What are we as a country doing to mitigate catastrophic climate change?
The only solution must be the abandonment of capitalism.
are we prepared to abandon the pursuit of greed and individualism ?
We’re doing the program that James Shaw has devised in collaboration with the relevant government departments. Too little too late. But let’s hope.
I agree it would be a good move to abandon capitalism at this point. The tricky bit is how to do so. Eliminating usury would be a good start. Businesses would become cooperative, meaning risk is shared as well as profit. Employees would go hungry until they learn to stop arguing & start collaborating. This would prove especially difficult for leftists.
“Are we prepared to abandon the pursuit of greed and individualism?” Not until consensus on the alternative system has been developed. So overcoming reluctance to work together on that task is the first step.
We’re doing nothing that will deal with the issue quickly or significantly enough.
This is a war and we need to mobilise.
What you’re seeing in the northern hemisphere this year will seem tame in 3 years time.
It takes a definite statement that is a bit OTT to raise people out of the torpor of wondering whether it will be sunny next weekend for sport or to get a certain amount of sleep in a quiet safe spot out of the rain.
Not until consensus on the alternative system has been developed. So overcoming reluctance to work together on that task is the first step.
So, who does ‘develop’ this consensus and how? Many people misunderstand the concept of consensus and in political context it is often frowned upon as something unworkable and unpractical, i.e. as something negative that should be avoided. There’s no good role model! A show of hands, a (majority) vote, is all that’s needed, right? In addition to this reluctance there are, of course, those who actively resist it …
There is a role model, just not in the public domain. It’s in the Green Party Standing Orders & Constitution. Or at least it was when I sent our recently-adopted Constitution to Sir Geoffrey Palmer so he could register the Greens with the Electoral Commission in ’95.
The method I used when I led the process to constellate consensus and produce both documents was as described in those documents. Starting from intense rivalry & disagreement amongst the leading activists in ’91, lots of word-smithing on my computer, lots of branch, regional & provincial meetings to approve the documents until final approval was achieved at national conference AGM.
Consensus was defined as all agreeing (in the initial ideal) then in practice modified to all agreeing bar one dissident determined to object. If there was more than one oddball with his/her knickers in a twist, we were required to continue discussion. Resolution to an impasse was usually attained via two or more dissenters agreeing to defer to the majority as long as their objection was formally recorded. That allowed the minority group a basis for continuing to lobby via other meetings, letters (no email back then) or party magazine.
.
“Starting from intense rivalry & disagreement amongst the leading activists in ’91…..”
“leading”..not all. and therein lies the issue. A consensus within a self determined range of opinions may well be (eventually) possible….this does not reflect society, hence democracy and the’ tyranny of the majority’
Especially as any time we may have had has likely been squandered.
Yes, consensus works well in the Green Party with all members agreeing to the Charter principles before they join. It is quite different in wider society where many individuals have very little concern for the environment and other people.
I’ve expressed similar doubts about the competence of our parliamentarians in this forum. Especially in regard to the Exec decision to expel the two who disagreed with Metiria.
The two who dumped on the Green party, joining in the hypocritical holier than thou, racist and misogynist bene bashing, then expected to remain our representatives, you mean. At meetings I attended, there was overwhelming support for Shaw and Turei
With due respect to Clendon, he was doing a lot of work in law, n that no walk in the park. Imagine him as a great local green, but really the greens need more folk in the house, if they are going to be seriously tackling issues like, the need for Royal Commissions on key issues; ubi and social credit.
ya know the charter is real good, but its impossible to totally satisfy it. Easy for plants to derail progress, but also a natural safe guard to provide conservative policy on what are otherwise awesome and potentially radical folk.
My point was about whether the Exec followed the rules in making their decision. When they informed us of that decision, they failed to specify precisely how the rules had been broken. Three possible explanations for their failure:
1. contempt for members (“we’re above being accountable for our decision, we don’t need to prove we’re right”)
2. “uh, we forgot. sorry.”
3. they didn’t actually know the Constitution & Standing Orders define consensus and how to apply it to GP decisions (“hey, we’re the younger generation, why would we bother to read rules written by the older generation?”)
Our future,” scientist James Lovelock has written, “is like that of the passengers on a small pleasure boat sailing quietly above the Niagara Falls, not knowing that the engines are about to fail.”
In my opinion Auckland University acted rashly in inviting Brash to their Campus, at such short notice.
In my opinion A.U. management have acted as opportunists motivated by gaining some cheap notoriety at Massey’s expense.
I have two issues with how Auckland University have behaved in this matter.
Opportunism
First of all, It was an insult to the leadership of Massey.
In my opinion A.U.’s behaviour was appalling and opportunist, taking advantage of M.U.’s difficulties in this matter.
Instead of standing in solidarity with their sister University, Auckland University have delivered them a deliberate public slap in the face.
If A.U. were really convinced that Brash’s views needed an airing, then probably what they should have done, is consulted with their sister faculty first, and come up with a combined strategy on how to deal with the thorny issues raised by Brash.
That they didn’t do this is obvious from the indecent haste with which A.U. acted in giving Brash a platform to speak.
Hypocrisy
As has been widely reported, Auckland University did exactly the same as Massey when it suited them. Canceling a talk from Hone Harawira, allegedly on the grounds of threatened protests against him.
But Auckland University have no issue with protests when it is a white supremacist speaking on campus.
Just as Te Reo Putake has pointed out in his post on this matter, “There is no such thing as free speech”
To which I might add; Not if you are Maori, or poor, or from a minority group.
If you are from one of these above groups and your speaking venue is canned by an institution like Auckland University, the media will not even think it newsworthy, Rich white people will not dig into their pockets to the tune of $50 thousand to sue the institution which has shut you out. And we wouldn’t even be talking about it.
I agree. Free speech denial will be much less successful than climate change denial! MU will struggle to regain credibility. I suspect they will have to eventually admit their error due to weight of public opinion.
Hone Harawira says “redneck” racism is to blame for the last-minute cancellation of a lecture he was to give in Auckland today.
The Mana Party leader was due to speak about the foreshore and seabed at Auckland University Law School.
Law student Charlotte Summers said the Faculty of Law cancelled the lecture on the basis of “there may be a breach of the peace”.
She said the Young Nationals organisation was behind the protest.
“How is it fair that the Young Nats decide to be disruptive, threaten to be disruptive, and then an entire event is cancelled because of their choices and what they threaten to do?”
Massey’s VC made the decision after being approached by the student group (who invited Brash for their event) who raised safety concerns. Appears to parallel that of the incident with Harawira’s speech so I’m not sure what all this angst is about.
AS an aside, I find it amusing that it took an Australian woman to finally listen to us, when we say that Te Tiriti principles matter.
An Earthquake strong enough to topple your building will knock you off your feet and will drop you to the ground before you make it to the door, leaving you completely vulnerable to being crushed by falling debris.
….if a quake strikes when one is inside a building, many experts’ core mantra remains surprisingly simple and unchanging: Drop, cover and hold on.
This method is promoted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, American Red Cross (pdf), Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Management (pdf) and the Japanese government, to name but a few. None of these recommend going outside if one is already in a building.
If you try to make a run for it. The earthquake will knock you off your feet before you can cross the room.
The idea of staying inside a swaying building can seem counterintuitive, to say the least. The horrific images of collapsed buildings that emerge after major quakes understandably imprint themselves onto the public consciousness. This may make it seem like running for the exit is a good idea—but such photographs can sometimes give a false impression of the primary hazards associated with earthquakes.
Ballmann says rescue teams retrieving people from collapsed structures around the world can attest to the effectiveness of the drop, cover and hold on strategy.
Yeah, this article also, makes a clear case: August 9, 2018 – The Crisis in Corbyn’s Labour Party is Over Israel, Not Anti-Semitism, by Jonathan Cook, Nazareth.
Sure, so Israel is the problem; but what’s the solution?
China have hinted they would occupy Syria, if invited. Expecting this will suit Turkey, along with Iran. These are probably the three countries Israel will work hardest to smear in the media over the next few years, to avoid new regional dynamics.
Note that if Israel are seriously challenged, they will probably have the money power to bring down the SWIFT inter-bank payment system. But BRICS have an alternative inter-bank payment system, tested globally, including NZ. Or Israel could also potentially false flag an atomic launch at Hawaii from North Korean waters, but the US should be able to shot that down…
It’s like a giant squid, cornered in a pool of LSD. But some how we must dive into those waters, tame it and demonstrate peace.
Tesla is an enigma wrapped in a dream chasing an electric rainbow currently under musk.
He is all over the shop with estimates of capital requirements, loss/profit projections, technology and supply issues especially with the battery manufacture.
I can only see it continuing with a more level head in charge or the funds may dry up as Elons been very tetchy with the analysts who he desperately needs onside.
The boy wonder needs to step back and let in some rationality IMO.
Ok so this is basically a way over-simplification of what Dr Jordan Peterson, purely designed to court controversy, has actually said but if he comes to Christchurch I’ll be there
It used to be said that a skin-head, meathead, right wing nationalist front type element flourished in Christchurch. Maybe a big meeting there could be the catalyst to further the plans “to create a European culture “protected community” in North Canterbury … to “build a unified mini state that we could build up in future to be a base for other like minded Europeans to come to from other dying countries.”
I vote that it be relocated to Auckland Island. The climate will toughen the roosters up. They could make a reality tv show out of the survival process.
