Judge seems to have tried to apply the "wisdom of Solomon" to the situation but I wonder if this is the end of the matter? I can see both parties' viewpoints as being culturally valid in their own way.
Seems he can up with a reasonable solution in what was a very difficult situation.
The behavior of Oranga Tamariki seems to have been pretty abhorrent and the fact that CEO and 2 high ranking judges attempted to interfere on an ongoing case well outside our guidelines for judicial conduct was staggering. The presiding judge did the right thing.
Having govt heads attempting to influence ongoing court cases is a really slippery slope.
Cricklewood, I agree with all you are saying. The Judge has come up with a worthy solution to the issue, by including. the caregivers in Wellington and the biological mother into the picture while keeping the little girl with the Pakeha family who care about this child enough to go to court and fight for her (there are perhaps better indications that the couple have cared well for the little girl).
The interference in the trial is highly dubious.
Although it appears that the social workers in this case were domonstrably inadequate, I would give a shout out to the social workers at OT. I know some personally and I know them to be dedicated, committed to the children and compassionate to the families of those children. They get a lot of flack eg the social workers who uplifted the baby in Hawkes Bay. Apparently they were identifiable from the video and received death threats.
While of course it is advisable that Maori families preferrable whanau are found for Maori babies, that may not always be possible as was the case for this little girl. The idea of distrupting the bond that had been established betwenn her and her current caregivers troubles me greatly.
Yeah Social work is a very difficult career to take on, amazing people who always do their best. I dont doubt for a second that many of the 'inadequacies' in this case are the result of upper management scrambling to cover arse and putting pressure on Social workers on the ground.
Then more poor descisions from upper management that ended up with the whole thing in court. Then made entirely worse for the individual Social workers in question when an attempt was made to interfere in the trial suddenly making it newsworthy.
As usual those at the coal face bare the brunt of the actions of people with comfy chairs and massive salaries.
The govt really needs to get a handle on the leadership and direction in our big social agencies its pretty poor atm.
As a former (34.5 years) public servant whose 2nd department was subjected to constant restructurings, "realignments", "refocuses", & completely new "corporate" management teams, many of whose executives were completely new to the "business" every 3 – 5 years, I can identify with those remarks completely.
It's reasonably normal for staff to whinge I know but in Head Office we frequently ended up top-heavy with make-workers & with the occasional truly hopeless managers, some of whom knew even less about their job when they left at the next restructuring than when they started.
Front line staff were chronically under-resourced & stressed. I can recall there being a 3 year period when we had a particularly good "customer-service business model" introduced that was applied across the board, externally & internally, & where a continuous improvement committee process was adopted & met regularly to consider staff suggestions, evaluate & either reject or implement them.
The General Manager & the Policy Manager worked hand in glove & visited & talked to the staff at all levels, & the department eventually hummed like well-oiled machine.
The GM & then the CEO retired. The new CEO came in & decided there was to be a moratorium on all changes, introduced a top down review by an outside consultant, got rid of the old management to stamp his authority on the org. And completely broke it.
They're still being regularly reorganised & still haven't recovered.
I realise this is a Labour-friendly blog & this may not go down well, but from my perspective many of the current crop of Labour Ministers just don't have the experience or in some cases the intellectual equipment to control & direct their departments, as many actually did in the Clark & Key administrations.
It seems that you have a skewed idea of Ministers ‘controlling & directing’ their ‘departments’. If your premise is off, not much useful will come out at the other end. Do you know how government works in NZ or do you think you know?
No, I know how government works. I was intimately involved in policy development, appeals (working with Appeal Authorities), & operational systems implementation work for most of my career. I even have some personal Ministerial commendations for some of my work.
I was also a PSA rep for a short time, after we had a national walkout & my manager returned from overseas & walked in to find everybody leaving the premises. There was no Head Office rep. He had no idea what was happening. Fuck him the staff said. I felt guilty & went back in & told him where things were at with the pay & conditions review. And took the role on on to represent our staff on the negotiating team. There wasn’t much negotiation. It was a take it or leave it situation. They wanted to move as many staff off the Collective Agreement & onto personal contracts with a bit more pay but inferior redundancy conditions as they could
They eventually used to contract out recruitment for senior management positions to professional recruitment companies. They didn't know the business. This resulted in a couple of senior management appointments of folk from the private sector who were utterly useless. I remember one who'd previously worked in management for the biggest Korean airline.
He was flown down from Auckland to Wellington every week to run his unit. He'd go into his office & shut the door & the staff couldn't get a decision out of him all week. He was completely out-of-his depth. It was a vital role. The staff had to pick up his job. They were flat out & alternated between despair & being ropable.
It eventually became apparent why he was on the market. He'd been useless in his previous job too, they'd got rid of him via the classic scheme of giving him a glowing reference during the recruitment company's referee checks.
In the olden days of the strictly in house public service promotions when sackings were unheard of the equivalent was promoting someone sideways into a new role where they couldn't do any harm.
I tend to think that some ministers who maybe don't have adequate sector knowledge is an obstacle that can be overcome (especially if they're not morons and senior advisors/management can act as translators into the minister's conceptual framework), but even one management level full of "professional managers" with no sector experience is lethal.
Agreed. And when new Ministers are appointed they get a BIM (briefing for incoming Minister) which aims to give them a reasonably comprehensive overview of their department, & summaries of its policies, operations, legislation, reporting lines etc.
They are then completely reliant on the quality, knowledge, communication abilities & personal relationship management skills of their GM & the senior managers they meet with & who prepare their Cabinet Papers.
Most of them managed fine, even with the occasional misfit manager as there was a good Chief Legal Adviser & sufficient experienced management talent in the Senior Executive Group or the next layer down who prepped their Execs, had mutual trust & good working relationships & could accompany them to the Minister's Office.
I had probably over a dozen Ministers & Associate Ministers in my time there. There were one or two plodders who never really got up to speed & just shuffled papers & kept their heads down as far as possible till they were moved to another porfolio or didn't get re-elected.
Most Ministers were good friendly folk, not fools, learned quickly on the job in about 3-6 months, & did solid, dependable, if not stellar work.
And there were a few who were standout: sharp as a knife, read their briefing papers thoroughly, & would call their execs over, ask questions, query things they didn't understand, send papers back for further work if they weren't satisfied.
Most Ministers & Associates had several portfolios. I guess some people think they have a pretty cruisy time, but the hours they all worked were punishing, they'd be taking work home over the weekends, during long holidays, often in the House working late, & the constant travelling would have been too much for me. I turned down a couple of invitations to be seconded to the Minister's office as departmental private secretary. I just had too many responsibilities at home.
The 'link within your link' (to the earlier article) lays out the failures of OT, and the condition the child came to the caregivers in. "When she arrived with them, Moana's teeth were rotten, she had an untreated club foot, and she showed all the symptoms of a traumatised child."
Any judge considering this case is going to need the wisdom of Solomon.
Tuns out the BBC is just as dodgy as we suspected….imagine that, the same news source that gets on board for every western war and intervention, dishonestly skewing their Syria story in the service of more intervention…I wonder when was the last time the BBC, or any other western MSM outlet dishonestly skewed a story for the benefit of less western war and intervention?
BBC admits Syria gas attack report had serious flaws
'Adjudicators agreed it had failed to meet ECU's editorial standards for accuracy'
Most commenters had little faith in the current BBC
Some of them think the BBC is leftist!!
It's campaign against Corbyn (along with the Guardian) says otherwise
Corbyn lost that 2019 election, not because of his left wing policies which had wide popularity, but because of his non committal stand re Brexit, and the unrelenting and ill founded charges of anti semitism.(Thanks BBC and Guardian , you did a sterling job in helping to put the idiot Boris at the steering wheel)
And now we have the quisling Starmer swinging the wrecking ball .
