“The terrible truth is dawning. The extreme heat wave – or ‘heat dome’ – over Canada’s British Columbia and the US state of Oregon is tragic evidence that it’s too late. We can’t reduce the blanket of greenhouse gases we’ve put up there. It will remain, virtually forever.
The focus now is on what we can and must do to stop it getting worse.”
“Virtually forever” is a bit hyperbolic (except for CF4), but certainly longer than a single human lifetime. CO2 is the main greenhouse gas and its atmospheric lifetime is between 5-200 years according to NASA (Though I have heard 1-1000 years to emphasize the uncertainty in persistence).
I did like the idea of electric buses and shuttles though. Down in Dunedin, there is a tension between the Otago Regional Council and the DCC. With the ORC currently running (via subcontracting) the buses throughout the region using large vehicles that would technically be more efficient if they were ever full. However they are also not that frequent, and sometimes unreliable. Smaller electric shuttles off the main routes would suit Dunedin’s narrow winding hill suburbs better (especially with regenerative braking). It’s not uncommon for large buses to have to drive over roundabouts, or even block entire streets if there are cars parked on the sides.
But the ORC remain focused on vehicles for the wide open roads. And the DCC’s attempts to prise the local bus service off them don’t seem to be going very fast.
The problem of electricity substitution for FF transport,is that we have both insufficient capacity for renewable generation,and a need to generate using FF from thermals just to maintain NI usage.
Today if a thermal ,or transmission fault occurs,the North Island will brown out.
Government (MBIE) is working on NZ Battery Project, effectively a business case for Lake Onslow pumped hydro.
If it’s viable, Onslow would retire current thermal generation and allow a lot more wind and solar to be built. A few issues around the structure of the generation market though and who will own it and profit by it.
Also at present constraints like this are where the generators make their money
Yes and sadly that appears to be about the sum total and the belated process is still years away from decision…never mind any anticipated construction delays should it get approved
Onslow and others are in essence thing big projects (where political projection is larger then the outcomes) ie the bigger the bullshit the bigger the sale by politicians.
For energy we should be thinking small,diverse,and geographically distributed.
Solar for example should be installed in all schools,during school holidays the excess would be available for the national grid during daylight,reducing hydro loads (and ff) and in addition reducing OPEX for schools.
Onslow is insurance for dry year reduced hydro output (roughly 60% of current total generation)…..there is no reason why local distributed generation cannot occur as well.
Yet we are trying to accelerate the uptake of electric car use… and in the meantime we are burning about the dirtiest coal possible in record amounts….
Here’s a novel idea can prob even reheat the old tv ads, explain the hydro dams are very low and ask NZrs to conserve electrity…
Onslow and pumped hydro isn’t new, it was being talked about when Clyde was built. It’s one of the reasons provision was made in the Clyde Dam for another two machines, that’s the two unused penstocks at the southern end.
Don’t have any documentary proof on that but was discussion amongst engineers when I was a technician there during construction.
Provided nothing fatal comes up in the business case MBIE are working on I’d expect things could move very quickly. Situations like Poission linked to are just what the Minister needs to get action.
Unfortunately construction of new generation has been left to the industry, who’s motivation is profit. Constraints / scarcity drive profit (to a point, then the regulator comes in with big boots on in current system) so there’s not incentives to have large surplus capacity.
“According to a factsheet released in July, the scheme seeking a solution to the dry year problem that has kept New Zealand reliant on fossil fuels for a small portion of our generation for decades was due to complete an initial investigation of options in 2021 and a more rigorous business case in 2022. The construction of whatever project was finally recommended by officials was slated to begin as early as 2022.
However, an update Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods provided to Cabinet in December, just months after the NZ Battery project was launched, shows the timelines have already blown out considerably. Now, the first phase of the investigation is only expected to wrap up in May 2022. A second phase would finish in mid-2023 if all went well, or as late as early 2024, Woods wrote.”
And yes the profit motive for gentailers appears a problem as outlined on RNZ this morning…..a lot of problems and very little urgency in applying solutions.
Fundamental disinterest in adaptation within the ORC transport unit is one factor. Rumour has it that the DCC started making the bus hub before the ORC would countenance moving the bus route a block off the main street.
I really want the DCC to just take over dunedin public transport. The DCC keeps planning on trialling passenger rail (the trials have to work around the heavy freaight use seasons on the line, I've been told).
2.3 million passengers passed through the terminal
There were 58,536 aircraft movements at Queenstown Airport, including scheduled services, private jets and general aviation.
