Say (Hope not) the baby in the blood vaccination case dies before the operation can take place, could charges be brought against those who were opposed to the blood from covid vaccinated donors?
"However, the NZ Freedom and Outdoors Party, of which the parents’ lawyer Sue Grey is co-leader, is planning a vigil for 10am."
Lots of rain and stormy weather in Grafton this morning would be good. In that event of course some loon will suggest it's God's expressing Her displeasure about the blood being used.
If the protestors are forced indoors maybe they can get down to planning positive steps forward. Like how to set up truly safe bloodbanks so people have a choice.
I can see them having as many categories as possible with blood specifically from:
those vaccinated for covid, those not vaccinated for covid, those not vaccinated with any antibodies.
Catholics, Muslims, Atheists, blood from those with European ethnicity, from Pacifica, from Māori, from Asians, and so on down the track.
I'm sure there'll be some in the Sue Grey and Liz Gunn camps who'd be right into that.
While the article is not entirely correct this theme is…
"By under-promising and over-delivering, a Labour government could present itself as both sensible and competent. Not much might be on offer, but if you said you were going to deliver – and you did – then your voters weren’t just grateful, they were impressed. The days of big dreams might be over, but Clark’s clear-headed grasp of her own and her party’s limitations, made it possible for some of the people’s smaller dreams to come true."
It may have been more a case of lingering capability from an earlier iteration…..there were still politicians and public servants within the system that had experience of a time when Governments had greater control/influence of the economy.
The question I am pondering (and i think the author is) is not how can Labour be re-elected but rather how/why did they make such a mess of the opportunity?
I agree it's very unlikely they will be re-elected….though 3 Waters is only part of the story.
Absolutely right! And when Natz equivocate about keeping water in public ownership (and we all know Act are the driving force behind the Natz) then the public will reject the right emphatically.
After all, the Natz have a record of a) ignoring the wishes of the people and b) selling the family silver – both of which gets right up the noses of voters.
Their opposition to Three Waters will cost the Natz the election.
As emphatically as a Nat can rule out asset sales, subject to change [of Government], of course. It comes as natural to them as a dog licking his bollocks.
"I've said to you before, we don't see any need for privatisation for other assets. We said that six months or so ago, but that's our position as we go into the election next year, is we don't see a need for privatisation of any assets at this point," Luxon said.
When asked by Bridge if he would go further and promise not to sell any state-owned asset, Luxon said, "I can tell you right now that is not on our agenda, it's not something Nicola Willis and I are thinking about."
It appears that OT are determined to continue their appeals process (albeit under the false flag of Moana's mother) – right up to the Supreme Court – in the 'Moana' case.
So much for ensuring that the welfare of the child is the centre of their decision-making process.
Ideology is clearly much more important than child welfare – which, perhaps says something about the litany of disasters over children in their care which regularly appear in the media.
Continuing to drag the family through the courts – in an attempt at some form of vindication for the social worker involved (or the principles she was espousing) – is an outrageous abuse of power and privilege.
The appropriate venue for a policy change (should the Minister agree that one is needed) is through Parliament. Rather than attempting to do an end run around democratic decision-making by constant appeals in the hope of finding a sympathetic (and politically activist) judge.
The best welfare for this little girl is to leave her, and her foster family, alone. All evidence (even the biased social worker) has stated that she is happy, settled, well-cared-for and loved. All of which were conspicuously missing when she was in the 'care' of her birth-mother. The one who (prompted and supported by OT) is now crusading against the foster-placement.
Can't recall where I read it, but someone posted the view that OT is using the Moana case as part of its long-running war with the Family court judge who (justifiably) criticised a social worker for taking a two-faced stance with Moana's carers and their lawyer. That worker engaged in deliberate deception.
The case has very nasty implications for our justice system. There was behind the scenes interference with the legal proceedings by the Principal Family court judge after a senior Maori figure alleged "bullying" of the witness (bullying is so in vogue these days).
In my view, the judges who tried to apply pressure behind the scenes the during the family court case have breached their judicial oaths (which require justice to be delivered without fear or favour.) They should resign from office immediately.
Child who was badly neglected (show fear around men, so possibly had been sexually abused) removed from her mother (who from memory had had all her other children removed).
A loving (Pakeha) family fostered Moana with the view of it being a long term placement. Moana's health improved dramatically and she thrived with the "Smiths".
OT (who are likely infused with CRT) decided that the Smiths weren't catering for Moana's cultural needs. They wanted her removed from the Smiths even though she was thriving.
The Family Court judge slaimed OT for putting ideology ahead of the childs best interests. OT social worker was lying to the Judge on the stand.
Moana's mother appealedthe decision (her complete lack of insight over her utter failures to care for her children and her complete lack of gratitude to the Smiths, speaks volumes to me).as did OT and the Maori family in Wellington Moana was to be placed with (the Judge had come up with a very elegant decision that Moana would spend some holiday time with them as Moana's brother was in their custody and also see her mother, but firmly remain with the Smiths. The Smiths fought for Moana, putting up with all sortsof crap from OT, being dragged through the court. They told the Court they loved Moana as their own).
Mason (lawyer) is taking the case to the Court of Appeal, because "The Treaty of Waitangi provisions have not been properly interpreted".
How f….g stupid. I hope that Court of Appeal boat the case out. This is using the Treaty of Waitangi to promote an ideology. None of these people give a dam about Moana.
Really pissed at the idea we the tax payer may be paying for these appeals.
One has to wonder in the first few years of her life how did Moana's mother cater for her cultural needs, given her utter neglect of all her children??
Agree with all the sentiments. This case is a total disgrace. Once again a vulnerable child is being essentially abused by Oranga Tamariki. And we know there are plenty more out there.
When we try to fix one problem, zealots create a different and bigger one. Happens a lot, especially in social services and education (especially primary education where various faddish 'pedagogies' sweep through like viruses).
I've seen this a bit in my own circles – children taken from stable, loving foster situations at the whim of uncaring biological relatives and social workers. There was a very good episode of the series "I Am" recently that covered experience of two siblings who had this happen multiple times. It is actually the norm, not an exception. Those siblings were also separated from each other (and repeatedly abused along the way of course)
Social workers even express concern that they don't want the children forming bonds at their new 'temporary' homes, which is an appalling abuse in itself
In Oz a woman has been jailed for 15 months for blocking one of five lanes in a GW protest.
The story about how the Premier of NSW rushed through legislation to enable this. It's what happens when the neo-liberalism is bi-partisan, authoritarianism reigns.
Both the government and opposition dismissed criticisms on Monday, with Perrottet saying the jail sentence was “pleasing to see”.
The NSW Labor leader, Chris Minns, said he did not regret supporting the laws, a move which angered some on his backbench at the time.
The climate activist had made an entire city suffer with her selfish emotional actions, Magistrate Allison Hawkins said. You do damage to your cause when you do childish stunts like this.
Its absolutely clear Mallards inhuman torture program was much much worse. While these protesters may be locked up for 15 months (having been prosecuted for a law introduced after their arrest), they won't be forced to listen to Baby Shark by their government even once.
Mallard on the other hand implemented a completely inhumane torture program to which we otherwise only subject many parents and anybody who enters the wrong shopping mall.
Also (for the Guardian) just for consistency sake, kindly retract all your smears of, and call for the release of Australian citizen Julian Assange.
Mallard on the other hand implemented a completely inhumane torture program to which we otherwise only subject many parents and anybody who enters the wrong shopping mall.
