a co-ed school and was inspired by a remarkable woman who was my maths teacher, and because of her deep knowledge and passion for the subject, I knew that maths was definitely an option ...
He won everything and he earned a knighthood and he was a senior literary figure to the point that he was a living monument to himself until his death in the weekend at 86, but there was something about Vincent O’Sullivan that flew under the radar, that was independent and ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rick Sarre, Emeritus Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, University of South Australia The rate of women killed by their partners in Australia grew by 28% from 2021–22 to 2022–23, according to new statistics released today by the Australian Institute of Criminology ...
Ministry of Disabled People employees were promised a permanent role, but were told to start packing three weeks before their fixed term contract finished, says a former employee. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National University Clean Energy Council / Neoen As Australia’s rapid renewable energy rollout continues, so too does debate over land use. Nationals Leader David Littleproud, for example, claimed regional areas had reached “saturation point” and ...
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By Mark Rabago, RNZ Pacific Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas correspondent The US Department of Justice is being urged to condemn and cease its reliance on the “Insular Cases” — a series of US Supreme Court opinions on US territories, which have been labelled racist. Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick ...
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http://whoar.co.nz/2012/the-marijuana-diet-how-pot-enhances-my-life/
“…Marijuana is a lovely addition to a life filled with sensual pleasures like good wine, chocolate and espresso.
Cannabis has been a part of my life since 1968, when I turned 20.
Although we have had long periods of not seeing one another, Ms. Mary Jane Cannabis Pot has been a good friend in my social and cultural scene for more than 40 years.
MJ and I grew up in a generation that deemed this herb a vital staple of our daily diet – and a means of enlivening connections with our fellow man or woman.
Despite warnings that marijuana is a gateway drug, I never found cannabis to be a gateway to anything other than enhancing social situations such as concerts or parties, or increasing pleasure in sexuality.
And giving you a major case of the munchies…”
phil-at-whoar.
All’s well that ends well. At least they didn’t get arrested. A good outcome. You have to consider though, that unless they were purposely making a political statement, they were pretty silly crossing the border with their stash on board. Maybe they had short term memory loss and “forgot”.
I had it described thus … General thought processes follow a continuous line where one thought leads to another and a train of thought develops. You can understand how you got to a particular thought and also where that thought might generally go by looking at the train.
When stoned though, the thought process is broken at a thousand places along that train – picture if you will a train consisting of a thousand decoupled wagons sitting individually on the rails.
The brain then randomly finds itself stuck on a particular thought wagon but because the link forwards and backwards is broken it has no idea how it got there or where it will lead, and it is this which results in paranoia as the person cannot work out how that thought came about or where it will lead. Oh noes! Although, similarly, that particular thought wagon gets analysed in considerable detail (and in isolation).
So the stoners end up randomly thinking on individual thought wagons but cannot link anything together, which can make it impossible for others to understand them.
The train of a thousand indivudal de-coupled thought wagons. Bit like your writing Phil. But each to their own, good on ya. What do you think of the above?
“..What do you think of the above?..”
it reads like a stoned/er rant…
..the brain as a de-coupled train..eh..?
..shine on you crazy diamond.!..eh..?
..and..btw…what’s yr poison..?..hic..!
..eh..?
phil-at-whoar.
i mean..seriously..!..
a teetotaller could maybe criticise pot-users on ‘nothing-is-best’-grounds…
..(and be told to pipe down on grounds of individual-choice/freedoms..)
..but for any alcohol user…to criticise pot-users..on any grounds..
..is just benchmark-setting/eye-watering hypocrisy…
..how can it not be..?
..how many people did pot kill last year..?…(i forget..must be the pot..eh..?..)
..what’s that you say..?..none..?
..and how many again did alcohol kill/disable..?
..you must be kidding me..!..that many..?
..(eh..?..hic..!..)
phil-at-whoar.
I don’t believe there was any criticism of pot or alcohol users in my post above, merely a description of what happens to the brain processes when in use. Alcohol effects are probably more like… jump on the train, load up the firebox, get the steam to maximum, let loose the brakes and full steam ahead no matter the obstacles ahead or wagons in tow. Bloody dangerous if you ask me. Better a whole heap of stationary decoupled wagons.
“..Better a whole heap of stationary decoupled wagons…”
aah..!..now you are talking zen…eh..?
..striving to be both ‘stationary’..and ‘de-coupled’…
..would that we all could..eh..?
phil-at-whoar.
In saying that, you obviously smoked more/younger than me, because I can write proper like.
(-:
I don’t disagree totally with this Phil.. it’s not just pot, but a whole lot of mind altering/expanding substances can be used and enjoyed peacefully at the right time, in the right place..
Personal experience has shown me however that anything with a potential for brain function alteration needs to be tightly controlled/banned for those brains that haven’t developed yet.. unfortunately it is not an arbitrary age or easily measurable.
