Hourly rainfalls in mm from Milford since 10am. Looks a lot, but pretty common there. At least the Kepler isn't prone to flooding like parts of the MF track, but pretty exposed to wind up on the ridges.
I was surprised/pleased by his denunciations of the illegal israeli settlements..in land occupied in israeli military actions…and his call for a two state solution…
The US seems to be getting the message that the brutality shown by their support of the Israeli genocide in Gaza is going to cost them dearly at the elections. First Schumer and now Pelosi. The deliberate killing of workers from a US NGO and the bombing of Iranian embassy in Damascus are bridges too far even for them. It appears that negotiations between the Iranians and US have come to the point that Iran will not retaliate if the war in Gaza comes to an end. This leaves Israel as the only nation now comitted to escalation as a path out of their abhorrent mess. It also shows that the US could have ended this at any time simply by withdrawing Israeli support. The build up of international repulsion has left the US with no other choice and has demonstrated the potential of the UN even when constrained by UNSC vetos
Sadly, Israel would only agree to a temporary cease fire which goes to highlight their bad faith bargaining and intention to continue with their genocide after the hostages were released
I'm gobsmacked to think of what your "more deaths" means. Also, genocide does not mean complete eradication of a population. You do understand that the ICJ has determined that Israel has a case of genocide to answer? And that the killing in Gaza was at a pace far exceeding any modern conflict??
The problem Biden has is that if takes too strong an anti-Israel stance, he will lose a large enough percentage of the population (not just Jewish Americans, but Christians as well) that he will be handing Trump a victory. A Trump presidency would let Netanyahu off the leash, which will be much worse for Palestinians.
[Please stick to your approved user name, thanks – Incognito]
In fact, the opposite is the case. As with the whole world outside of Israel, repulsion of Israels actions in Gaza is the majority amongst US Jews and the younger they are, the more this horror is felt and expressed. What may dry up is money from the super wealthy who are generally older and more likely to be strongly Zionist.
"If everyone in the world contributed the same level of warming per capita as New Zealand, total warming would peak with a temperature rise of five degrees and decline to around 4.3 degrees by 2100, the Commission said. Even more embarrassing, if global emissions were allocated to countries entirely on a per capita basis, New Zealand would emit way above the global per capita allocation in 2050. Because 51 per cent of New Zealand’s warming emissions come from livestock farming, the Commission has focused much of its advice on this.
"Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere. Even though CO2 has a longer-lasting effect, methane sets the pace for warming in the near term."
"About 30% of today’s global warming is driven by methane from human actions."
Am I reading the data correctly that is associated with this report.
So for example in the worst case scenario of the modelling data (low technology and low systems change so basically if we do nothing from now on?) New Zealand's estimated contribution to all global warming from 1850 up until 2020 was approximately 3 / 1000th's of 1 degree C or 0.0003 degrees C ?
Further in the same scenario that assumes we do nothing to address emissions, New Zealand's contribution to all global warming from 2020 up until 2050 is projected to be approximately 1 / 10,000th of 1 degree C or 0.0001 degrees C ?
This worst case scenario is a pretty miniscule contribution, but regardless this is the only scenario out of the 4 in which we are actually projected to contribute to any warming at all which happens between now and 2050. Even the the high technology / Low systems change scenario expects us to be negative or non contributors in the future.
Is that what the modelling data says? If so then doesn't that mean we are on the right path for net zero by 2050?
approximately 3 / 1000th's of 1 degree C or 0.0003 degrees C ?
"3 / 1000th's of 1 degree C" is 0.003°C, not "0.0003 degrees C".
Probably just a typo – it'll be fune
Not sure I'm interpreting that spreadsheet data correctly either, but here goes.
Using the data in, say, the "NZ_ssp126_EB41990" sheet (that's the first sheet to the right of the "Readme" sheet) to calculate the contribution of NZ's methane emissions to global warming over the last 30 years, I'd add up the annual contributions in the "NZCH4" column ("Contribution to global warming from biogenic CH4 emissions since 1850 to 2300 in Aotearoa New Zealand") from 1994 to 2023 inclusive, which sum to +0.06°C. That's a large fraction of the contribution of NZ's total emissions (+0.087°C) over the same period – seems a bit much tbh.
Still, the point is that on a per capita basis, NZ punches well above its weight in anthropogenic emissions, particularly methane. How could it be otherwise, given the amount of ruminant meat and dairy Kiwi farmers produce – and I do love dairy.
Michael, my initial interpretation must be wrong – NZ's contribution to global warming would be way to high, maybe 6% of the total ~1.5°C.
So maybe the numbers are cumulative, in which case according to the spreadsheet data NZ's contribution to global warming (to 2023) is +0.0031°C (so your intepretation is correct), with methane making up +0.002°C of that? Help!
Hard to take the commission completely seriously when they start throwing in so many "if's" for scenarios that don't exist.
I think it says that emissions targets are allocated based upon economic capacity not per capita.
Regardless it's not that embarrassing when you take into account that NZ has a small population but is a global food producer via our dairy and to a lesser extent meat exports. Regardless the commission says we can reach net zero in terms of our food production emissions and farmers have already begun to make the necessary changes.
I find these reports and the modelling data quite difficult to read and understand clearly so please don't abuse me if I'm wrong.
Fuck I hate the per capita argument, most of our methane is from food production, we produce somewhere between 30 to 40 million peoples worth of food, so if ypu being honest divede our methane buy 30 million people
The Taxpayer's Onion send out emails such as this to those they believe support their fomenting 🙂
"Hi Friend,
Look, I know we've been giving Finance Minister Nicola Willis a hard time in recent months for the various tax u-turns and backdowns, but, actually, right now I think we need to swing in behind her.
Here at the Taxpayers' Union, we'll stick up for taxpayers no matter who is in charge, but reading the media over the last few weeks, it's like Wellington lives in a parallel universe.
The media and so-called 'pundits' are falling over themselves to call on Ms Willis to cancel her long-signalled tax relief.
In politics, the squeaky wheel gets the oil – and unless we make a song and dance too, there is a real risk Nicola Willis takes the 'easy road' and kicks tax relief into the long grass.
That would mean the Government wouldn't need to go as hard or fast in tackling wasteful spending – that's exactly why Wellington's self-interested bureaucracy are trying to sink Ms Willis' plan.
Every day we seem to be waking up to Luxon, Seymour and others behaving increasingly like dictators, constantly lecturing and haranguing New Zealanders on how awful we are. Am sick of it.
More thoughts on free speech and Rainbow story time
"First my personal view on Rainbow story time is that in NZ it is pretty harmless. My kids have been to a couple of them, and they enjoyed them. They were totally non-sexual and they are more akin to children’s pantomimes where leading female characters are often played by men for humorous effect."
Farrar is a fucktard who piously offers up his liberal credentials on the targets of right wing culture war hate while vigorously pumping out the bullets to be fired via his various grifting cronies and comments sections.
He can take his so-called liberalism and shove it up his blue arse.
Always found Farrar's cultivated tone of sweet reasonableness on mainstream platforms like RNZ irritating. A right wing janitor who superficially tidies up the bathroom, but leaves pathogens on every surface.
One of those sit back in your chair and go "Dang! I wish I'd thought of that!" metaphor moments followed by a secret resolution to steal it and use it on every occassion as if it was yours.
His mincing pronunciation makes him difficult to listen to on any subject. He is a classic right opportunist and crawler, feigning reasonableness depending on his audience.
I have not forgotten “Dirty Politics” and his Slateroil days.
He's trying to have a foot in both camps. It starts off reasonably and ends reasonably but in the middle he gets into the political element of the matter.
I think local councils have every right to have a say in who is allowed to speak at council owned venues – within reason of course and bound by rules which ensure the right cannot be abused.
If some outfit invites an off-shore nut-bar [or two] to come here and incite racial hatred or crackpot theories designed to generate civil unrest, then they would be failing in their duty if they allowed them a platform to spread disinformation and create widespread disorderly conduct.