We also face Mother Nature turning her sprinklers on, sometimes without warning and sometimes this happens when we are camping outdoors legally. To imitate this by doing it to people who are camping somewhere illegally is as cruel as the music.
to supporting a law that bans some forms of protest
So it is wrong to ban overnight protest at Parliament Grounds? I cannot see the argument actually. The ban on camping there has been well known for ages. It was deliberately defied by the protestors.
As for the results the Aus results are very much more severe. The NZ protestors so far seem to have been dealt with by ubiquitous access to a large wet bus ticket despite the damage and injuries caused.
So it is wrong to ban overnight protest at Parliament Grounds? I cannot see the argument actually. The ban on camping there has been well known for ages. It was deliberately defied by the protestors.
The argument is that the right to protest should be protected as one of our highest priorities in a democracy. Progressives wanting to pick and choose which protest is legitimate based on their own politics is dangerous. Are you ok with Nact doing this when they are in power? Banning some forms of climate activism for instance?
Oh look, they already started last time they were in power.
Whatever bullshit the protestors were doing on parliament grounds, if we say it's ok for parliament to treat them badly, then we have to accept that happening to the protests we support.
NZ's law, the Australians, and in the UK, right wing governments are moving to remove core democratic rights. It doesn't help with the left support that.
Clear thread derail. There’s no comparison between the two events.
This is Australia providing no bail and 8 months in jail to someone who had the temerity to remind them of their coal addiction hurting people around the globe.
We are not talking anyone threatening violence, falsifying claims about science, acting out militaristic fantasies and having a philosophy of death to politicians. As well as threatening people at their place of work.
It’s a protest with a clear set of aims and a desired outcome. Rather than an occupation without coordination and rational goals, or an end date.
This would be like giving Groundswell 8 months without bail for holding up traffic.
A better target would be the lack of transparency being snuck into bills. And a number of other things.
I wasn't comparing the events, I was talking about what is happening when the centre left supports right wing moves to restrict rights to protest. There is a shift in culture happening, and it is dangerous.
But thanks for confirming that you are ok with protest being limited for the protests you disapprove of.
protest is limited in lots of places. There are various norms we have for managing that and things that overstep the boundaries. Mallard pushed those boundaries and a big chunk of the left cheered because they disapprove of and disagree with the protestors. Which basically says, we support the right to protest when it suits us.
For instance, newsense said,
It’s a protest with a clear set of aims and a desired outcome. Rather than an occupation without coordination and rational goals, or an end date.
This is very similar to what conservatives and those in favour of the status quo have said about Occupy, or XR.
I'm not arguing that the protestors should have been allowed to occupy parliament and no action be taken. I'm pointing out that the ethos is being changed and the left are part of that.
IMO, this description picks up far to much of a media narrative which involves anti government (because Labour) biases.
All I think happened is that an occupation of parliament was planned from the beginning, and is what happened. The police plan from the beginning was to wait them out, but eventually a decision was undertaken that they had to be removed. The police were extremely cautious in their treatment of the protesters.
Now some details which support this,
1) The protesters turned up from day 1 with camping and occupation equipment.
2) It was communicated that camping (e.g occupation) was not allowed from day 1.
3) Attempts were made early on to enter parliament requiring a significant on going police presence to bolster parliament security. Never the less the occupation was allowed to continue.
4) There was media discussion indicating an expectation the protest would pack up during the torrential rain storm (which they didn't).
5) The police needed to bring in officers from other parts of the country to continue their stance re the protesters (so reducing available officers from other areas).
6) The police eventually started shrinking down the area occupied by vehicles.
7) There was a reasonable expectation, given their rhetoric and social media communications, that the protesters had weapons.
8) The police started looking for weapons held by the protesters.
9) Over the course of this many officers (and probably a lot more protesters) were catching Covid-19 and bringing it home to their families (which was reducing available officers). This is the main reason the police force have decided the occupation needed to be removed.
Mallard really had very little to do with any of this, and other than some trivial tit bits which the media (+TDB) have focused the narrative on, no speaker would have done any different. This was a demonstration of routine de-escalation tactics in action.
you appear to have missed my argument. I’m talking about how the left views the right to protest and the tendency to devalue it when the protestors aren’t left approved.
Mallard instructed parliament to turn sprinklers on the protestors, and to play incessant music. Obviously this was a stupid tactic, but it was also not his place to do that because of the importance of parliament not suppressing the right to protest. It was for the police to remove the protestors. I can’t see how it was routine de-escalation, nor am I convinced that any Speaker would have done the same, but precedent has certainly been set (which is my point).
Newsense said,
It’s a protest with a clear set of aims and a desired outcome. Rather than an occupation without coordination and rational goals, or an end date.
It’s the wrong argument. If that were Occupy or XR or indigenous protest, then an end date should not be on the left’s list of acceptable protest. Think Bastion Point for instance. Likewise, Occupy was often criticised for not having a coherent plan or goal, but this was largely because critiques didn’t understand the processes being used.
The anti-mandate protest was a hot mess. Some of the people were just outright arseholes, some were politically naive, some where aligned with the alt right manipulation, some were dangerous, some were simply disenfranchised and fucked off. That’s not a complete list. But despite that, they had a right to protest. There is plenty of room to criticise how they did various aspects of the protest, but the tendency for people to frame the protest as illegitmate is tied up with the beliefs of those people about the validity of the cause and that just takes us to the erosion of the right to protest. We cannot say that the right exists as long as we approve of what they are protesting. Because then the right can say the same thing, and they already have by banning some oil protests.
We can look to the UK and Australia to see just how bad this can get, but it’s dangerous to assume that NZ is immune to such shifts. We have a current reprieve because of our centre left government, but that won’t last forever.
Long bow.
If there is no clear purpose to a protest other than intimidate and change the government, partly through fear, that is not a protest in a democratic society.
It’s not non-violent direct action. It’s violent action. The kind which usually, even in a punitive democratic culture gets bail. Where there is no potential negotiation and no one to negotiate with, there is no protest in a democratic society.
This girl is an Australian political prisoner for protesting.
And if these are the bs discussions going on in the Green Party, they are going to love a Luxon/Rimmer/Peters arrangement, with Mark Mitchell as police minister and the factions in the police who were already illegally trialing monitoring software given free license. Still bet there’s a good chance ram raids will magically cease to be the major issue…
The harm principle is still a fairly good one. Apply it to both situations and let me know how you go.
I would apply it to both situations if I knew what you were talking about. Where did the NZ Greens come into this?
If there is no clear purpose to a protest other than intimidate and change the government, partly through fear, that is not a protest in a democratic society.
It’s not non-violent direct action. It’s violent action. The kind which usually, even in a punitive democratic culture gets bail. Where there is no potential negotiation and no one to negotiate with, there is no protest in a democratic society.
Your points here are more on target than earlier.
But the protest wasn’t unified behind violent direct action, that came from some of the factions. It was a hot mess of a range of people and purposes. Some legitimate, some not. We should be pulling apart the hot mess and protecting the right to protest alongside condemning the parts of the protest that were anti-democratic and violent.
And again, my point was that the left applauding Mallard for the sprinklers and incessant music legitimises the right to do worse next time. We can’t have it both ways.
Yes, I’m happy with protestors with no defined goal who are carrying signs calling for the death of elected representatives, who have routinely spouted violent gibberish defending their alleged rights, to not be allowed to sit in my front garden. Or that of my elected representatives. Who were threatened.
This is not opposition within a democratic framework. It’s opposition attempting to limit the legitimacy of a democratic framework and restrict democracy in action.