Four commercial airlines currently operate at the airport: Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Qantas, and Virgin Australia.
The airport is the direct domestic and international entry point to the lower South Island, providing easy access to Queenstown, one of the world’s premium visitor destinations, and to some of New Zealand’s most renowned scenery and visitor experiences. As such, it serves the communities across the region and contributes significantly to the growth and prosperity of New Zealand’s tourism sector.
ORC gets its revenue from the businesses and residents supported by that influx.
"what's the connection with ORC being uninterested in coastal Otago rail?"
If you have limited resources where do you invest?…where you get the biggest bang for the buck (where you see the possibility of growth)….is rail going to bring 2.5m additional customers to your door every year?….while a well designed and run rail service may reduce activity…all those lost truck movements…regional economies love nothing more than spending from without (exports)
are you being deliberately obtuse?….where would the businesses and residents be without that annual influx and spend?….Queenstown Lakes wouldnt have been the growth engine of the ORC catchment….and that means less revenue for the ORC, or alternatively higher impediment to a diminished base with all the consequent risks.
That's the bit you're not connecting with the tourist influx.
As far as I can see, unless ORC has a tourist shop on Rees St then the main impact tourists will have is very indirectly on property prices, which Q'town actually pays less on per $100k value than dunedin does. But tourists don't buy lifestyle blocks.
"Growth engine" my arse. subsidised by port otago dividends and dunedin ratepayers, more like.
"Growth Change Factors Economic growth in Otago is dominated by tourism, primary production and education. The economy has been impacted negatively by the COVID-19 situation. Pre COVID-19 the population within certain areas of Otago was forecast to grow over the next ten years, the most significant being in the Queenstown Lakes district. Resident population in Queenstown is forecast to grow by 2.6% each year over the next ten years, and visitor numbers to grow by 2.4% per annum. This projection will be revised as part of the LTP 2021-31 process. There is currently a high level of uncertainty on growth over medium term and how that might impact on Council activity. Medium to longer term changes in the economy and population are likely to impact on the level of many activities carried out by Council, such as transport, demand on resource use, environmental incidents, civil defence and emergency management. The Council’s immediate short-term response is to maintain Council’s service for 202020-21 and seek revised forecasts on the impacts of COVID-19."
I can see how "impact on council activity" can be shorthand for "more buses and stress on water quality", but putting actual money in the council's pocket?
(Youtube censored Dark Horse for the offending podcasts. Some here critical of Youtube as being the font of all nonsense might see that as an positive with regards to Weinstein and Heying's authority.)
Strange the Quilette piece uses so much emotive language for a scientific article.. like "bonkers", "insane", "ruinous", "eccentric", "cause carnage", "notorious conspiracy theory".
But when you're up against those conspiracy theorists like an expert in mRNA vaccines, a leading medical researcher and an experienced doctor on the covid frontlines, you have to win the argument somehow…
I can just about pinpoint when the rot set in…. published in an actual Sciencey Journal with a very Sciencey title, in February 2020.
The piece starts off sounding very technical and authoritative, but just when it begins to get to the interesting part the author delivers this line…
Lack of the definite origin of 2019-nCoV has led to speculation that 2019-nCoV might be derived from genetic manipulation or even for the purpose of use as a bioweapon. This notion has been fully debunked in the media.
Had the authors provided a reference to where the media had published scientific proof that Te Virus hadn't originated from a lab then perhaps this might not have been so concerning. But the authors didn't…and obviously they were under the misguided impression that readers of scientific papers would find nothing incongruous in a scientist referring to the media as being an authority on a scientific matter.
Very strange. And shit's been getting stranger ever since.
Strange the Quilette piece uses so much emotive language for a scientific article..
Yeah, and even stranger is that it isn’t a scientific article in a scientific journal that has been peer-reviewed by other scientific experts. How strange indeed, you created a strawman.
For the record, I enjoyed reading the Quillette article but then again, I would say that, of course, because I’ve been long lost to the Dark Side. FFS.
And while cartoonist are onto this one – at last – Richard Branson is chasing, now promoting , another rainbow that the earth does not need. His rocket rides! I just don,t get it !
Needle phobia is another reason for people not being vaccinated. This can be overcome or managed by having people arrive for the appointment and not being kept waiting or a small side room.
There needs to be information for needle phobic people such as being able to be vaccinated in a partly reclined comfortable chair and having a support person.
I understand there will be a press release today about a Provisional Improvement Notice at our local DHB.
I am keen for ideas for helping the buraurcrats solve some if the pressing issues.