The Court applied the recent CA judgment in Moncrief-Spittle v Regional Facilities Auckland [2021] NZCA 142 which dealt with similar facts. Nation J concluded that the Library’s decision to cancel the event was reviewable and engaged the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly under New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.
Nation J found "There is sufficient evidence before me at this stage to be clear that SUFW cannot rationally be described as a "hate group"". He found that this cannot affect whether SUFW should be allowed to exercise its rights to free speech and freedom of assembly.
Nation J found the Council's decision was a "significant failure to recognise SUFW's right to freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly." SUFW did not in any way mislead the Library as to the nature of the event or the particular views they wished to discuss. Library staff had no safety concerns for themselves or anyone else and there was no evidence of a threatened protest.
However, the Council's decision put conditions on the event which insisted that SUFW could only present their views on the Bill if they were countered by speakers with an opposing view.
Result
The High Court found the cancellation decision was not a rational and reasonable limitation on rights and ordered that the event proceed, which is reportedly did, without protest.
Was thinking about the Wellington event, but from memory the Mayor decided it was allowed (though he personally would have preferred it not be allowed) after the SUFW court case.
This should be a serious discussion, ignoring other people's or groups views only results in further resentment, alienation, division within society.
Imho, some views are soooo wack that if I didn't ignore them, then teasing would be a rational response. Maybe there's a chance a patient person could persuade a Destiny Church member that earthquakes are not caused by homosexuals – a remote chance.
Why Do So Many People Believe Nonsense? [19 Sept 2022]
If you believe in truth, you are not free to choose the truth you want. You are obliged to choose the truth that is true, the one that is based on the preponderance of evidence-supported conclusions.
…
Why do people believe nonsense? Again, because they want to. Studies have revealed a statistical personality profile for folks that embrace false conspiracy theorists. They are often people who feel that they have little control over their own lives. Perhaps believing they have an esoteric peek behind the curtain to see the guy manipulating the switches gives them a sense of empowerment. And joining with others, who in their minds, have also dared to look behind the curtain, gives them a sense of belonging. Hence the QAnon slogan, “Where we go one, we go all.”
How's he trying to have a foot in both camps. It says in the post that he believes in NZ it is non sexual and harmless. That to me would fairly clearly show him to be in one camp, the yep it's fine nothing to see here camp?
How do you figure councils have a right to not allow anyone to speak at a publicly owned venue???? People who have viewpoints you don’t like pay rates as well you know….
That’s exactly how you create division by not allowing viewpoints to be heard which are different from your own.
As long as they aren’t inciting violence, anybody has a right to promote their viewpoint. If people disagree with that viewpoint then they should give an argument that people will listen to and agree with. Banning speech only ever leads to polarization and worst still extremism.
There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of when it comes to people having many different ideas and viewpoints.
It's got nothing to do with what I might think, and everything to do with the intention of the person/persons who come here to create unrest. The case I was thinking of was a couple of dubious characters from Canada who came here to spread extremist ideology. I don't remember their names but, iirc, the owners (don’t think it was council in this case) of the venue cancelled the hall hire and they flounced off in a raging sulk.
While they were here, they ridiculed a Maori cultural mural at the airport. They thought they were being funny.
Of interest is that when Palmerston North council tried the same thing with Speak Up For Women, the council lost. The judge said there was no evidence that SUFW were a hate group. I linked elsewhere on this page.
It would be nice to think the courts are drawing a useful line in the sand, but I think the Southern/Molyneux case was more to do with threats of violence from people protesting the event.
"It would be nice to think the courts are drawing a useful line in the sand, but I think the Southern/Molyneux case was more to do with threats of violence from people protesting the event."
It was. "Before Southern and Molyneux could share their deeply unpleasant worldviews in Auckland (an indication of its likely content here, with strong trigger warnings for racism), the protest group Auckland Peace Action promised to confront the pair in the streets and blockade entry to their speaking venue. Those promises raised concerns about whether the event could be safely held at the Bruce Mason Centre, which in turn caused Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA) – the Auckland Council-owned company running the venue – to cancel the contract to use it."A commonsense conclusion to the sordid little Southern/Molyneux saga | The Spinoff
FWIW I happened upon this piece on TS that was written at the time of On ‘free speech victims’. « The Standard. It covers some discussion (including comments from you) about SUFW.
I’m not a fan of cancelling opinions we disagree with, even if we find them abhorrent, primarily because these assessments are often subjective and the risk of the thugs veto is always in play. And then there’s this – it seemed to me at the time that Southern and Molyneux received more attention by being cancelled than they ever would have by being allowed to speak.
…. it seemed to me at the time that Southern and Molyneux received more attention by being cancelled than they ever would have by being allowed to speak.
There is truth in what you say. Thank-you for the reminder. However some of that attention was the result of their ridiculing antics over the Maori mural at the airport and that was what pushed them over the line for me. I was glad they were sent packing because of that behaviour alone.
Okay Anne, who should get to decide whether or not someones views or opinions should not be heard?
How do you know that someone has extremist ideology? And who gets to decide what an extremist ideology is? Or is it just what some random group of people believe?
Personally I’d like to know who these busybodies are, so I can if possible avoid them. I generally don’t like to be told what to think, say or do, however I’m usually open to a discussion.
"Personally I’d like to know who these busybodies are, so I can if possible avoid them. "
The problem is that it if you want to have the discussion, simply avoiding the people you label 'busy bodies' isn't enough. They are taking a position that you are to be prevented from listening in person, devoid of censorship or context editing, to people they disapprove of. That rather renders redundant your desire to discuss or even, God forbid, challenge the ideas (e.g. by way of Q&A).
Pantomime "Dames" you mean? And how did they portray women? "Widow Twankey" etc were shown as unattractive older women, usually sexually frustrated, and the butt of sexist jokes. OTOH – the "Best Boy" (played by a woman) was cast as the "Hero".
At the same time – Asian characters like "Wishy Washy" were also the subject of racist stereotyping.
"Yellowface, Blackface" and "Womanface" – all equally offensive.
"and Mrs Doubfire" Robert, once again you participate in matters concerning women and girls but seem to have little empathy and understanding for nuances.
"Drag queens take the trappings of femininity and exaggerate these to create a grotesque caricature which, at its core, humiliates women. "
"But it is also highly sexualised adult entertainment, which many people feel is pretty misogynistic"
"Mrs Doubtfire and panto dames are nothing like RuPaul’s Drag Race. Paul O’Grady was a brilliant performer, wholly respectful of the women he drew on for his inspiration for Lily Savage."
It is ominous that this Government cuts data collection so I guess that they can claim that there is no problem, in say Child Poverty.
Sharon Brettkelly writes;
The uncertain future of two comprehensive studies on children and poverty has sparked fears that data gap will lead to leaky sieve policies. How can we fix problems we don't know about?
After thinking it through, I've decided I'm in favour of less crime. And I think healthcare should be good. Education is also good. And when it comes to the environment, I will be bold and honest. I think it should be nice and green.
Luxon is doing a terrible job representing business people to New Zealand with his incredible tone deafness and unpopularity.
He’s like a cartoon villain from a 1980s cartoon.
Mr. Lux is helping tobacco companies get more smokers addicted.
Mr. Lux is giving all the money to landlords.
‘No, citizens you are feeble in economics and don’t understand the blessings this will bring you’
Mr Lux is mining on special conservation land and destroying marine reserves.
‘We need more space for my friends yacht races. The lack of pollution is red tape holding back our empire.’
Mr Lux doesn’t like his house, it needs more servants! CEOs aren’t like us, they’re a kind of royalty. CEOs are entitled, citizens.
‘We consulted on rentals and environmental reforms, citizens. Arrhahaha!’
Agriculture is your friend. Dumped tree waste is your friend. The floods will not return. Pay no attention to those insurance companies. We don’t need scientists. We have a plan!
He's sending nz into depression, he's convinced everyone the country is fucked ,he's putting people on the unemployment benefits, he's forcing more people to aussie, housing projects getting canceled left right and center, fuckers are up to something, or just incompetent?
