On a previous thread about Maori language I commented that naming Ministries Maori names provided some issues for me (but was keen to point out I realize the world doesn’t revolve around me). In the current climate if seems if people query the use of Maori language they are often branded racist.
indded there was a case last year where a Bluebird employer spoke on their personal FB page about being sick of Maori language being everywhere eg hospitals. Someone dobbed this worker in to their employer and she lost her job. This happened in the context of Te Reo Whittakers chocolate.
so my real life example was last night, late at night, I went to hospital as an elderly relative was there unexpectedly. They were in a special unit waiting for a bed. The unit had a Maori name that I didn’t recognise. I was running around outside in the dark and then inside trying to find it, trying to remember that name when I came across the late staff in the corridors.
I was a little frantic and would have appreciated a simple name (maybe a colour) to help me locate where I needed to be. I will likely not need to know this name again (hopefully).
I don't believe people should lose their jobs for saying casual racist things on their own sm account.
I also think it's ok to name racism when we see it.
The issue you had with the hospital, I've had that in other contexts with names in English. We used to have Southland Regional Council, Canterbury Regional Council etc and then many rebranded and it's hard to know what an organisation is by its name. This is stupid imo, and serves as a barrier to public engagement, much language is now designed for in house.
However with regards to te reo Māori, imagine what its like for people in hospitals for whom English is a second language, or for whom medical language is not easily understood. Using te reo makes those places more accessible for Māori. Whose needs should predominate? To my mind, the need to save te reo is a high priority, and we are all going through a period of change and some of that will be hard. The solution to not getting Māori names isn't to remove the names but to increase literacy across the population.
(it would make sense at this point in time to use both English and Māori in places like a hospital).
Otherwise we are saying that te reo is not to be integrated into NZ fully, and yes I would call that racist. We have a Treaty we need to honour, Māori are one of the partners, and they have the right to be here fully in this culture. I don't accept that Pāhekā culture should dominate.
But we can also ignore this polite nonsense of putting both languages up and just use the one currently in favor, and thus ignoring the vast majority that do not speak the language at all and have no link to it – including many people who self identify as Maori, have no cultural claim to this language, might not be able to learn a foreign language easily, just to name a few issues around learning a foreign language specially as adults.
Using te reo makes those places more accessible for Māori. Whose needs should predominate?
Well it should be about ease of access for everyone. I doubt there is anyone in NZ who only speaks Maori. New arrivals who speak little English will likely find learning Maori and English a tall order.
"I don't accept that Pāhekā culture should dominate".
I don't want to dominate anyone. I was telling an anecdote, largely because someone got sacked from their job for saying they are sick of seeing Maori everywhere, including hospitals. After last night, I can see a point to what they are saying.
In honouring the Treaty then all signs should be in English and Te Reo.
In the middle or rather very late at night in the dark and the cold and then in empty corridors, I thought make it as simple as possible. I have since heard other parts of the hospital are colour coded and it would have been good if their part was as well.
ease of access in hospitals isn't just about the signage. It's also about culture. Hospitals are generally run along Pākehā lines. That has negative impacts on Māori.
You can not want to dominate, but most Pākehā find the system suits them and don't understand why it not might suit Māori. That's a Pākehā dominated system whether you are part of it or not.
After last night, I can see a point to what they are saying.
Yes, but you also appear to be advocating for the segregation of Māori culture rather than the integration, and for Pākehā culture to remain dominant.
If you have problems with word recognition, particularly of Maori words, then perhaps try a work around.
If I had been looking for an unfamiliar place/word I would have written the word down and showed someone to ask them for directions. I always carry a pen and paper in my purse. Or looked for that name whenever I came to a sign board. Or taken a picture on my phone. This means that in looking at it you are refreshing yourself of the word and may remember it for future reference.
Seeing as this is an ongoing problem, instead of just having a random piece of paper you could carry a small hardcovered notebook and enter the word there. Use it to find the directions then when you get home look it up online for meaning and enter the meaning against the word.
By not accepting and doing you are really perpetuating the problem you have and not giving yourself the best chance to get around it/learn.
When travelling many people write things down/carry images on their phones to ask for directions.
Also when language learning travelling the hard covered book was what I used, I used to write local idiom to check meaning later.
Otherwise we are saying that te reo is not to be integrated into NZ fully, and yes I would call that racist. We have a Treaty we need to honour, Māori are one of the partners, and they have the right to be here fully in this culture. I don't accept that Pāhekā culture should dominate.
The hospitals I have been in usually have a name/ward number/colour code and colour lines in the corridors.
Happy language learning. I am sure you will get better and better as you follow a language learning approach.
Thanks for the suggestion is all that was required.
It was well meant and has worked for me and many others in becoming familiar with language. I have learned French and German and the suggestion helped me tremendously to get to be comfortable in the surroundings. As it worked for me I suggested that it might work for you. I have also had flatmates from the UK & USA who have used this to note down NZ idiom that they did not understand.
If you wish to persist in a stubborn sort of denial that we have a three language system then I guess that is up to you.
I for one am tired of the complaints when you have one great advantage that many of us don't and that is a partner/spouse who is Maori and who would lovingly work with you if you wanted to lessen this fear you have. As my Maori husband did when we were married.
Is there nothing you feel you can do, other than having the state pay for language lessons that would make it more comfortable for you.
PS I have always found that in times of stress writing directions etc is a godsend
PPS I was not suggesting carrying a dictionary but a wee notebook. Surely you would have written the name of the place down?
Which you can choose not to do, but you then can't turn around and complain about not being able to understand common Māori words in mainstream usage.
If the state wanted me to, they should have provided it at school (as I have previously advocated for)
Pretty hard for the government to enact policy retrospectively. I would love to have learned te reo at school. I was a child of the 70s, a time when Māori were having to occupy ancestral land or go on land marches to get the state to take them seriously. Māori worked long and hard to save te reo and bring it back and it's still a battle.