Compare Groundswell as a (partially astroturfed ) protest group. They’ve attracted support and had some success. They haven’t used violent rhetoric, they have leaders who express what their protest is about to the media, they meet with politicians. They haven’t burned anything and then without evidence blamed the police on a broadcast. Launching a social media career doesn’t seem to be a factor for them.
They shouldn’t be imprisoned for 8 months without bail.
Can’t see Trevor being Trevor and not rolling out the red carpet and bringing them tea and bikkies being part of a vast right wing anti-protest movement. But again, call it as you see it.
Can’t see Trevor being Trevor and not rolling out the red carpet and bringing them tea and bikkies being part of a vast right wing anti-protest movement. But again, call it as you see it.
Again, what are you on about?
Labour in Australia supported the laws that have put the woman in jail for 15 months for protesting. How can you not see the problem with that?
Iranian security forces are targeting women at anti-regime protests with shotgun fire to their faces, breasts and genitals, according to interviews with medics across the country.
Doctors and nurses – treating demonstrators in secret to avoid arrest – said they first observed the practice after noticing that women often arrived with different wounds to men, who more commonly had shotgun pellets in their legs, buttocks and backs.
[…]
One physician from the central Isfahan province said he believed the authorities were targeting men and women in different ways “because they wanted to destroy the beauty of these women”.
“I treated a woman in her early 20s, who was shot in her genitals by two pellets. Ten other pellets were lodged in her inner thigh. These 10 pellets were easily removed, but those two pellets were a challenge, because they were wedged in between her urethra and vaginal opening,” the physician said. “There was a serious risk of vaginal infection, so I asked her to go to a trusted gynaecologist. She said she was protesting when a group of about 10 security agents circled around and shot her in her genitals and thighs.”
Iran has conducted the first known execution in relation to the anti-government protests that have rocked the country, hanging a man who was found guilty by a revolutionary court of “waging war against God”.
Mohsen Shekari was accused of blocking a street and wounding a member of the pro-regime Basij militia on 25 September, during the early phase of the protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
State media published a video of what it said was Shekari’s confession, which showed him with a bruise on his right cheek.
His family waited outside the jail where he was executed, seeking news of his fate.
edit: btw, remember Elnaz Rekabi, the Iranian rock climber who competed in Seoul without wearing her headscarf? CNN reports her family’s home was demolished by the mullahs
Thank you joe for highlighting this. I was just about to add in this ABC article as well.
About two weeks ago I had an extended conversation with a young Iranian guy here in Australia, who could rightly be described as an activist. There is so much going on that our media is not reporting on. Indeed it was the wall of silence that frustrated him the most. Quite large and persistent protests have taken place in various Australian cities – he showed me the pictures – that have had exactly zero news coverage.
It's common knowledge that the USA was built with slavery, on land stolen from native Americans, but I wasn't aware the USA was also deeply involved in the Chinese opium trade in the early 19th century. The accumulation of this wealth helped the industrialization and the development of the United States.
Recently I read a review of James Bradley's book “The China Mirage: The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia” and found a (2015) video, Meet the Author program, featuring James Bradley, presenting his fourth book, “The China Mirage: The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia”
It's an impressive talk on the history of USA – China relations from the Opium wars through to the Vietnam War, with eye-opening research detail.
This is slightly long perhaps for many at 1.05hr but he tells a great story, as one comment says "American people misunderstand China at so many levels that their mental images of China have little bearing on reality"
Summary:
The China Mirage is a riveting history of U.S.-China relations from the 19th-century opium trade through World War II and on to the Vietnam War. From both Roosevelt administrations to today, Bradley traces a troubled relationship between two nations, showing how the West has often profoundly misunderstood and underestimated the East.
The China Mirage: The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia is the latest book by James Bradley, author of the consecutive New York Times bestsellers Flags of Our Fathers, Flyboys, and The Imperial Cruise. With each of his books, Bradley has exposed hidden truths behind America’s military engagement in Asia, pivoting around the central searing image and story of his father raising the flag on Iwo Jima. With The China Mirage, he seeks to answer one basic question: How did his father end up on that island beach?
The answer can be found as early as the 1840s, when prominent Americans—including Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s grandfather—made their fortunes in the Chinese opium trade. As they profited off addicting millions, American missionaries arrived seeking to westernize Chinese peasants. The myth of a country longing to be Christianized and Americanized and soon to become the United States’ best friend in Asia is the so-called China Mirage, a misperception that American media eagerly propagated, with far-reaching implications through the present.
Bradley opens with a provocative premise: While most Americans trace the roots of World War II to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, few know why the attack occurred. It had little to do with the Axis agenda in Europe and was in fact a reaction to U.S. restrictions on oil exports to Japan—a move calculated to force Japan out of China, freeing China to westernize and ally with the United States.
When Mao Zedong rose to power after World War II, Americans lamented that they had “lost” China, when in fact they had never “had” it—only the dream of a nation conjured in the collective imagination. It was a dream that cost millions of Asian and American lives in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and other Asian conflicts.
The China Mirage shows how the gap between American perception and reality in Asia has had disastrous repercussions. Focusing on the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bradley explores the distorted domestic and foreign policy that has defined U.S.-China relations to the present day.
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In case you hadn't noticed, FYI, the public OIA request site, has been used to conduct a significant excavation into New Zealand's intelligence agencies, with requests made for assorted policies and procedures. Yesterday in response to one of these requests the GCSB released its policy on New Zealand Purpose and ...
South Islands farmers are whining about another drought, the third in three years. If only we knew what was causing this! If only someone had warned them that they faced a drying climate! But we do know what is causing it: climate change. And they have been warned, repeatedly, for ...
Ok, there’s good news and bad news in this week’s inflation figures, but bad > good. Our inflation rate held steady but hey, at a level below the inflation rate in Australia. The main reason for the so/so result here? A fall in petrol prices of 7.2% offset the really ...
Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet there have been dozens of columns ...
The Clinical Magus: Of particular relevance to New Zealanders struggling to come to terms with the sudden departure of their prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is Jung’s concept of the anima. Much more than what others have called “the feminine principle”, the anima is what the human male has made out of ...
Such are the 2020s, the age when no-one, it seems, actually respects the basic underpinnings of democracy. Even in New Zealand. This week, I stumbled across a pair of lengthy and genuinely serious articles, that basically argue that Something is Rotten in the state of New Zealand democracy. One ...
Smiling And Waiving A Golden Opportunity: Chris Hipkins knew that the day at Ratana would be Jacinda’s day – her final opportunity to bask in the unalloyed love and support of her followers. He simply could not afford to be seen to overshadow this last chance for his former boss ...
Extremism Consumes Itself: The plot of “Act of Oblivion” concerns the relentless pursuit of the “regicides” Edward Whalley and William Goffe – two of the fifty-nine signatories to King Charles I’s death warrant. As with his many other works of historical fiction, Robert Harris’s novel brings to life a period ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Imagine it’s a cold February night and your furnace breaks. You want to replace it with an electric heat pump because you’ve heard that tax credits will help pay for the switch. And you know that heat pumps can reduce ...
A very informative video discussion: Are we getting the whole story about Ukraine? | Robert Wright & Ivan Katchanovski Getting objective information on the situation in Ukraine and the cause of this current war is not easy. There is the current censorship and blatant mainstream media bias – which ...
In 2005, then-National Party leader based his entire election campaign on racism, with his infamous racist Orewa speech and racist iwi/kiwi billboards. Now, Christopher Luxon seems to want to do it all again: Fresh off using his platform at this week's Rātana celebrations to criticise the government's approach to ...