Corbyn was the target of unrelenting ridicule and lies by the Blairite rump of his own party, as well as by its media accomplices, the Grauniad, the Murdoch and Desmond filth outlets, and the state broadcaster…..
Well Judge Peter Callinicos appears to have what could be described politely as some deeply unfashionable views on custody issues. Still, he is the presiding judge I would suspect it isn't a bad thing to apply the occasional bromide to prevailing orthodoxy.
I read those bits, but since it was clearly spin, I took it to show Callinicos attitude to people missrepresenting to the court. He seems to take that as a trigger to ask the hardest questions of those witnesses, which seems fair enough to me. Bending the truth to courts frequently results in false convictions and rulings.
What do we make of the Oranga Tamariki lawyers claim that, failing to raise a Maori child as Maori, is physically harmful. Does this go on to explain David Seymour?
I think "failing to raise a Maori child as Maori, is physically harmful" is contestable.
For one thing it broadens the definition of what physical harm is and I think that in itself is problematic. We would need some very good research to unpick the issue.
Dunedin study is always my go to.
Speaking as someone whose spouse is Maori and who was raised by adoptive parents as Pakeha, I wouldn't support what the OT lawyer is saying. I think we have very good ideas of what a baby infant child, teen needs. Secure attachment figures, who offer unconditional love, but are able to set good boundaries. I would add parents who are mature enough to tune into the individual their child is and allow that to flourish. Someone who isn't afraid to be the big person and safeguard the child.
My brother-in-law (married to my kid sister [60] ) has a Maori dad & a Pakeha mum. Sis has all his whakapapa (Taranaki nga iwi) & keeps the genealogies for our side too. He & his late dad are "Kiwi 1st, Maori 2nd" types. They don't identify as Maori per se although they're justifiably proud of their whakapapa & look Maori & one of my 2 nephews (theirs) opted for the Maori roll. They're both ambitious & hard working, started out at the bottom & ended up having successful careers in management in their fields of work.
I get my roof moss-proofed every two years. Four years back the two sprayers who turned up were Maori. As is my habit, I was home, & I called out to them that I was making coffee, would they like one when they finished? It was a nice day & we had a chat in my covered patio & I asked what the taller, chattier one's iwi was. He said his folks hailed from Kaitaia, (Nga Puhi, I think), but they'd moved to Porirua for work & he was born there.
He had a couple of kids to his partner & I asked if they were married. He just grinned & said "No, that's a Pākehā thing where I come from! We've been together for years & don't see any need to spend money on a wedding."
I asked the quiet one where his turangawaewae was. He said he'd been adopted as a child by a Pākehā couple & he hadn't been brought up as a Maori. I asked if he knew his birth parents' nga iwi & he said no, & he wasn't that interested in finding out. He'd had a happy childhood & he loved his adopted parents & that was all he needed & cared about. He'd have been around 18 – 20 at a guess. I was surprised he hadn't bothered to find out; I think I would've wanted to in his situation.
They both got on well together & did something classically Maori. When they finished their coffee & bikkies they said they still had a lot of spray left over & before they left for their next job they sprayed all the lichen on my visitors' car park & driveway for free.
My point is … I know Maori who are staunchly Maori & embrace their culture & local marae, Te Reo, & kapa haka, taiaha martial arts etc. They see themselves as Maori 1st, Kiwi 2nd. And I know others who are happy enuf on the General Roll & just regard themselves as Kiwis of Maori & Pākehā descent in equal measure.
Either works for me. I'm happy for people to choose for themselves. I wish I did have some Maori lineage. And that I'd learned Te Reo Maori & French instead of Latin & French at school.
I see there are pictures and even a video going around on various platforms of Siouxse Wiles breaking her own advice under level 4. I bet this wont make the main news channels if they want more government funding.
[link added with video and showing Wiles didn’t break any level four rules]
[next time, post a link, or something else to back up your assertions. This is especially important for public figures, because 1) it avoids defamation and putting the site owners at risk, and 2) it stops you looking like a troll. We’re here for the robust, informed debate, not rumour mongering – weka]
Crikey! No one I know has ever broken their own advice and I know I certainly never have, especially the advice I give myself about writing inane things on blogs!!
This ia an article I wondered if you had seen Robert. This NZ Geographic story on wilding pines;sounds a bit wonky. First they drop them en masse and then are dedicated to removing the same.
Thanks, grey. Yes, I had seen it and recklessly engaged in a prolonged debate with the author (nice bloke) and others about alternate ways of looking at the issue 🙂 with a pinch of "don't use gmo's" thrown in 🙂
But given its Covid and people are getting pretty over level 4 having such a public advocate of restrictions meet a spinoff journalist apparently in breach level 4 isnt exactly helpful.
Gives the anti lockdown folk more fuel to stoke the fire…
What are you referring to, Jester? You provide no links or details, so it is impossible to ascertain the validity of your words. Cricklewood seems to think it has something to do with a Spinoff interview, but I couldn't see anything like that there. This is the most recent for her (as contributing author):
The video is all over social media and on YouTube.
It shows Wiles sitting on a beach (Judges Bay – 5km away from her home), alongside what is claimed to be a reporter. Neither are wearing masks. Neither are social distancing.
The video then goes on to show Wiles paddling in the water with a swimmer a short distance away.
The video was 'released' by the BFD – Cameron Slater's blog. In case you don't want to go there, they quote Wiles as saying:
“I was with someone from my bubble, who lives in the area… Judges Bay is about 5km from my home which is pretty local when on a bicycle.”
That was very much a Slater occupation. Stalking people. He stalked David Shearer and caught him having a coffee with a well known union official. He got photos n' all to prove it was true. 😡
The very first time Cameron Slater addressed this writer, i.e. moi, he told me to “fuck off.” Despite that tense initial contact, this writer kept posting at Whaleoil Beef Hooked, that dog of a site, for a good few years before flaming out with this post…..
Morrissey to Molon Labe:
Don’t want to pay your taxes and don’t believe in government? Go to Somalia, halfwit.
[MOD this person is now blocked for trolling and personal insults. CAUTION: Do not reply. REMINDER: Anyone who responds to trolls is likely to be blocked as well as the response generally inflames the situation. Be glad all I did was delete your comment. Now, move on. ]
pretty much. Not even going to watch the video. When they take hours to post a link to what they're tying their undies in knots over, it's a good sign it's fuckall anyway.
The angle's not great, but I guess 'close' is relative. I wasn't passing judgement, quite the contrary. I'm not exactly the model citizen with the walks I'm taking!
As nothing was made in the MSM of the National Party breaking rules dining together in Wellington that Reti admitted to, you may well be right that they won't report on Siouxse Wiles, and if it's not in the Media, maybe you could link to your source. Please tell me its not Coltheman? To blame it on Government funding is bollocks, or is the constant griping from TV3 only because Joyce gave them money. Can't have it both ways bud.
The political problem facing the right wing right now is the massively popular and competent government response to covid has forced the right further and further down the rabbit hole, until people like Jester here can't understand why the media won't run character assassinations and smear campaigns by nasty pricks as "news" and can't understand why they make reasonable people want to vomit.
Do you know what social media Jester is referring to Sanctuary, Twitter maybe? I avoid that almost as much as Reddit. Google hasn't helped much except this piece from April (from NZH, but ODT not paywalled).
Calling out bullies on social media was not a bid for sympathy, Wiles said. Rather it was an attempt to stop it happening again – to her or anyone else.
Wiles said she now realised that bullies may have something going on in their own lives that was making them behave that way and often they needed help rather than punishment.