Had the state not practiced institutional racism for 150 years, we'd all be bilingual. I'm not sure how you think teaching te reo at school will work if people then don't use the language in everyday life eg hospitals, government departments, TV.
The following are purely rhetorical questions that don’t need to be answered but could be pondered, if you wish.
Did you learn at school how to use a computer or mobile phone and to navigate the internet? If no, when, where and why did you learn these skills?
Did you choose any non-compulsory subjects at school? If yes, why?
Did you learn any other different new skills and stuff after you finished school? If yes, why?
Is school the (only?) place where you should be taught useful skills?
Do you do always and everything the state ‘wants’ from you and nothing and never it does not ‘want’ from you? Or only when it suits you?
Hospitals are confusing places. Medical emergencies are scary and stressful events. A trivial issue with the name of the unit, which could have been in any language, exacerbated and coloured your overall negative experience.
NZ should follow Canada's example and have English and Maori names for departments side by side as they do with English and French.
If a govt department makes a press release or statement in English they immediately make one one in french.
We should do that with English and Maori.
It solves every issue.
Its insane that there's no "/" after a govt department with a Maori name, it causes loads of problems and resentment and really seems to piss off the million odd first generation immigrants who speak English as a second language.
Hopefully National changes govt departments to English name/Maori name or Maori name/English name when they get elected in October or in 2026.
there was a case last year where a Bluebird employer spoke on their personal FB page about being sick of Maori language being everywhere eg hospitals. Someone dobbed this worker in to their employer and she lost her job. This happened in the context of Te Reo Whittakers chocolate.
Without seeing the FB post, it sounds like an employee of a food company criticised another food company in public. I am guessing they did not have authority to do so as part of their job. Their employment contract may have had a standard clause about not bringing the company into disrepute.
The unit had a Maori name that I didn’t recognise.
Hospitals regularly use names like Oncology or Othopaedics (rather than cancer and bones). Not in English either. Nobody has consulted me about that, yet I am not upset or afraid.
He was brought in to lead the war in Ukraine and target civilians with the levels of brutality he used in Syria. He failed, Ukraine remains standing and grows stronger by the day.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same "
Sad about the British volunteer though .Clearly a good guy with the best motivations. May be Bagshaw, may be Parry, both passports found on body Originally I found this on your site, can't locate it , but its here on Arab news
The Turkish government has elections coming up this year. And most parties are running with a policy of sending Syrian refugees home.
Erdogan is seeking a Turkish military occupation 30 miles into Syria all along the border, including Kurdish areas. And intends to send refuges there (ethnic cleansing of Kurds/replacement with Arabs from part of their homeland in the NE of Syria). He will allow Sweden and Finland into NATO if he is allowed to do this.
PS A subplot, why Turkey is backing the Tripoli faction in Libya.
"The fossil energy we lever, magnifies our labour hundreds of times (try pushing your car home, or doing the work of a 12-ton digger with your shovel). So we irrupted; exponentially increased our population and exponentially increased our collection of energy-requiring infrastructure. The problem was as predictable as the results of overstocking a paddock are; we have overshot. There is not enough stored solar energy, to maintain the current level of activity. Nor, ultimately, to maintain the current human population.
Looking ahead, an equilibrium will be reached, with or without without our help. We would be better landing that plane as gently as possible, rather than waiting for it to crash."
"There are not enough real-time solar acres to support as many humans as there are now, doing as much as they are currently doing. Mentioning ‘money’, or the word ‘financial’ (an apparent default-setting for Ryan?) is pointless in the face of that dilemma – which is entirely a question of energy-physics. Even biology is a subsequent topic; life depends on energy; energy doesn not depend on life. And money is so distantly-subsequent as to be a complete red herring."
As the latest announcements about resource shortages continue in our media it may be time to reflect on the real causes and ultimate outcomes.
When we have been operating at maximum capacity to maintain current consumption it dosnt take much to create specific shortages…as MG notes it is a feature of overshoot.
I want to also record the loss to music of Seamus Begley from West Kerry, singer and accordion player of Irish music who died on Tuesday aged 73. He visited NZ on tour and was top rate, with "the voice of an angel" according to Mary Black. He was good enough to get a eulogy from the Irish President.
He carried forward the music, language and culture of Ireland, with strong ties to family and the land. Those attributes are also what we prize in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
“ NZ anti-government groups on the far Right use Trump/Bannon rhetoric to denounce not only the current government but also the NZ “Deep State.” This was amply seen during the parliament protests, occupation and riot early last year. Platforms like Counterspin and VFF reportedly have funding support from Bannon’s media conglomerate, with people listed as his correspondents misusing press credentials to get close to the Prime Minister in order to harangue her. (The security implications of this are serious and need to be addressed as a priority by those responsible for her protection).”
Interesting shift. Tracks with how people feel about trans-identified males in women's toilets too. Once people realise what it means there is significantly less support.
What's important to understand about the UK in that time is that there's been a huge increase in public coverage of the issues especially in the past few years.
wtf. You’d think the Windsors would have better PR advisors now, on things like how not to talk about your mother’s lips and your penis in the same paragraph.
Guy's mental health issues appear to be even worse than we'd previously thought.
How the desperation for $$$ can lead to self-destructive behaviour (as we see in plenty of other celebrities).
It’s easy to swallow what conservative media tells you.
Harry seems perfectly capable and coherent, decisive and driven. These are not ready indicators for someone with mental health issues.
Some people are poor readers (in this case listeners) and don't immediately comprehend intent. It's clear to me anyway Harry is doing what writers do, using literary devices to create interest. Irony and juxtaposition, yes, Freudian, certainly, but a nightmare? Not unless you are a prig stuck in the 19th century.
Framing him as not sound is a deliberate strategy by conservative media to feed to nationalist Brits.
It was inevitable his detractors would use the mental health label. Its an old trick coming from the 'powers that be' and their media lackeys in particular who want someone discredited because the truth does not show them in a good light.