I love a drink, a cigarette, a good coffee or tea, and much more, and I agree that our punitive and failed “war on drugs” is a total cockup .
I lean towards a solution involving the supply of any “drug” (based on a harm quotient) to anyone either too young to safely assimilate (or make that decision) very harshly punishable. Ditto for anyone using/affected by in a situation where judgement/co-ordination/reaction deficiencies have harmful consequences to others (work, family, driving etc)
Tax the product, remove the gangs, educate potential users, leave happy stoners to enjoy.
Who watched Len Brown on Campbell last night?
How many of you were left in any doubt as to where Len sat vis a vis the POA dispute?
How many of you voted for Len?
How many will vote for Len again?
As I said on FB this morning Len Brown is now officially toast. Non engagement usually benefits the boss, in this case the POA union busters. Len’s appalling lack of class understanding and backbone is well and truly on public display.
It just further confirmed my declining interest and total lack of faith in our political system, as Obama has also so brilliantly brutally illustrated. They can proclaim their progressive credentials as much as they like, but once inside this dysfunctional system, they all become cogs.
It leaves me with little hope to be honest, and increasingly depressive…
Len Brown is the latest in a long line of people invested with considerable responsibility who just refuse to do their jobs: Barack Obama, Ban Ki Moon, “Sir” Geoffrey Palmer, Craig Joubert, Bryce Johns…
Shoot down to Pete’s post a few below, and listen. It examines the binary small governmnet/big government options; trusting others to spend/act on people’s behalf; and highights the truth that as you say, it is indeed our systems that need to change. More or less of a broken system is not the solution. Changing the person who represents a broken system is not the solution. No need to be depressed about it at all. It opens the way for real people to start making decisions based on basic values that are good them and everyone, not just a few, excluding no one, impacting their lives immediately and constructively.
AAMC get on the train!!! choo choo, vto or phil is selling tickets, then you need not worry anymore
Which train’s that syd?
Brown came over as a right “dick’.
Hope he retires at next election and lets Mike Lee stand.
Then we will see some real backbone, not like the spineless Brown.
Don’t know why I voted for him.
Not only Len Brown out of whack but also Vicky Buck .What the hell is going on?
On another note an example of how politicians might be captured by interest groups in contradicition of their own constituencies best interests…..in this case listening to “expert” advice from their own employees.
Hawkes Bay council officials were taken by Apache (an appropriately named fracking enterprise) to Canada to prove that all we have heard about the contamination of ground water etc by fracking is “misinformation”. I am assuming that 5 Star hotels and meals were inclusive, plus the usual sanitised tours (propaganda as pioneered byCommunist states)….how could I be so cynical?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/kaikoura/6532286/Fracking-information-not-always-accurate
Poor journalism – that article doesn’t actually note that their trip was paid by Apache, so is little more than PR spin.
Sigh… Have our local and central government officials learnt nothing from the Timberlands debacle??…
Lobbying/PR is a scourge.
This American Life: What Kind of Country?
All across the country right now, local and state governments are finding they can’t pay their bills. Schools are losing teachers, street lights are going dark, garbage is piling up in public parks, and cops are suddenly an optional expense. This week we travel to Colorado Springs, to Trenton and to the office of Grover Norquist to ask: Is the kind of country we want? One where government gets smaller? Or should we all pay higher taxes, and keep government bigger?
Definitely worth a listen. If others don’t have the time, jump to Act Three, which sums the story up nicely and promotes further thought on small government/privatisation/government spending.
Listened, it proved that ideology gets on the way of common sense…
can’t wait for the dystopia of darken streets, potholes and barren parks so we can all save a few bucks trying to eliminate Govt, while we wait for some benevolent overlord to throw a few crumbs to keep things in his neighborhood going.
Happy International Women’s Day. http://www.internationalwomensday.com/
Still a long way to go in NZ and further in many other countries before any sort of equality is reached.
However, I suspect the Standard readership is overwhelmingly male, and don’t see IWD as relevant to them.
[lprent: Nope.
From the little data that we do have from the advertising side, it appears that the readership is lower for females than males (in the order of ~40% to ~60%) but not massively out of whack. There could be some bias in those numbers because of the way that they collect the data.
However if you’d said that the commentators were still largely male then you’d have been correct from my observation (no easy way to be certain). But it is a much smaller population that the readers. It was less than a tenth of the humans that read the site when I last dug through the IP numbers for the readers and commentators.
The number of identifiable female commentators seem to fluctuate considerably and they do seem to leave fewer comments. But I think that both are slowly climbing. ]
uhuh… and this kind of comment is meant to endear me to the idea of supporting it?
