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.
Politics is about compromise, right? And framing it so the voters see your compromise as the better one. John Key was a skilful exponent of this approach (as was Keith Holyoake in an earlier age), and Chris Luxon isn’t too bad either. But in politics, the process whereby an old ...
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 ...
It’s being explained as an “inadvertent error”. However, National MP David MacLeod’s excuse for failing to disclose $178,000 in donations for his election campaign last year is not necessarily enough to prevent some serious consequences. A Police investigation is now likely, and the result of his non-disclosure could even see ...
The relentless drone coming out of the Prime Minister and his deputy for a million days now has been that the last government was just hosing money all over the show and now at last the grownups are in charge and shutting that drunken sailor stuff down. There is a word ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a New Zealand Government plane will head to riot-torn New Caledonia in the next hour in the first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home. Today’s flight will carry around 50 passengers with the most ...
Precious declaration saysYours is yours and mine you leave alone nowPrecious declaration saysI believe all hope is dead no longerTick tick tick Boom!Unexploded ordnance. A veritable minefield. A National caucus with a large number of unknowns, candidates who perhaps received little in the way of vetting as the party jumped ...
Rex Ahdar writes – The Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, likes to trace his political lineage back to the pioneers of parliamentary Maoridom. I will refer to these as the ‘big four’ or better still, the Four Knights. Just as ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Willie Jackson will participate in the prestigious Oxford Union debate on Thursday, following in David Lange’s footsteps. Coincidentally, Jackson has also followed Lange’s footsteps by living in his old home in South Auckland. And like Lange, Jackson might be the sort of loud-mouth scrapper ...
That is the only way to describe an MP "forgetting" to declare $178,000 in donations. The amount of money involved - more than five times the candidate spending cap, and two and a half times the median income - is boggling. How do you just "forget" that amount of money? ...
In this week’s “A View from Afar” podcast Selwyn Manning and spoke about the upcoming US elections and what the possibility of another Trump presidency means for the US role in world affairs. We also spoke about the problems Joe … Continue reading → ...
Hi,Two years ago I briefly featured in Justin Pemberton’s Web of Chaos documentary, which touched on things like QAnon during the pandemic.I mostly prattled on about how intertwined conspiracy narratives are with Evangelical Christian thinking, something Webworm’s explored in the past.(The doc is available on TVNZ+, if you’re not in ...
The Government is leaving the entire construction sector and the community housing sector in limbo. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government released the long-awaited Bill English-led review of Kāinga Ora yesterday, but delayed key decisions on its build plan and how to help community housing providers (CHPs) build ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons Farmers who can’t sleep, worrying they’ll lose everything amid increasing drought. Youth struggling with depression over a future that feels hopeless. Indigenous people grief-stricken over devastated ecosystems. For all these people and more, climate change is taking a clear toll ...
New Zealand’s relationship with China is becoming harder to define, and with that comes a worry that a deteriorating political relationship could spill over into the economic relationship. It is about more than whether New Zealand will join Pillar Two of Aukus, though the Chinese Ambassador, more or less, suggested ...
Been hoping we would see something like this from Sir Geoffrey Palmer. This is excellent.The present Bill goes further than the National Development Act 1979 in stripping away procedures designed to ensure that environmental issues are properly considered. The 1979 approach was not acceptable then and this present approach is ...
He’s Got The Moxie: Only Willie Jackson possesses the credentials to meld together a new Labour message that is, at one and the same moment, staunchly working-class, union-friendly, and which speaks to the hundreds-of-thousands of urban Māori untethered to the neo-tribal capitalist elites of the Iwi Leaders Forum.IT’S ONE OF THE ...
Tree-huggers may well accuse the Government of giving them the fingers, after Energy Minister Simeon Brown announced new measures to protect powerlines from trees, rather than measures to protect trees from powerlines. It can be no coincidence, surely, that this has been announced at the same as Fisheries Minister Shane Jones ...
Willie Jackson will participate in the prestigious Oxford Union debate on Thursday, following in David Lange’s footsteps. Coincidentally, Jackson has also followed Lange’s footsteps by living in his old home in South Auckland. And like Lange, Jackson might be the sort of loud-mouth scrapper who could take over the Labour ...
Barrister Gary Judd KC’s complaint to the Regulatory Review Committee has sparked a fierce debate about the place of tikanga Māori – or Māori customs, values and spiritual beliefs – in the law.Judd opposes the New Zealand Council of Legal Education’s plans to make teaching tikanga compulsory in the legal curriculum.AUT ...
Alwyn Poole writes – In New Zealand we have approximately 460 high schools. The gaps between the schools that produce the best results for students and those at the other end of the spectrum are enormous.In terms of the data for their leavers, the top 30 schools have ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand First Cabinet Minister Shane Jones has become the best advertisement against the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill. In selling the radical new resource consenting processes, in which ministers can green light any mine, dam, or other major development, Jones seems to be ...