An example is the claim he accused his stepmother (Camilla) of being a villain. My take from the excerpt I saw is that… during the period between his parents' breakup and his father's remarriage, Camilla was regarded as the villain in the piece. That was indeed the case.
He did get a few things wrong but who hasn't in the course of a lifetime. The airline ticket for Meghan's father's booking from Mexico to the UK (which he never took up) was not Air NZ. They have never flown that route.
Good on him for telling his side of the story. He was more than entitled to, given the trash that has been written about them ever since they married. Racism and jealousy in all its glory!
Given that even the Harry apologists are starting to question his 'recollection' of events, it seems more like the outpourings of a Kardashianesque diva determined to remain in the spotlight, while decrying the media who keep him there.
His touching recollection of being at Eton when he was informed of the Queen Mum's death, turns out to be a tissue of lies – he was actually on a skiing holiday with his Dad and big brother in Switzerland.
And this is not an isolated instance.
When many fact-checkable elements (some not exactly in the distant past – cf the AirNZ flight), turn out to be blatant inventions, it does make people question the other elements of his story.
It's amusing to watch the rabid right become so triggered over a few minor details. The mysterious Air New Zealand flight from Mexico seems to be one royalist Kiwis hang onto the most as if evidence Harry's entire experience did not exist at all.
Amazing how the loony left (as opposed to the rabid right) are so blind to the multiple documented inconsistencies in the ever-rolling docudrama which is the Sussex story.
Even the US (with their surprisingly inconsistent love of royalty) are starting to become disenchanted with them.
The negative press-coverage in the UK seems to go across the political spectrum from ultra-conservative right to far left.
Here's an article heartless, RWNJ doubters might like to read. It deals with grief:
The idea of “time healing all wounds” is a myth. Pain is ongoing. And by silencing someone’s pain, this can worsen it. The public, health professionals, the media and family can all silence someone’s grief by minimising discussions about the impact of losing a loved one.
Since Harry had help to write the book, it sounds like someone got their wires crossed over the airline in question. It wouldn't surprise me if it was Air India not Air NZ but, for the sake of forthcoming pedantry, I might be wrong.
I have no quarrel with Queen Consort Camilla. She was once very badly treated too. I also have no doubt that Princess Diana over indulged Harry when he was a child. She would have known he was always going to be in William's shadow and be treated as such, and she tried hard [too hard perhaps] to make up for it.
Whether he will succeed has yet to be seen, but he deserves full marks for choosing his own destiny and standing up to the class-ridden politics that is conservative/Conservative Britain.
Well said Patricia. I can see both the positives and the negatives of the British Royal family. I don't hate them. For the most part they are doing their best. Their lives are not their own to live. "The Firm" is full of sociopaths and upper class twats telling them what they can and can't do.
Harry and Meghan rebelled and 'jolly' good luck to them. Here's hoping they succeed.
Megan Woods accepted 'advice' from officials and Marsden Point closed. Among other things, Marsden Point was responsible for plenty/most/lots of CO2 production.
Nowhere does it mention governmental responsibility.
To me it looks like a similar scenario in a two year time frame to the chicken industry which had ten years to sort out its prospective problems.
Marsden indicated its desire to close early in 2021.
Could a C02 producing plant big enough for NZ's needs be built and operational in that time frame?
Could CO2 have been imported in sufficient quantities since March 2022?
Is National spokesperson, Stuart Smith, denying industry's role in this shortage?
"The nationwide shortage of carbon dioxide will make goods more expensive and hurt New Zealand’s exporters, National’s Energy and Resources spokesperson Stuart Smith says.
I have come into this exchange from the point of view Marsden Point should not have been closed. Minister Woods needed nore courage and better arguments to push the idea of nationalising it. The CO2 shortage is a direct consequence of that. Todd could close it's plant and there would not be the issues now. That is without considering the loss of resilience and independence fuel wise.
I couldn't care less about some opposition MP's brainfarts, my criticism is of those that do have the power and their actions or inactions.
The closure had been signalled well in advance and happened in early 2022. Indeed, the industrial players were well aware of the situation. For example, from your link of 6 Oct, 2022 [that is 3 months ago and about 6 months after the closure]:
Eriksen said the brewery was looking at alternatives to CO2 – including nitrogen – but this came at a cost.
"We are trying to figure out ways to become more independent."
He said major disruptions to production were lurking in the future and breweries were going to feel the pressure coming into the warmer season.
Director of government relations and public affairs at the NZ Beverage Council, Belinda Milnes, said ongoing supply issues had been exacerbated by the closure of the Marsden Point refinery.
"The beverage sector is one of many industries [that] have been impacted, and companies have had to manage supply carefully."
She said importing CO2 was an alternative, but it was an expensive option due to the high freight costs.
It is a bit rich, and lazy, to blame others and government for poor business decisions. RWNJs are so contrary. OTOH, they want the State and Government to do as little as possible and stay out of and away from markets, but OTOH they assert that Government is primarily responsible for anything and everything that goes wrong and demand it fixes it, immediately – things inevitably go wrong.
The blame game is such a mug’s game, don’t you agree?
"The blame game is such a mug’s game, don’t you agree?" Yes, especially when they blame the wrong people.
Stuart Smith blamed government recently for a pothole on a pedestrian crossing in Blenheim. He jumped on silly Simeon Brown's band wagon and blamed government. Of course, roads in town are the Council's responsibility, so blame was apportioned wrongly.
Then he gets into the "government ought to" blame game over the teaching of research and analysis skills so long as they don't teach about climate change being a physical, scientific, evidence-based reality.
Had Mr Smith looked at school curriculum as to what it does teach now? Ot maybe he just wanted it taught compulsorily to age 18, as the Tory PM advocated.
Research and and analysis skills are taught in many subjects, not just maths. I changed in Year 12 to History. 'What were the causes of WW1?"
What effect did climate change have upon past history? A good topic in history, social studies, science, agriculture and economics……..