It’s a big day for New Zealand; our 41st Prime Minister has taken office and the new, “Chippy” era of politics is underway. Or, on the other hand, the Labour Party continues to govern with an overall majority and much the same leadership team in place. Life goes on and ...
NewsHub has a poll on the cost-of-living crisis, which has an interesting finding: the vast majority of kiwis prefer wage rises to tax cuts: When asked whether income has kept up with the cost of living, 54.8 percent of people surveyed said no and according to 58.6 percent of ...
Labour has begun 2023 with the centre-left bloc behind in the polls and losing ground. That being so, did his colleagues choose Chris Hipkins as the replacement for Jacinda Ardern because they think he has a realistic shot at leading them to victory this year, or because he‘s the best ...
This is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blogIn last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate ...
Two Flags, Two Masters? Just as it required a full-scale military effort to destroy the first attempt at Māori self-government in the 1850s and 60s (an effort that divided Maoridom itself into supporters and opponents of the Crown) any second attempt to establish tino rangatiratanga, based on the confiscatory policies ...
You’ve really got to wonder at the introspection, or lack thereof, from much of the mainstream media post Jacinda Ardern stepping down. Some so-called journalists haven’t even taken a breath before once again putting the boot in, which clearly shows their inherent bias and lack of any misgivings about fueling ...
Over the weekend I was interviewed by a media outlet about the threats that Jacinda Ardern and her family have received while she has been PM and what can be […] ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is able to steer ...
Going to try to get into the blogging thing again (ha!) what with anew PM, an election coming up and all that.So today I thought I'd start small and simple, by merely tackling the world's (second) richest man.I am not suggesting Elon Musk literally light this fire. But he is ...
Well, that was a disappointment. As of today, the New Zealand Labour Caucus opted for Chris Hipkins as our new Prime Minister, and I cannot help but let loose a cynical cackle. ...
Things have gone sideways… and it’s only the third week of January? It was political earthquake time. For some the Prime Minister made a truly significant announcement. For others – did you have this on your bingo card? – a body double did so (sit tight, you’ll understand later, ...
People complain about their jobs being meaningless. Does it matter?David Graeber, author of Bullshit Jobs: The Rise of Pointless Work and What We Can Do About It, would have smiled at Elon Musk’s sacking half the Twitter workforce. Musk seems to be confirming the main thesis of the book, that ...
I warned about the trap of virtue signaling in my article Virtue signaling over Ukraine. This video is still relevant – but have we moved on since then? The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was universally condemned at the time. Or was it? Certainly, the political atmosphere ...
Open access notables Bad news delivered by an all-star cast of familiar researchers: Another Year of Record Heat for the Oceans. From the abstract: In 2022, the world’s oceans, as given by OHC, were again the hottest in the historical record and exceeded the previous 2021 record maximum. According to IAP/CAS data, ...
One of my earliest political memories is the resignation of Prime Minister David Lange in August 1989. I remember this because of a brown felt-tipped pen drawing I did of the Beehive, the building that houses the Executive of the New Zealand Government. More than thirty years later, we ...
She gave it her all. No New Zealand Prime Minister has ever dominated the political scene at home as she has done, or has established an international profile to match hers. No New Zealand Prime Minister has had to confront such a sequence of domestic and international catastrophes – from ...
Jacinda Ardern's shock resignation announcement today has left a lot of us with a lot of complicated feelings. In my case, while I've been highly critical of Ardern's government, I'm still sorry to see her go. We've had far too many terrible things happen during her term as Prime Minister ...
The decision by Jacinda Ardern to end her term as Prime Minister on February 7 has come as a stunning surprise. It turns the task of a centre-left government winning re-election this year from difficult to nigh on impossible. No-one else among the Labour caucus has Ardern’s ability to explain ...
Jacinda Ardern’s first press conference as Labour leader in August 2017 was a defining moment in the past decade of New Zealand politics. A young woman (by the standards of politics) who had long been tipped for higher office, she had underperformed as a shadow minister and Andrew Little’s noble ...
An Astonishing Rapport: Jacinda Ardern's "Politics of Kindness" raised so many progressive possibilities. Her own tragedy, and New Zealand's, is that so few of them were realised.MUCH WILL BE WRITTEN in the coming days about "The Ardern Years", some of it sympathetic and insightful, most of it spiteful and wrong.For ...
The Herald this morning reports on the rich's efforts to buy this year's election. And you'll never guess who their chosen vehicle is: The National Party may start election year with a $2.3 million war chest raised from 24 big donors in 2022, while Labour has declared just $150,000 ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler You walk into your kitchen to make pasta. After filling a pot with water, you place a small silicone mat in the middle of your counter, then set the pot above it and open a stovetop app on your phone. ...
You know it as well as I, the famous Ring Verse from The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien: Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the sky Seven for the Dwarf Lords in their halls of stone Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die One ...
Kia ora e te whānau. Today, we mark the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi - and our commitment to working in partnership with Māori to deliver better outcomes and tackle the big issues, together. ...
We’ve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we’re making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...
The Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...
When Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Government’s top priority – and this week, we’ve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for India tomorrow as she continues to reconnect Aotearoa New Zealand to the world. The visit will begin in New Delhi where the Foreign Minister will meet with the Vice President Hon Jagdeep Dhankar and her Indian Government counterparts, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and ...
Over $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in Whangārei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...
A memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between Māori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...
The Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. “We’re supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. “Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...
25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...
The strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
Sure, Scotty Morrison’s Māori At Work is a wonderful resource for Aotearoa’s collective te reo Māori journey. But is it judgemental enough for the modern office environment?First published September 12 2019 The growing strength of te reo is palpable across Aotearoa, with record numbers of people participating in Mahuru ...
Screenwriter Dana Leaming’s debut comedy series Not Even is out now on Prime and Neon. This is the out the gate story of how it got there.Kia ora, Hi, What up? Up to? U up? …I’m Dana. I wrote and co-directed (with Ainsley Gardiner) the TV show Not Even ...
The Human Rights Commission, Te Kāhui Tika Tangata, last week released two reports on racism and the impact of colonialism in Aotearoa. Among their many insights was the necessity of a wider understanding of how racism manifests itself. I was honoured to accept an invitation by Te Kāhui Tika Tangata ...
Vincent O’Malley reviews a history of the battle of Gate Pā.First published February 5, 2019 Head up Cameron Road, one of Tauranga’s main arterial routes, a few kilometres out of the city centre and you drive over one of New Zealand’s most important historical sites. The road, named after ...
For nine years he steered the ship he built, but last week Duncan Greive announced his surprise resignation as CEO of The Spinoff. He joins guest host, Jane Yee, to discuss how doing things differently took The Spinoff from an irreverent TV blog to a respected online magazine, and why ...
Three decades ago one of the giants of New Zealand thinking and writing, Ranginui Walker, published Ka Whawhai Tonu Mātou, Struggle Without End. The book, originally released in 1990 and revised in 2004, is a history of Aotearoa from a Māori perspective. It had a profound influence and today remains ...