Dennis Frank
Best idea you have had so far. I’ll put small donation into a funding pool to take that forward. Along with Give a Little to buy that station down south and keep in NZ hands.
Thanks grey 😎 it’s actually an old idea of mine. Early nineties I was running the Greens justice policy development as convenor of the working group & put a suggestion into the policy draft that recidivist violent offenders be parked down there & left to fight it out. Had a few greenies looking askance at me after that!
Yes not surprised you’ll be going after reading that – I don’t really like his views on women and roles and stuff.
“He believes in “traditional” gender roles because he thinks men might simply be more competent than women, and he’s suggested women shouldn’t be allowed to wear makeup to work because it’s “sexually provocative”.”
“When a member of the ‘incel’ community drove a van into a crowd in Toronto and killed 10 people, Dr Peterson proposed a system of ‘enforced monogamy’ in which women are given to men as sexual partners in order to prevent such acts of violence.”
Garn marty mars. You don’t say. Or did you? Did he? Can you find where. I would print it out and frame it if he managed to advance the idea in less than an A4 page. He being so wordy as well as seriously thoughtful, which gives the impression that deep wisdom is going to come out of that player piano.
Ah the rightees are leading public discussion off on a merry ‘free speech’ red herring jaunt.
This is not about ‘free speech’ as originally intended: it was intended to ensure democratic debate so that all views get heard.
Today the issue is about which voices get heard most in the mainstream, and the kinds of views that get heard most frequently, and most positively in the mainstream – it’s about access to dominant platforms, and the attention economy – everyone is free to express their views online, but it’s hard for everyone to get people to pay attention to their views.
It was intended to be about freedom from government/state censorship.
The old Jeffersonian free market of ideas ideal, was that, if all views get heard and debated in public, the best of thinking will rise to the top, and dodgy thinking will be found out and drop out of the consideration. But, as we can see with Trump, Brash, Canadian alt-righters, etc, in the digital age, a lot of dodgy populist speakings gets mainstream attention and acceptance by some.
The guests on the UoA panel was skewed to Pakeha, older people, and the Right (see the still image fronting the video you posted). They did have an unknown person of Maori Pacific descent speak in the debate. But, the attention was all on ye olde Pakeha Name people.
The protesters were adding the voices of those excluded from the debate. They were protesting the voices that have been excluded, and against the (one-sided bigoted mis-informed views on ‘race’, etc) issues that have been slid into the mainstream under the guise of ‘freedom of speech’.
In the short term, many with power will be tut-tutting about the protest. However, when the students are protesting strongly about inequities, democratic fails, misinformation, damaging propaganda, etc., then there is still hope for our world.
I’m not convinced that giving so much attention to those who are adept are provocation and flawed reasoning, is producing the outcome that most would wish for – a dismissal of their rantings.
Perhaps a different approach is required to deal with this kind of invasion of rhetoric, other than vocal protestors at venues. I’m thinking about the effect on those who attend, exiting the venue only to be exposed to approbation, censure and loud shouting. Leading, as is expected from human nature, to further entrenching views – that as yet might have been not fully formed.
The only proposal I can come up with at present, that aligns with a progressive form of counteracting such views taking root is not fully formed, but here goes:
Instead of a continuation of rhetoric and speaking, an invitation for those attending to have their say, and talk about their personal situations and why they felt that the speaker had something to say worth paying for.
A cohesive and comprehensive plan for a Listening Post form of protest would involve people getting together, and learning how to address the fears and concerns of those who might be persuaded by such rhetoric, by genuine conversation and discussion of alternative views and options. Invite people as they exit to talk and then genuinely listen. Without judgment, then offer a counter view – to that one individual that you have engaged with.
If the end result is to innoculate our people from the harm that comes from following such ill-considered public opinions, then the media focus and vocal protests seem to be doing the opposite.
I would be interested in hearing if there are other proposals for effective actions out there.
that is a far more sensible and productive approach.
The purpose is not to silence the extremist but to ensure their views remain exactly that..extreme. What is needed is to seek empathy from as wide an audience as possible and that is most effectively achieved by recounting personal experience and eliciting understanding….the opposite is achieved by shouting slogans and presumptive judgements
Sounds like you’re sort of saying if you attack me I’ll dig my heels in and won’t listen and if I attack you you’ll do the same and no ones point of view gets changed?
If so yeah absolutely thats what’ll likely happen so yep I agree with your conclusions
Reasoned, polite conversation is always a good way to go
“Reasoned, polite conversation is always a good way to go”
This sounds good, but in reality some of the most polite amongst us can be very destructive and use that skill to “win” arguments.
I’m thinking along the lines of better listening, and genuine engagement – which may or may not be considered genteel, but is conducted with respect. Reinforcing the ‘listening’ rather than the talking.
Saying that you need people who are skilled at this type of interaction, I know only a few myself. 🙂
There certainly is a major difference between hearing and listening, in NZ though I do like to believe that there are more things that we all have in common then what we have as differences
I don’t believe that differences should be a problem. Trying to homogenise experiences and perspectives, causes more alienation than it heals.
Accepting differences seems to be a hurdle for many. Differences in choice, perspectives and actions.
However, I do agree with you, if what you are saying is that many do share either unexpressed or badly expressed values.
It is insistence on those values being followed in specific ways, without allowance for difference perspectives, approaches or resources that causes ongoing problems.
I use the coin as model for the way the brain operates. Left hemisphere differentiates between parts, right hemisphere integrates parts into wholes. The big picture combines both (holism).
So when we focus on the differences between us, we differentiate ourselves as unique humans & get idiosyncrasy (see the original meaning of that). When we focus on commonalities we share, we form an integral view. When we apply the latter in political praxis, we develop consensus. If I were a political psychology lecturer, that’s how I’d teach it to my students.
Toss a coin, see how it lands. Tails, say the leftists. Heads, say the rightists. People see what they’re looking for. Doesn’t matter, say the centrists. The coin has both sides concurrently regardless of how it lands. Both/and logic, not zero-sum logic. Applied holism.
“So when we focus on the differences between us, we differentiate ourselves as unique humans & get idiosyncrasy (see the original meaning of that). When we focus on commonalities we share, we form an integral view. When we apply the latter in political praxis, we develop consensus. If I were a political psychology lecturer, that’s how I’d teach it to my students.”
Except this approach predisposes a common view, when life experiences and perspectives differ even when values do not.
In your example, I would focus on the shared values – and work from that. That would be true engagement, else along with presupposed commonalities – that may or may not exist – you usually come up with presupposed solutions to presupposed problems.
I would think a long-term sustainable solution would acknowledge that multi-pronged and adaptable solutions from a diverse range of people with the same values is a good result.
Not in my experience. The common view emerges organically from the discourse. That’s why it is authentic: it is based on genuine commonalities that people discover connect them in a sense of belonging to a cultural context or group or society. The discovery process requires identification and acknowledgement of those in order to objectify them into what eventually constellates as a belief system. So it’s a natural process humans do.
Yes, crowd-sourcing wisdom is indeed an optimal technique when used in a diverse social context. Best seen in brain-storming sessions. Discussion groups can produce it but it depends whether members have what it takes to operate as catalysts. Teams work even better than brainstorming because of their task focus.
“The common view emerges organically from the discourse. That’s why it is authentic: it is based on genuine commonalities that people discover connect them in a sense of belonging to a cultural context or group or society. The discovery process requires identification and acknowledgement of those in order to objectify them into what eventually constellates as a belief system. So it’s a natural process humans do.”
I agree with you insofar as it applies to values.
I disagree in terms of how adept we are as a society into looking past differences in order to achieve good outcomes for shared values.
From that perspective, there are two options:
1. Take time and energy to identify – or construct – commonalities before working together,
2. Acknowledge the differences – and work together.
I have a suspicion that we are talking along the same lines, but I do think there is an important consideration to make for allowances of differences in genuine engagement.
Thanks, Molly. i do agree there needs to be conerted and co-ordinated approach. The question is how to have that conversation with a mainstream media that is too superficial, rightward leaning, and focused on beating up drama and conflict?
I am not so critical of the protesters. It is, as I said about getting the attention of the mainstream media. Protesting politely somehow tends not to get that much cut-through in the dominant media and forums.
And, I am very pleased to see highly motivated protesters try ways that they decide to counter the way most kiwis are being led by the nose by some well resourced right wing propagandists. Some will learn fromt heir protesting experiences in ways that will inform their activism in the future.
I despair at how MOR the majority of Kiwis seem to be and how fearful of young activists with a fresh view on things.
The protesters rightly made the issue about racism – right wingers are using the free speech mantra as a foreground in order to slide in their dodgy bigotry.
To be clear, I’m not criticising the protestors for being passionate about something that is destructive to our shared society. I’m just wondering how we ensure the long-term effectiveness of actions against these views. And if there are other – perhaps additional – or replacement – methods that would produce the results that would benefit us all.
The point you make about racism is valid. What I’m struggling with is how much time we are giving to addressing the rhetoric of overseas self-promoters when many New Zealanders experience varying degrees of racism every day. If we can find a way to address that systemically, then society as a whole, including the media, would not allowed themselves to be played for publicity.
If we don’t ask why those – brought up or choosing NZ as a home – are finding these speakers attractive, then we are missing a trick in working out how to make sure that pull is reduced.
“The old Jeffersonian free market of ideas ideal, was that, if all views get heard and debated in public, the best of thinking will rise to the top, and dodgy thinking will be found out and drop out of the consideration. But, as we can see with Trump, Brash, Canadian alt-righters, etc, in the digital age, a lot of dodgy populist speakings gets mainstream attention and acceptance by some.”