I 50% agree with you in that often the wrong people cop flak. However, rather than blaming anyone, why not start holding them to account by asking pertinent questions and scrutinising actions? In my experience, when this is done in an open, respectful, non-judgemental, and constructive manner one receives better responses/answers that lead to better understanding and decision-making in future by the powers that be who are responsible. It is all part of engagement with (the) stakeholders and providing (positive) feedback.
"blamed government recently for a pothole on a pedestrian crossing in Blenheim"
Do you have a link to a report of this complaint? The only thing I have seen was a complaint about the Picton Road which would be SH1. The maintenance of State Highways, even in the middle of towns, has always been a Central Government responsibility and not a Council one.
How the Minister is supposed to know about it is difficult to see but he is, in theory, responsible for everything his Department does.
More than dreaming, Alwyn; deliberately misleading or at best uninformed.
If this were a castle, he'd be saying that the causeway, drawbridge and courtyard surface were the king's responsibility not the lord's; that the water in the moat, (a mixture of the three waters after all), was not an issue for the king but could the king please give us some money to treat it as we see fit; and limiting wagons, carriages and horses to 80 km/h on windy hills is unfair on cartage owners and undertakers.
"It is a bit rich, and lazy, to blame others and government for poor business decisions. RWNJs are so contrary. OTOH, they want the State and Government to do as little as possible and stay out of and away from markets, but OTOH they assert that Government is primarily responsible for anything and everything that goes wrong and demand it fixes it, immediately – things inevitably go wrong."
Not a lot to argue with there.
My issue, as I mentioned to Mac above, is what those with the power did or didn't do.
One person's "blame game" is another's attempt at holding the PTB to account. (No matter how ham-fisted it was.)
"To ensure you can register your baby’s name, avoid using official titles, numeric characters or symbols – like a backslash or punctuation mark – and swear words."
I am curious as to what happens if you do not register your baby's name and why?
The law apparently requires that you register the birth. The form for doing so states "Your child must be registered with a surname or family name, and one or more given names."
What they would do if you never fill in the form is not obvious, at least to me. Please don't do it though. I know of a case where the New Zealand parents of a child born in Spain never notified the birth to the New Zealand Government. When they did return to New Zealand the original action at the border was to tell them that, having no evidence that the child was a NZ citizen the youngster, still under a year old, was not going to be allowed into the country.
It apparently took a great deal of argument by the family to get them to change their mind.
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99) 2 The Life of Dai by Dai Henwood and Jaquie Brown (HarperCollins, $39.99) 3 A Life Less Punishing by Matt Heath (Allen & Unwin, $37.99) 4 Waitohu by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $35) ...
indded there was a case last year where a Bluebird employer spoke on their personal FB page about being sick of Maori language being everywhere eg hospitals. Someone dobbed this worker in to their employer and she lost her job. This happened in the context of Te Reo Whittakers chocolate.
so my real life example was last night, late at night, I went to hospital as an elderly relative was there unexpectedly. They were in a special unit waiting for a bed. The unit had a Maori name that I didn’t recognise. I was running around outside in the dark and then inside trying to find it, trying to remember that name when I came across the late staff in the corridors.
I was a little frantic and would have appreciated a simple name (maybe a colour) to help me locate where I needed to be. I will likely not need to know this name again (hopefully).
I don't believe people should lose their jobs for saying casual racist things on their own sm account.
I also think it's ok to name racism when we see it.
The issue you had with the hospital, I've had that in other contexts with names in English. We used to have Southland Regional Council, Canterbury Regional Council etc and then many rebranded and it's hard to know what an organisation is by its name. This is stupid imo, and serves as a barrier to public engagement, much language is now designed for in house.
However with regards to te reo Māori, imagine what its like for people in hospitals for whom English is a second language, or for whom medical language is not easily understood. Using te reo makes those places more accessible for Māori. Whose needs should predominate? To my mind, the need to save te reo is a high priority, and we are all going through a period of change and some of that will be hard. The solution to not getting Māori names isn't to remove the names but to increase literacy across the population.
(it would make sense at this point in time to use both English and Māori in places like a hospital).
Otherwise we are saying that te reo is not to be integrated into NZ fully, and yes I would call that racist. We have a Treaty we need to honour, Māori are one of the partners, and they have the right to be here fully in this culture. I don't accept that Pāhekā culture should dominate.
You don't have to favor anyone.
Both languages should be used to describe what ever in Te Reo and English.
Just like this
Te Aka Whai Ora / Māori Health Authority
https://www.futureofhealth.govt.nz/maori-health-authority/
or like this
https://www.health.govt.nz/
Manatū Hauora Ministry of Health
and well some what failing here as no english in the link
https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/
Te Whatu Ora Health NZ
But we can also ignore this polite nonsense of putting both languages up and just use the one currently in favor, and thus ignoring the vast majority that do not speak the language at all and have no link to it – including many people who self identify as Maori, have no cultural claim to this language, might not be able to learn a foreign language easily, just to name a few issues around learning a foreign language specially as adults.
Using te reo makes those places more accessible for Māori. Whose needs should predominate?
Well it should be about ease of access for everyone. I doubt there is anyone in NZ who only speaks Maori. New arrivals who speak little English will likely find learning Maori and English a tall order.
"I don't accept that Pāhekā culture should dominate".
I don't want to dominate anyone. I was telling an anecdote, largely because someone got sacked from their job for saying they are sick of seeing Maori everywhere, including hospitals. After last night, I can see a point to what they are saying.
In honouring the Treaty then all signs should be in English and Te Reo.
In the middle or rather very late at night in the dark and the cold and then in empty corridors, I thought make it as simple as possible. I have since heard other parts of the hospital are colour coded and it would have been good if their part was as well.
ease of access in hospitals isn't just about the signage. It's also about culture. Hospitals are generally run along Pākehā lines. That has negative impacts on Māori.
You can not want to dominate, but most Pākehā find the system suits them and don't understand why it not might suit Māori. That's a Pākehā dominated system whether you are part of it or not.