In fact a short article on the Generation Zero site ties together decolonisation here and climate concerns in a manner that resonates with many. Hence why one sees tino rangitiratanga signs at Palestine activities and Palestine signs at climate activities or demonstrations of mana motuhake.
Rob Campbell tackles head-on the misguided criticism (by older generations, I assume) of youth activism by Generation Zero, and SS4C, I assume. I stress that he avoids making this an inter-generational issue.
When younger activists talk about the related nature of many injustices that surround climate, they should not be rejected or scoffed at but welcomed and supported. After all, they are right.
The Taxpayers’ Onion are such a bunch of disingenuous shit-stirrers aided by useful RWNJs and idiot trolls for spreading their spawn. As usual, they’re trying to connect dots in the time-space continuum by digging wormholes that only exist in their pubescent little brains that boil over with premature excitement at the idea or mental image of scoring a point with their willy-wads. Of course, they cannot figure out the difference between past tense (date of RFP well over a year ago and date of tender award more than 9 months ago) and future tense (what may, or may not, happen with Government-ordered cuts by the new shambolic Coalition of Charlatans).
I agree Robert. Incognito is on a roll. Please supply lots of material so he can continue.
As usual, they’re trying to connect dots in the time-space continuum by digging wormholes that only exist in their pubescent little brains that boil over with premature excitement at the idea or mental image of scoring a point with their willy-wads.
This for brilliance and I like the 'Coalition of Charlatans' as well!
For sure, have watched CC since a kid and still do. The funny thing is these days they include more new age farmers running on solar, horticulturists with interesting crops, more women involved in farmwork, organic growers–and they get complaints sometimes from the Groundswell lot for doing so. Farms in picturesque or high country locations get shown too.
The giant industrial waterway ruining Dairy lot are rarely covered from what I have seen the last couple of years. But they are still there…
Fair Go challenges con artists and poor business practice and holds people to account–or did…
Yep, effective comms people and deep pockets, it is almost seen as unpatriotic to criticise dairy.
“They” grabbed the narrative on Three Waters also, which sees people the country over facing substantial rate rises, with still no clear solution to the crumbling infrastructure. I collect rain water with two tanks and filter it, didn’t use to bother filtering, but it tastes good and I don’t get “boil water” notices.
The staff can go independent and produce a programme online.
They can set up a Friends of Fair Go site for donations.
They can work with Consumer Magazine, Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
They can do stories on landlords and tenants – no doubt plenty about.
News staff and others from Newshub have the option of bringing "video" skilled staff to various online media and or making that a point of difference, with their own on-line media site.
Well there's one spot of good news in all this darkness: Reality Check Radio is off the air and having to rattle the old begging-bowls (you'll need to scroll down a fair bit):
should the word 'woman' be legally defined by gender identity or biological sex.
My take,
Historically, when laws were written around this, woman mean adult, human female. It wasn't defined in law, because everyone understood what woman and female meant. In recent decades, gender identity has been written into law to give trans people some protections. But this was done without addressing the sex/gender/gender identity definitions and what the conflict might mean for other rights and legislation.
So I'll stick my neck out. Where the rights of trans people can be protected they should be, but never, ever at the expense of 'biological women', or of the meaning that very phrase.
Seems to me like there are two distinct aspects to the trans rights side. One is establishing that it's illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender identity for things like housing, jobs etc. This makes sense to me, given the antipathy towards gender non-conforming people generally.
The other is the push to colonise women's spaces and culture. Some of that is justified as affirming trans women, but it's also clear to me that some of it is just straight out misogyny. Neither are justifications for removing women's rights.
Agreed. My view is the 'colonising woman's spaces and culture' bit is (or at least appears to be) a dominant force in the 'trans rights side' atm, which seems to me to be problematic for the rights of both gender non-conforming people and biological women generally.
This is probably pie in the sky and wouldn't necessarily be effective in a legal sense, but in theory….
That's why a solution could be for the vast majority to grit their teeth and give up on the words 'man' and 'woman'.
If everyone starts using only 'male' and 'female' where 'man' and 'woman' have traditionally been used then it could solve a lot of arguments. If a tiny minority are using words that the majority don't understand the meaning of so don't use things would quieten down pretty quickly maybe?
It would mean giving up part of the English language which could be difficult for some to stomach but it wouldn't be to appease a certain group of people it would be to simply remove the arguments.
If you don't know what a woman is (and who can these days) just start always using 'female'.
Of course in that scenario we may end up with people starting to yell and scream about trans females… hehe
the word woman has a lot of usage where female is inappropriate. We don't say 'see that female over there' because that's kind of rude/weird.
not all females are women. Female applies to other animals, and plants. This is why the word woman means adult human female, and why giving up the word woman is a terrible idea. There is not really any other word we can use to name women.
at least half of TRA politics is about colonising. Everyone else changing their language won't make that go away.
TWATW. There was a period of time when most women would have been fine with old school transsexual/trans identified males. The arising of AGP culture changes everything. No way are women going to let men with the need to exhibit their sexual fetish into our spaces.
I believe body-shape has to come into it somewhere. No-one who went through puberty as a male and/or still has functional male genitals should be allowed to colonise spaces reserved for cis-women, against the occupants' will. No male-bodied people in women's toilets, changing-rooms or prisons.
That said, I'm easy about how people want to define or identify themselves.
It will be "interesting" LOL; and today he will not have Winston Peters sitting next to him propping him up and/or raising/causing diversions. I wonder who they will have in Winny's seat …
It may be my imagination but is Gerry getting tougher? But previous speakers would never allow a minister to keep talking over him when he's trying to cut political comments short. What's happened to the ability to cut a mike?
I notice that Gerry Brownlee frequently interrupts Opposition MPs when they are starting to ask a question. He comments about supposedly "too much" background noise from other MPs, then asks the questioning Opposition MP to start again. I feel this is a tactic, to try to unsettle the questioner and to interrupt the flow of the question. However, it doesn't seem to be effective.
The rule is that questions are heard in silence. Brownlee is insisting on that. He's starting to crack down on Ministers 'attacking' the previous government and today asked a government patsy questioner to ask her supplementary question without being a leading question opening up a further attack. Hopefully, he's starting to grow into the role.
Yes, I realise questions are to be heard in silence. However Brownlee does not consistently apply this requirement when Government MPs ask questions. Their colleagues are at times speaking to each other during these questions.
Cuts to two child poverty reports today. That was holding the country back.
Listened to a chap from CAB on the radio. No wonder they are always wanting to cut them and libraries. They give advice to under -25s and immigrants on casual work issues such as holiday pay and in tenancy issues. Particularly when flatting with the landlord it seems they’re exempt from a lot of the legal protections.
The public are looking for leadership, and if Labour can offer it, the Red-Green alliance will win the next election. The Greens are doing their bit already.
Call me old school, but the rule of thumb from a class left view is to unite all who can be united around certain things to build organisation and success.
Mr Hipkins sunk NZ Labour with his Cap’n’s Call from afar on wealth tax and CGT and will be replaced in due time. Te Pāti Māori and Greens get out and about and are leading the way at the moment–politics is way more than just Parliament and comms.
Green Co Leader Ms Swarbrick seems to eat Govt. MPs for breakfast going by any interview I have seen. So…Labour, Green, TPM need to get a combined move going and State Sector Unions might consider finally electing a CTU leader as good as Hellen Kelly and taking some direct action against the COC Govt.
Paul The Other One discusses NZers' decrease in media trust, media literacy, and social media algorithms that encourage bias confirmation.
I wonder how much of this is the decrease in tone-neutral fact reportage, and the rise, begun by Paul Holmes in feely news and op-ed infotainment, vs. thinky news?
Although the trend is worldwide, New Zealand is a trend leader, along with UK and USA.
Could it have anything to do with the Public Interest Journalism Fund? The PIJF required news media to show “commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to Māori as a Te Tiriti partner” i.e. to support the previous government's promotion of the treaty as a "partnership". The report also cites public concern about censorship of the news, bias, and dumbing down.