I’m not actually seeing what the ‘but’ is here. So what if there’s a bit of back and forth along the way? Unless you’re a Marxist, there’s no reason to believe the process will be logical and linear, it’s a game of snakes and ladders.
I thought the protesters (I was in the room) were 90% on the right tone, they respectfully but firmly interjected and disrupted, but overplayed their hand eventually and became disrespectful and childish. At that point they allowed the MAGA hat types that if it is going to descend into a contest of loud noises, they won’t be the ones who win. And of course at that point they let Brash speak, then marched out of the still unfinished debate.
What’s also amusing is that these people who came to protest – supposedly about people of colour not being listened to – marched out without waiting to listen to Sir Anand Satyanand’s very thoughtful closing speech. I thought they wanted to hear from non-Pakeha? And yet they walked out on a person of colour who exemplifies the successful side of NZ’s multiculturalism.
Meme of the night came from Elliot Ikilei: Hey Marxists: where’s Dad?
Maybe the protesters have some things to learn about effective activism. The only way to learn effective methods, is to give various methods a try.
Brash is such an long-time mainstream speaker, I doubt one loud protest against him will make racist views any worse than they are now in the mainstream.
And from some reports, the loud protests only happened for a few minutes, and Brash was not prevented from delivering his whole speech.
Hmmmm… actually the Stuff report, gives a whole different view from just selected video clips of the shouting moments. They focus on Brash speaking, not being silenced.
Former National Party Leader Don Brash was given a fiery response from protesters as he took part in a free speech debate at Auckland University on Thursday evening.
For a time it appeared Brash would not be able to speak as protesters sang and shouted over him inside the auditorium but after a few minutes calm was largely restored and Brash was invited to finish his speech.
Brash said to the boisterous crowd that they were themselves demonstrating free speech, which was in favour of what he was about to debate.
…
Community group A New University, made up of Auckland University students, said it had organised the protest of Brash’s inclusion in the debate, which was hosted by the university’s debate society.
…
A New University spokeswoman Beth Stanley said the group did what it intended, which was to show that there was strong opposition to Brash participating because of his views towards Te Tiriti o Waitangi, te reo Māori and the rights of Māori people in New Zealand..
“Don Brash spoke. We didn’t in anyway disrupt his speech. He got his whole speech out,” Stanley said.
“We wanted to show that people are not happy about what he has to say and that he is not welcome on our university. We got our point across.
…
We are not opposing the event or anything like that, we’re opposing specifically Don Brash being invited onto campus.”
Brash said the protesters were off-putting, but he wasn’t intimidated.
…
We are not opposing the event or anything like that, we’re opposing specifically Don Brash being invited onto campus.”
Brash said the protesters were off-putting, but he wasn’t intimidated.
So, really it’s looking like people getting sanctimonious about loud, short-lived protests are really off on a wrong track.
And all the reports I’ve seen focus mostly on what Brash had to say. I have no idea what this has to do with the issue:
Meme of the night came from Elliot Ikilei: Hey Marxists: where’s Dad?
Or what it means. Just sounds like a superficial, and unexplained anti-Marxist jibe.
“Maybe the protesters have some things to learn about effective activism. The only way to learn effective methods, is to give various methods a try”
Agreed – a pity that instead of being honest about it, their leaders come out with this statement, which bends the truth
“Don Brash spoke. We didn’t in anyway disrupt his speech. He got his whole speech out,” Stanley said.
Yeah, they did disrupt it. Which in itself is cool, they made him sit it out for 4 or 5 minutes while they spoke. But it did not progress as she claims. They made their speeches (cool), ensured their viewpoint registered with speakers and the crowd (vitally important), and then basically played up for the news cameras and made a spectacle of themselves until the crowd had no choice but to show them that if it’s just a contest of noise, they won’t be the ones who win. A lesson they ought to digest for future actions.
Brash got to speak in the end, and hell I’m not a fan of the guy. I’m actually kinda mad at these pesky kids that they’ve forced me to accept Brash as a proxy for the debate about these rights. But only when the audience called time on their performance (not their protest, but the performance which ensued once the actual protest was over) did that happen. Beth Stanley attempts to give the impression that they voluntarily made their point and stepped back. She says ‘we didn’t in any way disrupt his speech’. That’s not true, but also not the part she needed to be dishonest about.
“So, really it’s looking like people getting sanctimonious about loud, short-lived protests are really off on a wrong track.”
Perhaps it’s people taking a protest leader’s less-than-candid statements at face value who are the wrong track ; )
As for the Marxists, “Where’s dad?” is the response their screechings about capitalism and colonialism will garner for a long time to come.
Do the protesters not have a right to free speech? Can’t they say what ever they like whenever they like? Or is that only OK if you are white, rich and insulting other cultures?
I watched the debate last night and the protesters on this occasion walked straight into a trap of their own making. Honestly, they didn’t exhibit a whole brain between them. It was inevitable Brash would play the… “oh look, I’m being denied my right to speak” card. He claimed it as an example why pc language is so dangerous which of course is a false equivalence (nothing to do with being pc) but that detail would go over the top of most people’s heads.
I hope the students in question get a bollocking for being so stupid from their peers today.
‘The common example is the termination of a speech or demonstration in the interest of maintaining the public peace based on the anticipated negative reaction of someone opposed to that speech or demonstration.’
‘In common parlance, the term is used to describe situations where hecklers or demonstrators silence a speaker without intervention of the law.’
To be fair it only involved a handful of protesters. The rest stood silently at the back of the chamber holding up their signs which could be clearly seen. That was fine, but the idiots who yelled through megaphones when Brash started speaking well… Brash made the most of it when he was finally able to speak and who can blame him.
@ You Fool.
The protesters were exercising their right to speak outside the entrance for a long time prior to the start of the meeting. They no doubt exercised the same right when the crowd left. But they had no right to disrupt speaker, Don Brash (whose views I despise) inside the hall.
I think you are. I like to see expressions of passion, such as interjections.
Pucky; you exhibit passion toward your pin-up dowager girl, Judith; do you think we should call for your expulsion from TS because your “shout-outs” offend us?
Well in all fairness I’ve never been a Young Nat nor a student at Auckland University however the difference is while I accept that Jude is potentially the daughter of god (those initials can’t be a coincidence) I don’t try to stop anyone disagreeing with me
Whereas those protesters were trying to drown out Dr Don Brash
Freedom of speech doesn’t silence other people, surely? If enough people in the audience had told the dickheads to shut up and let Brash speak without interjection, they would have. Hell, the protestors would have been ejected by security to the applause of the audience.
And then you’d have been boldly defending their right to free speech, surely?
‘In common parlance, the term is used to describe situations where hecklers or demonstrators silence a speaker without intervention of the law.’
“If enough people in the audience had told the dickheads to shut up and let Brash speak without interjection, they would have.”
You’re not that naive, you know as well as I do that all that would have happened is that both sides would have ended up shouting at each other and Don Brash wouldn’t have been able to speak
Germany are talking about conscription again. Definitely an option for these kids. Embarrassing to be out-smarted by DB. Send them on some social and ecological projects as well as military. Can we do it, unemployment rate could be lower? Yes.
Why a slap on the wrist? How is this company allowed to continue? Why do we take this shit sandwich and ask for another? When are people going to say ,’sorry, but sorry isn’t good enough. No more!!!’.
“The council estimated that 450 cubic metres of dairy effluent was discharged when the incident occurred in November 2016.
This is the equivalent of 17 truck and trailer units full of effluent. The volume was such that it was able to be detected eight kilometres downstream at Lake Ohakuri.”
These “accidents” need to stop. They don’t just happen, they’re borne of negligence. That pipe pumped sewage into the waterway for 14 straight hours. I bet they have systems in place to detect an equivalent milk loss pretty bloody quickly.
You understand what siphoning is as opposed to pumping . ?
Using your rational we need to quadruple speeding and parking fines there levels are not cutting it .
Meh. The point stands – shit went through the pipe into the waterway.
And yes, I reckon that all fines should be a proportion of wealth and traffic fines could be higher. Especially parking tickets – on the odds of getting caught, it’s cheaper to wear the occasional ticket than it is to pay for parking all the time.
Yep there’s too many of these “accidents” and dairy farmers/companies will push council to hold off on fines etc with promises of getting things sorted. Here’s a classic example from my neck of the woods.
“Two farms that belonged to Northland farmers David and Frances Webster were responsible for allowing dairy effluent to flow into waterways in what an Environment Court judge Craig Thompson called the worst case of “prolonged non-compliance” he had ever seen.
The offending, which saw a huge amount of untreated dairy effluent put into the Manganui River, which feeds into the Northern Wairoa River and the Kaipara Harbour was described as “blatant, ongoing and serious”, with one of the farms being “awash with dairy effluent”, resulting in “gross contamination”.”
“Outside the court the council’s farm monitoring manager Dennis Wright said the companies “grossly polluted waterways for at least eight years and the environment wore the cost”.”
And an even better ending to the story, when finally taken to court (at a cost of $50K to rate payers) the shifty fuckers managed to side-step paying any fines by selling the farm and shifting funds into trust accounts (obviously Nat voters).
I have no problem with fining offenders . I just had to call mm for his bullshit wet bus ticket claim ,so the rabid farm haters here that probably won’t read his link but nod their heads and growl fuck yes get some balance in their diet.