Yes, but you also appear to be advocating for the segregation of Māori culture rather than the integration, and for Pākehā culture to remain dominant.
Here's what National MP Stuart Smith said in 2021. He wanted Aotearoa banned from official public sector usage. Even some colleagues disagreed.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/national-mp-floats-ban-on-public-sector-using-aotearoa
And who knows what the extremists in Act or Winston First might insist on during coalition negotiations.
If you have problems with word recognition, particularly of Maori words, then perhaps try a work around.
If I had been looking for an unfamiliar place/word I would have written the word down and showed someone to ask them for directions. I always carry a pen and paper in my purse. Or looked for that name whenever I came to a sign board. Or taken a picture on my phone. This means that in looking at it you are refreshing yourself of the word and may remember it for future reference.
Seeing as this is an ongoing problem, instead of just having a random piece of paper you could carry a small hardcovered notebook and enter the word there. Use it to find the directions then when you get home look it up online for meaning and enter the meaning against the word.
By not accepting and doing you are really perpetuating the problem you have and not giving yourself the best chance to get around it/learn.
When travelling many people write things down/carry images on their phones to ask for directions.
Also when language learning travelling the hard covered book was what I used, I used to write local idiom to check meaning later.
The hospitals I have been in usually have a name/ward number/colour code and colour lines in the corridors.
Happy language learning. I am sure you will get better and better as you follow a language learning approach.
Shanreagh your suggestion is ridiculous.
I was called out late at night for a family emergency.
I had no idea I would have difficulty finding the unit and the last thing on my mind was, oh I must take my Maori to English notebook dictionary.
I am not intending to learn Maori. If the state wanted me to, they should have provided it at school (as I have previously advocated for)
Thanks for the suggestion is all that was required.
It was well meant and has worked for me and many others in becoming familiar with language. I have learned French and German and the suggestion helped me tremendously to get to be comfortable in the surroundings. As it worked for me I suggested that it might work for you. I have also had flatmates from the UK & USA who have used this to note down NZ idiom that they did not understand.
If you wish to persist in a stubborn sort of denial that we have a three language system then I guess that is up to you.
I for one am tired of the complaints when you have one great advantage that many of us don't and that is a partner/spouse who is Maori and who would lovingly work with you if you wanted to lessen this fear you have. As my Maori husband did when we were married.
Is there nothing you feel you can do, other than having the state pay for language lessons that would make it more comfortable for you.
PS I have always found that in times of stress writing directions etc is a godsend
PPS I was not suggesting carrying a dictionary but a wee notebook. Surely you would have written the name of the place down?
Have you suggested to the health facility that they might need to look at the directions?
Hopefully yes.
Or are you going to continue with the great NZ character trait of becoming a 'moaning Minnie'.
Life's too short
A few easy words re Govt depts
Manatu means Ministry
Hauora means health
Waka canoe/transport is used in Waka Kotahi
Land Information NZ – a bit harder but Toitu te Whenua is an extract from the whakatauki (saying) 'the land alone endures'
The full saying is 'Whatungarongaro te tangata toitū te whenua' people may come and go but the land alone endures.
Taake is the word for tax. So Te Tari Taake is the department for taxes IRD
Te Tari Kaumatua also is the Te Tari (Department) with a common word Kaumatua (elders) and is used in . – The Office for Seniors.
By building up word recognition from common words such as Kaumatua, Waka we can give ourselves a chance at working out the names of the Govt Depts.
Which you can choose not to do, but you then can't turn around and complain about not being able to understand common Māori words in mainstream usage.
Pretty hard for the government to enact policy retrospectively. I would love to have learned te reo at school. I was a child of the 70s, a time when Māori were having to occupy ancestral land or go on land marches to get the state to take them seriously. Māori worked long and hard to save te reo and bring it back and it's still a battle.
Had the state not practiced institutional racism for 150 years, we'd all be bilingual. I'm not sure how you think teaching te reo at school will work if people then don't use the language in everyday life eg hospitals, government departments, TV.
The following are purely rhetorical questions that don’t need to be answered but could be pondered, if you wish.
Did you learn at school how to use a computer or mobile phone and to navigate the internet? If no, when, where and why did you learn these skills?
Did you choose any non-compulsory subjects at school? If yes, why?
Did you learn any other different new skills and stuff after you finished school? If yes, why?
Is school the (only?) place where you should be taught useful skills?
Do you do always and everything the state ‘wants’ from you and nothing and never it does not ‘want’ from you? Or only when it suits you?
Hospitals are confusing places. Medical emergencies are scary and stressful events. A trivial issue with the name of the unit, which could have been in any language, exacerbated and coloured your overall negative experience.
We have a Labour government – of course Anker's experience was negative!
She’ll be Right!
NZ should follow Canada's example and have English and Maori names for departments side by side as they do with English and French.
If a govt department makes a press release or statement in English they immediately make one one in french.
We should do that with English and Maori.
It solves every issue.
Its insane that there's no "/" after a govt department with a Maori name, it causes loads of problems and resentment and really seems to piss off the million odd first generation immigrants who speak English as a second language.
Hopefully National changes govt departments to English name/Maori name or Maori name/English name when they get elected in October or in 2026.
which government departments have a Māori name and no English name?
I have noticed govt departments starting to use the 'pipe' character | between bilingual names.
The French Canadian example is an interesting one, though they are not indigenous so the equivalent is really their First Nations people.
Not white insecurity, unfortunately.
Without seeing the FB post, it sounds like an employee of a food company criticised another food company in public. I am guessing they did not have authority to do so as part of their job. Their employment contract may have had a standard clause about not bringing the company into disrepute.
Hospitals regularly use names like Oncology or Othopaedics (rather than cancer and bones). Not in English either. Nobody has consulted me about that, yet I am not upset or afraid.
Surovikin's reputation preceded him.
He was brought in to lead the war in Ukraine and target civilians with the levels of brutality he used in Syria. He failed, Ukraine remains standing and grows stronger by the day.