Brian Eastonwrites – The Fast-Track Approvals Bill enables cabinet ministers to circumvent key environmental planning and protection processes for infrastructure projects. Its difficulties have been well canvassed. This column suggests a different way of thinking about the proposal. I am ...
The split opening up in Israel’s “War Cabinet” is not just between PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his long-term rival Benny Gantz. It is actually a three-way split, set in motion by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. It was Gallant’s open criticism of Netanyahu that finally flushed Gantz out into the open. ...
On Thursday 17 May, the Mayoral Proposal for Auckland’s Long Term Plan 2024-2034 was passed by Auckland Council, 20 to 1. It is set to be formally adopted by the Governing Body at its June 27th meeting. The entire process took 8 hours, with the vast majority of that time ...
Pakanga o muaTukua, ka ngaroPuritia taku ringaNgaro ana te ara ki pae rauThere's a battle aheadMany battles are lostBut you'll never see the end of the roadWhile you're travelling with meLate yesterday morning I headed to Wynyard Quarter to see Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick give their pre-budget State of ...
Maybe the Prime Minister and his Finance Minister expected the worst, so they mounted a stout defence of the Budget tax cuts to their party faithful at a party conference over the weekend. In turn, they were greeted with applause, which, though it may have been less than wildly enthusiastic, ...
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 12, 2024 thru Sat, May 18, 2024. Story of the week “The legislation I signed today [will] keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and ...
TL;DR: Here’s six links that stood out to me in the last day in Aotearoa’s political economy to 6:06am on Sunday, May 19:Aotearoa-NZ is the seventh worst in the OECD’s homelessness rankings, just behind the United States and just ahead of Australia. BlackRock thinks rate hikes actually worsen inflation because ...
Halfway up a historic tower in York, we are neither up nor down. At the top you will have views of a city steeped in antiquity, made and remade by Romans, Normans, Vikings, Tescos. Below, you will find a retired minister happy to tell you all about this most astonishing ...
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. Does breathing contribute to CO2 ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: KiwiRail’s seemingly endless requests for more money is damning. At one point, KiwiRail assured Robertson when he was the Finance Minister that the worst-case scenario would be an extra $300 million before requesting $1.2 billion a few months later. Not what most people ...
No one knows what it's likeTo be the bad manTo be the sad manBehind blue eyesNo one knows what it's likeTo be hatedTo be fatedTo telling only liesHave you ever wondered what life must be like for Mike Hosking? Seeing things in black and white through blue tinted specs? In ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two week’s editions.Share More Than A FeildingBike bling, London Read more ...
Hi,I think we all made it through another week — congratulations. I’ve been digesting the new Arab Strap record, which is astonishing. In other news, I’m going to be doing a Webworm popup in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday July 13. I’ll bring a bunch of merch, and some other ...
The Fast-Track Approvals Bill enables cabinet ministers to circumvent key environmental planning and protection processes for infrastructure projects. Its difficulties have been well canvassed. This column suggests a different way of thinking about the proposal. I am going to explore the Bill from the perspective of its proponents with their ...
New Zealand First Cabinet Minister Shane Jones has become the best advertisement against the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill. In selling the radical new resource consenting processes, in which ministers can green light any mine, dam, or other major development, Jones seems to be shooting the proposal in the foot. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Associate Education Minister David Seymour is urging the PostPrimary Teachers Association to put learning ahead of ideology. He wants the union leaders to call off their teachers meetings around the country where they hope to muster the strength to undo the government’s plans to establish several ...
What are police for? "Fighting crime" is the obvious answer. If there's a burglary, they should show up and investigate. Ditto if there's a murder or sexual assault. Speeding or drunk or dangerous driving is a crime, so obviously they should respond to that. And obviously, they should respond to ...
Michael Reddell writes – I got curious yesterday about how the Australia/New Zealand real exchange rate had changed over the last decade, and so dug out the data on the changes in the two countries’ CPIs. Over the 10 years from March 2014 to March 2024, New Zealand’s ...
Graham Adams writes that 20 years after the land march, judges are quietly awarding a swathe of coastal rights to iwi. Early this month, an hour-long documentary was released by TVNZ to mark the 20th anniversary of the land-rights march to oppose Helen Clark’s Foreshore and Seabed Act. The account ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: Suspended Green MP Darleen Tana has passed an unpleasant milestone: she has now been absent for as many parliamentary sitting days as she has been present for this year. Tana is on full pay while she is suspended, and will benefit from a ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is no coincidence that two Labour should-have-been MPs are making the most noise about public sector cuts. As assistant general secretary of the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons has been at the forefront of revealing where the next round of state sector job ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a ...
This is one of the (extra) weekly columns on music or movies. Plenty of solid analyses of Possession exist online and most of them – inevitably – contain spoilers. This column is more in the way of a first-timer’s aid to getting your initial bearings. You don’t need to have ...
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a manWho has taken all the heart aches,And all the pain he can stand.I am using all the colors of blue,I have here on my stand.I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.This has been an interesting week for me. ...