I love my wife, I respect her and I support her. However I have no great love for the outspoken extremes of the continuing feminist movement because of comments such as yours that denigrate me as a male. What did I ever do to you other than being born with the wrong genitalia? (and yes, the irony is intended)
…comments such as yours that denigrate me as a male…
Whoa. Did I miss something? Has a comment been removed?
Please explain.
“However, I suspect the Standard readership is overwhelmingly male, and don’t see IWD as relevant to them.”
This implies that in a predominantly male community this Hilary person automatically presumes there is no empathy for female issues.
Depends on the reliability of a random comma as used on the interwebz 🙂
In general, I’d probably agree with the suspicion that even in these enlightened days an overwhelmingly male group would not prioritise IWD highly, if at all. The major difference these days is that said groups might say or do the appropriate things when reminded of e.g. who always ends up cleaning the cups after the meetings. “Empathy” is thin on the ground.
The NZ events look interesting, but I don’t think much of your promotional strategy, it reminds me too much of Paul Henry.
I think George Orwell said it best when he said…
“2 legs are better than 4”
Let me rephrase that. There are of course a lot of very good men out there (probably a majority on the left). They would have been doing the childcare while their wives were out gathering signatures for the women’s suffrage petition in the 1890s etc.
However, while there remains significant structural and actual discrimination by society based on some ‘average white male norm’, against groups on the basis of gender,ethnicity, sexuality or disability, there is work to do. The gender battle has been going on for many millennia and in many countries doesn’t seem to be making any progress. Addressing this is a responsibility for all of us.
International Womens Day hasn’t been mentioned in the mainstream media or the blogs that I have seen today. I suspect that this is because women are too busy doing the 24/7 grind keeping the world going, rather than having spare time or resources to contribute.
So I am not promoting IWD or wanting your support if you are wavering. Just commenting on an observation.
And the observation is an incredibly sexist one…
If you are looking to replace an inequal society/system with an equal one you can’t afford to be so discriminatory…
It has on BBC Radio! (Also amongst my friends in Italy, it’s a really big thing there.. and so the World Service concentrated on Italy in its items..)
Also amongst my friends in Italy, it’s a really big thing there
It’s huge in Eastern Europe too. Seems to be something that has come out of the communist era and has been merged with the later IWD. Apparently it’s more of an appreciation day rather than a political event – official or non-official public holidays, little presents etc.
Annie Lennox has done some excellent promotional work for International Women’s Day here.
She makes this pertinent comment:
“I don’t think feminism is about the exclusion of men but their inclusion … we must face and address those issues, especially to include younger men and boys”
Yes.
One must always bring other stakeholders on board to be successful. The alternative, their exclusion, if successful, will never last. This applies to anything.
Yes inclusion – an inclusive society would be nice. Also safe and secure for everyone. Up to everyone to work on this together, not leave it as a problem for the excluded.
LP: Thanks for the info. From my perspective, the Standard is often a total sausage fest, whith a strongly macho element to the debates. This isn’t unusual on blogs; the loudest voices eventually stifle the quieter contributions in a way that echoes the dominance of men in wider society.
I’m not excusing myself, either. I had to have a good think about how I behave here myself when I was accused of misogyny by a woman poster a year or so ago. I don’t believe it to be true, but it did give me the opportunity to think about how women contributing here might see things.
So kudos to Hillary. Even if the words weren’t perfect, the sentiment is pretty close to correct. I’d be interested to know how others think the Standard could become a more inclusive site and lift those numbers to a more reflective 50/50.
I’d be interested to know how others think the Standard could become a more inclusive site and lift those numbers to a more reflective 50/50.
As far as I am concerned that is easy to envisage, a lot harder to achieve. More woman authors who post more than they currently do.
Hard enough to get authors. But it feels like what I’d envisage is the pain threshold of waxing arsehairs to get female authors doing regular posts. It is enough of a real pain recruiting authors and having them do more than a few posts, but I draw the line at the pain of waxing. Hell, I avoid facial shaving if I have a chance…
Um – what clues do you use to suspect a poster of being female?
In my case I can see their email, their comment history, and I get far more email from female commentators when they need assistance. I look at the topics of interest, what they have said, and see a pattern – just as i do for everyone. There is also a difference in writing style – can’t tell you what it is, but it is distinctive when you read as many comments as I do (Irish is the master at the art of detecting personality in writing).
It isn’t precise. But it is good enough to look at trends.
Double posting, sorry.
Thanks for that data. It actually takes a bit of courage/confidence to participate in this site which (like many others) frequently has testosterone-fuelled and personally aggressive comments. Perhaps that is why women choose to opt out.
Good work Hone in putting this open letter out there so overseas investors are under no misunderstandings about what will happen in the future
“As the leader of the MANA Movement and Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, I wish to advise that MANA is opposed to the privatisation of state assets and will strongly argue for any shares sold to overseas investors to be returned to New Zealand hands.