Back in 2011 ish, the Waikato Regional Council was struggling to gain(never mind maintain) a reputation as a hardarse enforcer in relation to the Clean Streams Accord. Long story short….WRC with the aid of helicopter observers found, investigated and successfully prosecuted a King Country farmer. Big write up in local rag and a fine of $50 thousand. I spoke with this farmer and pretended sympathy for the hit to his bank balance from the fine. “No worries, my insurance covers the fine and the costs.”
Bus ticket? Pantomime.
WRC at best useless.
(That particular cocky had not contaminated any waterway, btw, there was simply a risk of that happening.)
You are so kind and fair bwaghorn. Probably an accident! It actually matters that it happened, that it was destructive and will have ongoing results, and that the systems set up to cope with the production of effluent were inadequate. Like our previous government. We have been drowning in their muck and have only just survived. Perhaps they should pay half of that fine?
Are there any chemist or scientist types on here that could explain if its possible to maybe develop and add something to a plastic bag that would make it break down quickly or give it a shelf life or something?
There are already plenty of biodegradable (and/or compostible) plastic products including bags available in NZ – but there is also some dispute as to whether they actually breakdown as claimed, especially in landfills.
Sorry, cannot help on the science etc and must rush out, but here is a link to a Google search which provides lots of info on what is available in NZ.
Precisely. I saw a science report on the tv news about that several weeks ago, think it was BBC originated. Microscopic bits of plastic in ocean water. Imagine how much they are likely to disrupt organic process within when ingested by any organism. Scary stuff.
Are you advocating for an inquiry @ PR? Or given the submissions and comments and lobbying already done, should we not just get on and do the bleeding obvious.
However, if you’re really committed, you could consider looking at some of the evidence various places in the 3rd World have sought that has led them to single-use plastic bans
“……… led them to single-use plastic bans”
should of course read “led them to BAN single use plastic bags”.
(perhaps there should be an inquiry into the ‘mis-spoken’ ‘mis-typed’ as gNatz would advocate, rather than into things of importance and substance.
(Pauline Kingi and the Wally springs to mind), but then I defer to your superior intellect, perceived class, and troll status.
DId I ever tell you how gorgeous I think you are?
Whoar! I dream about you nights
I’ve been using some of those ones made of corn starch. So not plastic at all according to the fine print. Not too bad and they can go into a compost bin but i believe they can take a while to disintegrate as they are designed for much hotter industrial composting. Having said that it looks like a couple of things do burn holes in them (i’m suspecting dobs of chicken fat but could be wrong. ) Also some internet hints that some are made from GE corn bt I guess if we grow the corn here and make them here that would not be an issue.
For Mike, outrage over something is necessary for survival, the withdrawal symptoms would be unbearable. Preferably something proposed by people with a different idealogical leaning to his own.
As for the bags- great start, but as many are saying, the bigger problem is all the completely unnecessary wrapping of things that don’t need to be wrapped, supermarkets being the main culprits. Countdown want to tell us how committed they are to the environment but STILL won’t provide paper bags in their bakery section (plastic only) etc etc. But at least their Bobby bananas don’t have a plastic wrapping, unlike the Pak’nSave version, which unfortunately are much cheaper…
The Nation Business I agree with Grant Roberson that the money from Kiwi saver funds and the Cullen fund should be invested in Aotearoa infrastructure build it now and it will cost less than build in the future not hard to figure that out .
The thing about business leader’s is that are mostly supportive of national that’s a fact so if they can help the neo capitalist they will help distorts the business conferdince state with a few white lies and walar it crashes .
A low New Zealand Dollar is good for Aotearoa and the environment we get more for our exports and because imports are more expensive we import less and manufacturer the products our selves .
What did I say the quoter management system is a system set up for mone men to rip off the system . And the justice system is set up for the 00.1 % to be able to use there mone for impunity that’s a fact look at the fine they got 25 years ago$1 million dollars is a drop in the bucket compared to 500 tons x $6000 a ton = $3 million and what about all the fish that has been stolen over 30 years they should have been banned from fishing 25 years ago banned from any business.
Ka kite ano
Here is something for you to ponder, eco, thus perhaps reconsider your approval.
As both Kiwisaver and the Cullen Fund seek a return on their investment, they are not the most cost effective way to fund our infrastructure. Utilising the tax take is.
Moreover, when we take into account the opportunity cost of doing so (using Kiwisaver and the Cullen Fund) it’s just not worth it. The nation won’t grow its wealth charging ourselves more (due to the return required from the investment) to use our infrastructure. It’s inflationary, thus adds to the cost of production.
Even borrowing funding would be cheaper than using Kiwisaver and the Cullen Fund.
Here you go Eco did say that good Kiwi’s can see trough the historical hysterical emotional things the neo capitalist project on Us good Kiwis to raise there profile in public eyes and gone brash wonder’s why Maori mokopuna’s have high suicide rate’s the link is below ka kite ano
This is a good win for the common tangata against multi national company’s who never admit liability round up is a poisiosn full stop link is below ka kite ano
Sugar has a direct link to the cause of diabetes contrary to what the 2 to 3 company’s lobbying mone let’s the media say about there bad product sugar .They only let researcher say that sugar doe’s not cause diabetes with there big lawyer’s ready to sue the truth teller’s . Eco say it does have a direct link it stuff up your liver and walar one has diabetes . If your whano has this disease get rid of the sugar you don’t need it we did not have sugar in OUR diet for thousands of years it’s not hard to give up Eco has .
Ka kite ano link below.
Good evening Newshub There you go trump is adding to idiots ego’s that’s not hard to see . That mess in Tolaga Bay with all the waste from forestry washing down river’s on to the beaches there is the same mess back home at the Waiapu river mouth beaches .
I have been following that round up story for a while New’s hub I say that that story on the video game that checks peoples navigational skill’s is full of ——- another way of glorifying the Europeen culture and men is what I see there . how about I take some one in the bush and then we will see who has the best navigation skill’s I see the deceit has be happening for centuries .How do I know this why Analyse the difference in skill’s of different cultures and sex’s to prove that one sex or culture is better than the other and publicize it {fake till you make} it is the capitalist way look at trump .
.The game of 3 halves is a good way for the couch to check if he has picked the correct players .
It would be awsome if the Wahine Rugby World Cup was played in Aotearoa
Ka kite ano
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Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
NEWSMAKERS:By Vijay Narayan, news director of FijiVillage Blessed to be part of the University of Fiji (UniFiji) faculty to continue to teach and mentor those who want to join our noble profession, and to stand for truth and justice for the people of the country. I was privileged to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Professor, School of Politics Economics & Society, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra Shutterstock An important principle was invoked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week in defence of the government’s Future Made in Australia industry ...
What are we as a country doing to mitigate catastrophic climate change?
The only solution must be the abandonment of capitalism.
are we prepared to abandon the pursuit of greed and individualism ?
We’re doing the program that James Shaw has devised in collaboration with the relevant government departments. Too little too late. But let’s hope.
I agree it would be a good move to abandon capitalism at this point. The tricky bit is how to do so. Eliminating usury would be a good start. Businesses would become cooperative, meaning risk is shared as well as profit. Employees would go hungry until they learn to stop arguing & start collaborating. This would prove especially difficult for leftists.
“Are we prepared to abandon the pursuit of greed and individualism?” Not until consensus on the alternative system has been developed. So overcoming reluctance to work together on that task is the first step.
We’re doing nothing that will deal with the issue quickly or significantly enough.
This is a war and we need to mobilise.
What you’re seeing in the northern hemisphere this year will seem tame in 3 years time.
But it ISN’T a war. Repeatedly saying so will not change that.
It takes a definite statement that is a bit OTT to raise people out of the torpor of wondering whether it will be sunny next weekend for sport or to get a certain amount of sleep in a quiet safe spot out of the rain.
” This would prove especially difficult for leftists.”
on recent form (indeed historical) impossible
So, who does ‘develop’ this consensus and how? Many people misunderstand the concept of consensus and in political context it is often frowned upon as something unworkable and unpractical, i.e. as something negative that should be avoided. There’s no good role model! A show of hands, a (majority) vote, is all that’s needed, right? In addition to this reluctance there are, of course, those who actively resist it …
There is a role model, just not in the public domain. It’s in the Green Party Standing Orders & Constitution. Or at least it was when I sent our recently-adopted Constitution to Sir Geoffrey Palmer so he could register the Greens with the Electoral Commission in ’95.
The method I used when I led the process to constellate consensus and produce both documents was as described in those documents. Starting from intense rivalry & disagreement amongst the leading activists in ’91, lots of word-smithing on my computer, lots of branch, regional & provincial meetings to approve the documents until final approval was achieved at national conference AGM.
Consensus was defined as all agreeing (in the initial ideal) then in practice modified to all agreeing bar one dissident determined to object. If there was more than one oddball with his/her knickers in a twist, we were required to continue discussion. Resolution to an impasse was usually attained via two or more dissenters agreeing to defer to the majority as long as their objection was formally recorded. That allowed the minority group a basis for continuing to lobby via other meetings, letters (no email back then) or party magazine.
.
“Starting from intense rivalry & disagreement amongst the leading activists in ’91…..”
“leading”..not all. and therein lies the issue. A consensus within a self determined range of opinions may well be (eventually) possible….this does not reflect society, hence democracy and the’ tyranny of the majority’
Especially as any time we may have had has likely been squandered.