"Could it have anything to do with the Public Interest Journalism Fund? "
Nope. It's entirely down to the agents who seek to undermine public confidence in the media they trusted for so long; that media hasn't betrayed the public, they've just been vilified by those who will benefit from insecurity in the populace.
Claims were also made by some that the news media was captured by government funding through the pandemic-related Public Interest Journalism Fund. At present, this theme is weaker than last year.
"In 2022, the JMAD trust in news report noted that one of the main reasons for distrust in news media was the government’s support for news media, in particular the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund that was launched during the pandemic and that included direct monetary support for newsroom roles and projects.9 The scheme was disestablished in June 2023."
The report is about public trust in the news. in response to the question "Could it have anything to do with the Public Interest Journalism Fund?" you replied "Nope" and "It's entirely down to…"
Based on this research, in 2022 the PIJF was clearly a factor, and it remains so in the latest report, albeit (as pointed out above) "this theme is weaker than last year".
I don't know who you are referring to as "Idiot conspiracy-theorists". If you explain, I can answer your question to me.
There are 'idiot conspiracy theorists' pontificating about all manner of things, Robert. Some clam the MSM is systemically left or right wing. Some claim the MSM is in the grip of evil global corporates or shadowy secret societies.
I understand your point to be that the public loss of confidence in the media was unrelated to the PIJF, and that criticism of the fund was the work of 'idiot conspiracy theorists'.
Specifically in relation to the PIJF, the report found (both on P42):
"Some stakeholders also expressed reservations that public funding of media firms may make those firms beholden to the government of the day and public officials might be reluctant to fund proposals that will be critical of government policies – which would undermine a key plurality objective of the media being able to hold public institutions and elected officials accountable." (Emphasis added). Unexpectedly, 'most news firms' denied that would be the case.
"However, several stakeholders expressed concern that funding decisions had crossed into editorial decision-making, with New Zealand On Air effectively holding a ‘beauty contest’ to choose which proposed stories/investigations merited support. It was suggested that funding these one-off incremental outputs will produce marginal public benefit and does little to encourage the industry to confront the true challenges of producing sustainable news." (Emphasis added).
The report raised other concerns with the PIJF, but I would argue that the issue of editorial independence is key to public confidence.
It was made clear many times as I heard in this discussion that, once funding was approved, the media content produced had full editorial independence.
If the general media fill their on-air hours with outrage content, like much of NewsTALK ZB, or private investors fund conspiracy channels like The Platform and Counterspin, then a balance of some sort is essential for healthy democracy.
Of course. And 'opinions' are what public perception (in this case "NZers' decrease in media trust" (from your comment above) is all about.
"Have a look here where all projects funded are."
Although the Sapere report raised other concerns, this conversation is about how public perception of the media was influenced by the PIJF. In that regard, the issue is not so much which projects were funded, but the conditions placed on editorial content to access that funding. Graham Adams (Graham Adams: Has government money corrupted journalism? – The Common Room (commonroomnz.com)) has a piece at The Common Room that outlines the 'instructions' and 'guidance' in the expanded criteria in 2022. The document providing this 'guidance' was titled “Te Tiriti Framework for News Media”, and amongst other things includes this "For news media, it is not simply a matter of reporting ‘fairly’, but of constructively contributing to Te Tiriti relations and social justice” and "Repeated references by the government to the English version [of the Treaty], in which Māori supposedly ceded sovereignty, have created systematic disinformation that protects the government’s assumption of sole parliamentary sovereignty.” Whatever you think of Adams' conclusions, the criteria, instructions and guidance provided are IMHO easily construed as editorial interference, whether they acted as such or not.
"It was made clear many times as I heard in this discussion that, once funding was approved, the media content produced had full editorial independence."
Well, that's what the media claimed. It may well be correct. However the Sapere report shows that there were concerns about how providing funding to media with (non-financial) strings attached that go specifically to editorial coverage was be perceived.
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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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Hoping everyone in Otago and Westland has provisions and a full fuel tank. That's a mighty system coming down.
What is the Kepler going to be like today and tomorrow? Asking for a friend….
at this stage it looks like the heavy rain will be Thurs. forecasting isn’t very accurate under this El Niño.
https://www.metvuw.com/forecast/forecast.php?type=rain®ion=nz&noofdays=7
I talked to your friend this morning and suggest they start going over that Kepler ridge early tomorrow morning.
Also be assured DoC team are in hourly contact with each other, and everyone will get a briefing morning and evening.
Thursday they will be in strong beech forest with good cover and no stream crossings of note.
Very experienced team rest assured.
More worried our English academic friend will be carried off unnoticed in the wind and rain and mugged by a pair of rambunctious Keas….
Hourly rainfalls in mm from Milford since 10am. Looks a lot, but pretty common there. At least the Kepler isn't prone to flooding like parts of the MF track, but pretty exposed to wind up on the ridges.
9.1
11.8
15.1
18.1
14.7
14.9
No Right Turn has it right on methane emissions. More Luxon lies.
https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2024/04/climate-change-bad-faith-from-national.html
Rod Carr was interesting on this issue on Morning Report just now. Listen here.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018933455/nz-should-strengthen-2050-climate-target-says-climate-change-commission
He is coming up soon on RadioNZ's Nine to Noon to do a much longer interview today.
Peters did ok…@ the u.n….
(Better late than never..)
Yep…just 5 months too late.
I was surprised/pleased by his denunciations of the illegal israeli settlements..in land occupied in israeli military actions…and his call for a two state solution…
Yep all good…Biden has been utterly useless….while the American's back Israel and keep sending arms and money nothing will happen.
The US seems to be getting the message that the brutality shown by their support of the Israeli genocide in Gaza is going to cost them dearly at the elections. First Schumer and now Pelosi. The deliberate killing of workers from a US NGO and the bombing of Iranian embassy in Damascus are bridges too far even for them. It appears that negotiations between the Iranians and US have come to the point that Iran will not retaliate if the war in Gaza comes to an end. This leaves Israel as the only nation now comitted to escalation as a path out of their abhorrent mess. It also shows that the US could have ended this at any time simply by withdrawing Israeli support. The build up of international repulsion has left the US with no other choice and has demonstrated the potential of the UN even when constrained by UNSC vetos
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/04/two-israeli-actions-misfired-pushed-netanyahoo-into-retreat-.html#more
Whoopee….it's only taken 6 months and 33k deaths…but then they are only Palestinian women and kids.
So if Hamas agrees to simply hands the hostages back, then they do that, the war will end.
When are they doing that?
Sadly, Israel would only agree to a temporary cease fire which goes to highlight their bad faith bargaining and intention to continue with their genocide after the hostages were released
If genocide was the goal there would have been far more deaths.
I'm gobsmacked to think of what your "more deaths" means. Also, genocide does not mean complete eradication of a population. You do understand that the ICJ has determined that Israel has a case of genocide to answer? And that the killing in Gaza was at a pace far exceeding any modern conflict??
The problem Biden has is that if takes too strong an anti-Israel stance, he will lose a large enough percentage of the population (not just Jewish Americans, but Christians as well) that he will be handing Trump a victory. A Trump presidency would let Netanyahu off the leash, which will be much worse for Palestinians.
[Please stick to your approved user name, thanks – Incognito]
Mod note
In fact, the opposite is the case. As with the whole world outside of Israel, repulsion of Israels actions in Gaza is the majority amongst US Jews and the younger they are, the more this horror is felt and expressed. What may dry up is money from the super wealthy who are generally older and more likely to be strongly Zionist.
That sound more logical Sub….who needs the money if you get the votes?
And Biden's campaign is already much better funded than Trumps and the polls are now neck and neck where previously Trump was ahead.
Rod Carr on farming and climate:
"If everyone in the world contributed the same level of warming per capita as New Zealand, total warming would peak with a temperature rise of five degrees and decline to around 4.3 degrees by 2100, the Commission said. Even more embarrassing, if global emissions were allocated to countries entirely on a per capita basis, New Zealand would emit way above the global per capita allocation in 2050. Because 51 per cent of New Zealand’s warming emissions come from livestock farming, the Commission has focused much of its advice on this.