THE (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding. BRIAN EASTON writes: Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has described this morning's Waitangi dawn service as moving and says he welcomes the shift away from a focus on politics. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Mick Tsikas/AAP A federal Newspoll, conducted February 1-4 from a sample of 1,512, gave Labor a 55-45 lead, unchanged on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Murray Goot, Emeritus Professor of Politics and International Relations, Macquarie University Support for embedding an Indigenous Voice to parliament in the Constitution has fallen. The polls provide good evidence once you work out how to find it. However, the voters who have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Doug Drury, Professor/Head of Aviation, CQUniversity Australia Shutterstock When booking a flight, do you ever think about which seat will protect you the most in an emergency? Probably not. Most people book seats for comfort, such as leg room, or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Libby Rumpff, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne David Crosling/AAP The Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 were cataclysmic: a landmark in Australia’s environmental history. They burnt more than 10 million hectares, mostly forests in southeast Australia. Many of our most ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Grové, Fulbright Scholar and Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Monash University Anete Lusina/Pexels School attendance levels in Australia are a massive issue according to Education Minister Jason Clare. As he told reporters last week, he hopes to talk to state colleagues ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marion Terrill, Transport and Cities Program Director, Grattan Institute Revising the generous fuel tax credits given to businesses should be a priority for the Albanese government, because keeping them would conflict with two other pressing priorities: reducing carbon emissions and repairing the ...
Paul Diamond’s book about the 1920s scandal that shocked Whanganui is on the longlist for the Ockhams (in the hotly contested General Non-Fiction category). Victor Rodger reviews. A closeted mayor with huge ambitions. A handsome, young, returned soldier with ambiguous motivations.A scandalous shooting that leads to a spectacular ...
It is hard to separate the politics from Waitangi, but the day party leaders were welcomed on to Te Whare Rūnanga was largely free of inflammatory rhetoric and political point scoring. ...
An easy, low sugar jam that tastes even better than the sickly-sweet stuff. Often jam recipes call for much more sugar that I think is necessary, resulting in a cloyingly sweet jam whose flavour sadly becomes lost. Where some recipes will call for equal measures of fruit and sugar, this ...
Rheive Grey pays tribute to one political party’s unapologetic commitment to markers of Māori identity, from hei tiki to waiata to tikitiki. I’m proud to be Māori. If you’re like me, it’s hard to read that sentence without singing it in your head. That’s either the power of good campaigning, ...
When I was a man my dick was only average size, but learning how to tuck it out of sight is a steep learning curve for a girl on a budget. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Illustrations: Sloane Hong The dick ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND Australia’s Reserve Bank is set to push up rates once again at its first meeting for the year on Tuesday, according to all but ...
By David Robie When Papuan journalist Victor Mambor visited New Zealand almost nine years ago, he impressed student journalists from the Pacific Media Centre and community activists with his refreshing candour and courage. As the founder of the Jubi news media group, he remained defiant that he would tell the ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori officially announced Mariameno Kapa-Kingi as their candidate for the Te Tai Tokerau electorate in this year’s General Election. The announcement was part of the pōwhiri for MPs at Te Whare Rūnanga o Waitangi. “Making the announcement ...
Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Minister’s direction of travel – already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta – must be confirmed by an emphatic and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Enshrining a constitutional Voice to parliament will bring better practical outcomes and give the best chance for Closing the Gap, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will say in a major address on the referendum on Sunday. ...
It’s been exactly a decade since Seven Sharp first appeared on our screens. Remember the first episode? We’ve unearthed the tapes. On this day in 2013, a bombshell was thrown into the New Zealand television landscape. “Time for us to make way, because you’re here to see what everyone’s talking ...
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris has fronted endless media requests and live crosses this week. Is he getting it right? Lewis Ferris is trying to find his weather map. “This week’s been so insane” he mutters as he closes multiple tabs on the three screens across his Wellington desk. He’s ...
By Jamie Tahana, RNZ News Te Ao Māori journalist at Waitangi, and Russell Palmer, digital political journalist Iwi leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand have accused opposition parties National and ACT of “fanning the flames of racism”, urging the prime minister to be brave and not walk away from partnership on Three ...
After four years, executive director Max Tweedie has stepped down from Auckland Pride. He tells Sam Brooks about shepherding the festival through a tumultuous few years, and where he’s going from here.This year’s Auckland Pride Festival is set to be the biggest one yet. Over the course of more ...
A flailing mayor was only the public face of a multifaceted flooding communications failure. Duncan Greive examines the mess, and asks what can be done to improve it.It’s a chilling timeline. Stuff’s Kelly Dennett catalogued, beat-by-beat, the 12 hours in which Auckland was pummelled by a catastrophic deluge, interspersing ...
Labour's position has alternated over the past few days: first Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would speak, then he wouldn't, and then he would again. ...
Te Pāti Māori Co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer are announcing a transformative defence and foreign affairs policy which asserts the Mana Māori Motuhake and Tino Rangatiratanga of tangata whenua in Aotearoa at their Party’s ...
The Green Party calls on the Government to end perpetual leases over Māori land so that Māori landowners can directly control their lands. “Māori landowners continue to be locked out of their own whenua by perpetual leases that allow others ...
Buzz from the Beehive Politicians keen to curry favour with Māori tribal leaders have headed north for Waitangi weekend. More than a few million dollars of public funding are headed north, too. Not all of this money is being trumpeted on the Beehive website, the Government’s official website. ...
The Dunedin branch of the Green Party has selected Francisco Hernandez as its candidate for the Dunedin electorate in this year’s general election. Francisco Hernandez was the Otago University Students Association President in 2013. He has held a number ...
About this time last week it had become apparent that Auckland was in for a bit more than just a wet Friday. While the state of emergency remains in place for another seven days, it appears the worst should now be behind us. Last night, Niwa shared a fascinating thread ...
Viewers across the United States were today shown a slice of New Zealand, with a reporter for Good Morning America broadcasting live from Rotorua. Robin Roberts, a co-anchor for the popular morning TV show, has been touring the country this week. During her visit to Rotorua’s Te Puia centre, she ...
They can be environmentally unsound and are a symbol used to shame millennials, but everyone still loves an avo. I love avocados, always have, always will. The buttery golden-green flesh from a perfectly ripe avocado is a culinary blessing. Today I’d love to simply wax poetic about twisting open a ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Penguin Press, $50) The beautiful ...
A new poem by Robin Peace. To the kahikatea I see from my bed Thinking inside the square, the ellipse, the round of what life is, I only see the trees. Not only as if that were the only thing I see, but only as if the tree matters more. ...
A week ago, Elton John’s first Auckland show was called off at the last minute. What was it like getting there, being there, and trying to return home afterwards?Elton John has long been a blessing for our ears, but in recent years his Auckland shows have been cursed. His ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has conceded he “dropped the ball” during last Friday’s major flooding event. The state of emergency in the super city has today been extended for a further seven days, though Brown said he expects it will be lifted early. After a week of defensiveness over his ...
As the reality TV juggernaut returns for a new season, Tara Ward steps into the minds of the show’s relationship experts to assess the compatibility of this year’s brides and grooms. Married at First Sight: Australia returns on Monday night, and by season ten, you’d think the show’s relationship experts ...
Auckland’s state of emergency is expected to be extended for another seven days, according to the Herald. It was due to expire overnight after being declared a week ago, the day of the worst flooding in the super city. While weather conditions have improved, the city is continuing to experience ...
Iwi leaders have accused National and ACT of "fanning the flames of racism", urging the prime minister to be brave and not walk away from partnership on three waters. ...
The government has confirmed the money will be spent in Northland, including unlocking greenfields land and transport upgrades like a new bridge in Kamo. ...
Ours Not Mines is cautiously excited about reporting that the Government is drafting legislation to ban new mines on conservation land. The anti-mining group's spokesperson, Morgan Donoghue says: "The Government has been promising us some action for ...