Bedspace in the hospital is one issue. How about requisitioning a hotel ala MIQ and put stable patients in makeshift wards?
Bigger picture, when building the next hospital, listen to the staff on the floor and keep the bean counters out of the room. After all, a beer made by a bean counter is not a tasty brew.
To be honest I had a lot of respect for the bean counter at the DHB meeting I was at who stood up and said as the DHB was deciding to reduce hours of help for the elderly –
“You know already that we get many unpaid hours of work worth millions of dollars from the staff that currently look after those people, who despite previous cuts to hours often stay on until the person is dressed, fed, showered, etc. You also know that cutting paid hours will also give you more unpaid hours of work. I don’t support the the cuts”.
Dunno if he still works there but it was clear that it wasn’t the bean counters that were the problem. Management was the problem – knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing.
And yeah they cut hours again impacting on those I was advocating for.
I’ve seen other bean-counters show similar empathy and kindness over the years as well. In my observation they often provide alongside what they have been asked specifically to cost other options and a good assessment of the pros and cons.
Often they bear the reputational brunt of senior management decisions.
(The site at the moment doesn’t like carriage returns. You have to go redo them in edit mode as everything gets run together when posting. Using Chrome.)
A bit of philosophy for lunch. Probably more broadly applicable, but also relevant to the gender/sex debate (GCFs take the position that sex is a material reality).
“…follow the laws of perspective and reflection of light, so it is easy to arrive at a permanent object underlying all the different people’s sense-data.”
At what point does “sense” become “nonsense”?
Serious question…when a man says they ‘feel’ like they are a woman (trapped in a man’s body etc….), what does that actually mean?
(I don’t know what it ‘feels’ like to be a woman…I just am a woman. ‘Feels’ have nothing to do with it.)
Perhaps one of those people celebrating the removal of the offensive billboard giving the dictionary definition of “woman” can shed some light here.
The fact you don’t “feel” anything doesn’t disallow others to “feel” otherwise. Good for you, and myself, I’m quite happy & comfortable with who & what I am, yet I can grasp others may feel different, & who am I to say they shouldn’t, just because I don’t.
That is incorrect I feel love. SUFW don't thrive on "trapped in a mans body." I have heard SUFW say otherwise.
Others are entitled to feel what they feel. I don't have a problem with that, although psychologists state there are only something like 6 or 7 feelings including sadness, fear, disgust, joy, anger.
I accept some people feel this way, it is not a problem, the problem is that gender ideology requires me to accept their feelings as a factual reality "trans women are real women". I object to that….strongly.
Thanks for responding…but I’m still wanting to know exactly what being a woman “feels” like, since trans ideology demands that ‘feeling‘ like a woman is all that is required to be a woman.
To the point where the sex on a birth certificate can be changed at the stroke of a pen.
I have a sense of myself as a woman beyond my biology but it can’t be separated from my biology (and before anyone starts, no this isn’t biological essentialism).
I do believe there is such a thing as women’s culture and have spent a lot of time in groups and places where that’s a given.
Trans people covers a wide range of experiences. Young lesbians transitioning then detransitioning are having different experiences than a middle aged man leaving a marriage and coming out as a TW. Technically I fit under the now very large trans umbrella in a number of ways. I feel there is so much rich human experience to be explored but no debate and neoliberalism have birthed a nasty bluepink social dynamic that serves very few well.
Why people identify, and are identified, as female or male is relatively clear. It’s also clear that the idea of one’s gender (woman/man) being more ‘fluid’ than one’s sex (female/male) is not for everyone.
For women who “don’t know what it feels like to be a woman” to want/expect trans women to articulate exactly why they feel like women seems odd, but then cis women do constitute a (healthy) majority.
Would any description of how a trans woman ‘feels like a woman‘ (or how a trans man feels like a man) be sufficient to broaden the views of those who have a firm (if narrow) grasp of what “is required to be a woman” (or man)?
Fwiw, I’ve found it difficult to judge how to act normally (in as much as any of my behaviour qualifies as ‘normal’) around the handful of trans men of my acquaintance – I’m possibly overly attentive (a slippery slope) so as not to be seen to be ignoring/avoiding them. But maybe some are content to be ignored – would certainly be easier for introvert me.
“Transgender men and women are recognized and accepted in many Islamic cultures around the world. In fact, the idea of a man or woman identifying as a member of the opposite gender is more likely to be accepted than that of a man or woman expressing sexual desire for someone of their own gender.” https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-islam
Weesht weka! Words can mean anything to anyone and be damned if you or anyone else will tell others' what to believe.