You have been warned…”
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1203/S00104/open-letter-to-overseas-investors.htm
http://mars2earth.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/fair-warning.html
Agreed marty mars, fight fire with fire. Go Hone!
Btw, I recall last week some coughing and spluttering from yourself when I referred to the military machinations of Ngai Tahu. In the last week I have had cause to visit various tourist sites around the South Island, several of which had informations available regarding Maori history at the particular sites. I was quite appalled at the lack of reference to those who existed prior to Ngai Tahu’s invasions and the dominance of recent history (last 200 years i.e. Ngai Tahu) over longer history. I guess that some things never change – the victor writes the history books.
oh vto rest easy the histories are there for those who are able to see them. Look up mana whenua and whānui, they might give you some clue – but seriously stick to the stuff you nearly know rather than things you know nothing about – makes you less stressed and less antagonistic.
anyway I’m off to drive tourists on farewell spit now so I’ll reply to your inevitable prodding a bit later…
” the histories are there for those who are able to see them. Look up mana whenua and whānui, they might give you some clue – but seriously stick to the stuff you nearly know rather than things you know nothing about – makes you less stressed and less antagonistic.”
Actually marty, my point was that “the histories weren’t there”. That is what I specifically looked for. That is what my comment above concerned – the particular point of histories made available at tourist sites. Do you expect people to google stuff at each place they visit? Is that what people do out on Farewell Spit?
And please stop attacking me personally and accusing me of not knowing stuff and being antagonistic. You wouldn’t have a clue about my knowledge base. I have seen tiny little knowledge from you, just coughing, spluttering, harrumphing, etc. And where on earth is the antagonism in my post above? Nowhere. Which indicates an uncomfortable defensive reaction on your part.
Try answering the issue and not playing the person. You make a habit of it and all it does is detract further from the points you haven’t made. In fact, whenever Maori issues get questioned those like yourself get highly defensive and abusive, just like our dear farmers whenever they get questioned about the shit in the rivers – all they do is harrumph and abuse and storm off.
Fact: Histories at tourist sites around the South Island are excessively slanted in favour of Ngai Tahu, the victors.
Answer: Happy to hear yours but more personal plays without substance on the issue at hand will confirm a growing suspicion re yourself.
you keep raising the same point in a snide way, such as – “when I referred to the military machinations of Ngai Tahu” and “I was quite appalled at the lack of reference to those who existed prior to Ngai Tahu’s invasions and the(ir) dominance of recent history.” Those statements are ignorant – sorry if that offends you. Just who are you talking about vto? Ngāti Mamoe? Waitaha? Guess what, most Ngāi Tahu whānui, like me, whakapapa to all three iwi – that’s what it means to be part of the iwi – it’s on the front page of their website, not hard to find. Perhaps you are talking about other peoples who inhabited the island – please tell me who you are talking about. Hopefully you don’t bring up some brailsford bullshit.
The reason behind the statements – give me that also and I will treat it with respect.
marty mars, this issue began when you raised yourself to some higher moral ground to look down on the european colonists and their military ways, forgetting your own past and its own military ways. The basis of the issue was hypocrisy and it was that which I was pointing out.
As for “Brailsford bullshit”, well, that is entirely the consistent reaction to anything which challenges current orthodoxy. The victors write the history books – always have.
so you’ve got nothing – no answers to any of my questions – you are totally delusional and a waste of time – how have I forgotton my past again LOL. If you don’t want me to flick you with a wet teatowel then don’t bait me for no reason.
Where was the baiting? It was you who climbed the lofty depths of confused moral high ground and forgot your own past and its military ways while at the same time deriding others for the same thing. I call that a baiting.
If you don’t like being questioned then don’t spout such bullshit.
perhaps you can link to this heinous crime I can’t remember it.
“… and through inter-marriage and conquest these migrants merged with the resident Waitaha and took over authority of Te Waipounamu.” Ngai Tahu website.
LOL, this is exactly what I was referring to. A painting of history at odds with the reality. For example, why write “…through inter-marriage and conquest … took over authority” which implies inter-marriage was somehow equal at the time to conquest? I tell you why – because it makes for a better looking history when compared to writing “though military conquest the Waitaha were conquered and authority assumed by mamoe at the end of a taiaha. … ” As for inter-marriage, how long after the “conquest” was that? Or was it a result of the rape by soldiers?
face it marty mars, the history as written is not settled. Why else would it get raised in conversation when in certain parts of the South Island?
And as for your moral high ground when referencing european military escapades as compared your own, sheesh, your own website blows that one out of the water. Wake up fulla.
@ Vto – perhaps if you identified the particular sites where you had concerns with the interpretation, it might be possible to advise you more precisely as to where to address your complaints. Of course, where Marty lives and works has different stories as he is outside the rohe potae of Ngāi Tahu whānui.