(1/2 of 13)
https://twitter.com/MarkGaleotti/status/1613225533172551701
https://www-svoboda-org.translate.goog/a/komanduyuschim-gruppirovkoy-voysk-rf-v-ukraine-naznachen-gerasimov/32219081.html?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Wow
Radio Liberty huh, that old spin doctor from the Cold war , still funded by the US govt, and relied on for the necessary spin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Europe/Radio_Liberty
"The more things change, the more they stay the same "
Sad about the British volunteer though .Clearly a good guy with the best motivations. May be Bagshaw, may be Parry, both passports found on body Originally I found this on your site, can't locate it , but its here on Arab news
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2230881/world
The Turkish government has elections coming up this year. And most parties are running with a policy of sending Syrian refugees home.
Erdogan is seeking a Turkish military occupation 30 miles into Syria all along the border, including Kurdish areas. And intends to send refuges there (ethnic cleansing of Kurds/replacement with Arabs from part of their homeland in the NE of Syria). He will allow Sweden and Finland into NATO if he is allowed to do this.
PS A subplot, why Turkey is backing the Tripoli faction in Libya.
The defence ministers of Turkey, Russia and Syria recently met in Moscow with a view to settling the Syrian war, which would allow refugees to return
Erdogan has also said he's willing to talk with Assad and the foreign ministers will meet soon
https://www.reuters.com/world/top-turkey-syria-russia-diplomats-meet-soon-turkish-official-2023-01-11/
"The fossil energy we lever, magnifies our labour hundreds of times (try pushing your car home, or doing the work of a 12-ton digger with your shovel). So we irrupted; exponentially increased our population and exponentially increased our collection of energy-requiring infrastructure. The problem was as predictable as the results of overstocking a paddock are; we have overshot. There is not enough stored solar energy, to maintain the current level of activity. Nor, ultimately, to maintain the current human population.
Looking ahead, an equilibrium will be reached, with or without without our help. We would be better landing that plane as gently as possible, rather than waiting for it to crash."
https://www.interest.co.nz/rural-news/118216/murray-grimwood-has-different-take-damien-oconnor-radio-interview-he-points-out
"There are not enough real-time solar acres to support as many humans as there are now, doing as much as they are currently doing. Mentioning ‘money’, or the word ‘financial’ (an apparent default-setting for Ryan?) is pointless in the face of that dilemma – which is entirely a question of energy-physics. Even biology is a subsequent topic; life depends on energy; energy doesn not depend on life. And money is so distantly-subsequent as to be a complete red herring."
As the latest announcements about resource shortages continue in our media it may be time to reflect on the real causes and ultimate outcomes.
Haven't seen Murray Grimwood around for a while, excellent. He usually nails it.
What were the latest announcements about resource shortages?
The latest shortage announcements?…take your pick.
Labour, potable water, various food stuffs, oil, natural gas, fert etc…in NZ of late, aviation fuel, housing, labour, eggs, toilet paper, food grade CO2, numerous consumer products.
When we have been operating at maximum capacity to maintain current consumption it dosnt take much to create specific shortages…as MG notes it is a feature of overshoot.
thanks. Didn't know there were shortages of avgas for instance.
Hoping people start to connect the dots soon.
Another part of our youth passes. Jeff Beck RIP. I like Nessun dorma on here @5:15:
Yes, great playing and a loss to music.
I want to also record the loss to music of Seamus Begley from West Kerry, singer and accordion player of Irish music who died on Tuesday aged 73. He visited NZ on tour and was top rate, with "the voice of an angel" according to Mary Black. He was good enough to get a eulogy from the Irish President.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-41044790.html
He carried forward the music, language and culture of Ireland, with strong ties to family and the land. Those attributes are also what we prize in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
God bless big pharma eh! Hehhehheh
”U.S.D.A. Approves First Vaccine for Honeybees
Dalan Animal Health’s vaccine for American foulbrood, an aggressive bacterial disease, is the first for any insect in the United States.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/07/science/honeybee-vaccine.html
Pablo at Kiwipolitico is always worth a read.
https://www.kiwipolitico.com/2023/01/trumps-toxic-tail/
“ NZ anti-government groups on the far Right use Trump/Bannon rhetoric to denounce not only the current government but also the NZ “Deep State.” This was amply seen during the parliament protests, occupation and riot early last year. Platforms like Counterspin and VFF reportedly have funding support from Bannon’s media conglomerate, with people listed as his correspondents misusing press credentials to get close to the Prime Minister in order to harangue her. (The security implications of this are serious and need to be addressed as a priority by those responsible for her protection).”
Yes absolutely.
Heck of a job, Pooty.
https://twitter.com/JosephPolitano/status/1613298303797547010
And now of course, India and China are hoovering up Russian oil, and China is upping its imports of Russian gas .
Russia can provide both oil and gas cheaply because they don’t need to frack .US oil is 50% fracked, but it comes with a cost., same as the gas.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/putin-says-russia-increase-gas-sales-to-east-2022-12-15/
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/China-And-India-Are-Buying-Up-Russias-Arctic-Oil.html
the US is going gangbusters with the fracking
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/11/us-fracking-climate-fossil-fuel-gases
Interesting shift. Tracks with how people feel about trans-identified males in women's toilets too. Once people realise what it means there is significantly less support.
What's important to understand about the UK in that time is that there's been a huge increase in public coverage of the issues especially in the past few years.
https://twitter.com/NatCen/status/1612389027256143879
wtf. You’d think the Windsors would have better PR advisors now, on things like how not to talk about your mother’s lips and your penis in the same paragraph.
https://twitter.com/domwakeford/status/1613099763020488704
Guy's mental health issues appear to be even worse than we'd previously thought.
How the desperation for $$$ can lead to self-destructive behaviour (as we see in plenty of other celebrities).
It’s easy to swallow what conservative media tells you.
Harry seems perfectly capable and coherent, decisive and driven. These are not ready indicators for someone with mental health issues.