Somewhere there will be a definition of "language" that might come in handy…
the principal method of human communication, consisting of words used in a structured and conventional way and conveyed by speech, writing, or gesture.
Of course, effective communication requires accepted meanings of words.
Discarding traditional definitions because a small minority of persons reject the reality and demand the majority accept their beliefs is going to lead to strife.
For women who “don’t know what it feels like to be a woman” to want/expect trans women to articulate exactly why they feel like women seems odd, but then cis women do constitute a (healthy) majority.
Part of the problem here is that society is being expected to accept some big legislative and social changes without adequate explanation. If how someone identifies is sufficient without explanation, why is this not true for women as well?
I don't need trans women to articulate exactly why they feel like a woman. I however think it's important that society gets to look at what gender and sex are, and whether prioritising gender over sex is the best way forward, and to do that we do need to have some kind of coherent and shared understanding of the various concepts. Hence the Russell quote.
When I checked the other day, "sex" was defined as
either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions.
and "gender" as
either of the two sexes (male and female), especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. The term is also used more broadly to denote a range of identities that do not correspond to established ideas of male and female.
The trans lobby is so powerful that I can see these definitions being overthrown completely and biological sex being consigned to quaint scientific history.
The idea that for millenia humans used to wrongly think that biological sex was (in the vast majority cases) accurately obvious at birth and was immutable, will be the source of much mirth.
The idea that for millenia humans used to wrongly think that biological sex was (in the vast majority cases) accurately obvious at birth and was immutable
White humans, and lately a very small but loud group of them from the UK. Other people and cultures do not think the sky is falling.
Unlikely that it is only white folks that understand that the perpetuation of the species relies on two different sexes.
Biology… kindergarten level.
Unlikely that it is only non white folks from placesotherthantheuk who acknowledge that forcing individuals to conform to culturally proscribed sex role stereotypes is outdated and harmful.
This is not about demanding that people accept gender roles (in fact, quite the opposite), it is about acknowledging that sex is real…not a social construct.
Biological essentialism is turning the clock back. Sad to see fear drive some women to a stance their mothers and grandmothers fought so hard to escape from under.
Biological essentialism is turning the clock back.
@Sacha
You are going to have to define "biological essentialism".
Sad to see fear drive some women to a stance their mothers and grandmothers fought so hard to escape from under.
Sigh. Do I have to explain, again? It is the trans lobby turning back the clock by demanding that the sex marker on their birth certificate must be changed so it reflects the 'reality' of their gender ID.
As if sex dictates gender expression these days.
It is saddening to see that for some, being accepted as the opposite sex is vital for them to be comfortable in their own skin.
It is saddening to see that for some, being accepted as the opposite sex is vital for them to be comfortable in their own skin.
"Saddening" because their sense of self is 'faulty'? Maybe all some transfeminine/transmasculine people need is a bit of good old-fashioned conversion therapy?
The ‘rising tide‘ of transgender people is a challenging trend and I'm ashamed to admit I'd rather it wasn't happening, but it's fruitless to deny the reality that "being accepted as the opposite sex is vital for them [transgender people] to be comfortable in their own skin."
I’m trying to understand the transgender PoV – trans men and trans women are people too – but of course that's not for everyone.
The idea that I, or trans kids growing up today, would just ‘grow out of it’ and become gay or lesbian is a ridiculous claim, and is not reflected by the majority who have been supported as themselves from an early age and are adults now.
Figuring out your gender is a very different process to figuring out who you’re attracted to. I feel that those who confuse the two are usually people who have always been comfortable with their gender, and don’t understand the pure joy of finally being able to break free from the limitations placed on you, and express it in a way that makes you feel good about yourself.
It’s easy to make assumptions and claims about something you haven’t experienced yourself.
You cannot know what it feels like to be a woman because you have no way of knowing (experiencing) what it feels like to not be a woman. You need to have a basis for making comparisons.
Personally, being a woman is not based on 'feeling', it is a reality.
I have no choice in the matter. I was born female, and the girl grew to be a woman.
That I can tick many of the boxes that some claim are symptoms of gender dysphoria makes me feel incredibly fortunate to have grown up during a time when there was growing acceptance of those who did not conform to traditional sex roles.
It seems to me that much of the trans ideology is about turning back the clock to times when men were supposed to be men, and we women were supposed to be ladies.
This activism grew out of literary criticism, including the claim that a piece of literature can mean whatever a reader reads, not what the author intended. On broadening to more tangible subjects the idea that reality is socially constructed is applied in similar terms.