I am also interested to know why you have not engaged with the information I gave you. Is your ‘fight’ specific to Marty or do you just want to carry on believing the Brailsford fairy stories?
Hateatea, why would you think I place Brailsford over current history? I haven’t indicated that at all.
Regarding your pointers, I appreciate it. Sincerely. I don’t pick these ‘fights’ for fights sake. I have a genuine interest in these things. It is semi-amusing though how marty and I clash over these things.
I think I have made my point reasonably clearly above.
Appreciate the contact and think the conversation must be kept open – no matter how long it takes.
“at odds with the reality” – your distorted reality vto
“which implies” – only in your head vto
“better looking history” – so you say vto
the knowledge is there vto of what happened in detail the fact is you aren’t ready for it and couldn’t handle it – it not yours and not for you.
your bigotry shows through loud and clear with your final ‘fulla’ – you show yourself.
Get off the grass marty. Your post is as useless at the others, as I suggested previously. Once again you do nothing but point your points at me rather than the point. Have you got a point? Or do you just swallow everyone else’s goop?
And if you think the word ‘fulla’ is somehow pointing at something to do with you only then you are the one lacking reality. I’m out. Had enough.
‘A painting of history at odds with the reality. For example, why write “…through inter-marriage and conquest … took over authority” which implies inter-marriage was somehow equal at the time to conquest? I tell you why – because it makes for a better looking history when compared to writing “though military conquest the Waitaha were conquered and authority assumed by mamoe at the end of a taiaha. … ” As for inter-marriage, how long after the “conquest” was that? Or was it a result of the rape by soldiers?’
Sorry, Vto, but I don’t understand why you are beating Marty up about something that he didn’t writeThere has never been any dispute, that I am personally aware of, that firstly Ngati Mamoe and later, Ngai Tahu fought to gain dominance of most of Te Wahi Pounemu. Equally, I have never personally heard anyone refute that there were many ‘rongopai’ marriages that ensured the peace and bound the strands of whakapapa together. One of the best known of these is observed at Poupoutunoa near Clinton. http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/scripts/reports/reports/27/48D0AE4D-9734-410D-B1EE-14EB761D3F49.pdf
You have not been precise about the locales where you claim to have seen the offending lack of acknowledgement about other migration and settlement stories and your caginess lead both Marty and myself, independently of one another, to conclude that you may have been influenced by Barry Brailsford’s very romantic treatises on Waitaha.
If there is something specific to which you would like to refer, I wish you would just spit it out. I really do not like the constant jibing at Marty when neither he nor I, as far as I can tell, know of what he stands accused.
I am happy to engage in dialogue, I just need a clearer picture of what your real issue is with either Marty or Ngai Tahu (or both)
“Sorry, Vto, but I don’t understand why you are beating Marty up about something that he didn’t writeThere has never been any dispute, that I am personally aware of, that firstly Ngati Mamoe and later, Ngai Tahu fought to gain dominance of most of Te Wahi Pounemu. ”
I am questioning marty’s point some couple weeks ago that saw him clamber onto high moral ground and look down on the ways and means of the European as if they are / were somehow worse and more morally lacking than those of Maori at times of conquest or colonisation. His own history is the same, as you perfectly point out above. He chooses to ignore this and claim a superiority. That is what grates. An incorrect view of history and a hypocrisy. The line ‘the victor writes the history books’, so true through all of humanity, is entirely applicable.
That questioning by me of marty’s view then resurfaced through the example of Maori histories at tourist sites I happenned to come across some days ago, which also painted a view of their history seemingly at odds with other views. To further support this I copied just one part of Ngai Tahu’s website to indicate how the wording has been constructed to paint a more favourable picture than could otherwise have been written. He has not answered any of this except to say I am thick and no nothing. That is all he has said. Read it yourself, it is all there above and around.
You also say “You have not been precise about the locales where you claim to have seen the offending lack of acknowledgement about other migration and settlement stories and your caginess lead both Marty and myself, independently of one another, to conclude that you may have been influenced by Barry Brailsford’s very romantic treatises on Waitaha. If there is something specific to which you would like to refer, I wish you would just spit it out..”
No I haven’t been precise and I wont. The reasons for this relate to my activities in the South Island and the potential for personal exposure and its subsequent effects. You will appreciate that parts of the region are populated by few people who all know each other and live and work together. I am not putting that at jeopardy to satisfy a small example part of the wider issue I explained above.
You also say “I really do not like the constant jibing at Marty when neither he nor I, as far as I can tell, know of what he stands accused.”.
I invite you to re-read the above. Count up the personal attacks from marty and the lack of points made and evidence in support. It is marty who has on each post led the personal attack. Have a look. I am sick of it. He gets all upset everytime his understanding of the world gest questioned. Harrumphs, snorts, abuses and storms off. It is quite pathetic.