Continue reading at https://www.politik.co.nz/why-rod-carr-is-optimistic-farmers-can-beat-climate-change/ | Politik"
"Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere. Even though CO2 has a longer-lasting effect, methane sets the pace for warming in the near term."
"About 30% of today’s global warming is driven by methane from human actions."
https://www.edf.org/climate/methane-crucial-opportunity-climate-fight
Am I reading the data correctly that is associated with this report.
So for example in the worst case scenario of the modelling data (low technology and low systems change so basically if we do nothing from now on?) New Zealand's estimated contribution to all global warming from 1850 up until 2020 was approximately 3 / 1000th's of 1 degree C or 0.0003 degrees C ?
Further in the same scenario that assumes we do nothing to address emissions, New Zealand's contribution to all global warming from 2020 up until 2050 is projected to be approximately 1 / 10,000th of 1 degree C or 0.0001 degrees C ?
This worst case scenario is a pretty miniscule contribution, but regardless this is the only scenario out of the 4 in which we are actually projected to contribute to any warming at all which happens between now and 2050. Even the the high technology / Low systems change scenario expects us to be negative or non contributors in the future.
Is that what the modelling data says? If so then doesn't that mean we are on the right path for net zero by 2050?
Data found here:
https://www.climatecommission.govt.nz/public/Uploads/EB4/supporting-docs/EB4-15-Temperature-modelling-full-results.xlsx
"3 / 1000th's of 1 degree C" is 0.003°C, not "0.0003 degrees C".
Probably just a typo – it'll be fune
Not sure I'm interpreting that spreadsheet data correctly either, but here goes.
Using the data in, say, the "NZ_ssp126_EB41990" sheet (that's the first sheet to the right of the "Readme" sheet) to calculate the contribution of NZ's methane emissions to global warming over the last 30 years, I'd add up the annual contributions in the "NZCH4" column ("Contribution to global warming from biogenic CH4 emissions since 1850 to 2300 in Aotearoa New Zealand") from 1994 to 2023 inclusive, which sum to +0.06°C. That's a large fraction of the contribution of NZ's total emissions (+0.087°C) over the same period – seems a bit much tbh.
Still, the point is that on a per capita basis, NZ punches well above its weight in anthropogenic emissions, particularly methane. How could it be otherwise, given the amount of ruminant meat and dairy Kiwi farmers produce – and I do love dairy.
https://genless.govt.nz/climate-change/new-zealands-emissions/
https://gml.noaa.gov/aggi/
Michael, my initial interpretation must be wrong – NZ's contribution to global warming would be way to high, maybe 6% of the total ~1.5°C.
So maybe the numbers are cumulative, in which case according to the spreadsheet data NZ's contribution to global warming (to 2023) is +0.0031°C (so your intepretation is correct), with methane making up +0.002°C of that? Help!
"If everyone in the world…."
"…, if global emissions were allocated"
Hard to take the commission completely seriously when they start throwing in so many "if's" for scenarios that don't exist.
I think it says that emissions targets are allocated based upon economic capacity not per capita.
Regardless it's not that embarrassing when you take into account that NZ has a small population but is a global food producer via our dairy and to a lesser extent meat exports. Regardless the commission says we can reach net zero in terms of our food production emissions and farmers have already begun to make the necessary changes.
I find these reports and the modelling data quite difficult to read and understand clearly so please don't abuse me if I'm wrong.
Fuck I hate the per capita argument, most of our methane is from food production, we produce somewhere between 30 to 40 million peoples worth of food, so if ypu being honest divede our methane buy 30 million people
Fyi
The Taxpayer's Onion send out emails such as this to those they believe support their fomenting 🙂
"Hi Friend,
Look, I know we've been giving Finance Minister Nicola Willis a hard time in recent months for the various tax u-turns and backdowns, but, actually, right now I think we need to swing in behind her.
Here at the Taxpayers' Union, we'll stick up for taxpayers no matter who is in charge, but reading the media over the last few weeks, it's like Wellington lives in a parallel universe.
The media and so-called 'pundits' are falling over themselves to call on Ms Willis to cancel her long-signalled tax relief.
In fact, the only exception I've seen to the chorus of howls to cancel tax relief was none other than my colleague Callum! He had a cracker op-ed in Stuff's The Post last week.
In politics, the squeaky wheel gets the oil – and unless we make a song and dance too, there is a real risk Nicola Willis takes the 'easy road' and kicks tax relief into the long grass.
That would mean the Government wouldn't need to go as hard or fast in tackling wasteful spending – that's exactly why Wellington's self-interested bureaucracy are trying to sink Ms Willis' plan.
That's why I'm emailing to ask you to join us in telling Nicola Willis to hold firm and deliver tax relief as part of May's budget. "
If the TU is so supportive of tax cuts now it must consider that Robertson did an excellent job in controlling government spending.
Every day we seem to be waking up to Luxon, Seymour and others behaving increasingly like dictators, constantly lecturing and haranguing New Zealanders on how awful we are. Am sick of it.
David Farrar reckons:
More thoughts on free speech and Rainbow story time
"First my personal view on Rainbow story time is that in NZ it is pretty harmless. My kids have been to a couple of them, and they enjoyed them. They were totally non-sexual and they are more akin to children’s pantomimes where leading female characters are often played by men for humorous effect."
Read more, if you care to, here:
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2024/04/more_thoughts_on_free_speech_and_rainbow_story_time.html
Farrar is a fucktard who piously offers up his liberal credentials on the targets of right wing culture war hate while vigorously pumping out the bullets to be fired via his various grifting cronies and comments sections.
He can take his so-called liberalism and shove it up his blue arse.
Always found Farrar's cultivated tone of sweet reasonableness on mainstream platforms like RNZ irritating. A right wing janitor who superficially tidies up the bathroom, but leaves pathogens on every surface.
Yr janitor metaphor deserves to be shortlisted for metaphor-of-the-week..
One of those sit back in your chair and go "Dang! I wish I'd thought of that!" metaphor moments followed by a secret resolution to steal it and use it on every occassion as if it was yours.
His mincing pronunciation makes him difficult to listen to on any subject. He is a classic right opportunist and crawler, feigning reasonableness depending on his audience.
I have not forgotten “Dirty Politics” and his Slateroil days.
That's the spirit!
He's trying to have a foot in both camps. It starts off reasonably and ends reasonably but in the middle he gets into the political element of the matter.
I think local councils have every right to have a say in who is allowed to speak at council owned venues – within reason of course and bound by rules which ensure the right cannot be abused.
If some outfit invites an off-shore nut-bar [or two] to come here and incite racial hatred or crackpot theories designed to generate civil unrest, then they would be failing in their duty if they allowed them a platform to spread disinformation and create widespread disorderly conduct.
The court case brought by the 'Let Women Speak' group in Wellington appears to indicate that councils don't have that right at all.
Palmerston North, or was there another case?
depends on the situation I think, but yes.
https://www.franksogilvie.co.nz/news/case-brief-whitmore-v-palmerston-north-city-council
Was thinking about the Wellington event, but from memory the Mayor decided it was allowed (though he personally would have preferred it not be allowed) after the SUFW court case.
Anne, who gets to decide if someone is a “nut-bar” and should not be allowed to speak in a publicly owned venue?
Maybe we should all be vetted to ensure that we have the correct opinions and views?
So who gets to decide?
I don’t know if you will agree with me or my views, so maybe you should be sent to a facility where your thinking can be re-calibrated.
We could call these facilities Gulags.
I believe Uncle Joe used them with great success…
Or maybe we could just ignore people whose opinions and views differ from ours.
Let's start with the obvious "nut-bars":
earthquakes are caused by homosexuals
Who said that?
The Bish’, one Mr Brian Scamaki.
In a nutshell.
obvious cases are easy. Try ones that are less clear.
What does that mean, weka?
Okay Robert, so who gets to decide if someone is allowed to speak at a public venue?
This should be a serious discussion, ignoring other people's or groups views only results in further resentment, alienation, division within society.