What Russell discusses is that there is a shared reality which is perceptible, but totally independent of our perception of that reality. Were as the socially constructed version claims that man/woman stems from language and how people apply it and ultimately claims that getting society to act on that will overcome biological differences between these categories.
Of course ultimately this in incompatible with science, but thats why terminology is a priority and social pressure is used over appeals to fact.
No acknowledgement of cultural context there – what table means to different people, and the social power dynamics about which meanings are most public at any time. What it looks like is trivial.
I think there's potential there to bring together both the materialist position and the social one. Neither is trivial, and having both would give us more than the sum of the parts.
I don't see Russell talking about what the table looks like, but about how we perceive that there is a table at all. Thus establishing that humans have the capacity to observe reality on a shared basis despite some variation in how that observation is interpreted or reported.
Good luck with that. A trivial part of what Russell is saying there is that, at the beginning of the universe there actually was a universe. Now once humans evolved we have ways of perceiving that universe (and internal mental models of that including social models), but the existance of that universe doesn't require anyone to perceive it.
The next important area is that a mental model (e.g a piece of logic or maths or a factual statement) doesn't need to be scientifically true of reality. Now if reality is socially constructed then whatever claim is socially dominant is true but this is fundamentally incompatible with scientific validity, because people are quite capable of believing things which are not true, even in large social groups.
It’s a good time to think about fixing your mortgage interest rates if you haven’t already as it seems like they have hit rock bottom and as everyone seems to be predicting, are about to start increasing. In fact I believe the ASB has just increased some of their rates.
Good advice IMO. An ANZ economist here was telling an Oz bus show they’re expecting inflation.
The markets been banging on about reflation/inflation awhile now so at the slightest hint off they’ll go as banks have seen money leaving their low/no interest term deposits for much better returns pretty much anywhere else.
Nick Tuffley of ASB has just pointed the finger at wages growth when asked.
Ask about freight rates to export/import and have a look around at the pump to see what is happening there. Sometimes you don’t need experts, just a little observation can sometimes give you an idea of what is happening and just as well as land and property are not part of the inflation equation. And with labour shortages what is the obvious consequence of that ??
Unlikely. The banks project risk (to themselves) out into the future. The analytical view of the significiant portion of the announcement was summarised as (from your link and my italics)..
The Reserve Bank has left interest rates unchanged but taken a significant step towards future rate rises.
It held the official cash rate at a record low 0.25 percent, and halted its bond buying programme, but will keep the cheap money bank lending programme.
This is pure signalling a forward risk to the banks. Change is risk and has to be calculated into the cost of borrowing. That was why the the longer term rates (3 -5 years) rose last month across virtually all banks – the uncertainty into the future increased. Why the shorter term rates (<= 2 years) slightly decreased – the risk in the shorter term was low, so get customers form other banks while they could..
Banks are likely to increase rates sooner rather than later, and as the ASB announcement showed, it’d be less of an increase in the short term loans, more in the longer term loans because of the risk..
//—————–
And just like that – this popped up in my mailbox. Link
Economists now beating drums for August rate hike
Rebecca Howard | Wed, 14 Jul 2021
Today’s central bank statement has been widely viewed as hawkish with some economists now saying the first rate hike will come in August.
Yeah, rates can only go up. That's been increasingly obvious for the last year.
My point was how long can ASB maintain their position in a very competitive market for those with the ability to borrow. Can't see them keeping that rate if other banks hold their rates as they were. Once the RB lifts their rate from 0.25% we may see banks raise rates but in the meantime the banks will be increasingly picky on who they lend too and fight tooth and nail for those eligible borrowers.
Only apparently it will only be a drive-by bark in Dunedin because it’s “not safe to stop in Dunedin”. Probably scared of being outnumbered by hippie students smoking their “reefer” and demanding workers’ rights and clean drinking water.
Gotta say, a name like “Groundswell NZ” just screams astroturfing lol. Getting a fair bit of plugging by the ODT, too. But I guess we’ll see.
Judging by the comments below the ODT article I don’t blame them for just doing a drive-by….
Can’t see them getting much of a reception in Queenstown either, apart from pissing a lot of people off, the town centre’s seriously disrupted by road works from a council sewer upgrade that didn’t quite go to plan and street upgrades financed by COVID stimulus. Then most of the CBD business are taking it up the chook so that everyone else can swan about having little protests and otherwise getting on with life. That everything else in town, apart from tourism, is going gangbusters is beside the point.