Yes, consensus works well in the Green Party with all members agreeing to the Charter principles before they join. It is quite different in wider society where many individuals have very little concern for the environment and other people.
would add that even within that self selected group (the Greens) one could not seriously suggest consensus given recent events
Consensus as a decision making process yes. Consensus does not mean everybody agreeing.
consensus as a process is only as effective as its adherence,presentation and acceptance….none are evident
I’ve expressed similar doubts about the competence of our parliamentarians in this forum. Especially in regard to the Exec decision to expel the two who disagreed with Metiria.
The two who dumped on the Green party, joining in the hypocritical holier than thou, racist and misogynist bene bashing, then expected to remain our representatives, you mean. At meetings I attended, there was overwhelming support for Shaw and Turei
The expulsion of Clendon and Graham is just but one manifestation, there are many others
With due respect to Clendon, he was doing a lot of work in law, n that no walk in the park. Imagine him as a great local green, but really the greens need more folk in the house, if they are going to be seriously tackling issues like, the need for Royal Commissions on key issues; ubi and social credit.
@KTJ
Yes, those two were very lucky to be aloud to stay in the Party.
ya know the charter is real good, but its impossible to totally satisfy it. Easy for plants to derail progress, but also a natural safe guard to provide conservative policy on what are otherwise awesome and potentially radical folk.
and any of that supports the notion of the effectiveness of consensus how?
Easy for plants to derail progress
Is that a reference to cannabis?
My point was about whether the Exec followed the rules in making their decision. When they informed us of that decision, they failed to specify precisely how the rules had been broken. Three possible explanations for their failure:
1. contempt for members (“we’re above being accountable for our decision, we don’t need to prove we’re right”)
2. “uh, we forgot. sorry.”
3. they didn’t actually know the Constitution & Standing Orders define consensus and how to apply it to GP decisions (“hey, we’re the younger generation, why would we bother to read rules written by the older generation?”)
nationalize all debts and then gradually retire them
And abandon capitalism.
Our future,” scientist James Lovelock has written, “is like that of the passengers on a small pleasure boat sailing quietly above the Niagara Falls, not knowing that the engines are about to fail.”
No
Never thought I’d hear a massive crowd chanting for “Don Brash Don Brash Don Brash” again.
Depressing frankly that there are so many racist climate deniers in this banana republic.
Give the man a baseball cap and a fake tan and God knows how much damage he might do.
In my opinion Auckland University acted rashly in inviting Brash to their Campus, at such short notice.
In my opinion A.U. management have acted as opportunists motivated by gaining some cheap notoriety at Massey’s expense.
I have two issues with how Auckland University have behaved in this matter.
Opportunism
First of all, It was an insult to the leadership of Massey.
In my opinion A.U.’s behaviour was appalling and opportunist, taking advantage of M.U.’s difficulties in this matter.
Instead of standing in solidarity with their sister University, Auckland University have delivered them a deliberate public slap in the face.
If A.U. were really convinced that Brash’s views needed an airing, then probably what they should have done, is consulted with their sister faculty first, and come up with a combined strategy on how to deal with the thorny issues raised by Brash.
That they didn’t do this is obvious from the indecent haste with which A.U. acted in giving Brash a platform to speak.
Hypocrisy
As has been widely reported, Auckland University did exactly the same as Massey when it suited them. Canceling a talk from Hone Harawira, allegedly on the grounds of threatened protests against him.
But Auckland University have no issue with protests when it is a white supremacist speaking on campus.
Just as Te Reo Putake has pointed out in his post on this matter, “There is no such thing as free speech”
To which I might add; Not if you are Maori, or poor, or from a minority group.
If you are from one of these above groups and your speaking venue is canned by an institution like Auckland University, the media will not even think it newsworthy, Rich white people will not dig into their pockets to the tune of $50 thousand to sue the institution which has shut you out. And we wouldn’t even be talking about it.
There’s No Such Thing as Free Speech
TE REO PUTAKE – July 11, 2018
I would hope that universities would stand on principle as they see it rather than just follow whatever line another university has taken.
I agree. Free speech denial will be much less successful than climate change denial! MU will struggle to regain credibility. I suspect they will have to eventually admit their error due to weight of public opinion.
The Education Act 1989 requires that Universities show that they are acting as a “critic and conscience of society”.
Here’s a few of the stories that show how some of them are, on a dedicated website.
http://www.criticandconscience.org.nz/
remember this ?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4996046/Harawira-lecture-axed-because-of-redneck-racism
No, well it was 2011
Hone Harawira says “redneck” racism is to blame for the last-minute cancellation of a lecture he was to give in Auckland today.
The Mana Party leader was due to speak about the foreshore and seabed at Auckland University Law School.
Law student Charlotte Summers said the Faculty of Law cancelled the lecture on the basis of “there may be a breach of the peace”.
She said the Young Nationals organisation was behind the protest.
“How is it fair that the Young Nats decide to be disruptive, threaten to be disruptive, and then an entire event is cancelled because of their choices and what they threaten to do?”
Massey’s VC made the decision after being approached by the student group (who invited Brash for their event) who raised safety concerns. Appears to parallel that of the incident with Harawira’s speech so I’m not sure what all this angst is about.
AS an aside, I find it amusing that it took an Australian woman to finally listen to us, when we say that Te Tiriti principles matter.
Make a run for it
Don’t
An Earthquake strong enough to topple your building will knock you off your feet and will drop you to the ground before you make it to the door, leaving you completely vulnerable to being crushed by falling debris.
Indonesia’s Lombok quake revives the question of taking cover versus running outside
Robin George Andrews – Scientific American, August 9, 2018
If you try to make a run for it. The earthquake will knock you off your feet before you can cross the room.
P.S. Forget door frames. A strong table or desk is best.
Thanks Jenny. Intuitive thinking, or commonsense to use another term, has to be reviewed these days. Every day it seems.
Hijacking Victimhood and Demonizing Dissent:
The Post 2014 Gaza Bombing Anti-Semitism Moral Panic – a Short History
By Gavin Lewis….
https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/hijacking-victimhood-and-demonizing-dissent/
Israel Is The Real Problem…
http://medialens.org/index.php?option=com_acymailing&ctrl=archive&task=view&mailid=500&key=521d744d358c2252091b6dea00b40a3b&subid=33571-17a82b7ee5289bb302b211d107541de8&tmpl=component
Yeah, this article also, makes a clear case: August 9, 2018 – The Crisis in Corbyn’s Labour Party is Over Israel, Not Anti-Semitism, by Jonathan Cook, Nazareth.
Sure, so Israel is the problem; but what’s the solution?
China have hinted they would occupy Syria, if invited. Expecting this will suit Turkey, along with Iran. These are probably the three countries Israel will work hardest to smear in the media over the next few years, to avoid new regional dynamics.
Note that if Israel are seriously challenged, they will probably have the money power to bring down the SWIFT inter-bank payment system. But BRICS have an alternative inter-bank payment system, tested globally, including NZ. Or Israel could also potentially false flag an atomic launch at Hawaii from North Korean waters, but the US should be able to shot that down…
It’s like a giant squid, cornered in a pool of LSD. But some how we must dive into those waters, tame it and demonstrate peace.
Shalom shalom shalom.
Today might be the day Tesla failed.
It has been failing for a long long time now
Tesla is an enigma wrapped in a dream chasing an electric rainbow currently under musk.
He is all over the shop with estimates of capital requirements, loss/profit projections, technology and supply issues especially with the battery manufacture.
I can only see it continuing with a more level head in charge or the funds may dry up as Elons been very tetchy with the analysts who he desperately needs onside.
The boy wonder needs to step back and let in some rationality IMO.
He tweeted the other day about maybe taking it private. Reckons he has the finance in place. Put the wind up the SEC.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2018/08/who-is-jordan-peterson-a-guide-to-the-next-controversial-canadian-to-grace-our-shores.html
Ok so this is basically a way over-simplification of what Dr Jordan Peterson, purely designed to court controversy, has actually said but if he comes to Christchurch I’ll be there
Maybe I’ll see some of you there as well 😉
It used to be said that a skin-head, meathead, right wing nationalist front type element flourished in Christchurch. Maybe a big meeting there could be the catalyst to further the plans “to create a European culture “protected community” in North Canterbury … to “build a unified mini state that we could build up in future to be a base for other like minded Europeans to come to from other dying countries.”
I vote that it be relocated to Auckland Island. The climate will toughen the roosters up. They could make a reality tv show out of the survival process.
Dennis Frank
Best idea you have had so far. I’ll put small donation into a funding pool to take that forward. Along with Give a Little to buy that station down south and keep in NZ hands.
Thanks grey 😎 it’s actually an old idea of mine. Early nineties I was running the Greens justice policy development as convenor of the working group & put a suggestion into the policy draft that recidivist violent offenders be parked down there & left to fight it out. Had a few greenies looking askance at me after that!
I’m originally from Dunedin, i’m just here for the work 🙂
Yes not surprised you’ll be going after reading that – I don’t really like his views on women and roles and stuff.
“He believes in “traditional” gender roles because he thinks men might simply be more competent than women, and he’s suggested women shouldn’t be allowed to wear makeup to work because it’s “sexually provocative”.”
“When a member of the ‘incel’ community drove a van into a crowd in Toronto and killed 10 people, Dr Peterson proposed a system of ‘enforced monogamy’ in which women are given to men as sexual partners in order to prevent such acts of violence.”