Who, David?
Not my call.
You reckon, free-for-all?
Wahoo!
Can children attend?
Imho, some views are soooo wack that if I didn't ignore them, then teasing would be a rational response. Maybe there's a chance a patient person could persuade a Destiny Church member that earthquakes are not caused by homosexuals – a remote chance.
"Or maybe we could just ignore people whose opinions and views differ from ours."
Or better still, listen to them and try to understand why they have those differing opinions and viewpoints
How's he trying to have a foot in both camps. It says in the post that he believes in NZ it is non sexual and harmless. That to me would fairly clearly show him to be in one camp, the yep it's fine nothing to see here camp?
How do you figure councils have a right to not allow anyone to speak at a publicly owned venue???? People who have viewpoints you don’t like pay rates as well you know….
That’s exactly how you create division by not allowing viewpoints to be heard which are different from your own.
As long as they aren’t inciting violence, anybody has a right to promote their viewpoint. If people disagree with that viewpoint then they should give an argument that people will listen to and agree with. Banning speech only ever leads to polarization and worst still extremism.
There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of when it comes to people having many different ideas and viewpoints.
It's got nothing to do with what I might think, and everything to do with the intention of the person/persons who come here to create unrest. The case I was thinking of was a couple of dubious characters from Canada who came here to spread extremist ideology. I don't remember their names but, iirc, the owners (don’t think it was council in this case) of the venue cancelled the hall hire and they flounced off in a raging sulk.
While they were here, they ridiculed a Maori cultural mural at the airport. They thought they were being funny.
Good riddance to bad rubbish I say.
Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux. Auckland Council cancelled a venue hire booking. Two men took that all the way to the Supreme Court and lost.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/130655335/supreme-court-dismisses-appeal-after-lauren-southern-stefan-molyneux-barred-from-venue
Of interest is that when Palmerston North council tried the same thing with Speak Up For Women, the council lost. The judge said there was no evidence that SUFW were a hate group. I linked elsewhere on this page.
It would be nice to think the courts are drawing a useful line in the sand, but I think the Southern/Molyneux case was more to do with threats of violence from people protesting the event.
Southern and Molyneux had another venue cancel on them – The Powerstation in Auckland. Cancelled: Alt-right activists Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern in limbo after venue backs out of hosting event – NZ Herald
"It would be nice to think the courts are drawing a useful line in the sand, but I think the Southern/Molyneux case was more to do with threats of violence from people protesting the event."
It was. "Before Southern and Molyneux could share their deeply unpleasant worldviews in Auckland (an indication of its likely content here, with strong trigger warnings for racism), the protest group Auckland Peace Action promised to confront the pair in the streets and blockade entry to their speaking venue. Those promises raised concerns about whether the event could be safely held at the Bruce Mason Centre, which in turn caused Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA) – the Auckland Council-owned company running the venue – to cancel the contract to use it." A commonsense conclusion to the sordid little Southern/Molyneux saga | The Spinoff
FWIW I happened upon this piece on TS that was written at the time of On ‘free speech victims’. « The Standard. It covers some discussion (including comments from you) about SUFW.
I’m not a fan of cancelling opinions we disagree with, even if we find them abhorrent, primarily because these assessments are often subjective and the risk of the thugs veto is always in play. And then there’s this – it seemed to me at the time that Southern and Molyneux received more attention by being cancelled than they ever would have by being allowed to speak.
There is truth in what you say. Thank-you for the reminder. However some of that attention was the result of their ridiculing antics over the Maori mural at the airport and that was what pushed them over the line for me. I was glad they were sent packing because of that behaviour alone.
Okay Anne, who should get to decide whether or not someones views or opinions should not be heard?
How do you know that someone has extremist ideology? And who gets to decide what an extremist ideology is? Or is it just what some random group of people believe?
Personally I’d like to know who these busybodies are, so I can if possible avoid them. I generally don’t like to be told what to think, say or do, however I’m usually open to a discussion.
"Personally I’d like to know who these busybodies are, so I can if possible avoid them. "
The problem is that it if you want to have the discussion, simply avoiding the people you label 'busy bodies' isn't enough. They are taking a position that you are to be prevented from listening in person, devoid of censorship or context editing, to people they disapprove of. That rather renders redundant your desire to discuss or even, God forbid, challenge the ideas (e.g. by way of Q&A).
Pantomime "Dames" you mean? And how did they portray women? "Widow Twankey" etc were shown as unattractive older women, usually sexually frustrated, and the butt of sexist jokes. OTOH – the "Best Boy" (played by a woman) was cast as the "Hero".
At the same time – Asian characters like "Wishy Washy" were also the subject of racist stereotyping.
"Yellowface, Blackface" and "Womanface" – all equally offensive.
""Womanface" – all equally offensive."
And Mrs Doubtfire?
Dame Edna?
Then there’s the Top Twins’ Ken & Ken.
"and Mrs Doubfire" Robert, once again you participate in matters concerning women and girls but seem to have little empathy and understanding for nuances.
"Drag queens take the trappings of femininity and exaggerate these to create a grotesque caricature which, at its core, humiliates women. "
"But it is also highly sexualised adult entertainment, which many people feel is pretty misogynistic"
"Mrs Doubtfire and panto dames are nothing like RuPaul’s Drag Race. Paul O’Grady was a brilliant performer, wholly respectful of the women he drew on for his inspiration for Lily Savage."
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/apr/07/drag-a-sexist-caricature-or-a-fabulous-art-form?
" once again you participate in matters concerning women and girls"
Oh, I see. It's a "women and girls-only" space.
Got it
"Oh, I see. It's a "women and girls-only" space."
No Robert Drag Queens are not a women's place.
and no Robert, you do not 'got it'- still some way off
I suspect being only able to read half a sentence is why you don't get it.
Is Mrs Doubtfire not "women face"?
It is ominous that this Government cuts data collection so I guess that they can claim that there is no problem, in say Child Poverty.
Sharon Brettkelly writes;
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/04/09/when-its-too-expensive-to-measure-poverty/?utm_source=Newsroom&utm_campaign=9e2d04f920-Daily_Briefing+09.04.2024&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-9e2d04f920-95522477&mc_cid=9e2d04f920&mc_eid=88a3081e75
Was the chocolate ration increased to 20 grammes, or reduced from 30 grammes to 20? Who would be able to tell?
Oh joy…
/
@davidho@mastodon.world
In the nearly 70 years between 1950 and 2019, the world produced a total of ~9.5 billion tonnes of #plastic.
That's equivalent in weight to the amount of CO₂ we emitted to the atmosphere during the first three months of 2024.
https://mastodon.world/@davidho/112198484934191221
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-plastics-production
After thinking it through, I've decided I'm in favour of less crime. And I think healthcare should be good. Education is also good. And when it comes to the environment, I will be bold and honest. I think it should be nice and green.
I am courageous. Vote for me.
Did you, in the past, run an airline?
Me Me. I'll vote for you because you are a visionary and a doer.
Luxon is doing a terrible job representing business people to New Zealand with his incredible tone deafness and unpopularity.
He’s like a cartoon villain from a 1980s cartoon.
Mr. Lux is helping tobacco companies get more smokers addicted.
Mr. Lux is giving all the money to landlords.
‘No, citizens you are feeble in economics and don’t understand the blessings this will bring you’
Mr Lux is mining on special conservation land and destroying marine reserves.
‘We need more space for my friends yacht races. The lack of pollution is red tape holding back our empire.’
Mr Lux doesn’t like his house, it needs more servants! CEOs aren’t like us, they’re a kind of royalty. CEOs are entitled, citizens.
‘We consulted on rentals and environmental reforms, citizens. Arrhahaha!’
Agriculture is your friend. Dumped tree waste is your friend. The floods will not return. Pay no attention to those insurance companies. We don’t need scientists. We have a plan!
He's sending nz into depression, he's convinced everyone the country is fucked ,he's putting people on the unemployment benefits, he's forcing more people to aussie, housing projects getting canceled left right and center, fuckers are up to something, or just incompetent?