People who enjoy the outdoors for recreation, fishing and hunting will lose rights under the Natural and Built Environments Bill. Fish & Game New Zealand chief executive Corina Jordan says the proposed replacement for the Resource Management ...
Proposed pay equity claim settlements for school librarians and science technicians have been reached between the Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa, Secretary for Education, Iona Holsted and NZEI Te Riu Roa president, Mark Potter, announced ...
Members of NZEI Te Riu Roa negotiating on behalf of school librarians, library assistants and science technicians are excited to announce that proposed pay equity settlements are ready to be voted on by their colleagues. They include pay increases of up to ...
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is calling for Michael Wood, the Minister of Transport, and now Auckland, to cancel the light rail project immediately. Auckland Light Rail was never going to happen, as our group has repeatedly said dozens of ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has been asked to intervene following confirmation today that the Government plans to implement a ban on all extractive sector activities on the conservation estate. Wayne Scott, CEO of the Aggregate and Quarry Association, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two fresh press releases had been posted when we checked the Beehive website at noon, both of them posted yesterday. In one statement, in the runup to Waitangi Day, Maori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis drew attention to happenings on a Northland battle site in 1845. ...
I am delighted to announce the appointment of John Price ONZM as the new Director Civil Defence Emergency Management and Deputy Chief Executive Emergency Management for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). John has been a member of the ...
Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki are calling on the new Prime Minister and new Minister of Conservation Willow Jean Prime to immediately implement the 2017 promise to ban new mining activity on conservation lands. “ The mining industry group Straterra ...
Analysis - Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has had a dream start with polls showing Labour ahead of National, but now he has to prove himself in Parliament and quickly deliver on his promises. ...
The Bus and Coach Association supports the Government’s decision to continue half-price fares on public transport services. The fare reduction was set to expire on 31 March 2023, but will now continue to 30 June 2023. “Half-price fares have cost ten-times ...
“The decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to not replace the late Queen with Charles on the Aussie $5 note should indicate to our Reserve Bank that it’s time to change the NZ $20 note” said Lewis Holden, campaign chair of New ...
Establishing a Truth, Reconciliation and Justice Commission and recognising Māori tino rangatiratanga are among several recommendations in two pivotal reports released today (Friday 3 February) by Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission. The ...
The decision turns Wellington into a 2023 battleground, with three brand new faces set to contest the electorate - and Shaw has already thrown his support behind Tamatha Paul. ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has undergone a stern baptisim of fire in his first week in his new job, but it doesn’t get any easier. Next week, he has a vital meeting in Canberra with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, where he has to establish ...
Continuing fuel subsidies despite official and expert advice urging otherwise is focused on helping New Zealanders in the here and now, the finance minister says. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Cost-of-living pressures loomed large in Beehive announcements over the past 24 hours. The PM was obviously keen to announce further measures to keep those costs in check and demonstrate he means business when he talks of focusing his government on bread-and-butter issues. His statement was headed ...
Chris Hipkins says Aotearoa has "some tough calls to make as a country" regarding the future of communities in places vulnerable to extreme weather events. ...
A new Prime Minister, a revitalised Cabinet, and possibly revised priorities – but is the political and, importantly, economic landscape much different? Certainly some within the news media were excited by the changes which Chris Hipkins announced yesterday or – before the announcement – by the prospect of changes in ...
Analysis - Jacinda Ardern is one of New Zealand's most historically significant leaders. But she did not achieve the grand vision for Aotearoa her outsized rhetoric promised. ...
Say (Hope not) the baby in the blood vaccination case dies before the operation can take place, could charges be brought against those who were opposed to the blood from covid vaccinated donors?
or indeed those who were opposed to the blood from non covid vaxed donors
"However, the NZ Freedom and Outdoors Party, of which the parents’ lawyer Sue Grey is co-leader, is planning a vigil for 10am."
Lots of rain and stormy weather in Grafton this morning would be good. In that event of course some loon will suggest it's God's expressing Her displeasure about the blood being used.
If the protestors are forced indoors maybe they can get down to planning positive steps forward. Like how to set up truly safe bloodbanks so people have a choice.
I can see them having as many categories as possible with blood specifically from:
those vaccinated for covid, those not vaccinated for covid, those not vaccinated with any antibodies.
Catholics, Muslims, Atheists, blood from those with European ethnicity, from Pacifica, from Māori, from Asians, and so on down the track.
I'm sure there'll be some in the Sue Grey and Liz Gunn camps who'd be right into that.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/donor-blood-battle-vigil-planned-outside-starship-hospital/6CX5KFIWFVCKPJG7N5CIMXQUDM/
Why? The delays in having the op were the fault of the parents.
While the article is not entirely correct this theme is…
"By under-promising and over-delivering, a Labour government could present itself as both sensible and competent. Not much might be on offer, but if you said you were going to deliver – and you did – then your voters weren’t just grateful, they were impressed. The days of big dreams might be over, but Clark’s clear-headed grasp of her own and her party’s limitations, made it possible for some of the people’s smaller dreams to come true."
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2022/12/jacindas-manic-ministry.html
It may have been more a case of lingering capability from an earlier iteration…..there were still politicians and public servants within the system that had experience of a time when Governments had greater control/influence of the economy.
Labour has passed 3 waters, nothing much else matters now in terms of their reelection hopes.
The question I am pondering (and i think the author is) is not how can Labour be re-elected but rather how/why did they make such a mess of the opportunity?
I agree it's very unlikely they will be re-elected….though 3 Waters is only part of the story.
Absolutely right! And when Natz equivocate about keeping water in public ownership (and we all know Act are the driving force behind the Natz) then the public will reject the right emphatically.
After all, the Natz have a record of a) ignoring the wishes of the people and b) selling the family silver – both of which gets right up the noses of voters.
Their opposition to Three Waters will cost the Natz the election.
Tony, do you not have a TV, radio or internet connection?
Have you not seen the numerous TV clips where Luxon is directly asked about this by journalists? He emphatically rules out privitisation of water.
You are making shit up.
As emphatically as a Nat can rule out asset sales, subject to change [of Government], of course. It comes as natural to them as a dog licking his bollocks.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/12/christopher-luxon-says-asset-sales-not-on-the-agenda-claims-government-trying-to-deflect-from-three-waters-entrenchment-clause.html
Well Act is thinking of it!! So that lets Chris Luxon off that hook.!! Though.. Luxon says..
”Don't see a need for privatisation of any assets at this point.”
So sales some point in the future then?
They will miraculously discover a 'need' some time after being elected.
Luxxy Two-Tongues
Like we believe the "we will not raise GST" Natz!
It appears that OT are determined to continue their appeals process (albeit under the false flag of Moana's mother) – right up to the Supreme Court – in the 'Moana' case.
So much for ensuring that the welfare of the child is the centre of their decision-making process.
Ideology is clearly much more important than child welfare – which, perhaps says something about the litany of disasters over children in their care which regularly appear in the media.
Continuing to drag the family through the courts – in an attempt at some form of vindication for the social worker involved (or the principles she was espousing) – is an outrageous abuse of power and privilege.
The appropriate venue for a policy change (should the Minister agree that one is needed) is through Parliament. Rather than attempting to do an end run around democratic decision-making by constant appeals in the hope of finding a sympathetic (and politically activist) judge.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/130689679/moana-decision-appealed-may-be-heard-in-supreme-court
The best welfare for this little girl is to leave her, and her foster family, alone. All evidence (even the biased social worker) has stated that she is happy, settled, well-cared-for and loved. All of which were conspicuously missing when she was in the 'care' of her birth-mother. The one who (prompted and supported by OT) is now crusading against the foster-placement.