However, if Wiles is breaking the rules, then she should be as liable for condemnation as David Clark was when he was Minister of Health. But if it is footage out of context for purposes of smearing health communicators in the midst of a pandemic then that's fairy despicable.
Cameron Slater! Didn't realize that when I clicked on your link, a heads up would have been nice; Gypsy. Hard to tell how far away the filmer was, but certainly more than a few metres.
Bloomfield didn't seem too worried in today's press conference, and if it's a choice between his opinion and Slater's, then I am on the side of reason. Slater's best point was that TVNZ refused to run the story, but I don't think that amounts to; "this story was suppressed by an editor at 1News". It's almost as if there was a more pressing news story on September the 3rd that gobbled up all the air time.
OMG. I've just read what Collins said. She's not just hypocrtical: she's utterly crass & completely artless. She's clearly got a blind spot in the mirror. That's just nasty schoolgirl stuff. Absolutely bizarre that she can't see the damage she's just done to herself & her party. I don't think she engages the brain before she opens her mouth, & I don't think she actually hears what she's saying.
only sense I can make of it is that National are still running a trumpian politics agenda. They want a more divisive society, because in the medium term that's the only way they can get some traction against Ardern.
She probably thinks she's scored a Trumpian-style king hit. Her EQ & IQ are both highly suspect.
I suspect Collins has offended probably the vast majority of voters in this country with that totally unnecessary personal denigration of Wiles. Ardern’s fan club journos will flay her.
She's as dumb as a sack of hammers. Wonder when the next polls are due out? Hope they aren't busy collating & analysing them already. I’d like to see a couple more working days roll around before someone starts doing the polling.
I don't think she is dumb. I think she's got a certain personality that doesn't really give a shit about people, and she's in a role where her choices are very limited.
There's a sizeable portion of people that either don't know who Wiles is, or actively dislike her. That's who Collins is talking to.
It's a mistake imo to right Collins off as stupid. She's on track with trumpian pol. It's not about king hits, it's about undermining democracy over the long term.
I'm not particularly fond of Siouxsie, but those remarks of Collins' are so far below the belt I'm gobsmacked.
I'd never say I'd never vote National (although I never have to date). But I don't think Collins is attracting any more voters than the current crop.
I think she's an unimpressive, awkward communicator & doesn't strike me as having anything like a coherent policy programme. With such lean pickings for spokespeople & her still at helm the Nats are in no current danger of picking up a candidate or party vote from me.
Ardern’s got time to counter or pirate & tailor policy anywhere they might be getting some traction. And Labour’s in its 2nd term now. Their newby Ministers have now got experience.
I really am wondering how she'll score next poll. She's done some serious media foot-shooting lately.
again, trumpian pol isn't about short term poll gains. It's about creating a social and political milieu where division advantages the right.
National have nothing atm that can touch Ardern, this is a long term strategy. They could of course rebuild their party around values again, but it doesn't look like the people in power want that. Proto-fascism is a drug, and Key was the one that really brought National into this position. Irrespective of what Collins does or doesn't do in terms of voters this year, she is on point for the bigger agenda.
"Irrespective of what Collins does or doesn't do in terms of voters this year, she is on point for the bigger agenda."
My view is she did a deal with her party and caucus last year. She is a 'place holder', and is throwing stones until a younger, most likely female with a softer and more reasoned approach takes over later in 2022. My pick is Nicola Willis.
A short (10 min) video about Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, the nine-year old whose 2013 death was attributed to air pollution in London.
For me, it also speaks of the wider and more complex issues of social justice and inequity not being considered, let alone adequately addressed, by planning, transport, health or environmental monitoring institutions.
Although when you listen to the full audio track it looks like a relatively minor blip that isn't really the "gazumper" the Opposition might try to make it out to be if they're aware of it. Will try & see if it comes up at Question Time.
Maybe. On the other hand, if you go to sections 163 & 164 of the Immigration Act (just as a start) and then click on EVERY linked provision & all their cross links, & then go looking for the relevant provisions & links to every likely section & subsection covering every other element of this guy's immigration history & relevant provisons around permanent residence & deportation, & appeal rights & Ministerial powers that have been mentioned to date – it doesn't take too long to realise it's an excruciatingly complex legal situation & those who think there's been a simple solution at various key points or milestones imo hasn't really understood ALL the relevant requirements & processes that must be covered off before any ONE of them could have suceeded.
I'm not surprised that nobody wanted to do a knee jerk rush to a quick solution that conceivably might have failed on Judicial Review. As he in the end refused to engage to pursue the revocation he said he wanted, the point is moot.
The Review hopefully will unentangle all the many strands in some intelligible way.
It is not good news to hear of someone with the seeming inclination. It is good news to hear of the arrest.
It will be interesting to see if recent events have a 'worst case scenario' applied to the individual to look after the community or the paramount perspective is to look after the individual and his rights.
All those from whatever agencies dealing with him, up to the judge, should paint their children or spouses into a scenario where he has his way.
I am hopeful that the Muslim Association & Muslim Women's Council might be approached early to see if they think they can help & what assistance they might need in supporting this individual & deterring him from this possible path – & perhaps support & help his family as well. Lonely or isolated Teenagers are so easy to radicalise.
This surely can't just have come out of nowhere. And the LynnMall attacker has probably raised the temperature of anti-Muslim sentiment. If any of that's been directed at him or he's seen it on social media, or he feels the attacker was simply executed, it could have set him off.
I also can't help wondering if Allah granting the Taliban such a stunning victory, while the West is railing against them, threatening to deny them money, & calling them liars, is a factor. Fundamentalists everywhere have been celebrating, from the reports I've seen.
Well, our totally dumb USA policy-makers asked for this years ago, didn't they?
Just deserts, and we backed them all the way. No point in moaning now.
I remember just after the 911 disaster, a History teacher was standing next work day morning with other staff at the school, and someone said something like, “Isn’t it terrible?”
“Yes,” he said, “and a lot of people are going to die now.” Looks of surprise. He added, “And they will probably be the wrong ones.”
Prescient, unlike the US policymakers, who just pretty well repeated their Vietnam blunder.
They really learned how to kill over there by remote control. And in their last days during the evacuation mission they killed a suspected IS suicide attacker, again by remote control. They announced on tv that they'd got the terrorist(s), & that the explosion was huge, so they were clearly suicide bombers, and that there were no civilian casualties.
I was watching AlJazeera tv newshour, looking at a civilian man on top of a single story house building, running to the edge, looking over at where the black smoke was rising, then running back while others also appeared, bringing a bucket of water which he threw down into the smoke. It made no difference.
They’d rocketed the car in a very narrow street, right outside that house, killing 11 people, 10 in one family, including several children and their father, who'd just arrived home from work. They were running out to meet him.
A Pentagon spokesman doing a live standup on tv as I watched not long afterwards was asked by a reporter had he heard that there were civilian casualties and he replied that they were aware of this claim but it hadn't been verified.
They've now killed thousands of innocent civilians as "collateral damage" in this way, in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia and numerous other countries, taking out Taliban, Islamic State, Al Qaeda, Al Shabab and other "terrorists" in rocket assassinations via Predator drones flown by young operators who're trained and skilled in computer gaming.
It's bizarre how this simply doesn't register in the US consciousness or the Military Commands. Non-American lives just don't matter. It's why they're so hated in many of these places.
What did they 'ask for'? Oh the US have made huge foreign policy mistakes, but Islamic terrorism is centuries old, so let's not fall for the old 'great satan' narrative for everything that is happening.
Since Islamic terrorism is centuries old, one would have expected that by now US 'Intelligence' would have thought of much more effective policies for dealing with it..