Most of the ute / pickup lot here are more American market led, well the ones I talk to anyway, and are reasonably exposed to electric transition. An awful lot of Teslas tooling around town. Chatter the last couple of days is whether the EV Rams will qualify for the feebate
Just a big American pick-up / ute. Most likely double cab and 4×4. What every builder in Queenstown aspires, especially EV. Good for the branding. Cybertruck even better.
Toyota has fucked up not developing EV or hybrid utes, other manufacturers will have them in showrooms in the next year or so and they will be the thing to have. The only people buying a new Hilux in 2023 will be diehard farmers and the Taliban
If we are going to do large scale mass vaccination events like this through August, could someone stand outside with a donation bucket and Labour Party membership forms?
For the sake of getting as much vaccine coverage as we reasonably can, the last thing we need is anything pushing towards vaccine politicisation like has become such a problem elsewhere.
PARIS, July 13 (Reuters) – More than 900,000 people in France rushed to set up appointments to get vaccinated on Monday night after the president warned that people would see curbs imposed on them if they did not have a health pass that covered a vaccine or negative COVID test
When the travel bubble opened with Oz, it was clearly signalled it could pop at any moment without warning, and anyone travelling had to bear that risk on their own.
So why the actual fuck is the government now giving away free MIQ to the poor darling snowflakes that were in NSW when the clearly signalled risk actually happened?
Maybe it is that this Government cares about people and knows that sometimes well-intended decisions and choices can have negative unintended consequences even though some of the risks were relatively clear. However, it does raise the question of fairness and balance compared to other overseas stranded Kiwis. FWIW, personally, I’d rather not spend 14 days cooped up in an MIQ facility.
Do you two idiots realise that the disruptive Covid outbreaks in Australia are due in large part to non-compliance to public orders?
One thing NZ has done very well is compliance to public orders. It is for the benefit of us all. That we have done so well is because of clear communication.
One of the biggest components of that clear communication is regular or semi-regular appearances by JA, Hipkins, Bloomfield, and/or other MoH officials.
That communication and response is the envy of the world yet you run it down because you are offended in some way, or claim you took leave of your senses for a moment?
"There will still be an element of 'flyer beware' for New Zealanders travelling to Australia, with the government saying it will not be coming to their rescue if they get trapped because of an outbreak."
Well, I'm certainly not happy that taxpayer monies are going towards free MIQ for NSW holidaymakers.
But otherwise the government is not "coming to their rescue" as they have to pay for repatriation flights.
The 14 day quarantine is something imposed by us on them.
It would be good from this point for the government to state that in future should a bubble burst then all travellers wanting to re-enter NZ they will have to pay for MIQ.
Your comment at 13.2.1.1.1 totally departed from the complaint that TT travellers were getting treatment over and above what was indicated.
Ah, youre displeased by my interaction with a fellow poster…thats a shame.
This government has one, and only one, area of competence and that is its response to covid (imperfect though it has been) and they appear determined to fuck that up as well with self inflicted wounds.
All National/Act have to do is give them more rope.
And then you'll something real to be pissed off about.
I think it is crucial that the people know that their Government is providing a safety net and can be relied upon to help those who need it. At the core, it is a trust issue. This works both ways, as the $16 billion wage subsidy scheme has shown. The elimination strategy is another case in point.
Still trust our Govt to try to do their best for all NZers, but the absolute outrage at their inconsistency is papable. Saying they're not going to help and then subsequently helping – "That pisses me off." [YouTube link – mind the language]
Yeah, yeah. We got het up because of all the inconsistencies in the Government Response to Te Virus in the Early Days…but then Siouxsie explained it thus…
Trouble is though…folks are tired and folks are stressed and folks trusted both the NZ and Aus governments when they got all enthusiastic about our Bubble and the fantastic money making potential for both countries from Opening Up.
So flights were booked and plans made and because of some leakage in the border protection everything went to shit. Folks got stuck and folks begged and folks cried and folks got told by Officials Tough Shit.
Media broadcasts sad and sorry stories of stranded, tearful folks and suddenly flights are on and places in MIQ magically become available.
Enough to make folks think that The Government Kindness is only activated by media intervention. Almost as if the Government learns more about what's going on around our border from the media than they do from Officials.
I thought there was a Minister dedicated to managing the Covid…
Almost as if the Government learns more about what's going on around our border from the media than they do from Officials.
"Almost as if" indeed. What are Te Officials and Te Government good for anyway – worse than Te Experts eh? Not one independent thought among the lot of them – 'consensus suckers' everyone!