Can't recall where I read it, but someone posted the view that OT is using the Moana case as part of its long-running war with the Family court judge who (justifiably) criticised a social worker for taking a two-faced stance with Moana's carers and their lawyer. That worker engaged in deliberate deception.
The case has very nasty implications for our justice system. There was behind the scenes interference with the legal proceedings by the Principal Family court judge after a senior Maori figure alleged "bullying" of the witness (bullying is so in vogue these days).
In my view, the judges who tried to apply pressure behind the scenes the during the family court case have breached their judicial oaths (which require justice to be delivered without fear or favour.) They should resign from office immediately.
For me at least this and the last couple of OMs aren't visible on the home page.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Indeed, and yesterday I left a note in the back end for Lprent but he’s been somewhat distracted lately.
I'll turn the caching off. Ummm looks like there is a problem at cloudflare. Having problems getting into the config. Looking…
They have identified it and are working on it.
https://www.cloudflarestatus.com/incidents/dgjf7vq9gvts
Outrageous!
Child who was badly neglected (show fear around men, so possibly had been sexually abused) removed from her mother (who from memory had had all her other children removed).
A loving (Pakeha) family fostered Moana with the view of it being a long term placement. Moana's health improved dramatically and she thrived with the "Smiths".
OT (who are likely infused with CRT) decided that the Smiths weren't catering for Moana's cultural needs. They wanted her removed from the Smiths even though she was thriving.
The Family Court judge slaimed OT for putting ideology ahead of the childs best interests. OT social worker was lying to the Judge on the stand.
Moana's mother appealedthe decision (her complete lack of insight over her utter failures to care for her children and her complete lack of gratitude to the Smiths, speaks volumes to me).as did OT and the Maori family in Wellington Moana was to be placed with (the Judge had come up with a very elegant decision that Moana would spend some holiday time with them as Moana's brother was in their custody and also see her mother, but firmly remain with the Smiths. The Smiths fought for Moana, putting up with all sortsof crap from OT, being dragged through the court. They told the Court they loved Moana as their own).
Mason (lawyer) is taking the case to the Court of Appeal, because "The Treaty of Waitangi provisions have not been properly interpreted".
How f….g stupid. I hope that Court of Appeal boat the case out. This is using the Treaty of Waitangi to promote an ideology. None of these people give a dam about Moana.
Really pissed at the idea we the tax payer may be paying for these appeals.
One has to wonder in the first few years of her life how did Moana's mother cater for her cultural needs, given her utter neglect of all her children??
Agree with all the sentiments. This case is a total disgrace. Once again a vulnerable child is being essentially abused by Oranga Tamariki. And we know there are plenty more out there.
Close friend involved in case with similarities.
Point of note: OT "professional" comment on shared cultural ancestry: – might be the same – but looks different.
Friend is blue eyed and pale complexioned.
When we try to fix one problem, zealots create a different and bigger one. Happens a lot, especially in social services and education (especially primary education where various faddish 'pedagogies' sweep through like viruses).
I've seen this a bit in my own circles – children taken from stable, loving foster situations at the whim of uncaring biological relatives and social workers. There was a very good episode of the series "I Am" recently that covered experience of two siblings who had this happen multiple times. It is actually the norm, not an exception. Those siblings were also separated from each other (and repeatedly abused along the way of course)
Social workers even express concern that they don't want the children forming bonds at their new 'temporary' homes, which is an appalling abuse in itself
Here is the 'I Am' episode, heartbreaking but also amazing story of survival. And not an uncommon thing in nz, unfortunately
I Am
Thanks Uncooked S. Will watch I am.
In Oz a woman has been jailed for 15 months for blocking one of five lanes in a GW protest.
The story about how the Premier of NSW rushed through legislation to enable this. It's what happens when the neo-liberalism is bi-partisan, authoritarianism reigns.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/06/documents-reveal-scramble-to-rubber-stamp-nsw-bill-targeting-climate-protests
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-63883430
The city suffered because one lane of 5 was blocked for 25 minutes.
the question for NZ is 'what would Mallard do?'
How far is it from parliament using sprinklers and persistent noise to disrupt protestors, to supporting a law that bans some forms of protest?
Its absolutely clear Mallards inhuman torture program was much much worse. While these protesters may be locked up for 15 months (having been prosecuted for a law introduced after their arrest), they won't be forced to listen to Baby Shark by their government even once.
Mallard on the other hand implemented a completely inhumane torture program to which we otherwise only subject many parents and anybody who enters the wrong shopping mall.
Also (for the Guardian) just for consistency sake, kindly retract all your smears of, and call for the release of Australian citizen Julian Assange.
We also face Mother Nature turning her sprinklers on, sometimes without warning and sometimes this happens when we are camping outdoors legally. To imitate this by doing it to people who are camping somewhere illegally is as cruel as the music.
So it is wrong to ban overnight protest at Parliament Grounds? I cannot see the argument actually. The ban on camping there has been well known for ages. It was deliberately defied by the protestors.
As for the results the Aus results are very much more severe. The NZ protestors so far seem to have been dealt with by ubiquitous access to a large wet bus ticket despite the damage and injuries caused.
Thank you Nic
The argument is that the right to protest should be protected as one of our highest priorities in a democracy. Progressives wanting to pick and choose which protest is legitimate based on their own politics is dangerous. Are you ok with Nact doing this when they are in power? Banning some forms of climate activism for instance?
Oh look, they already started last time they were in power.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/high-seas-protest-law-passed/H25ELJO4UMYHUQZHLFY4YWSLKU/
Whatever bullshit the protestors were doing on parliament grounds, if we say it's ok for parliament to treat them badly, then we have to accept that happening to the protests we support.
NZ's law, the Australians, and in the UK, right wing governments are moving to remove core democratic rights. It doesn't help with the left support that.
Clear thread derail. There’s no comparison between the two events.
This is Australia providing no bail and 8 months in jail to someone who had the temerity to remind them of their coal addiction hurting people around the globe.
We are not talking anyone threatening violence, falsifying claims about science, acting out militaristic fantasies and having a philosophy of death to politicians. As well as threatening people at their place of work.
It’s a protest with a clear set of aims and a desired outcome. Rather than an occupation without coordination and rational goals, or an end date.
This would be like giving Groundswell 8 months without bail for holding up traffic.
A better target would be the lack of transparency being snuck into bills. And a number of other things.
I wasn't comparing the events, I was talking about what is happening when the centre left supports right wing moves to restrict rights to protest. There is a shift in culture happening, and it is dangerous.
But thanks for confirming that you are ok with protest being limited for the protests you disapprove of.
Now now. Protest was already limited at parliament for decades, regardless of the kaupapa.
protest is limited in lots of places. There are various norms we have for managing that and things that overstep the boundaries. Mallard pushed those boundaries and a big chunk of the left cheered because they disapprove of and disagree with the protestors. Which basically says, we support the right to protest when it suits us.
For instance, newsense said,
This is very similar to what conservatives and those in favour of the status quo have said about Occupy, or XR.
I'm not arguing that the protestors should have been allowed to occupy parliament and no action be taken. I'm pointing out that the ethos is being changed and the left are part of that.
IMO, this description picks up far to much of a media narrative which involves anti government (because Labour) biases.
All I think happened is that an occupation of parliament was planned from the beginning, and is what happened. The police plan from the beginning was to wait them out, but eventually a decision was undertaken that they had to be removed. The police were extremely cautious in their treatment of the protesters.