Repeating most of the blunders they made in Vietnam then leaving in utter humiliation is probably worse than appeasement, which was your silly suggestion, not mine.
Vietnam? Not sure when that was run by islamic extremists, but if you're off on a tangent, how about the soviet occupations of Korea, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan just to name a few. Or the Chinese involvement in Korea, Tibet, Vietnam and of course their present day treatment of the Uyghurs.
Soviets were gone from Korea by 1948: more like liberation from Japanese and setting up of Govt with little suppression – hardly a long-term supressive occupation like Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
You don't get to decide what a thread is about: American behaviour applies to more than just Islam – the anti-Communist campaigns invite valid comparisons.
Typical rightie evasion – oh, everybody else made a mistake too. Not on the scale of roughly 20 years in Vietnam then Afghanistan as well.
If you mean the mujahedeen, it was the US, Saudi Arabia and China. Of course the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to prop up a communist government there. And it would appear China will now bankroll the Taliban. So they've all got their fingers dirty.
The Mujahideen were tribal warlords funded and armed by the US to oppose the Soviet invaders. The Taliban are religious fundamentalists, formed during the post-soviet civil war to oppose the Mujahideen, funded indirectly by the US via US military aid to Pakistan.
The marxist regime in Afghanistan in the '70's led to Afghanistan being called a Soviet 'client regime'. The soviets were up to their eyeballs in Afghanistan, which is why they invaded Afghanistan when the marxist government was on the verge of collapse.
No I didn't. I'm not making judgements or excuses. The superpowers have all behaved badly. They see it as part of protecting their geo-political interests. So singling out the US for criticism is intellectual dishonest. As is blaming them for islamic radicals murdering their way to their religio/political interests. It's been happening for centuries.
You're now being dishonest. I said 'singling out', not criticising.
"By the way you should have said religious radicals. Not Islamic. That is also intellectually dishonest."
No, it's historically accurate in the context of this conversation, of this thread. When a white supremisist goes around killing people in a mosque we call it out. When Christian radicals bomb abortion clinics, we call it out. There should be no fear or favour.
Decades of bombing, murder of civilians, removal of elected Governments and replacing them with tyrants, saunctions that starve whole countries of food and medicines, not to mention drone strikes on weddings and people going about their everyday lives.
Is "Foriegn policy stuffups"? When the USA does it.
When "Islamists" or China "does it, you have rather a different description.
All 'fingers' are dirty, but some are dirtier than others.
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean the government isn’t playing dirty.[Sept 2014] After the revelations of Dirty Politics, it might have been assumed these practices were halted. It seems that they haven’t been. Cameron Slater said to me last week on Twitter ‘wait until you see Dirtier Politics’. The worst, it would seem, is yet to come.
Wonder no longer about why repugs (and our very own big biz shills) are working to spanner public health.
Leaders all over the South were scrambling to find a cure for the dreaded pellagra until they discovered what that cure might cost them. That’s when the campaign of denial began. A century-old fight over public health feels fresh as a morning headline as we wrestle with a new threat, with equally simple remedies that upset Southern values. Disease is personal. Pandemic is politics.
Joseph Goldberger was sent to the South in 1914 on a mission from the US Department of Public Health to investigate an outbreak of pellagra. Pellagra is a terrible illness, starting with skin lesions, then advancing to diarrhea, dementia and in about 40% of cases, death. The disease, already well known among poorer populations in Southern Europe, had been documented in the South in 1908. By 1912, more than 30,000 cases had been identified in South Carolina alone.
[…]
Goldberger was initially welcomed. Southern leaders expected him to blame the disease on an infection, or even better, on a contaminant in corn imported from the Yankee Midwest. Instead, his experiments backed up his initial suspicion that pellagra was a nutritional deficiency. Goldberg published his findings in 1915, demonstrating that pellagra was a consequence of a poorly diversified corn diet, and could be remedied by adding a few fresh foods. His conclusion wasn’t novel, matching the recommendations of earlier researchers in Europe, but his report sparked angry denials.
An earlier commission of Southern researchers in 1909 had reached an erroneous conclusion more welcome to Southern planters and mill owners – pellagra was an infectious disease, spread either by flies or adulterated corn. It could, therefore, be remedied by educating the poor toward better sanitary habits and/or regulating imports from the hated North. Goldberg’s discoveries instead tied the disease to Southern economic practices that were producing wealth for a few powerful people. Wealthy Southerners worked to promote their preferred diagnosis.
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Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
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Judge dismisses Oranga Tamariki's attempt to remove Māori girl from Pakeha couple.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/126334548/judge-dismisses-oranga-tamarikis-bid-to-remove-mori-girl-from-pkeh-couple
Judge seems to have tried to apply the "wisdom of Solomon" to the situation but I wonder if this is the end of the matter? I can see both parties' viewpoints as being culturally valid in their own way.
Seems he can up with a reasonable solution in what was a very difficult situation.
The behavior of Oranga Tamariki seems to have been pretty abhorrent and the fact that CEO and 2 high ranking judges attempted to interfere on an ongoing case well outside our guidelines for judicial conduct was staggering. The presiding judge did the right thing.
Having govt heads attempting to influence ongoing court cases is a really slippery slope.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/126152961/judge-lauded-for-rebuking-his-seniors-in-oranga-tamariki-case
Cricklewood, I agree with all you are saying. The Judge has come up with a worthy solution to the issue, by including. the caregivers in Wellington and the biological mother into the picture while keeping the little girl with the Pakeha family who care about this child enough to go to court and fight for her (there are perhaps better indications that the couple have cared well for the little girl).
The interference in the trial is highly dubious.
Although it appears that the social workers in this case were domonstrably inadequate, I would give a shout out to the social workers at OT. I know some personally and I know them to be dedicated, committed to the children and compassionate to the families of those children. They get a lot of flack eg the social workers who uplifted the baby in Hawkes Bay. Apparently they were identifiable from the video and received death threats.
While of course it is advisable that Maori families preferrable whanau are found for Maori babies, that may not always be possible as was the case for this little girl. The idea of distrupting the bond that had been established betwenn her and her current caregivers troubles me greatly.
Yeah Social work is a very difficult career to take on, amazing people who always do their best. I dont doubt for a second that many of the 'inadequacies' in this case are the result of upper management scrambling to cover arse and putting pressure on Social workers on the ground.
Then more poor descisions from upper management that ended up with the whole thing in court. Then made entirely worse for the individual Social workers in question when an attempt was made to interfere in the trial suddenly making it newsworthy.
As usual those at the coal face bare the brunt of the actions of people with comfy chairs and massive salaries.
The govt really needs to get a handle on the leadership and direction in our big social agencies its pretty poor atm.
As a former (34.5 years) public servant whose 2nd department was subjected to constant restructurings, "realignments", "refocuses", & completely new "corporate" management teams, many of whose executives were completely new to the "business" every 3 – 5 years, I can identify with those remarks completely.
It's reasonably normal for staff to whinge I know but in Head Office we frequently ended up top-heavy with make-workers & with the occasional truly hopeless managers, some of whom knew even less about their job when they left at the next restructuring than when they started.
Front line staff were chronically under-resourced & stressed. I can recall there being a 3 year period when we had a particularly good "customer-service business model" introduced that was applied across the board, externally & internally, & where a continuous improvement committee process was adopted & met regularly to consider staff suggestions, evaluate & either reject or implement them.
The General Manager & the Policy Manager worked hand in glove & visited & talked to the staff at all levels, & the department eventually hummed like well-oiled machine.
The GM & then the CEO retired. The new CEO came in & decided there was to be a moratorium on all changes, introduced a top down review by an outside consultant, got rid of the old management to stamp his authority on the org. And completely broke it.