No marty you need to stop listening to what other people think he says and listen to what he actually says, theres quite a big difference
https://static.mijnwebwinkel.nl/winkel/beezonder/image/cache/full/e29ef25f88b3c06816fc82b7919bb588ab703b7b.jpg
So you’re saying the reporter is lying in that story and the videos are black ops created to discredit him?
Nope not at all, I’m saying theres certainly a lot of “so what you’re saying is” and then being completely wrong about what was said
Kind of like what you’re doing right now 🙂
https://medium.com/@stianchrister/24-memes-that-sum-up-jordan-peterson-vs-cathy-newman-7c7b9229f2f
I’ve seen his videos.
He is scum.
Garn marty mars. You don’t say. Or did you? Did he? Can you find where. I would print it out and frame it if he managed to advance the idea in less than an A4 page. He being so wordy as well as seriously thoughtful, which gives the impression that deep wisdom is going to come out of that player piano.
Well, at least you’ll be well versed in the art of non-sequiturs 😉
Nice 🙂
Had to laugh at that Brash thing yesterday
Good luck to the protesters, but way to prove Brash’s point
Talk about a backfire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvGK0QxexdI
Ah the rightees are leading public discussion off on a merry ‘free speech’ red herring jaunt.
This is not about ‘free speech’ as originally intended: it was intended to ensure democratic debate so that all views get heard.
Today the issue is about which voices get heard most in the mainstream, and the kinds of views that get heard most frequently, and most positively in the mainstream – it’s about access to dominant platforms, and the attention economy – everyone is free to express their views online, but it’s hard for everyone to get people to pay attention to their views.
It was intended to be about freedom from government/state censorship.
The old Jeffersonian free market of ideas ideal, was that, if all views get heard and debated in public, the best of thinking will rise to the top, and dodgy thinking will be found out and drop out of the consideration. But, as we can see with Trump, Brash, Canadian alt-righters, etc, in the digital age, a lot of dodgy populist speakings gets mainstream attention and acceptance by some.
The guests on the UoA panel was skewed to Pakeha, older people, and the Right (see the still image fronting the video you posted). They did have an unknown person of Maori Pacific descent speak in the debate. But, the attention was all on ye olde Pakeha Name people.
The protesters were adding the voices of those excluded from the debate. They were protesting the voices that have been excluded, and against the (one-sided bigoted mis-informed views on ‘race’, etc) issues that have been slid into the mainstream under the guise of ‘freedom of speech’.
In the short term, many with power will be tut-tutting about the protest. However, when the students are protesting strongly about inequities, democratic fails, misinformation, damaging propaganda, etc., then there is still hope for our world.
“Adding voices”
If by that you mean yelling incoherently, yes they were.
As is their right.
And we can judge for ourselves which looked the least idiotic
I’m not convinced that giving so much attention to those who are adept are provocation and flawed reasoning, is producing the outcome that most would wish for – a dismissal of their rantings.
Perhaps a different approach is required to deal with this kind of invasion of rhetoric, other than vocal protestors at venues. I’m thinking about the effect on those who attend, exiting the venue only to be exposed to approbation, censure and loud shouting. Leading, as is expected from human nature, to further entrenching views – that as yet might have been not fully formed.
The only proposal I can come up with at present, that aligns with a progressive form of counteracting such views taking root is not fully formed, but here goes:
Instead of a continuation of rhetoric and speaking, an invitation for those attending to have their say, and talk about their personal situations and why they felt that the speaker had something to say worth paying for.
A cohesive and comprehensive plan for a Listening Post form of protest would involve people getting together, and learning how to address the fears and concerns of those who might be persuaded by such rhetoric, by genuine conversation and discussion of alternative views and options. Invite people as they exit to talk and then genuinely listen. Without judgment, then offer a counter view – to that one individual that you have engaged with.
If the end result is to innoculate our people from the harm that comes from following such ill-considered public opinions, then the media focus and vocal protests seem to be doing the opposite.
I would be interested in hearing if there are other proposals for effective actions out there.
that is a far more sensible and productive approach.
The purpose is not to silence the extremist but to ensure their views remain exactly that..extreme. What is needed is to seek empathy from as wide an audience as possible and that is most effectively achieved by recounting personal experience and eliciting understanding….the opposite is achieved by shouting slogans and presumptive judgements
Sounds like you’re sort of saying if you attack me I’ll dig my heels in and won’t listen and if I attack you you’ll do the same and no ones point of view gets changed?
If so yeah absolutely thats what’ll likely happen so yep I agree with your conclusions
Reasoned, polite conversation is always a good way to go
“Reasoned, polite conversation is always a good way to go”
This sounds good, but in reality some of the most polite amongst us can be very destructive and use that skill to “win” arguments.
I’m thinking along the lines of better listening, and genuine engagement – which may or may not be considered genteel, but is conducted with respect. Reinforcing the ‘listening’ rather than the talking.
Saying that you need people who are skilled at this type of interaction, I know only a few myself. 🙂
There certainly is a major difference between hearing and listening, in NZ though I do like to believe that there are more things that we all have in common then what we have as differences
I don’t believe that differences should be a problem. Trying to homogenise experiences and perspectives, causes more alienation than it heals.
Accepting differences seems to be a hurdle for many. Differences in choice, perspectives and actions.
However, I do agree with you, if what you are saying is that many do share either unexpressed or badly expressed values.
It is insistence on those values being followed in specific ways, without allowance for difference perspectives, approaches or resources that causes ongoing problems.
I use the coin as model for the way the brain operates. Left hemisphere differentiates between parts, right hemisphere integrates parts into wholes. The big picture combines both (holism).
So when we focus on the differences between us, we differentiate ourselves as unique humans & get idiosyncrasy (see the original meaning of that). When we focus on commonalities we share, we form an integral view. When we apply the latter in political praxis, we develop consensus. If I were a political psychology lecturer, that’s how I’d teach it to my students.
Toss a coin, see how it lands. Tails, say the leftists. Heads, say the rightists. People see what they’re looking for. Doesn’t matter, say the centrists. The coin has both sides concurrently regardless of how it lands. Both/and logic, not zero-sum logic. Applied holism.
“So when we focus on the differences between us, we differentiate ourselves as unique humans & get idiosyncrasy (see the original meaning of that). When we focus on commonalities we share, we form an integral view. When we apply the latter in political praxis, we develop consensus. If I were a political psychology lecturer, that’s how I’d teach it to my students.”
Except this approach predisposes a common view, when life experiences and perspectives differ even when values do not.
In your example, I would focus on the shared values – and work from that. That would be true engagement, else along with presupposed commonalities – that may or may not exist – you usually come up with presupposed solutions to presupposed problems.
I would think a long-term sustainable solution would acknowledge that multi-pronged and adaptable solutions from a diverse range of people with the same values is a good result.
Not in my experience. The common view emerges organically from the discourse. That’s why it is authentic: it is based on genuine commonalities that people discover connect them in a sense of belonging to a cultural context or group or society. The discovery process requires identification and acknowledgement of those in order to objectify them into what eventually constellates as a belief system. So it’s a natural process humans do.
Yes, crowd-sourcing wisdom is indeed an optimal technique when used in a diverse social context. Best seen in brain-storming sessions. Discussion groups can produce it but it depends whether members have what it takes to operate as catalysts. Teams work even better than brainstorming because of their task focus.
“The common view emerges organically from the discourse. That’s why it is authentic: it is based on genuine commonalities that people discover connect them in a sense of belonging to a cultural context or group or society. The discovery process requires identification and acknowledgement of those in order to objectify them into what eventually constellates as a belief system. So it’s a natural process humans do.”
I agree with you insofar as it applies to values.
I disagree in terms of how adept we are as a society into looking past differences in order to achieve good outcomes for shared values.
From that perspective, there are two options:
1. Take time and energy to identify – or construct – commonalities before working together,
2. Acknowledge the differences – and work together.
I have a suspicion that we are talking along the same lines, but I do think there is an important consideration to make for allowances of differences in genuine engagement.
Apologies for the “genteel”, been discussing Austen with my daughter, and some of that vocab slipped in…
Thanks, Molly. i do agree there needs to be conerted and co-ordinated approach. The question is how to have that conversation with a mainstream media that is too superficial, rightward leaning, and focused on beating up drama and conflict?
I am not so critical of the protesters. It is, as I said about getting the attention of the mainstream media. Protesting politely somehow tends not to get that much cut-through in the dominant media and forums.
And, I am very pleased to see highly motivated protesters try ways that they decide to counter the way most kiwis are being led by the nose by some well resourced right wing propagandists. Some will learn fromt heir protesting experiences in ways that will inform their activism in the future.
I despair at how MOR the majority of Kiwis seem to be and how fearful of young activists with a fresh view on things.
The protesters rightly made the issue about racism – right wingers are using the free speech mantra as a foreground in order to slide in their dodgy bigotry.
To be clear, I’m not criticising the protestors for being passionate about something that is destructive to our shared society. I’m just wondering how we ensure the long-term effectiveness of actions against these views. And if there are other – perhaps additional – or replacement – methods that would produce the results that would benefit us all.
The point you make about racism is valid. What I’m struggling with is how much time we are giving to addressing the rhetoric of overseas self-promoters when many New Zealanders experience varying degrees of racism every day. If we can find a way to address that systemically, then society as a whole, including the media, would not allowed themselves to be played for publicity.
If we don’t ask why those – brought up or choosing NZ as a home – are finding these speakers attractive, then we are missing a trick in working out how to make sure that pull is reduced.