Some people are poor readers (in this case listeners) and don't immediately comprehend intent. It's clear to me anyway Harry is doing what writers do, using literary devices to create interest. Irony and juxtaposition, yes, Freudian, certainly, but a nightmare? Not unless you are a prig stuck in the 19th century.
Framing him as not sound is a deliberate strategy by conservative media to feed to nationalist Brits.
Spot on Muttonbird.
It was inevitable his detractors would use the mental health label. Its an old trick coming from the 'powers that be' and their media lackeys in particular who want someone discredited because the truth does not show them in a good light.
An example is the claim he accused his stepmother (Camilla) of being a villain. My take from the excerpt I saw is that… during the period between his parents' breakup and his father's remarriage, Camilla was regarded as the villain in the piece. That was indeed the case.
He did get a few things wrong but who hasn't in the course of a lifetime. The airline ticket for Meghan's father's booking from Mexico to the UK (which he never took up) was not Air NZ. They have never flown that route.
Good on him for telling his side of the story. He was more than entitled to, given the trash that has been written about them ever since they married. Racism and jealousy in all its glory!
None of these cranks have put themselves in Harry's shoes for one moment.
Given that even the Harry apologists are starting to question his 'recollection' of events, it seems more like the outpourings of a Kardashianesque diva determined to remain in the spotlight, while decrying the media who keep him there.
His touching recollection of being at Eton when he was informed of the Queen Mum's death, turns out to be a tissue of lies – he was actually on a skiing holiday with his Dad and big brother in Switzerland.
And this is not an isolated instance.
When many fact-checkable elements (some not exactly in the distant past – cf the AirNZ flight), turn out to be blatant inventions, it does make people question the other elements of his story.
It's amusing to watch the rabid right become so triggered over a few minor details. The mysterious Air New Zealand flight from Mexico seems to be one royalist Kiwis hang onto the most as if evidence Harry's entire experience did not exist at all.
No wonder the book’s called “Spare”.
Amazing how the loony left (as opposed to the rabid right) are so blind to the multiple documented inconsistencies in the ever-rolling docudrama which is the Sussex story.
Even the US (with their surprisingly inconsistent love of royalty) are starting to become disenchanted with them.
The negative press-coverage in the UK seems to go across the political spectrum from ultra-conservative right to far left.
Here's an article heartless, RWNJ doubters might like to read. It deals with grief:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/300783465/what-prince-harrys-memoir-spare-tells-us-about-complicated-grief-and-the-longterm-impact-of-losing-a-mother-so-young
Since Harry had help to write the book, it sounds like someone got their wires crossed over the airline in question. It wouldn't surprise me if it was Air India not Air NZ but, for the sake of forthcoming pedantry, I might be wrong.
I have no quarrel with Queen Consort Camilla. She was once very badly treated too. I also have no doubt that Princess Diana over indulged Harry when he was a child. She would have known he was always going to be in William's shadow and be treated as such, and she tried hard [too hard perhaps] to make up for it.
Whether he will succeed has yet to be seen, but he deserves full marks for choosing his own destiny and standing up to the class-ridden politics that is conservative/Conservative Britain.
Personally I find Harry credible, and the 'photos of the locked jaw of William finally explained. (He is often teeth clenched in recent ‘photos)
Strange how even now some would deny Harry his voice.
Oh and the errors, well most autobiographies have them.
Ask 6 witnesses to report on an incident and there will be 6 variations.
He will remember some details differently, and so will his family, that does not make him a liar.
The Royals’ "stiff upper lip" can be harmful, when it denies natural grief.
He has found a life purpose in his Invictus Games for wounded veterans, his fundraising for causes and a life with Megan and children.
I wish him well, and yes he is better than just a spare wheel for the Royal Buggy.
Memory can be faulty, but the feelings remain, and can be triggered by events or actions. PTSD
Declaration. I am not a Royalist.
Well said Patricia. I can see both the positives and the negatives of the British Royal family. I don't hate them. For the most part they are doing their best. Their lives are not their own to live. "The Firm" is full of sociopaths and upper class twats telling them what they can and can't do.
Harry and Meghan rebelled and 'jolly' good luck to them. Here's hoping they succeed.
The very best that can be said about the entire royal family is that . . . they are irrelevant!
Though perhaps you could add that they're entertaining! In a 'I wouldn't be caught doing that' sort of way.
Leadership
https://twitter.com/SharnelleVella/status/1613316700421881856
Old thread, still pertinent.
https://twitter.com/youarelobbylud/status/1431515228957814786
Succinct
https://twitter.com/kevorkian82/status/1613257921999294464
Also concise
https://twitter.com/RawiriTaonui/status/1613115735169208321
The National Party cannot organise a piss-up in a brewery and blames government for CO2 shortage.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/130960498/national-says-ministers-should-have-done-more-as-alarm-grows-over-co2-shortage
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/482148/drink-makers-concerns-bubbling-to-surface-after-todd-energy-kapuni-outage
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2023/01/nationwide-co2-shortage-could-force-breweries-to-close.html
The government should have planned for this?
A quick read over the first article suggests there are two options:
1. Mothball the plant in case it needs to be used again. Presumably at horrendous cost for zero output. Great thinking, idiots.
2. Government to build a state owned CO2 plant to ensure we have a plentiful supply of strawberries and craft beer. Now we are talking!
This is yet again a failure of private sector. Market did not provide.
The governments fingerprints are on this issue.
Megan Woods accepted 'advice' from officials and Marsden Point closed. Among other things, Marsden Point was responsible for plenty/most/lots of CO2 production.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/295556/$40m-co2-plant-opens-at-marsden-point
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/local-co2-shortage-crippling-new-zealands-beverage-industry-brewer/23WVUCCKP75ZFOY4ATTF77K64M/
The industry in March 2022 knew there could be problems and even then talked about slowing production happening them.
The alternative to building a CO2 plant was to import but industry said that was more expensive.
The media published this article in June 2022.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/129007533/carbon-dioxide-shortage-threatens-to-take-fizz-out-of-craft-beer
Nowhere does it mention governmental responsibility.