They're still being regularly reorganised & still haven't recovered.
I realise this is a Labour-friendly blog & this may not go down well, but from my perspective many of the current crop of Labour Ministers just don't have the experience or in some cases the intellectual equipment to control & direct their departments, as many actually did in the Clark & Key administrations.
It seems that you have a skewed idea of Ministers ‘controlling & directing’ their ‘departments’. If your premise is off, not much useful will come out at the other end. Do you know how government works in NZ or do you think you know?
No, I know how government works. I was intimately involved in policy development, appeals (working with Appeal Authorities), & operational systems implementation work for most of my career. I even have some personal Ministerial commendations for some of my work.
I was also a PSA rep for a short time, after we had a national walkout & my manager returned from overseas & walked in to find everybody leaving the premises. There was no Head Office rep. He had no idea what was happening. Fuck him the staff said. I felt guilty & went back in & told him where things were at with the pay & conditions review. And took the role on on to represent our staff on the negotiating team. There wasn’t much negotiation. It was a take it or leave it situation. They wanted to move as many staff off the Collective Agreement & onto personal contracts with a bit more pay but inferior redundancy conditions as they could
Good personal history there Gazza thanks.
They eventually used to contract out recruitment for senior management positions to professional recruitment companies. They didn't know the business. This resulted in a couple of senior management appointments of folk from the private sector who were utterly useless. I remember one who'd previously worked in management for the biggest Korean airline.
He was flown down from Auckland to Wellington every week to run his unit. He'd go into his office & shut the door & the staff couldn't get a decision out of him all week. He was completely out-of-his depth. It was a vital role. The staff had to pick up his job. They were flat out & alternated between despair & being ropable.
It eventually became apparent why he was on the market. He'd been useless in his previous job too, they'd got rid of him via the classic scheme of giving him a glowing reference during the recruitment company's referee checks.
In the olden days of the strictly in house public service promotions when sackings were unheard of the equivalent was promoting someone sideways into a new role where they couldn't do any harm.
I tend to think that some ministers who maybe don't have adequate sector knowledge is an obstacle that can be overcome (especially if they're not morons and senior advisors/management can act as translators into the minister's conceptual framework), but even one management level full of "professional managers" with no sector experience is lethal.
Agreed. And when new Ministers are appointed they get a BIM (briefing for incoming Minister) which aims to give them a reasonably comprehensive overview of their department, & summaries of its policies, operations, legislation, reporting lines etc.
They are then completely reliant on the quality, knowledge, communication abilities & personal relationship management skills of their GM & the senior managers they meet with & who prepare their Cabinet Papers.
Most of them managed fine, even with the occasional misfit manager as there was a good Chief Legal Adviser & sufficient experienced management talent in the Senior Executive Group or the next layer down who prepped their Execs, had mutual trust & good working relationships & could accompany them to the Minister's Office.
I had probably over a dozen Ministers & Associate Ministers in my time there. There were one or two plodders who never really got up to speed & just shuffled papers & kept their heads down as far as possible till they were moved to another porfolio or didn't get re-elected.
Most Ministers were good friendly folk, not fools, learned quickly on the job in about 3-6 months, & did solid, dependable, if not stellar work.
And there were a few who were standout: sharp as a knife, read their briefing papers thoroughly, & would call their execs over, ask questions, query things they didn't understand, send papers back for further work if they weren't satisfied.
Most Ministers & Associates had several portfolios. I guess some people think they have a pretty cruisy time, but the hours they all worked were punishing, they'd be taking work home over the weekends, during long holidays, often in the House working late, & the constant travelling would have been too much for me. I turned down a couple of invitations to be seconded to the Minister's office as departmental private secretary. I just had too many responsibilities at home.
Wants the decision appealed:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/126341067/iwi-leader-disagrees-with-judges-call-to-leave-mori-girl-with-pkeh-caregivers
Not entirely unexpected.
The 'link within your link' (to the earlier article) lays out the failures of OT, and the condition the child came to the caregivers in. "When she arrived with them, Moana's teeth were rotten, she had an untreated club foot, and she showed all the symptoms of a traumatised child."
Any judge considering this case is going to need the wisdom of Solomon.
Tuns out the BBC is just as dodgy as we suspected….imagine that, the same news source that gets on board for every western war and intervention, dishonestly skewing their Syria story in the service of more intervention…I wonder when was the last time the BBC, or any other western MSM outlet dishonestly skewed a story for the benefit of less western war and intervention?
BBC admits Syria gas attack report had serious flaws
'Adjudicators agreed it had failed to meet ECU's editorial standards for accuracy'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9958679/BBC-admits-Syria-gas-attack-report-flaws-complaint-Peter-Hitchens.html
The comments are hilarious!
Most commenters had little faith in the current BBC
Some of them think the BBC is leftist!!
It's campaign against Corbyn (along with the Guardian) says otherwise
Corbyn lost that 2019 election, not because of his left wing policies which had wide popularity, but because of his non committal stand re Brexit, and the unrelenting and ill founded charges of anti semitism.(Thanks BBC and Guardian , you did a sterling job in helping to put the idiot Boris at the steering wheel)
And now we have the quisling Starmer swinging the wrecking ball .
Agreed francesca. If they had MMP in the UK Corbyn would have started his own party by now.
ooooohhh Jeremy Corrrrrrbyn!ooooohhh Jeremy Corrrrrrbyn!
Corbyn was the target of unrelenting ridicule and lies by the Blairite rump of his own party, as well as by its media accomplices, the Grauniad, the Murdoch and Desmond filth outlets, and the state broadcaster…..
https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/1204168230346067968
Well Judge Peter Callinicos appears to have what could be described politely as some deeply unfashionable views on custody issues. Still, he is the presiding judge I would suspect it isn't a bad thing to apply the occasional bromide to prevailing orthodoxy.
PS this is in reply to Gezza…
I read those bits, but since it was clearly spin, I took it to show Callinicos attitude to people missrepresenting to the court. He seems to take that as a trigger to ask the hardest questions of those witnesses, which seems fair enough to me. Bending the truth to courts frequently results in false convictions and rulings.
What do we make of the Oranga Tamariki lawyers claim that, failing to raise a Maori child as Maori, is physically harmful. Does this go on to explain David Seymour?
Ha ha re your comment about David Seymour.
I think "failing to raise a Maori child as Maori, is physically harmful" is contestable.
For one thing it broadens the definition of what physical harm is and I think that in itself is problematic. We would need some very good research to unpick the issue.
Dunedin study is always my go to.
Speaking as someone whose spouse is Maori and who was raised by adoptive parents as Pakeha, I wouldn't support what the OT lawyer is saying. I think we have very good ideas of what a baby infant child, teen needs. Secure attachment figures, who offer unconditional love, but are able to set good boundaries. I would add parents who are mature enough to tune into the individual their child is and allow that to flourish. Someone who isn't afraid to be the big person and safeguard the child.
My brother-in-law (married to my kid sister [60] ) has a Maori dad & a Pakeha mum. Sis has all his whakapapa (Taranaki nga iwi) & keeps the genealogies for our side too. He & his late dad are "Kiwi 1st, Maori 2nd" types. They don't identify as Maori per se although they're justifiably proud of their whakapapa & look Maori & one of my 2 nephews (theirs) opted for the Maori roll. They're both ambitious & hard working, started out at the bottom & ended up having successful careers in management in their fields of work.
I get my roof moss-proofed every two years. Four years back the two sprayers who turned up were Maori. As is my habit, I was home, & I called out to them that I was making coffee, would they like one when they finished? It was a nice day & we had a chat in my covered patio & I asked what the taller, chattier one's iwi was. He said his folks hailed from Kaitaia, (Nga Puhi, I think), but they'd moved to Porirua for work & he was born there.