“The old Jeffersonian free market of ideas ideal, was that, if all views get heard and debated in public, the best of thinking will rise to the top, and dodgy thinking will be found out and drop out of the consideration. But, as we can see with Trump, Brash, Canadian alt-righters, etc, in the digital age, a lot of dodgy populist speakings gets mainstream attention and acceptance by some.”
I’m not actually seeing what the ‘but’ is here. So what if there’s a bit of back and forth along the way? Unless you’re a Marxist, there’s no reason to believe the process will be logical and linear, it’s a game of snakes and ladders.
I thought the protesters (I was in the room) were 90% on the right tone, they respectfully but firmly interjected and disrupted, but overplayed their hand eventually and became disrespectful and childish. At that point they allowed the MAGA hat types that if it is going to descend into a contest of loud noises, they won’t be the ones who win. And of course at that point they let Brash speak, then marched out of the still unfinished debate.
What’s also amusing is that these people who came to protest – supposedly about people of colour not being listened to – marched out without waiting to listen to Sir Anand Satyanand’s very thoughtful closing speech. I thought they wanted to hear from non-Pakeha? And yet they walked out on a person of colour who exemplifies the successful side of NZ’s multiculturalism.
Meme of the night came from Elliot Ikilei: Hey Marxists: where’s Dad?
Thanks for the firsthand report, CJ.
Maybe the protesters have some things to learn about effective activism. The only way to learn effective methods, is to give various methods a try.
Brash is such an long-time mainstream speaker, I doubt one loud protest against him will make racist views any worse than they are now in the mainstream.
And from some reports, the loud protests only happened for a few minutes, and Brash was not prevented from delivering his whole speech.
Hmmmm… actually the Stuff report, gives a whole different view from just selected video clips of the shouting moments. They focus on Brash speaking, not being silenced.
“Don Brash speaks at boisterous Auckland University debate, punctuated by protests”
So, really it’s looking like people getting sanctimonious about loud, short-lived protests are really off on a wrong track.
And all the reports I’ve seen focus mostly on what Brash had to say. I have no idea what this has to do with the issue:
Meme of the night came from Elliot Ikilei: Hey Marxists: where’s Dad?
Or what it means. Just sounds like a superficial, and unexplained anti-Marxist jibe.
So what?
“Maybe the protesters have some things to learn about effective activism. The only way to learn effective methods, is to give various methods a try”
Agreed – a pity that instead of being honest about it, their leaders come out with this statement, which bends the truth
“Don Brash spoke. We didn’t in anyway disrupt his speech. He got his whole speech out,” Stanley said.
Yeah, they did disrupt it. Which in itself is cool, they made him sit it out for 4 or 5 minutes while they spoke. But it did not progress as she claims. They made their speeches (cool), ensured their viewpoint registered with speakers and the crowd (vitally important), and then basically played up for the news cameras and made a spectacle of themselves until the crowd had no choice but to show them that if it’s just a contest of noise, they won’t be the ones who win. A lesson they ought to digest for future actions.
Brash got to speak in the end, and hell I’m not a fan of the guy. I’m actually kinda mad at these pesky kids that they’ve forced me to accept Brash as a proxy for the debate about these rights. But only when the audience called time on their performance (not their protest, but the performance which ensued once the actual protest was over) did that happen. Beth Stanley attempts to give the impression that they voluntarily made their point and stepped back. She says ‘we didn’t in any way disrupt his speech’. That’s not true, but also not the part she needed to be dishonest about.
“So, really it’s looking like people getting sanctimonious about loud, short-lived protests are really off on a wrong track.”
Perhaps it’s people taking a protest leader’s less-than-candid statements at face value who are the wrong track ; )
As for the Marxists, “Where’s dad?” is the response their screechings about capitalism and colonialism will garner for a long time to come.
Do the protesters not have a right to free speech? Can’t they say what ever they like whenever they like? Or is that only OK if you are white, rich and insulting other cultures?
I watched the debate last night and the protesters on this occasion walked straight into a trap of their own making. Honestly, they didn’t exhibit a whole brain between them. It was inevitable Brash would play the… “oh look, I’m being denied my right to speak” card. He claimed it as an example why pc language is so dangerous which of course is a false equivalence (nothing to do with being pc) but that detail would go over the top of most people’s heads.
I hope the students in question get a bollocking for being so stupid from their peers today.
Of course they do however what they’re doing is anti-free speech
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler%27s_veto
‘The common example is the termination of a speech or demonstration in the interest of maintaining the public peace based on the anticipated negative reaction of someone opposed to that speech or demonstration.’
‘In common parlance, the term is used to describe situations where hecklers or demonstrators silence a speaker without intervention of the law.’
To be fair it only involved a handful of protesters. The rest stood silently at the back of the chamber holding up their signs which could be clearly seen. That was fine, but the idiots who yelled through megaphones when Brash started speaking well… Brash made the most of it when he was finally able to speak and who can blame him.
@ You Fool.
The protesters were exercising their right to speak outside the entrance for a long time prior to the start of the meeting. They no doubt exercised the same right when the crowd left. But they had no right to disrupt speaker, Don Brash (whose views I despise) inside the hall.
Couldn’t agree more with this
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4996046/Harawira-lecture-axed-because-of-redneck-racism
Pot. kettle.
Was wrong then and would be wrong now
I think you are. I like to see expressions of passion, such as interjections.
Pucky; you exhibit passion toward your pin-up
dowagergirl, Judith; do you think we should call for your expulsion from TS because your “shout-outs” offend us?Well in all fairness I’ve never been a Young Nat nor a student at Auckland University however the difference is while I accept that Jude is potentially the daughter of god (those initials can’t be a coincidence) I don’t try to stop anyone disagreeing with me
Whereas those protesters were trying to drown out Dr Don Brash
So?
Freedom of speech doesn’t silence other people, surely? If enough people in the audience had told the dickheads to shut up and let Brash speak without interjection, they would have. Hell, the protestors would have been ejected by security to the applause of the audience.
And then you’d have been boldly defending their right to free speech, surely?
“Freedom of speech doesn’t silence other people, surely?”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler%27s_veto
‘In common parlance, the term is used to describe situations where hecklers or demonstrators silence a speaker without intervention of the law.’
“If enough people in the audience had told the dickheads to shut up and let Brash speak without interjection, they would have.”
You’re not that naive, you know as well as I do that all that would have happened is that both sides would have ended up shouting at each other and Don Brash wouldn’t have been able to speak
Funny thing about meetings like that: people can’t yell forever. And being yelled over doesn’t mean you have to shut up.
Dealing with a hostile crowd is a basic skill for politicians and comedians.
Frankly, raising the “heckler’s veto” is a bullshit way of trying to guilt protestors into silence. Note: that’s not the same as “silencing” someone.
One would think you’d never been to a disorderly gathering of a lively crowd and seen someone win it over to a previously unpopular position.
Well the Harawiras are a bit racist.
What do you mean?
No one said they couldn’t
Do the protesters not have a right to free speech?
Perhaps the question is how you execute your freedom of speech.
A backfire. Is that a polite word for a fart?
Germany are talking about conscription again. Definitely an option for these kids. Embarrassing to be out-smarted by DB. Send them on some social and ecological projects as well as military. Can we do it, unemployment rate could be lower? Yes.
Bloody insurance company!
Hamilton woman Abby Heartly fell in in Bali and is in an induced coma. Article links to GiveALittle.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12104556
Would be helpful if they said why the insurance company isn’t covering it.
“Our mum is fighting for her life in ICU in a hospital in Bali and unfortunately insurance company is refusing to cover any medical costs,”
Sounds like they didn’t have any cover for medical insurance
Which if true doesn’t really make the insurance company the bad guy (if someone has to have one)
Why a slap on the wrist? How is this company allowed to continue? Why do we take this shit sandwich and ask for another? When are people going to say ,’sorry, but sorry isn’t good enough. No more!!!’.
“The council estimated that 450 cubic metres of dairy effluent was discharged when the incident occurred in November 2016.
This is the equivalent of 17 truck and trailer units full of effluent. The volume was such that it was able to be detected eight kilometres downstream at Lake Ohakuri.”
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/106161773/farmer-fined-for-contaminating-stream-that-was-flowing-green-with-effluent
I still see unfenced waterways with livestock standing in rivers and streams…..why ?
Because they can !
They fined them $46000 for what was probably an accident and you call it a slap on the wrist. !!
These “accidents” need to stop. They don’t just happen, they’re borne of negligence. That pipe pumped sewage into the waterway for 14 straight hours. I bet they have systems in place to detect an equivalent milk loss pretty bloody quickly.
Obviously the level of fine isn’t cutting it.
You understand what siphoning is as opposed to pumping . ?
Using your rational we need to quadruple speeding and parking fines there levels are not cutting it .
Meh. The point stands – shit went through the pipe into the waterway.
And yes, I reckon that all fines should be a proportion of wealth and traffic fines could be higher. Especially parking tickets – on the odds of getting caught, it’s cheaper to wear the occasional ticket than it is to pay for parking all the time.
Yep there’s too many of these “accidents” and dairy farmers/companies will push council to hold off on fines etc with promises of getting things sorted. Here’s a classic example from my neck of the woods.
“Two farms that belonged to Northland farmers David and Frances Webster were responsible for allowing dairy effluent to flow into waterways in what an Environment Court judge Craig Thompson called the worst case of “prolonged non-compliance” he had ever seen.