And I'm no better – got sucked in by the pro-vax lobby and already had a dose of that dreadful Pfizer vaccine (Comirnaty). Bound to be a disaster – can almost feel a 5G microchip (curse you Bill Gates!) working its way towards what passes for my brain; moulding my ‘mind’ – wish me luck.
Where did the microchip vaccine conspiracy theory come from anyway?
How an innocuous Reddit thread mutated into a dangerous, viral lie
"To be clear: there are no microchips in any vaccine. There’s no evidence that even one of the nearly 170 million Americans who have received a shot so far have been implanted with a tiny piece of tracking hardware."
"You're forgetting something Miles – you have no choice."
The government does not care enough about some groups of people when it comes to their welfare. The Lake Alice survivors and people who witnessed 15 March 2019.
Government has money to pay for MIQ for people who travelled for a holiday, (an exception for a seriously unwell family member is made) and not for those who were tortured or witnessed extreme terrorism.
It is not nonsense. The government would need to provide money for lawyers in order to convince me that all which could be done for the above groups is being done. Without legal advice people may not have the energy or confidence to challenge a ACC decision.
You know that the inquiry into Lake Alice Hospital is part of a bigger wider and ongoing Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, don’t you?
We have already discussed previously here on TS the issue of ACC cover for mental health issues of witnesses of terrorist acts, please keep up. Did you know that some Lake Alice survivors do get ACC cover PTSD, et cetera? I bet you didn’t know this.
How many TTTs who were caught when the travel bubble burst did go purely for a holiday? Please provide some hard numbers, not just speculation and assumption.
3rd attempt to reply so will be a short reply. Yes I am aware of all your questions.
I will continue to raise my disgust with the governments handling of some ACC claimants. Mainly ECT not being covered when used as torture and witness to a terrorist attack and some historical issues with government departments.
Not on the schedule 3 list for a mental injury and a physical injury needs to have occurred.
1982-1992 there was cover for mental shock (a category not the ECT) and no physical injury had to be proven.
The deemed date of injury is important as some claimants could be under the 1982-1992 ACC legislation.
The date of injury is when a person first gets treatment for the injury being covered. An accurate diagnosis is not required at the start of treatment either.
Indeed, demonstrable and consequential injury has to be present for a claim to proceed and possibly be approved under current legislation, which ACC is bound by. Government can change relevant legislation if necessary. A legal process (challenge) may indeed be required for change. It is a step-wise (slow, tedious, and expensive) process, but this is how the system works, by design and for good reason, and by that I don’t mean just ACC and the Accident Compensation Act 2001. At the same time, political pressure may be required. In short, make a case, present it, and then follow through, all the way.
Melbourne will be next to have a lockdown as a resurgence in community transmission. With a pre departure test required 72 hours before departure, this could delay a quick get away.
High Profile Party Leaders Resign from Green Party; cite: “mob of dogmatic, self-righteous authoritarians” within ranks.
In their heavily footnoted 13 page letter, the Central Illinois grandparents who have devoted 25 years to building the Green party while raising their family, cite a broad range of offences by various members of party leadership which they assert violate the founding values of the party, including:
suppression of Paula’s speech on the National Committee
suppression of speech by others on the National Committee and elsewhere
an unprecedented attack by the Steering Committee on a caucus of party activists
the suppression of real policy discussion on issues raised by gender ideology
a betrayal of core Green Party values, including: Grassroots Democracy, Feminism and Non-Violence
So this is Green Party USA Illinois state details? It would be good to state that. Most of us are NZrs here and have to keep an eye on our own politics, in case they change drastically or even disappear when we look away. It is interesting to know the Green Party is confused probably everywhere in the world. Just let us know what country you are talking about will you. As you have done below referring to Scottish. Luckily we know that Dublin is in Ireland, or Eire?
Greywarshark, you got that correct, Illinois is in the U$.
I merely see a trend that trips up well respected GP leaders, who have given years to the green movement, over the trans religion.
Today I read that the co-leader quit the green party of the UK over the trans conflict.
Which made someone comment along the lines of: almost as if someone was financing TRAs to infiltrate ecology focused political parties.
Being distracted totally from the effects of climate change on whole groups of people, their food security and can we still do something do about it…
Andy Wightman, the Scottish Greens’ list member for Lothian region and a highly respected campaigner for tenants’ rights and land reform, stated in his resignation letter published on Friday afternoon:
“Some of the language, approaches and postures of the party and its spokespeople have been provocative, alienating and confrontational for many women and men”.
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
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“The terrible truth is dawning. The extreme heat wave – or ‘heat dome’ – over Canada’s British Columbia and the US state of Oregon is tragic evidence that it’s too late. We can’t reduce the blanket of greenhouse gases we’ve put up there. It will remain, virtually forever.