He had a couple of kids to his partner & I asked if they were married. He just grinned & said "No, that's a Pākehā thing where I come from! We've been together for years & don't see any need to spend money on a wedding."
I asked the quiet one where his turangawaewae was. He said he'd been adopted as a child by a Pākehā couple & he hadn't been brought up as a Maori. I asked if he knew his birth parents' nga iwi & he said no, & he wasn't that interested in finding out. He'd had a happy childhood & he loved his adopted parents & that was all he needed & cared about. He'd have been around 18 – 20 at a guess. I was surprised he hadn't bothered to find out; I think I would've wanted to in his situation.
They both got on well together & did something classically Maori. When they finished their coffee & bikkies they said they still had a lot of spray left over & before they left for their next job they sprayed all the lichen on my visitors' car park & driveway for free.
My point is … I know Maori who are staunchly Maori & embrace their culture & local marae, Te Reo, & kapa haka, taiaha martial arts etc. They see themselves as Maori 1st, Kiwi 2nd. And I know others who are happy enuf on the General Roll & just regard themselves as Kiwis of Maori & Pākehā descent in equal measure.
Either works for me. I'm happy for people to choose for themselves. I wish I did have some Maori lineage. And that I'd learned Te Reo Maori & French instead of Latin & French at school.
I see there are pictures and even a video going around on various platforms of Siouxse Wiles breaking her own advice under level 4. I bet this wont make the main news channels if they want more government funding.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/09/ashley-bloomfield-defends-siouxsie-wiles-maskless-beach-visit-as-judith-collins-labels-her-hypocrite.html
[link added with video and showing Wiles didn’t break any level four rules]
[next time, post a link, or something else to back up your assertions. This is especially important for public figures, because 1) it avoids defamation and putting the site owners at risk, and 2) it stops you looking like a troll. We’re here for the robust, informed debate, not rumour mongering – weka]
Crikey! No one I know has ever broken their own advice and I know I certainly never have, especially the advice I give myself about writing inane things on blogs!!
Hi Robert. I wondered if you'd seen this?:
.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09-09-2021/#comment-1814584
Thank you, Gezza, I hadn't but I'm glad I have now. Good, useful comment.
This ia an article I wondered if you had seen Robert. This NZ Geographic story on wilding pines;sounds a bit wonky. First they drop them en masse and then are dedicated to removing the same.
https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-march-of-the-pines/
Thanks, grey. Yes, I had seen it and recklessly engaged in a prolonged debate with the author (nice bloke) and others about alternate ways of looking at the issue 🙂 with a pinch of "don't use gmo's" thrown in 🙂
Its like my dad used to say…
'Do as I say not as I do'
But given its Covid and people are getting pretty over level 4 having such a public advocate of restrictions meet a spinoff journalist apparently in breach level 4 isnt exactly helpful.
Gives the anti lockdown folk more fuel to stoke the fire…
Rules for thee, but not for me
What are you referring to, Jester? You provide no links or details, so it is impossible to ascertain the validity of your words. Cricklewood seems to think it has something to do with a Spinoff interview, but I couldn't see anything like that there. This is the most recent for her (as contributing author):
https://thespinoff.co.nz/science/03-09-2021/siouxsie-wiles-toby-morris-how-the-world-sped-to-the-covid-vaccine-summit/
But wouldn't a science communicator talking to a journalist during a pandemic be essential work even under delta-PAL4 anyway?
The video is all over social media and on YouTube.
It shows Wiles sitting on a beach (Judges Bay – 5km away from her home), alongside what is claimed to be a reporter. Neither are wearing masks. Neither are social distancing.
The video then goes on to show Wiles paddling in the water with a swimmer a short distance away.
The video was 'released' by the BFD – Cameron Slater's blog. In case you don't want to go there, they quote Wiles as saying:
“I was with someone from my bubble, who lives in the area… Judges Bay is about 5km from my home which is pretty local when on a bicycle.”
Stalking prominent women. Charming.
That was very much a Slater occupation. Stalking people. He stalked David Shearer and caught him having a coffee with a well known union official. He got photos n' all to prove it was true. 😡
The very first time Cameron Slater addressed this writer, i.e. moi, he told me to “fuck off.” Despite that tense initial contact, this writer kept posting at Whaleoil Beef Hooked, that dog of a site, for a good few years before flaming out with this post…..
https://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2012/12/saturday-general-debate-21/
What did he think was wrong with David Shearer having coffee with a union official? Honestly is that a crime now?
That was the point. There's nothing wrong with being seen with an union official. Just DP – trying to suggest he was a Commie I suppose.
pretty much. Not even going to watch the video. When they take hours to post a link to what they're tying their undies in knots over, it's a good sign it's fuckall anyway.
Would've been a random member of the public sent in the video who happened to be there (probably with their mask on?).
Siousxe fronted up on One ZB to try and explain so good on her for that at least she fronted.
Jude and Cam put the band back together and boom, National's dealing in creepshots. So fucking on-brand.
//
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/what-are-creepshots-and-what-can-we-do-about-them/A5OE7JYZX43BQYDSI3YSQ2EXOE/
The swimmer a short distance away? 😕
The angle's not great, but I guess 'close' is relative. I wasn't passing judgement, quite the contrary. I'm not exactly the model citizen with the walks I'm taking!
As nothing was made in the MSM of the National Party breaking rules dining together in Wellington that Reti admitted to, you may well be right that they won't report on Siouxse Wiles, and if it's not in the Media, maybe you could link to your source. Please tell me its not Coltheman? To blame it on Government funding is bollocks, or is the constant griping from TV3 only because Joyce gave them money. Can't have it both ways bud.
The political problem facing the right wing right now is the massively popular and competent government response to covid has forced the right further and further down the rabbit hole, until people like Jester here can't understand why the media won't run character assassinations and smear campaigns by nasty pricks as "news" and can't understand why they make reasonable people want to vomit.
Imagine if it had been a backbench National MP, do you think the media would have run the story then?
Do you know what social media Jester is referring to Sanctuary, Twitter maybe? I avoid that almost as much as Reddit. Google hasn't helped much except this piece from April (from NZH, but ODT not paywalled).
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/new-zealander-year-calls-out-social-media-bullies
However, if Wiles is breaking the rules, then she should be as liable for condemnation as David Clark was when he was Minister of Health. But if it is footage out of context for purposes of smearing health communicators in the midst of a pandemic then that's fairy despicable.
This was Wiles response:
“I was with someone from my bubble, who lives in the area… Judges Bay is about 5km from my home which is pretty local when on a bicycle.”
[the unmasked link:
https://thebfd.co.nz/2021/09/09/new-zealander-of-the-year-siouxsie-wiles-unmasked/
For the sake of transparency and reader
convenienceawareness]I'm more than happy to give her the benefit of the doubt until and unless someone can prove she is not being truthful.
Cameron Slater! Didn't realize that when I clicked on your link, a heads up would have been nice; Gypsy. Hard to tell how far away the filmer was, but certainly more than a few metres.
Bloomfield didn't seem too worried in today's press conference, and if it's a choice between his opinion and Slater's, then I am on the side of reason. Slater's best point was that TVNZ refused to run the story, but I don't think that amounts to; "this story was suppressed by an editor at 1News". It's almost as if there was a more pressing news story on September the 3rd that gobbled up all the air time.
Slater!? Suppose he believes he's doing us, or at least someone, a favour
Yeah, sorry I should have put a warning with that link!
Some Stuff headline writer will be going to the grab bag, frothing at the mouth as I write. Oh the choices!