The offending, which saw a huge amount of untreated dairy effluent put into the Manganui River, which feeds into the Northern Wairoa River and the Kaipara Harbour was described as “blatant, ongoing and serious”, with one of the farms being “awash with dairy effluent”, resulting in “gross contamination”.”
“Outside the court the council’s farm monitoring manager Dennis Wright said the companies “grossly polluted waterways for at least eight years and the environment wore the cost”.”
And an even better ending to the story, when finally taken to court (at a cost of $50K to rate payers) the shifty fuckers managed to side-step paying any fines by selling the farm and shifting funds into trust accounts (obviously Nat voters).
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/103892720/fine-of-225000-for-dirty-dairying-will-go-unpaid-because-companies-are-broke
These are the sort of people we have out on the land screwing our waterways and I wonder how many times they professed it was due an “accident”
I have no problem with fining offenders . I just had to call mm for his bullshit wet bus ticket claim ,so the rabid farm haters here that probably won’t read his link but nod their heads and growl fuck yes get some balance in their diet.
I do think it was minimal – what’s the cap value of the farm what income produced- that amount is the second car or third tractor.
Back in 2011 ish, the Waikato Regional Council was struggling to gain(never mind maintain) a reputation as a hardarse enforcer in relation to the Clean Streams Accord. Long story short….WRC with the aid of helicopter observers found, investigated and successfully prosecuted a King Country farmer. Big write up in local rag and a fine of $50 thousand. I spoke with this farmer and pretended sympathy for the hit to his bank balance from the fine. “No worries, my insurance covers the fine and the costs.”
Bus ticket? Pantomime.
WRC at best useless.
(That particular cocky had not contaminated any waterway, btw, there was simply a risk of that happening.)
You are so kind and fair bwaghorn. Probably an accident! It actually matters that it happened, that it was destructive and will have ongoing results, and that the systems set up to cope with the production of effluent were inadequate. Like our previous government. We have been drowning in their muck and have only just survived. Perhaps they should pay half of that fine?
When you start calling for city rate payers to be fined for their shit in the harbours I’ll consider your input .till then zip it sweety.
You are getting a bit silly bwaghorn. I think you are spending too much time with your sheep.
Support growing for an unqualified accountants pre-election economic analysis?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12104552
No no its ok, hey look The First Bloke built a deck
Mike Hosking announces Breaking News: Steven Joyce agrees with Steven Joyce’s pre-election economic analysis.
Funny that, so does Grant Robertson.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/106160806/new-zealand-to-ban-singleuse-plastic-bags
Mike Hoskings is writing about how outraged he is as the news breaks
Are there any chemist or scientist types on here that could explain if its possible to maybe develop and add something to a plastic bag that would make it break down quickly or give it a shelf life or something?
There are already plenty of biodegradable (and/or compostible) plastic products including bags available in NZ – but there is also some dispute as to whether they actually breakdown as claimed, especially in landfills.
Sorry, cannot help on the science etc and must rush out, but here is a link to a Google search which provides lots of info on what is available in NZ.
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=biodegradable+plastic+bags+nz&rlz=1C1LDJZ_enNZ499&oq=biodegadable+&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0l5.10513j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Cheers for that
the main problem is what they break into….even broken down they contaminate
Precisely. I saw a science report on the tv news about that several weeks ago, think it was BBC originated. Microscopic bits of plastic in ocean water. Imagine how much they are likely to disrupt organic process within when ingested by any organism. Scary stuff.
So the problem that first became evident via reporting on those mid-ocean gyres long ago has a deep dimension. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch
Yes, that plastic includes the green scourers in kitchens, fibres from thermals (modern long John’s), polar fleeces and the like.
Are you advocating for an inquiry @ PR? Or given the submissions and comments and lobbying already done, should we not just get on and do the bleeding obvious.
However, if you’re really committed, you could consider looking at some of the evidence various places in the 3rd World have sought that has led them to single-use plastic bans
“……… led them to single-use plastic bans”
should of course read “led them to BAN single use plastic bags”.
(perhaps there should be an inquiry into the ‘mis-spoken’ ‘mis-typed’ as gNatz would advocate, rather than into things of importance and substance.
(Pauline Kingi and the Wally springs to mind), but then I defer to your superior intellect, perceived class, and troll status.
DId I ever tell you how gorgeous I think you are?
Whoar! I dream about you nights
I’ve been using some of those ones made of corn starch. So not plastic at all according to the fine print. Not too bad and they can go into a compost bin but i believe they can take a while to disintegrate as they are designed for much hotter industrial composting. Having said that it looks like a couple of things do burn holes in them (i’m suspecting dobs of chicken fat but could be wrong. ) Also some internet hints that some are made from GE corn bt I guess if we grow the corn here and make them here that would not be an issue.
For Mike, outrage over something is necessary for survival, the withdrawal symptoms would be unbearable. Preferably something proposed by people with a different idealogical leaning to his own.
As for the bags- great start, but as many are saying, the bigger problem is all the completely unnecessary wrapping of things that don’t need to be wrapped, supermarkets being the main culprits. Countdown want to tell us how committed they are to the environment but STILL won’t provide paper bags in their bakery section (plastic only) etc etc. But at least their Bobby bananas don’t have a plastic wrapping, unlike the Pak’nSave version, which unfortunately are much cheaper…
“Retailers rush to support government plastic bag ban”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12104719
Who was saying business doesn’t have confidence in this goverment?
Dang it! My keep-cup is made out of plastic!
My girls and I are thrilled about this announcement.
May retailers step up and also cut down on plastic packaging as well.
A big thanks to our government for doing something rather than nothing, it’s a great start and long overdue.
Great achievement Coalition. So progressive and courageous….. Oh wait. The Supermarkets were doing it anyway. Lol. And the soft drinks bottles?
Were doing it anyway ?
Yes not like they need to stop them from fast food, liquor stores and the myriad small stores
The Nation Business I agree with Grant Roberson that the money from Kiwi saver funds and the Cullen fund should be invested in Aotearoa infrastructure build it now and it will cost less than build in the future not hard to figure that out .
The thing about business leader’s is that are mostly supportive of national that’s a fact so if they can help the neo capitalist they will help distorts the business conferdince state with a few white lies and walar it crashes .
A low New Zealand Dollar is good for Aotearoa and the environment we get more for our exports and because imports are more expensive we import less and manufacturer the products our selves .
What did I say the quoter management system is a system set up for mone men to rip off the system . And the justice system is set up for the 00.1 % to be able to use there mone for impunity that’s a fact look at the fine they got 25 years ago$1 million dollars is a drop in the bucket compared to 500 tons x $6000 a ton = $3 million and what about all the fish that has been stolen over 30 years they should have been banned from fishing 25 years ago banned from any business.
Ka kite ano
Here is something for you to ponder, eco, thus perhaps reconsider your approval.
As both Kiwisaver and the Cullen Fund seek a return on their investment, they are not the most cost effective way to fund our infrastructure. Utilising the tax take is.
Moreover, when we take into account the opportunity cost of doing so (using Kiwisaver and the Cullen Fund) it’s just not worth it. The nation won’t grow its wealth charging ourselves more (due to the return required from the investment) to use our infrastructure. It’s inflationary, thus adds to the cost of production.
Even borrowing funding would be cheaper than using Kiwisaver and the Cullen Fund.
Here you go Eco did say that good Kiwi’s can see trough the historical hysterical emotional things the neo capitalist project on Us good Kiwis to raise there profile in public eyes and gone brash wonder’s why Maori mokopuna’s have high suicide rate’s the link is below ka kite ano
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/08/10/186757/yesterdaze-plastic-correctness-gone-mad
This is a good win for the common tangata against multi national company’s who never admit liability round up is a poisiosn full stop link is below ka kite ano
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/10/monsanto-trial-cancer-dewayne-johnson-ruling P.S we could make machines that use steam heat to kill weed’s or pay people to weed or machines to weeders better than poisoning the tangata
Thanks to the Europeen Union for its stance on this poison
This is to all the mone people Human Caused Climate Change link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/06/domino-effect-of-climate-events-could-push-earth-into-a-hothouse-state Ka kite ano
Sugar has a direct link to the cause of diabetes contrary to what the 2 to 3 company’s lobbying mone let’s the media say about there bad product sugar .They only let researcher say that sugar doe’s not cause diabetes with there big lawyer’s ready to sue the truth teller’s . Eco say it does have a direct link it stuff up your liver and walar one has diabetes . If your whano has this disease get rid of the sugar you don’t need it we did not have sugar in OUR diet for thousands of years it’s not hard to give up Eco has .
Ka kite ano link below.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/sugar-liver-diabetes
Good evening Newshub There you go trump is adding to idiots ego’s that’s not hard to see . That mess in Tolaga Bay with all the waste from forestry washing down river’s on to the beaches there is the same mess back home at the Waiapu river mouth beaches .
I have been following that round up story for a while New’s hub I say that that story on the video game that checks peoples navigational skill’s is full of ——- another way of glorifying the Europeen culture and men is what I see there . how about I take some one in the bush and then we will see who has the best navigation skill’s I see the deceit has be happening for centuries .How do I know this why Analyse the difference in skill’s of different cultures and sex’s to prove that one sex or culture is better than the other and publicize it {fake till you make} it is the capitalist way look at trump .
.The game of 3 halves is a good way for the couch to check if he has picked the correct players .
It would be awsome if the Wahine Rugby World Cup was played in Aotearoa
Ka kite ano
English version of Aotearoa Stan Rita Maisey Troy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_WUFnlbPnE