Marty claimed the moral high ground. I questioned it. He got all upset and has done nothing to support his claim.
“He chooses to ignore this and claim a superiority.”
no I don’t – please provide reference
“An incorrect view of history and a hypocrisy”
In your opinion or do you have backup for your ‘incorrect history’ story
“seemingly at odds with other views”
Which other views – come on provide your sources
“to paint a more favourable picture”
Once again in your view – favourable is subjective – my point to you is that you don’t know enough to understand the concept or content in relation to these matters, you are still looking through your blurred lense created by your own stuff.
You started this deliberate attack on me because you know I am part of the iwi. You added comments to my unrelated comments to bring up the point that you strongly wished to say. Yet you still waffle on scared to tell your truth. Here you go – get it out – tell me the real story.
“I don’t like Ngai Tahu”
“I don’t like maori getting special treatment”
“I don’t like maori not fitting in to our country” and so on…
Frankly, if it is actually about indigenous historial narratives and their use in creating perceptions and positioning for marginalised groups, I’ll eat my hat.
hey vto I’ve made you famous now
http://mars2earth.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/vto-and-me.html
I’ve told you already marty, I’m out. Had enough and can’t have a general discussion with you without personal attacks from you.
I have provided examples and evidence e.g. Ngai Tahu website. Tourist sites.
You continue with your baseless and unsupported attacks on me personally rather than debate the issue. In addition you provide not one single piece of evidence or example or sample anywhere to support anything you have claimed about me. All you say is “you’re ignorant”.
And now you think I “started this because you are part of the iwi”. For fucks sake I had no idea of that and it is irrelevant. And now you say these things too ““I don’t like Ngai Tahu”
“I don’t like maori getting special treatment”
“I don’t like maori not fitting in to our country” and so on…
You are full of substanceless shit. Piss off
jeepers what a sook
hopefully you’ll think twice before posting any more bullshit but somehow I doubt it.
hollow again
If the sites you visited had historical interpretation then you had the story from the perspective of the people who live locally ie the descendants of Ngai Tahu whanui. As most people don’t know how the whakapapa of Ngai Tahu is openly acknowledged as having the several strands, you may have confused the KISS principle for writing commentary for signage with suppression of other stories. It is more usual for available space to be the problem rather than a lack of knowledge of the whole history of an area.
Historians such as Harry Evison, Atholl Anderson and Dr Te Maire Tau have all written extensively on the various migrations from north to south that have resulted in what is called Ngai Tahu today but like Marty, those who whakapapa to the iwi take great pride in the individual strands and the stories that are interwoven
OK, this seems to be where it all started
‘Regarding theft of land – are you referring to Ngai Tahu and its military takeover and theft of the South Island and its resources such as pounamu, post European arrival?
You later seemed to acknowledge that you had been a little over the top
‘As for the military takeover by Ngai Tahu – that was a tiny exaggeration to go with your exaggerated claim re theft of lands in your first post above.’
Vto, it was more than exaggerated, it was a claim totally without foundation. Ngai Tahu had been in Te Wahi Pounemu long before the arrival of the sealers, whalers, traders and gun and while there were battles fought, describing it as a military takeover is more than a little OTT, isn’t it?
‘But why would it be such a shock to Ngai Tahu to learn of, or even begin to question, the warring ways to gain lands and resources which are then claimed from high moral ground under the treaty process in a subsequent century. Many parts of this period and history are quietly but forcefully shoved under the carpet. Perhaps a little more openness and honesty about what happenned then would be useful for all parties.’
Who is shoving them under the carpet? All this and much, much more was well and truly aired during the 150 years between the beginning of the Ngai Tahu Claim and the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act
‘As an example, the true history of Ngai Tahu on Te Tai Poutini combined with the undercurrents of today regarding pounamu may be a good starting point.’
There are many who feel that the role of their particular whanau or hapu has not been well served by the settlement process and I neither deny nor defend that. Indeed, many of them are whanaunga of mine.
‘I am questioning marty’s point some couple weeks ago that saw him clamber onto high moral ground and look down on the ways and means of the European as if they are / were somehow worse and more morally lacking than those of Maori at times of conquest or colonisation. His own history is the same, as you perfectly point out above. He chooses to ignore this and claim a superiority. That is what grates. An incorrect view of history and a hypocrisy. The line ‘the victor writes the history books’, so true through all of humanity, is entirely applicable.