Rob Campbell tackles head-on the misguided criticism (by older generations, I assume) of youth activism by Generation Zero, and SS4C, I assume. I stress that he avoids making this an inter-generational issue.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/04/08/single-issue-activism-gets-joined-up/
Non-violent direct action is close to failing on climate change.
So Callaghan Innovation is spending $170K on a rebrand while shedding about 30 staff. What the ….?
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2404/S00034/revealed-callaghan-innovation-wastes-over-170000-on-rebrand-as-staff-call-out-job-cuts.htm
The Taxpayers’ Onion are such a bunch of disingenuous shit-stirrers aided by useful RWNJs and idiot trolls for spreading their spawn. As usual, they’re trying to connect dots in the time-space continuum by digging wormholes that only exist in their pubescent little brains that boil over with premature excitement at the idea or mental image of scoring a point with their willy-wads. Of course, they cannot figure out the difference between past tense (date of RFP well over a year ago and date of tender award more than 9 months ago) and future tense (what may, or may not, happen with Government-ordered cuts by the new shambolic Coalition of Charlatans).
Brings tears to my eyes, Incognito.
I agree Robert. Incognito is on a roll. Please supply lots of material so he can continue.
This for brilliance and I like the 'Coalition of Charlatans' as well!
"Brings tears to my eyes"
Are they wet and real or are they your crocodile tears.
tears for fears
Tears of laughter, tears of joy – Incognito can wring water from a stone, TT. Did they elicit a giggle from you, you ol' chunk'a granite?
Incog. @12.1 beats lprent on that one.
A science research fulltime equivalent costs around $250k pa. The rebrand is only half a person's worth.
GEEZ Fair Go canceled!!!
It's only right – after all, New Zealanders aren't getting a fair go (under this Government).
Yeah, Fair Go gone but Country Calendar gets to live.
Coz, agriculture.
For sure, have watched CC since a kid and still do. The funny thing is these days they include more new age farmers running on solar, horticulturists with interesting crops, more women involved in farmwork, organic growers–and they get complaints sometimes from the Groundswell lot for doing so. Farms in picturesque or high country locations get shown too.
The giant industrial waterway ruining Dairy lot are rarely covered from what I have seen the last couple of years. But they are still there…
Fair Go challenges con artists and poor business practice and holds people to account–or did…
"The giant industrial waterway ruining Dairy lot are rarely covered from what I have seen the last couple of years. But they are still there…"
Keeping their heads down. Have you noticed they succeeded in killing the "dirty dairying"meme?
Yep, effective comms people and deep pockets, it is almost seen as unpatriotic to criticise dairy.
“They” grabbed the narrative on Three Waters also, which sees people the country over facing substantial rate rises, with still no clear solution to the crumbling infrastructure. I collect rain water with two tanks and filter it, didn’t use to bother filtering, but it tastes good and I don’t get “boil water” notices.
The staff can go independent and produce a programme online.
They can set up a Friends of Fair Go site for donations.
They can work with Consumer Magazine, Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
They can do stories on landlords and tenants – no doubt plenty about.
News staff and others from Newshub have the option of bringing "video" skilled staff to various online media and or making that a point of difference, with their own on-line media site.
Maybe not, TVNZ has prevented the Fair Go brand leaving the stable.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/04/09/tvnz-cuts-fair-go-gets-partial-reprieve-midday-and-tonight-axed/
Well there's one spot of good news in all this darkness: Reality Check Radio is off the air and having to rattle the old begging-bowls (you'll need to scroll down a fair bit):
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350239818/live-tvnz-officially-cancels-fair-go-midday-and-tonight
Bye; don't let the door hit you on the way out.
the conflict between women's rights and trans' rights, in an Australian court today. Do women have a right to female-only spaces?
Tickle v Giggle
Live tweeting for those that want to follow,
https://twitter.com/tribunaltweets2/status/1777327982321041588
this seems key: should woman be defined by gender identity or biological sex?
Tickle's counsel (Tickle is a trans identified male/trans woman) argues,
https://twitter.com/tribunaltweets2/status/1777497626503794982
should the word 'woman' be legally defined by gender identity or biological sex.
My take,
Historically, when laws were written around this, woman mean adult, human female. It wasn't defined in law, because everyone understood what woman and female meant. In recent decades, gender identity has been written into law to give trans people some protections. But this was done without addressing the sex/gender/gender identity definitions and what the conflict might mean for other rights and legislation.
The battleground has shifted from merely a fight for gender identity rights to the erasure of the sex binary. IMHO this is an attack on both the scientific/biological basis for the sex binary (In Humans, Sex is Binary and Immutable by Georgi K. Marinov | NAS) and of same sex attraction (Trans activism is homophobia in drag – spiked (spiked-online.com)).
So I'll stick my neck out. Where the rights of trans people can be protected they should be, but never, ever at the expense of 'biological women', or of the meaning that very phrase.
Seems to me like there are two distinct aspects to the trans rights side. One is establishing that it's illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender identity for things like housing, jobs etc. This makes sense to me, given the antipathy towards gender non-conforming people generally.
The other is the push to colonise women's spaces and culture. Some of that is justified as affirming trans women, but it's also clear to me that some of it is just straight out misogyny. Neither are justifications for removing women's rights.
Agreed. My view is the 'colonising woman's spaces and culture' bit is (or at least appears to be) a dominant force in the 'trans rights side' atm, which seems to me to be problematic for the rights of both gender non-conforming people and biological women generally.
This is probably pie in the sky and wouldn't necessarily be effective in a legal sense, but in theory….
That's why a solution could be for the vast majority to grit their teeth and give up on the words 'man' and 'woman'.
If everyone starts using only 'male' and 'female' where 'man' and 'woman' have traditionally been used then it could solve a lot of arguments. If a tiny minority are using words that the majority don't understand the meaning of so don't use things would quieten down pretty quickly maybe?
It would mean giving up part of the English language which could be difficult for some to stomach but it wouldn't be to appease a certain group of people it would be to simply remove the arguments.
If you don't know what a woman is (and who can these days) just start always using 'female'.
Of course in that scenario we may end up with people starting to yell and scream about trans females… hehe
a few problems with that.
the word woman has a lot of usage where female is inappropriate. We don't say 'see that female over there' because that's kind of rude/weird.
not all females are women. Female applies to other animals, and plants. This is why the word woman means adult human female, and why giving up the word woman is a terrible idea. There is not really any other word we can use to name women.
at least half of TRA politics is about colonising. Everyone else changing their language won't make that go away.
TWATW. There was a period of time when most women would have been fine with old school transsexual/trans identified males. The arising of AGP culture changes everything. No way are women going to let men with the need to exhibit their sexual fetish into our spaces.
I believe body-shape has to come into it somewhere. No-one who went through puberty as a male and/or still has functional male genitals should be allowed to colonise spaces reserved for cis-women, against the occupants' will. No male-bodied people in women's toilets, changing-rooms or prisons.
That said, I'm easy about how people want to define or identify themselves.
Exactly, got dingle , go dangle it some other place!!
Tweet thread unrolled of the first bit of the hearing,
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1777327982321041588.html
Part 2 starts here
https://twitter.com/tribunaltweets2/status/1777513716101341645
Four of the first 5 Questions today are aimed at the PM.
10 points for each time the PM answers a question.
Nil points are expected.
Gerry reckons; It's all good!
It will be "interesting" LOL; and today he will not have Winston Peters sitting next to him propping him up and/or raising/causing diversions. I wonder who they will have in Winny's seat …
Rest easy.
He's got Gerry.
It may be my imagination but is Gerry getting tougher? But previous speakers would never allow a minister to keep talking over him when he's trying to cut political comments short. What's happened to the ability to cut a mike?
I don't think the Speaker "cuts the mike". Some technician, I'm guessing.
Gerry relies upon bonhomie to get through. Soon, that will be challenged.
I notice that Gerry Brownlee frequently interrupts Opposition MPs when they are starting to ask a question. He comments about supposedly "too much" background noise from other MPs, then asks the questioning Opposition MP to start again. I feel this is a tactic, to try to unsettle the questioner and to interrupt the flow of the question. However, it doesn't seem to be effective.