"Fiasco, failure, catastrophe, disaster, debacle, screw-up, botch-up, fail, cock-up, fuck-up, balls-up, shambles, mess, muddle, bungle, muck-up, foul-up, screw-up …"
The world is going to end …
mod note for you Jester. Please acknowledge.
Another Collins shambles, fat shaming now, she just gets worse.
really scraping the bottom of the barrel.
OMG. I've just read what Collins said. She's not just hypocrtical: she's utterly crass & completely artless. She's clearly got a blind spot in the mirror. That's just nasty schoolgirl stuff. Absolutely bizarre that she can't see the damage she's just done to herself & her party. I don't think she engages the brain before she opens her mouth, & I don't think she actually hears what she's saying.
Man, that is SO dense it beggars belief !
She's gone. Just a matter of time now, imo.
only sense I can make of it is that National are still running a trumpian politics agenda. They want a more divisive society, because in the medium term that's the only way they can get some traction against Ardern.
She probably thinks she's scored a Trumpian-style king hit. Her EQ & IQ are both highly suspect.
I suspect Collins has offended probably the vast majority of voters in this country with that totally unnecessary personal denigration of Wiles. Ardern’s fan club journos will flay her.
She's as dumb as a sack of hammers. Wonder when the next polls are due out? Hope they aren't busy collating & analysing them already. I’d like to see a couple more working days roll around before someone starts doing the polling.
I don't think she is dumb. I think she's got a certain personality that doesn't really give a shit about people, and she's in a role where her choices are very limited.
There's a sizeable portion of people that either don't know who Wiles is, or actively dislike her. That's who Collins is talking to.
It's a mistake imo to right Collins off as stupid. She's on track with trumpian pol. It's not about king hits, it's about undermining democracy over the long term.
I hear you.
I'm not particularly fond of Siouxsie, but those remarks of Collins' are so far below the belt I'm gobsmacked.
I'd never say I'd never vote National (although I never have to date). But I don't think Collins is attracting any more voters than the current crop.
I think she's an unimpressive, awkward communicator & doesn't strike me as having anything like a coherent policy programme. With such lean pickings for spokespeople & her still at helm the Nats are in no current danger of picking up a candidate or party vote from me.
Ardern’s got time to counter or pirate & tailor policy anywhere they might be getting some traction. And Labour’s in its 2nd term now. Their newby Ministers have now got experience.
I really am wondering how she'll score next poll. She's done some serious media foot-shooting lately.
again, trumpian pol isn't about short term poll gains. It's about creating a social and political milieu where division advantages the right.
National have nothing atm that can touch Ardern, this is a long term strategy. They could of course rebuild their party around values again, but it doesn't look like the people in power want that. Proto-fascism is a drug, and Key was the one that really brought National into this position. Irrespective of what Collins does or doesn't do in terms of voters this year, she is on point for the bigger agenda.
Ah, yes. thanks. I see your point now.
Seymour & she might end up a double act if it works.
Indeed. Act are doing their own version of trumpian politics.
"Irrespective of what Collins does or doesn't do in terms of voters this year, she is on point for the bigger agenda."
My view is she did a deal with her party and caucus last year. She is a 'place holder', and is throwing stones until a younger, most likely female with a softer and more reasoned approach takes over later in 2022. My pick is Nicola Willis.
This makes sense to me (no idea if it's true, but a useful theory to consider)
She knows her people and feeds them what they want.
yep.
Yes I would have put up the Newshub Link if I could, but the story wasn't there when I posted original comment at 8:50am this morning.
Well done NZ ! Vaccination rates and adherence to the levels.
Hang in akl almost there, awesome effort everyone especially the frontline workers.
The govt should throw a big load of cash out to Auckland especially when their lockdown reduces to boost mental well being and help the economy.
"The endgame is to suppress the virus,” – Dr Fauci.
A short (10 min) video about Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, the nine-year old whose 2013 death was attributed to air pollution in London.
For me, it also speaks of the wider and more complex issues of social justice and inequity not being considered, let alone adequately addressed, by planning, transport, health or environmental monitoring institutions.
https://youtu.be/kZ9xO7MeTfs
Still another puzzle piece of a thoroughly confusing history:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/451190/terrorist-tried-to-revoke-nz-residence-but-his-request-was-not-progressed
Although when you listen to the full audio track it looks like a relatively minor blip that isn't really the "gazumper" the Opposition might try to make it out to be if they're aware of it. Will try & see if it comes up at Question Time.
Oh. 😰
Friday. No QT.
ImmigrationNZ appear to be culturally welded to the principle of inertia. Do nothing even when it requires great effort.
Maybe. On the other hand, if you go to sections 163 & 164 of the Immigration Act (just as a start) and then click on EVERY linked provision & all their cross links, & then go looking for the relevant provisions & links to every likely section & subsection covering every other element of this guy's immigration history & relevant provisons around permanent residence & deportation, & appeal rights & Ministerial powers that have been mentioned to date – it doesn't take too long to realise it's an excruciatingly complex legal situation & those who think there's been a simple solution at various key points or milestones imo hasn't really understood ALL the relevant requirements & processes that must be covered off before any ONE of them could have suceeded.
I'm not surprised that nobody wanted to do a knee jerk rush to a quick solution that conceivably might have failed on Judicial Review. As he in the end refused to engage to pursue the revocation he said he wanted, the point is moot.
The Review hopefully will unentangle all the many strands in some intelligible way.
I'm not surprised either. I'm sure much time was saved by not bothering, and now they needn't.
Bugger. This is NOT good news:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-teenager-in-court-charged-with-threatening-to-kill-non-muslims/BJX2XDBTIVNE34DTWTS5BMMKOU/
It is not good news to hear of someone with the seeming inclination. It is good news to hear of the arrest.
It will be interesting to see if recent events have a 'worst case scenario' applied to the individual to look after the community or the paramount perspective is to look after the individual and his rights.
All those from whatever agencies dealing with him, up to the judge, should paint their children or spouses into a scenario where he has his way.
I am hopeful that the Muslim Association & Muslim Women's Council might be approached early to see if they think they can help & what assistance they might need in supporting this individual & deterring him from this possible path – & perhaps support & help his family as well. Lonely or isolated Teenagers are so easy to radicalise.
This surely can't just have come out of nowhere. And the LynnMall attacker has probably raised the temperature of anti-Muslim sentiment. If any of that's been directed at him or he's seen it on social media, or he feels the attacker was simply executed, it could have set him off.
I also can't help wondering if Allah granting the Taliban such a stunning victory, while the West is railing against them, threatening to deny them money, & calling them liars, is a factor. Fundamentalists everywhere have been celebrating, from the reports I've seen.
Well, our totally dumb USA policy-makers asked for this years ago, didn't they?
Just deserts, and we backed them all the way. No point in moaning now.
I remember just after the 911 disaster, a History teacher was standing next work day morning with other staff at the school, and someone said something like, “Isn’t it terrible?”
“Yes,” he said, “and a lot of people are going to die now.” Looks of surprise. He added, “And they will probably be the wrong ones.”
Prescient, unlike the US policymakers, who just pretty well repeated their Vietnam blunder.
They really learned how to kill over there by remote control. And in their last days during the evacuation mission they killed a suspected IS suicide attacker, again by remote control. They announced on tv that they'd got the terrorist(s), & that the explosion was huge, so they were clearly suicide bombers, and that there were no civilian casualties.
I was watching AlJazeera tv newshour, looking at a civilian man on top of a single story house building, running to the edge, looking over at where the black smoke was rising, then running back while others also appeared, bringing a bucket of water which he threw down into the smoke. It made no difference.
They’d rocketed the car in a very narrow street, right outside that house, killing 11 people, 10 in one family, including several children and their father, who'd just arrived home from work. They were running out to meet him.