‘No I haven’t been precise and I wont. The reasons for this relate to my activities in the South Island and the potential for personal exposure and its subsequent effects. You will appreciate that parts of the region are populated by few people who all know each other and live and work together. I am not putting that at jeopardy to satisfy a small example part of the wider issue I explained above’
That questioning by me of marty’s view then resurfaced through the example of Maori histories at tourist sites I happenned to come across some days ago, which also painted a view of their history seemingly at odds with other views. To further support this I copied just one part of Ngai Tahu’s website to indicate how the wording has been constructed to paint a more favourable picture than could otherwise have been written. He has not answered any of this except to say I am thick and no nothing. That is all he has said. Read it yourself, it is all there above and around.’
I have read it, once I tracked it all down. Mostly what I see is someone baiting and prodding (Vto) and someone who doesn’t really want to get into it (Marty) who sometimes was fairly terse in his responses to you. Forgive me if I have over simplified. The reality is that knowing our history and how it has created our particular whanau is something that is intensely personal and not one usually broadcast to the four winds
I understand the need for anonymity. I have a similar need and I may well be more easily identified than you. I don’t know. Nevertheless, your unwillingness to name any particular site where you disagree with the interpretation makes it difficult to evaluate how real the issue is
I think this matter got out of hand rather rapidly and that perhaps no one comes out of it totally without fault. I suppose that I would like to think that we can all move on from this rather than to continue to mount attacks and counter attacks everytime one of us sees the others screenname on a thread.
That we all have our own world view is a given. It is what makes the blogosphere interesting but we needed be constantly butting heads here. There is enough of that out there in the real world without transferring it to the etherworld.
Kia tau te rangimarie
Pretty good summary there Hateatea, well done. I too want to keep these debates open and enjoy and seek out arenas to test various things.
The problem that comes to mind from my perspective when raising these issues is that at times people do not like their seemingly solid foundations being questioned and they respond in a personal manner. That is understandable given our foible-filled character, though not particularly useful. Conversely, perhaps the issues could be raised by me in a better way.
A similarly difficult long line of debate between marty and I occurred recently when I questioned the relevance of the structure of the Treaty of Waitangi (not its content) in today’s world. For various reasons I think it should be re-worked – but that just elicited all sorts of personal responses.
Anyways, appreciate the thought and effort you have gone to. Last night I determined to take one of the matters above, the historical narratives at various tourist sites around the South Island, and dig deeper to evaluate the suggestions I have made re their realism or romanticism. If wrong I will admit it and change course (as I have done with other issues in the past). If not I would hope the same is offered in return. Watch this space.
Onwards!
Thanks for taking the time to respond, Vto.
I think that sometimes we are all inclined to forget that we are not receiving all the other clues we get in RL debate; body posture, facial movements, tone and pace of expression, merely flat words on a page and it can be far too easy to see aggression where none was intended.
I look forward to further harmonious discussions
Richard Pearson – Asshole of the Week
Yesterday, One News correspondent Stephen Smith reported that Ports of Auckland Chairman Richard Pearson refutes the Union claims that it was planning redundancies all along. Pearson ignores the fact that PoAL’s illegal Labour Strategy (PDF) that outlined how they would make the workers redundant has been made public…
Exactly Jackal, Pearson and the super city’s Mark Ford et al are the type of scumbags that rank right up there with Roger Douglas and Shonkey as traitors to this country.
Testing ajax edit.
Lost the popup.
Test again.
Ok – that looks like a bug
and again.
Interesting bug
Pay Equity Challenge Coalition says little good news for women on International Women’s Day.
Today marks the 101st International Women’s Day but according to the Pay Equity Challenge Coalition there is little good news for women workers.
“The Government has shown by moving the Minister of Women’s Affairs outside of Cabinet that working women’s issues are not a priority,” says spokesperson Angela McLeod.
“To add to that, the briefing to the new Minister doesn’t use the words “gender pay gap” let alone provide effective solutions on how to reduce it.
“According to the Quarterly Employment Survey figures, the gender pay gap for the final quarter last year was 13%, an increase from 12.85% in the September quarter. This is completely unacceptable,” says Mrs McLeod. The gender gap is even bigger in some occupations and in one public service department it reaches a high of 38%”
“Members of the Coalition will be seeking a meeting with the Minister of Women’s Affairs to talk about real solutions to close the pay gap. “We think it’s important to value the work that women do and to pay them fairly.
The Minister needs to understand that pay rates have to rise for women working in low paid occupations. The latest example is the Oceania residential aged care workers currently taking industrial action, who have been offered a pitiful 1% a year pay increase spread over three years. These workers are underpaid and undervalued yet take care of our respected and vulnerable elderly.
“Given that this is 2012 and is the Chinese Year of the Dragon, a year for prosperity, we’d like to see some more prosperity in the direction of the pay packets of these and other low paid working women,” Mrs McLeod adds.
“A Government plan to close the gender pay gap is the news we want to hear”
Great article on Ayn Rand (her birthday a few days ago) by Monbiot.