The rule is that questions are heard in silence. Brownlee is insisting on that. He's starting to crack down on Ministers 'attacking' the previous government and today asked a government patsy questioner to ask her supplementary question without being a leading question opening up a further attack. Hopefully, he's starting to grow into the role.
Yes, I realise questions are to be heard in silence. However Brownlee does not consistently apply this requirement when Government MPs ask questions. Their colleagues are at times speaking to each other during these questions.
I think if you paid closer attention you would see his insistence applies to both gummint and opposition…
The issue was highlighted in The House on RNZ Nights at about 8.15 pm.
This is the link. However, being just minutes ago it's not yet on screen to be listened to…..
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/the-house
Statler or Waldorf
Cuts to two child poverty reports today. That was holding the country back.
Listened to a chap from CAB on the radio. No wonder they are always wanting to cut them and libraries. They give advice to under -25s and immigrants on casual work issues such as holiday pay and in tenancy issues. Particularly when flatting with the landlord it seems they’re exempt from a lot of the legal protections.
New poll shows 4 leaders all with negative ratings (coalition trifecta, plus Hipkins).
NEW POLL: More Bad News For Centre-Right As Government Parties Drop In Support | Scoop News
The public are looking for leadership, and if Labour can offer it, the Red-Green alliance will win the next election. The Greens are doing their bit already.
Call me old school, but the rule of thumb from a class left view is to unite all who can be united around certain things to build organisation and success.
Mr Hipkins sunk NZ Labour with his Cap’n’s Call from afar on wealth tax and CGT and will be replaced in due time. Te Pāti Māori and Greens get out and about and are leading the way at the moment–politics is way more than just Parliament and comms.
Green Co Leader Ms Swarbrick seems to eat Govt. MPs for breakfast going by any interview I have seen. So…Labour, Green, TPM need to get a combined move going and State Sector Unions might consider finally electing a CTU leader as good as Hellen Kelly and taking some direct action against the COC Govt.
L-G-TPM now lead NACT (45 to 44).
NZF at 6% over the threshold – taking the coalition to 50%.
One wonders how they will fare once NACT tries to bring in changes to foreign investment rules …
Interesting that Act + NZF combined is less than the Greens.
Paul The Other One discusses NZers' decrease in media trust, media literacy, and social media algorithms that encourage bias confirmation.
I wonder how much of this is the decrease in tone-neutral fact reportage, and the rise, begun by Paul Holmes in feely news and op-ed infotainment, vs. thinky news?
Here's the report itself, showing plummeting public trust in the news media.
https://www.jmadresearch.com/_files/ugd/a95e86_cc317afe8a414d69a47c034735e58854.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Although the trend is worldwide, New Zealand is a trend leader, along with UK and USA.
Could it have anything to do with the Public Interest Journalism Fund? The PIJF required news media to show “commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to Māori as a Te Tiriti partner” i.e. to support the previous government's promotion of the treaty as a "partnership". The report also cites public concern about censorship of the news, bias, and dumbing down.
"Could it have anything to do with the Public Interest Journalism Fund? "
Nope. It's entirely down to the agents who seek to undermine public confidence in the media they trusted for so long; that media hasn't betrayed the public, they've just been vilified by those who will benefit from insecurity in the populace.
Bottom of pg. 27 of the Report.
Sorry – posted my reply to Robert before I saw yours.
"It's entirely down to the agents who seek to undermine public confidence…"
The authors provide a number of reasons for the drop in public confidence, including this: ( a95e86_cc317afe8a414d69a47c034735e58854.pdf (jmadresearch.com))
"In 2022, the JMAD trust in news report noted that one of the main reasons for distrust in news media was the government’s support for news media, in particular the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund that was launched during the pandemic and that included direct monetary support for newsroom roles and projects.9 The scheme was disestablished in June 2023."
"one of the main reasons for distrust in news media was the government’s support for news media"
Idiot conspiracy-theorists.
You running with them, Traveller?
Shooting the messenger again Rob? Or then again, the left could take notice and learn something useful.
The report is about public trust in the news. in response to the question "Could it have anything to do with the Public Interest Journalism Fund?" you replied "Nope" and "It's entirely down to…"
Based on this research, in 2022 the PIJF was clearly a factor, and it remains so in the latest report, albeit (as pointed out above) "this theme is weaker than last year".
I don't know who you are referring to as "Idiot conspiracy-theorists". If you explain, I can answer your question to me.
You're unaware, Traveller, of the idiot conspiracy theorists making crack-pot claims about the MSM?
There are 'idiot conspiracy theorists' pontificating about all manner of things, Robert. Some clam the MSM is systemically left or right wing. Some claim the MSM is in the grip of evil global corporates or shadowy secret societies.
I understand your point to be that the public loss of confidence in the media was unrelated to the PIJF, and that criticism of the fund was the work of 'idiot conspiracy theorists'.
Assuming I have represented your position correctly, the problem you have is that with reviews such as the Sapere report (The-implications-of-competition-and-market-trends-for-media-plurality-in-New-Zealand-November-2021.pdf (srgexpert.com))
Specifically in relation to the PIJF, the report found (both on P42):
"Some stakeholders also expressed reservations that public funding of media firms may make those firms beholden to the government of the day and public officials might be reluctant to fund proposals that will be critical of government policies – which would undermine a key plurality objective of the media being able to hold public institutions and elected officials accountable." (Emphasis added). Unexpectedly, 'most news firms' denied that would be the case.
"However, several stakeholders expressed concern that funding decisions had crossed into editorial decision-making, with New Zealand On Air effectively holding a ‘beauty contest’ to choose which proposed stories/investigations merited support. It was suggested that funding these one-off incremental outputs will produce marginal public benefit and does little to encourage the industry to confront the true challenges of producing sustainable news." (Emphasis added).
The report raised other concerns with the PIJF, but I would argue that the issue of editorial independence is key to public confidence.
That's several stakeholders' opinions. Where's the actual information on specific projects which these stakeholders objected to?
Have a look here where all projects funded are listed. (See section on Detail of funding- projects only). Which were problematic in their outputs? There's quite a few NZME and other non-state media that got funded.
It was made clear many times as I heard in this discussion that, once funding was approved, the media content produced had full editorial independence.
If the general media fill their on-air hours with outrage content, like much of NewsTALK ZB, or private investors fund conspiracy channels like The Platform and Counterspin, then a balance of some sort is essential for healthy democracy.
"That's several stakeholders' opinions."
Of course. And 'opinions' are what public perception (in this case "NZers' decrease in media trust" (from your comment above) is all about.
"Have a look here where all projects funded are."
Although the Sapere report raised other concerns, this conversation is about how public perception of the media was influenced by the PIJF. In that regard, the issue is not so much which projects were funded, but the conditions placed on editorial content to access that funding. Graham Adams (Graham Adams: Has government money corrupted journalism? – The Common Room (commonroomnz.com)) has a piece at The Common Room that outlines the 'instructions' and 'guidance' in the expanded criteria in 2022. The document providing this 'guidance' was titled “Te Tiriti Framework for News Media”, and amongst other things includes this "For news media, it is not simply a matter of reporting ‘fairly’, but of constructively contributing to Te Tiriti relations and social justice” and "Repeated references by the government to the English version [of the Treaty], in which Māori supposedly ceded sovereignty, have created systematic disinformation that protects the government’s assumption of sole parliamentary sovereignty.” Whatever you think of Adams' conclusions, the criteria, instructions and guidance provided are IMHO easily construed as editorial interference, whether they acted as such or not.
"It was made clear many times as I heard in this discussion that, once funding was approved, the media content produced had full editorial independence."
Well, that's what the media claimed. It may well be correct. However the Sapere report shows that there were concerns about how providing funding to media with (non-financial) strings attached that go specifically to editorial coverage was be perceived.
NZ videogame spoof from Tavola for a little giggle…
Tavola NZ facebook Sunday 7th April 2024