A Pentagon spokesman doing a live standup on tv as I watched not long afterwards was asked by a reporter had he heard that there were civilian casualties and he replied that they were aware of this claim but it hadn't been verified.
They've now killed thousands of innocent civilians as "collateral damage" in this way, in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia and numerous other countries, taking out Taliban, Islamic State, Al Qaeda, Al Shabab and other "terrorists" in rocket assassinations via Predator drones flown by young operators who're trained and skilled in computer gaming.
It's bizarre how this simply doesn't register in the US consciousness or the Military Commands. Non-American lives just don't matter. It's why they're so hated in many of these places.
What did they 'ask for'? Oh the US have made huge foreign policy mistakes, but Islamic terrorism is centuries old, so let's not fall for the old 'great satan' narrative for everything that is happening.
Since Islamic terrorism is centuries old, one would have expected that by now US 'Intelligence' would have thought of much more effective policies for dealing with it..
Such as? I mean appeasement is such a successful strategy, right?
Repeating most of the blunders they made in Vietnam then leaving in utter humiliation is probably worse than appeasement, which was your silly suggestion, not mine.
Vietnam? Not sure when that was run by islamic extremists, but if you're off on a tangent, how about the soviet occupations of Korea, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan just to name a few. Or the Chinese involvement in Korea, Tibet, Vietnam and of course their present day treatment of the Uyghurs.
The Soviet occupation of Korea?? History is not your strong point, is it?
I never said Islam had anything to do with Vietnam – I said the Americans made much the same blunders there. Read up about it all.
"They did it too" is not an excuse.
I expect murderous arseholery from totalitarian regimes.
I expect better from our "Friends" who purport to be principled democracies. And from our own Governments.
"The Soviet occupation of Korea?? History is not your strong point, is it?"
It is, actually.
"I never said Islam had anything to do with Vietnam…"
This entire conversation has been about the history of Islamic terrorist activity.
"I said the Americans made much the same blunders there. "
Yep, they did. And China and Russia/USSR have made mistakes too. Plenty of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_Korea#Soviet_occupation_of_northern_Korea
Soviets were gone from Korea by 1948: more like liberation from Japanese and setting up of Govt with little suppression – hardly a long-term supressive occupation like Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
You don't get to decide what a thread is about: American behaviour applies to more than just Islam – the anti-Communist campaigns invite valid comparisons.
Typical rightie evasion – oh, everybody else made a mistake too. Not on the scale of roughly 20 years in Vietnam then Afghanistan as well.
"Soviets were gone from Korea by 1948: "
Indeed. Good on you for looking it up.
Murdering millions with forced changes of Government, saunctions, bombs, drones, et al. are "Foriegn policy mistakes"?
That is objectionably mealy mouthed as the term "collateral damage".
Don't forget who supported and armed, the Talibans precursers.
If you mean the mujahedeen, it was the US, Saudi Arabia and China. Of course the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to prop up a communist government there. And it would appear China will now bankroll the Taliban. So they've all got their fingers dirty.
The Mujahideen were tribal warlords funded and armed by the US to oppose the Soviet invaders. The Taliban are religious fundamentalists, formed during the post-soviet civil war to oppose the Mujahideen, funded indirectly by the US via US military aid to Pakistan.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/apr/28/afghanistan-mujahideen-taliban
The Mujahideen were also supported by the Chinese and the saudi's. Now the Chinese are going to back the Taliban. And the wheels turn.
The U.S. regime was arming and supporting and praising extreme Muslim groups in Afghanistan BEFORE the Soviets intervened in late 1979.
The marxist regime in Afghanistan in the '70's led to Afghanistan being called a Soviet 'client regime'. The soviets were up to their eyeballs in Afghanistan, which is why they invaded Afghanistan when the marxist government was on the verge of collapse.
In other words. Mujahideen!
Yet the Afghani author of the linked piece notes that their similarities are skin-deep.
""They did it too" is not an excuse."
I never argued it was. I'm just balancing your anti-us rhetoric.
You "never argued that". But you just did.
No I didn't. I'm not making judgements or excuses. The superpowers have all behaved badly. They see it as part of protecting their geo-political interests. So singling out the US for criticism is intellectual dishonest. As is blaming them for islamic radicals murdering their way to their religio/political interests. It's been happening for centuries.
Who is singling out the USA.
If the idea that criticising the USA is intellectually dishonest. Then the total USA good, China/Russia bad, that occurs constantly is even more so.
By the way you should have said religious radicals. Not Islamic. That is also intellectually dishonest.
"If the idea that criticising the USA…"
You're now being dishonest. I said 'singling out', not criticising.
"By the way you should have said religious radicals. Not Islamic. That is also intellectually dishonest."
No, it's historically accurate in the context of this conversation, of this thread. When a white supremisist goes around killing people in a mosque we call it out. When Christian radicals bomb abortion clinics, we call it out. There should be no fear or favour.
But yet, you object to me "calling out" US state terrorism. FIFY.
"But yet, you object to me "calling out" US state terrorism. FIFY."
No, to you 'singling out' US foreign policy stuff ups.
Sure.
Your choice of words is rather a giveaway.
Decades of bombing, murder of civilians, removal of elected Governments and replacing them with tyrants, saunctions that starve whole countries of food and medicines, not to mention drone strikes on weddings and people going about their everyday lives.
Is "Foriegn policy stuffups"? When the USA does it.
When "Islamists" or China "does it, you have rather a different description.
"When "Islamists" or China "does it, you have rather a different description."
Where have I labelled China 'terrorists'?
Not "for everything" (of course), but for many things.
"Great Satan", "evil empire", "axis of evil" – birds of a feather, or two in the Bush?
All 'fingers' are dirty, but some are dirtier than others.
I'm not quite sure what that has to do with this conversation, but ok.
Dirtier Politics; just my hobby – carry on
Wonder no longer about why repugs (and our very own big biz shills) are working to spanner public health.
Leaders all over the South were scrambling to find a cure for the dreaded pellagra until they discovered what that cure might cost them. That’s when the campaign of denial began. A century-old fight over public health feels fresh as a morning headline as we wrestle with a new threat, with equally simple remedies that upset Southern values. Disease is personal. Pandemic is politics.
Joseph Goldberger was sent to the South in 1914 on a mission from the US Department of Public Health to investigate an outbreak of pellagra. Pellagra is a terrible illness, starting with skin lesions, then advancing to diarrhea, dementia and in about 40% of cases, death. The disease, already well known among poorer populations in Southern Europe, had been documented in the South in 1908. By 1912, more than 30,000 cases had been identified in South Carolina alone.
[…]
Goldberger was initially welcomed. Southern leaders expected him to blame the disease on an infection, or even better, on a contaminant in corn imported from the Yankee Midwest. Instead, his experiments backed up his initial suspicion that pellagra was a nutritional deficiency. Goldberg published his findings in 1915, demonstrating that pellagra was a consequence of a poorly diversified corn diet, and could be remedied by adding a few fresh foods. His conclusion wasn’t novel, matching the recommendations of earlier researchers in Europe, but his report sparked angry denials.
An earlier commission of Southern researchers in 1909 had reached an erroneous conclusion more welcome to Southern planters and mill owners – pellagra was an infectious disease, spread either by flies or adulterated corn. It could, therefore, be remedied by educating the poor toward better sanitary habits and/or regulating imports from the hated North. Goldberg’s discoveries instead tied the disease to Southern economic practices that were producing wealth for a few powerful people. Wealthy Southerners worked to promote their preferred diagnosis.
https://www.politicalorphans.com/hookworm-pellagra-and-covid-diseases-of-dysfunction/