A great quote: “[what would her disciples think] if they knew that towards the end of her life she signed on for both Medicare and social security”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/05/new-right-ayn-rand-marx
An unneccessary spend of Govt money-
Botany Downs Secondary School built 2005 – stormwater flow issues reported to MOE in 2005. Now after investigations we find out ….
Pipes were undersized for the size of the school,poorly constructed, materials didn’t meet necessary regulatory codes, pipes installed incorrectly without adequate insulation,no concrete laid in base in stormwater holding tanks to use in irrigation of sports fields (And water leached out causing subsidence !!!), defects included sewage and sprinkle systems. And the MOE received Code of Compliance from the council. The result replacement of entire system by the MOE, with the MOE “considering” options into recovery of costs. How can this hapen !!!!! And where are those who should be accountable ???
Large numbers of NZ professionals, decision makers and tradesmen with subzero give-a-fuck factors.
Oh how the chickens come home to roost…..the column on “dumb arse POA management” resonates loudly, echos of ridiculous legislation by Douglas and a succession of ideologically blind fools.
As a business person I have always thought the whole idea of “creating markets” on natural monopolies was perhaps the most stupid piece of foolishness ever. All we have done as a nation is surrender a key component of our international competitiveness to ideological folly with a very negative dollar impact upon businesses that actually do something. The only ones who benefit are the corporate big boys who have better negotiating power, the rest of business actually end up worse off.
In a nut shell utilities (SOEs for power and transport etc) have been made to compete at cost to the rest of us. Capitaql that should have gone to productive enterprise has been captured to buy shares in these “rentier” ventures. Then you get the real stupidity….ports “competing” for the business of the likes of Maersk. How fucking stupid, it costs us all money. If they all belonged to “Waterfront NZ” SOE they might be able to plan rationally and negotiate effectively.
Or perhaps look at the UBF roll out…..lots of smaller contractors and big private ventures clipping the ticket, us paying more either through direct costs or by tax subsidies…why the hell did we sell Telecom????? making it run better is one thing, making us pay a lot more to shareholders is entirely another. Absolute foolishness.
As someone who thought Goff was much under-appreciated as Leader of the Opposition I must say it’s great to see him getting up in The House and serving it up to the Govt day after day on the cuts to MFAT. The Govt has no idea where the leaks are going to come from next but they have a sinking feeling that they are going to keep on coming. Payback for Goff for the three years when all those half-arsed National MPs thought he was good to kick the shit out of.
I agree. Goff seems so much more relaxed/happy but is really giving it to them on this issue. Just wish the rest of Labour were doing such a good job. IMO the jury is still out re Shearer.
Peter Dunne lying scum
Today, Peter Dunne challenged people to find evidence of him saying he was against the sale of our assets prior to the last general election… challenge accepted!
You won’t find anything of substance. Dunne has been clear and consistent, some try and nitpick but fail so they bluster.
Here’s a direct link to the speech: http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/11829
so..you support yr leader..
..and want the assets sold..?
phil@whoar.
Just coming along to say that I heard you on Radio New Zealand two or so hours back, Phil!
Best song ever written… Mine’s Solsbury Hill, but i like your choice…
The consummate politician says what he thinks would go down well but with enough ambiguity to claim denial later, after an Election.
Dunne? Definitely.
Key? Very much so.
Not at all, quite clear before and after to anyone who cares to check rather than just jump to conclusions.
but what about now pete when the will of the people is obviously against the sales will dunne listen to the people? I hope you have his ear because surely you believe in following the will of the people and wise words are needed. Please no distracting with the election dah dee dah I know, I voted, but here and now McFlock was correct with the numbers and analysis.
“Not at all, quite clear before and after to anyone who cares to check rather than just jump to conclusions.”
I did check.
http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz/peter-dunne-address-to-deloitte-business
I think that makes Ianmac correct when he says:
“The consummate politician says what he thinks would go down well but with enough ambiguity to claim denial later, after an Election.”
This is dishonest nonsense:
“When you take peoples’ property against their consent, that is called theft. This Government is proposing to steal the assets from 100 per cent of New Zealanders and give it to the 1 per cent.”
(Russell Norman)
well, theft is the main modus operandi of a kleptocracy.
What else would you call it?
Jofhn Christiansen of Mt Albert could give his neighbour Judith Bassett a call and go search out some homeless vagrants to take home for a nice re-assuring cuppa with her and Micky. They could enjoy those nice scones (Mike’s Mum’s special recipe) and talk about Judith’s old headliner POA and how to get lead letter in the “New Zealand” Herald. Then drive them down to Hobson St and be awfully shocked on the way home with the thought of bloated human corpses in a city built on Fordism and a complete denial of the worth of a human person.
New evidence that excessive exposure to the sun can cause brain damage
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/new-evidence-that-excessive-exposure-to-the-sun-can-cause-brain-damage/