Helen Clark joins the Hoon as a special guest talking whether Aotearoa should join Aukus II, and her views on the fast track legislation and how Luxon and the new Government are performing. File Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts ...
With an election due in less than nine months, Britain’s embattled PM, Rishi Sunak, gave a useful speech earlier this week. He made a substantial case for his government, perhaps as compelling as is possible in the current environment. Quite an achievement. His overall theme was security, first pulling ...
Open access notablesPublicly expressed climate scepticism is greatest in regions with high CO2 emissions, Pearson et al., Climatic Change:We analysed a recently released corpus of climate-related tweets to examine the macro-level factors associated with public declarations of climate change scepticism. Analyses of over 2 million geo-located tweets in the U.S. showed that climate ...
You can be all negative about these charter schools if you want, but I’m here to accentuate the positive. You can get all worked up, if you want to, by the contradiction of Luxon saying We’re going to make sure that every school in the country is teaching exactly the same ...
Losing The Room: One can only speculate about what has persuaded the Coalition Government that it will pay no electoral price for unreasonably pushing ahead with policies that are so clearly against the national interest. They seem quite oblivious to the risk that by doing so they will convince an increasing ...
Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for ...
The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants:On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point. Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
“Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
Henry Ergas writes – When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision Michael Reddell writes – When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
Te Pāti Māori have launched a petition to stop the repeal of Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act. This announcement comes prior to the first reading of the Section 7AA repeal bill in Parliament today. “Section 7AA forces the Government to adhere to Te Tiriti o Waitangi with respect ...
The Government has yet again failed to do the one thing that needs to happen to ensure houses can be built – commit to ongoing funding, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Treasury officials have outlined many ways in which the Fast Track Approvals Bill is deeply flawed, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking says. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick used this year's State of the Planet to call on the Government to prioritise people and planet as the delivery of the Budget approaches. A full transcript of their speeches can be found below. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have used their State of the Planet speeches to challenge the Government to prioritise people and planet over profit as the delivery of the Budget approaches. ...
The Government’s introduction of legislation that would enable landlords to end tenancies with no reason marks a dark day for the 1.4 million people who rent their home in Aotearoa. ...
The Minister for Mental Health has found the Suicide Prevention Office and mental health support for 111 calls slipping through his fingers, says Labour spokesperson for Mental Health Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
The Coalition Government’s Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill, which will improve tenancy laws and help increase the supply of rental properties, has passed its first reading in Parliament says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “The Bill proposes much-needed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 that will remove barriers to increasing private ...
Standing here in Cassino War Cemetery, among the graves looking up at the beautiful Abbey of Montecassino, it is hard to imagine the utter devastation left behind by the battles which ended here in May 1944. Hundreds of thousands of shells and bombs of every description left nothing but piled ...
I present a legislative statement on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill Mr. Speaker, I move that the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Social Services and Community Committee to consider the Bill. Thank you, Mr. ...
The Bill to repeal Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has had its first reading in Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the care and safety of children in care, says Minister for Children Karen Chhour. “When I became the Minister for Children, I made ...
Kia ora koutou, good morning, and zao shang hao. Thank you Fran for the opportunity to speak at the 2024 China Business Summit – it’s great to be here today. I’d also like to acknowledge: Simon Bridges - CEO of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. His Excellency Ambassador - Wang ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a New Zealand Government plane will head to New Caledonia in the next hour in the first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home. “New Zealanders in New Caledonia have faced a challenging few days - and bringing ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a New Zealand Government plane will head to New Caledonia in the next hour in the first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home. “New Zealanders in New Caledonia have faced a challenging few days - and bringing them ...
The Coalition Government will introduce legislation this year that will enable roadside drug testing as part of our commitment to improve road safety and restore law and order, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Alcohol and drugs are the number one contributing factor in fatal road crashes in New Zealand. In ...
The Government has announced a series of immediate actions in response to the independent review of Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “Kāinga Ora is a large and important Crown entity, with assets of $45 billion and over $2.5 billion of expenditure each year. It ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour is pleased that Pseudoephedrine can now be purchased by the general public to protect them from winter illness, after the coalition government worked swiftly to change the law and oversaw a fast approval process by Medsafe. “Pharmacies are now putting the medicines back on their ...
Tēnā koutou katoa. Da jia hao. Good morning everyone. Prime Minister Luxon, your excellency, a great friend of New Zealand and my friend Ambassador Wang, Mayor of what he tells me is the best city in New Zealand, Wayne Brown, the highly respected Fran O’Sullivan, Champion of the Auckland business ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced that the Government will make it easier for lines firms to take action to remove vegetation from obstructing local powerlines. The change will ensure greater security of electricity supply in local communities, particularly during severe weather events. “Trees or parts of trees falling on ...
Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani were the top winners at this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy awards recognising the best in Māori dairy farming. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced the winners and congratulated runners-up, Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, at an awards celebration also attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister ...
"On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “I raised my concerns after being ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools. “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019. “It is my pleasure ...
New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...
New Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says. “This ...
Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
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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