To me it looks like a similar scenario in a two year time frame to the chicken industry which had ten years to sort out its prospective problems.
Marsden indicated its desire to close early in 2021.
Could a C02 producing plant big enough for NZ's needs be built and operational in that time frame?
Could CO2 have been imported in sufficient quantities since March 2022?
Is National spokesperson, Stuart Smith, denying industry's role in this shortage?
"The nationwide shortage of carbon dioxide will make goods more expensive and hurt New Zealand’s exporters, National’s Energy and Resources spokesperson Stuart Smith says.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2301/S00022/inaction-on-co2-supplies-to-hit-prices-and-exporters.htm
I ask rather what did business do to solve its problem?
I have come into this exchange from the point of view Marsden Point should not have been closed. Minister Woods needed nore courage and better arguments to push the idea of nationalising it. The CO2 shortage is a direct consequence of that. Todd could close it's plant and there would not be the issues now. That is without considering the loss of resilience and independence fuel wise.
I couldn't care less about some opposition MP's brainfarts, my criticism is of those that do have the power and their actions or inactions.
Business wants shortages, its good for business.
The closure had been signalled well in advance and happened in early 2022. Indeed, the industrial players were well aware of the situation. For example, from your link of 6 Oct, 2022 [that is 3 months ago and about 6 months after the closure]:
It is a bit rich, and lazy, to blame others and government for poor business decisions. RWNJs are so contrary. OTOH, they want the State and Government to do as little as possible and stay out of and away from markets, but OTOH they assert that Government is primarily responsible for anything and everything that goes wrong and demand it fixes it, immediately – things inevitably go wrong.
The blame game is such a mug’s game, don’t you agree?
"The blame game is such a mug’s game, don’t you agree?" Yes, especially when they blame the wrong people.
Stuart Smith blamed government recently for a pothole on a pedestrian crossing in Blenheim. He jumped on silly Simeon Brown's band wagon and blamed government. Of course, roads in town are the Council's responsibility, so blame was apportioned wrongly.
Then he gets into the "government ought to" blame game over the teaching of research and analysis skills so long as they don't teach about climate change being a physical, scientific, evidence-based reality.
Had Mr Smith looked at school curriculum as to what it does teach now? Ot maybe he just wanted it taught compulsorily to age 18, as the Tory PM advocated.
Research and and analysis skills are taught in many subjects, not just maths. I changed in Year 12 to History. 'What were the causes of WW1?"
What effect did climate change have upon past history? A good topic in history, social studies, science, agriculture and economics……..
I 50% agree with you in that often the wrong people cop flak. However, rather than blaming anyone, why not start holding them to account by asking pertinent questions and scrutinising actions? In my experience, when this is done in an open, respectful, non-judgemental, and constructive manner one receives better responses/answers that lead to better understanding and decision-making in future by the powers that be who are responsible. It is all part of engagement with (the) stakeholders and providing (positive) feedback.
"blamed government recently for a pothole on a pedestrian crossing in Blenheim"
Do you have a link to a report of this complaint? The only thing I have seen was a complaint about the Picton Road which would be SH1. The maintenance of State Highways, even in the middle of towns, has always been a Central Government responsibility and not a Council one.
How the Minister is supposed to know about it is difficult to see but he is, in theory, responsible for everything his Department does.
Look at Open Mike 11 October 2022 at aj's post at #8 and following comments.
The pothole is not on a state highway but on a Blenheim street 150 meters from the MP's office. I've seen it, identified it, photographed it.
The MP was wrong to say it was the government's fault.
Thank you.
As the Australian movie The Castle would put it.
If it's on a Council maintained road we can tell Stuart Smith "He's dreaming".
More than dreaming, Alwyn; deliberately misleading or at best uninformed.
If this were a castle, he'd be saying that the causeway, drawbridge and courtyard surface were the king's responsibility not the lord's; that the water in the moat, (a mixture of the three waters after all), was not an issue for the king but could the king please give us some money to treat it as we see fit; and limiting wagons, carriages and horses to 80 km/h on windy hills is unfair on cartage owners and undertakers.
The world is a better place. The above mentioned pothole has been filled and painted white- man and car alike can proceed.
My thanks to the government for taking time over the Christmas/ New Year period to fix it.
When you gets the blame, deserved or not, you should get the kudos as well!
Stuart?
"It is a bit rich, and lazy, to blame others and government for poor business decisions. RWNJs are so contrary. OTOH, they want the State and Government to do as little as possible and stay out of and away from markets, but OTOH they assert that Government is primarily responsible for anything and everything that goes wrong and demand it fixes it, immediately – things inevitably go wrong."
Not a lot to argue with there.
My issue, as I mentioned to Mac above, is what those with the power did or didn't do.
One person's "blame game" is another's attempt at holding the PTB to account. (No matter how ham-fisted it was.)
Pointing fingers is not asking questions as to what, when, and why? Also see my reply @ 15.2.2.1.1 to Mac1 (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-12-01-2023/#comment-1930243).
david seemore fancies himself as a philosopher when in fact he is merely a second rate sophist.
Might call him David Sophist from now on. A dreadful human being.
"To ensure you can register your baby’s name, avoid using official titles, numeric characters or symbols – like a backslash or punctuation mark – and swear words."
I am curious as to what happens if you do not register your baby's name and why?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/parenting/300783393/king-the-most-declined-name-in-nz-for-14th-year-in-a-row
The law apparently requires that you register the birth. The form for doing so states "Your child must be registered with a surname or family name, and one or more given names."
What they would do if you never fill in the form is not obvious, at least to me. Please don't do it though. I know of a case where the New Zealand parents of a child born in Spain never notified the birth to the New Zealand Government. When they did return to New Zealand the original action at the border was to tell them that, having no evidence that the child was a NZ citizen the youngster, still under a year old, was not going to be allowed into the country.
It apparently took a great deal of argument by the family to get them to change their mind.