Now some details which support this,
1) The protesters turned up from day 1 with camping and occupation equipment.
2) It was communicated that camping (e.g occupation) was not allowed from day 1.
3) Attempts were made early on to enter parliament requiring a significant on going police presence to bolster parliament security. Never the less the occupation was allowed to continue.
4) There was media discussion indicating an expectation the protest would pack up during the torrential rain storm (which they didn't).
5) The police needed to bring in officers from other parts of the country to continue their stance re the protesters (so reducing available officers from other areas).
6) The police eventually started shrinking down the area occupied by vehicles.
7) There was a reasonable expectation, given their rhetoric and social media communications, that the protesters had weapons.
8) The police started looking for weapons held by the protesters.
9) Over the course of this many officers (and probably a lot more protesters) were catching Covid-19 and bringing it home to their families (which was reducing available officers). This is the main reason the police force have decided the occupation needed to be removed.
Mallard really had very little to do with any of this, and other than some trivial tit bits which the media (+TDB) have focused the narrative on, no speaker would have done any different. This was a demonstration of routine de-escalation tactics in action.
I agree with most of that, except for two points.
Newsense said,
It’s the wrong argument. If that were Occupy or XR or indigenous protest, then an end date should not be on the left’s list of acceptable protest. Think Bastion Point for instance. Likewise, Occupy was often criticised for not having a coherent plan or goal, but this was largely because critiques didn’t understand the processes being used.
The anti-mandate protest was a hot mess. Some of the people were just outright arseholes, some were politically naive, some where aligned with the alt right manipulation, some were dangerous, some were simply disenfranchised and fucked off. That’s not a complete list. But despite that, they had a right to protest. There is plenty of room to criticise how they did various aspects of the protest, but the tendency for people to frame the protest as illegitmate is tied up with the beliefs of those people about the validity of the cause and that just takes us to the erosion of the right to protest. We cannot say that the right exists as long as we approve of what they are protesting. Because then the right can say the same thing, and they already have by banning some oil protests.
We can look to the UK and Australia to see just how bad this can get, but it’s dangerous to assume that NZ is immune to such shifts. We have a current reprieve because of our centre left government, but that won’t last forever.
Long bow.
If there is no clear purpose to a protest other than intimidate and change the government, partly through fear, that is not a protest in a democratic society.
It’s not non-violent direct action. It’s violent action. The kind which usually, even in a punitive democratic culture gets bail. Where there is no potential negotiation and no one to negotiate with, there is no protest in a democratic society.
This girl is an Australian political prisoner for protesting.
And if these are the bs discussions going on in the Green Party, they are going to love a Luxon/Rimmer/Peters arrangement, with Mark Mitchell as police minister and the factions in the police who were already illegally trialing monitoring software given free license. Still bet there’s a good chance ram raids will magically cease to be the major issue…
The harm principle is still a fairly good one. Apply it to both situations and let me know how you go.
I would apply it to both situations if I knew what you were talking about. Where did the NZ Greens come into this?
Your points here are more on target than earlier.
But the protest wasn’t unified behind violent direct action, that came from some of the factions. It was a hot mess of a range of people and purposes. Some legitimate, some not. We should be pulling apart the hot mess and protecting the right to protest alongside condemning the parts of the protest that were anti-democratic and violent.
And again, my point was that the left applauding Mallard for the sprinklers and incessant music legitimises the right to do worse next time. We can’t have it both ways.
Yes, I’m happy with protestors with no defined goal who are carrying signs calling for the death of elected representatives, who have routinely spouted violent gibberish defending their alleged rights, to not be allowed to sit in my front garden. Or that of my elected representatives. Who were threatened.
This is not opposition within a democratic framework. It’s opposition attempting to limit the legitimacy of a democratic framework and restrict democracy in action.
Compare Groundswell as a (partially astroturfed ) protest group. They’ve attracted support and had some success. They haven’t used violent rhetoric, they have leaders who express what their protest is about to the media, they meet with politicians. They haven’t burned anything and then without evidence blamed the police on a broadcast. Launching a social media career doesn’t seem to be a factor for them.
They shouldn’t be imprisoned for 8 months without bail.
Can’t see Trevor being Trevor and not rolling out the red carpet and bringing them tea and bikkies being part of a vast right wing anti-protest movement. But again, call it as you see it.
Yes, we do not need another lesson of where tolerating the intolerant leads. Turning the other cheek should be restricted to whakapohane.
Again, what are you on about?
Labour in Australia supported the laws that have put the woman in jail for 15 months for protesting. How can you not see the problem with that?
Fuck the mullahs.
Iranian security forces are targeting women at anti-regime protests with shotgun fire to their faces, breasts and genitals, according to interviews with medics across the country.
Doctors and nurses – treating demonstrators in secret to avoid arrest – said they first observed the practice after noticing that women often arrived with different wounds to men, who more commonly had shotgun pellets in their legs, buttocks and backs.
[…]
One physician from the central Isfahan province said he believed the authorities were targeting men and women in different ways “because they wanted to destroy the beauty of these women”.
“I treated a woman in her early 20s, who was shot in her genitals by two pellets. Ten other pellets were lodged in her inner thigh. These 10 pellets were easily removed, but those two pellets were a challenge, because they were wedged in between her urethra and vaginal opening,” the physician said. “There was a serious risk of vaginal infection, so I asked her to go to a trusted gynaecologist. She said she was protesting when a group of about 10 security agents circled around and shot her in her genitals and thighs.”
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/dec/08/iranian-forces-shooting-at-faces-and-genitals-of-female-protesters-medics-say?
Iran has conducted the first known execution in relation to the anti-government protests that have rocked the country, hanging a man who was found guilty by a revolutionary court of “waging war against God”.
Mohsen Shekari was accused of blocking a street and wounding a member of the pro-regime Basij militia on 25 September, during the early phase of the protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
State media published a video of what it said was Shekari’s confession, which showed him with a bruise on his right cheek.
His family waited outside the jail where he was executed, seeking news of his fate.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/08/iran-executes-man-23-mohsen-shekari-allegedly-stabbing-pro-regime-officer
edit: btw, remember Elnaz Rekabi, the Iranian rock climber who competed in Seoul without wearing her headscarf? CNN reports her family’s home was demolished by the mullahs
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/02/middleeast/iran-climber-home-intl/index.html
Thank you joe for highlighting this. I was just about to add in this ABC article as well.
About two weeks ago I had an extended conversation with a young Iranian guy here in Australia, who could rightly be described as an activist. There is so much going on that our media is not reporting on. Indeed it was the wall of silence that frustrated him the most. Quite large and persistent protests have taken place in various Australian cities – he showed me the pictures – that have had exactly zero news coverage.
It's common knowledge that the USA was built with slavery, on land stolen from native Americans, but I wasn't aware the USA was also deeply involved in the Chinese opium trade in the early 19th century. The accumulation of this wealth helped the industrialization and the development of the United States.
Recently I read a review of James Bradley's book “The China Mirage: The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia” and found a (2015) video, Meet the Author program, featuring James Bradley, presenting his fourth book, “The China Mirage: The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia”
It's an impressive talk on the history of USA – China relations from the Opium wars through to the Vietnam War, with eye-opening research detail.
This is slightly long perhaps for many at 1.05hr but he tells a great story, as one comment says "American people misunderstand China at so many levels that their mental images of China have little bearing on reality"
https://www.chinausfocus.com/society-culture/the-china-mirage