The focus now is on what we can and must do to stop it getting worse.”
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/theres-no-going-back-so-what-can-be-saved
“Virtually forever” is a bit hyperbolic (except for CF4), but certainly longer than a single human lifetime. CO2 is the main greenhouse gas and its atmospheric lifetime is between 5-200 years according to NASA (Though I have heard 1-1000 years to emphasize the uncertainty in persistence).
https://archive.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg1/016.htm
I did like the idea of electric buses and shuttles though. Down in Dunedin, there is a tension between the Otago Regional Council and the DCC. With the ORC currently running (via subcontracting) the buses throughout the region using large vehicles that would technically be more efficient if they were ever full. However they are also not that frequent, and sometimes unreliable. Smaller electric shuttles off the main routes would suit Dunedin’s narrow winding hill suburbs better (especially with regenerative braking). It’s not uncommon for large buses to have to drive over roundabouts, or even block entire streets if there are cars parked on the sides.
But the ORC remain focused on vehicles for the wide open roads. And the DCC’s attempts to prise the local bus service off them don’t seem to be going very fast.
The problem of electricity substitution for FF transport,is that we have both insufficient capacity for renewable generation,and a need to generate using FF from thermals just to maintain NI usage.
Today if a thermal ,or transmission fault occurs,the North Island will brown out.
https://www.transpower.co.nz/sites/default/files/interfaces/wrn/WRN%20Insufficient%20Generation%20offers%20National%203994870484.pdf
and yet there appears little in the way of concrete planning to address that
Government (MBIE) is working on NZ Battery Project, effectively a business case for Lake Onslow pumped hydro.
If it’s viable, Onslow would retire current thermal generation and allow a lot more wind and solar to be built. A few issues around the structure of the generation market though and who will own it and profit by it.
Also at present constraints like this are where the generators make their money
Yes and sadly that appears to be about the sum total and the belated process is still years away from decision…never mind any anticipated construction delays should it get approved
Onslow and others are in essence thing big projects (where political projection is larger then the outcomes) ie the bigger the bullshit the bigger the sale by politicians.
For energy we should be thinking small,diverse,and geographically distributed.
Solar for example should be installed in all schools,during school holidays the excess would be available for the national grid during daylight,reducing hydro loads (and ff) and in addition reducing OPEX for schools.
Onslow is insurance for dry year reduced hydro output (roughly 60% of current total generation)…..there is no reason why local distributed generation cannot occur as well.
Yet we are trying to accelerate the uptake of electric car use… and in the meantime we are burning about the dirtiest coal possible in record amounts….
Here’s a novel idea can prob even reheat the old tv ads, explain the hydro dams are very low and ask NZrs to conserve electrity…
At the very least will help reduce our coal burn
Onslow and pumped hydro isn’t new, it was being talked about when Clyde was built. It’s one of the reasons provision was made in the Clyde Dam for another two machines, that’s the two unused penstocks at the southern end.
Don’t have any documentary proof on that but was discussion amongst engineers when I was a technician there during construction.
Provided nothing fatal comes up in the business case MBIE are working on I’d expect things could move very quickly. Situations like Poission linked to are just what the Minister needs to get action.
Unfortunately construction of new generation has been left to the industry, who’s motivation is profit. Constraints / scarcity drive profit (to a point, then the regulator comes in with big boots on in current system) so there’s not incentives to have large surplus capacity.
“According to a factsheet released in July, the scheme seeking a solution to the dry year problem that has kept New Zealand reliant on fossil fuels for a small portion of our generation for decades was due to complete an initial investigation of options in 2021 and a more rigorous business case in 2022. The construction of whatever project was finally recommended by officials was slated to begin as early as 2022.
However, an update Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods provided to Cabinet in December, just months after the NZ Battery project was launched, shows the timelines have already blown out considerably. Now, the first phase of the investigation is only expected to wrap up in May 2022. A second phase would finish in mid-2023 if all went well, or as late as early 2024, Woods wrote.”
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/pumped-hydro-already-delayed-a-year
Quickly?
And yes the profit motive for gentailers appears a problem as outlined on RNZ this morning…..a lot of problems and very little urgency in applying solutions.
not to mention electric rail
Rail comes with its winter constraints.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/446848/freezing-temperatures-hit-much-of-the-country-trains-suspended-in-wellington
everything comes with constraints….though I wonder how often european or asian train services are disrupted by frosts?
With the ORC’s it’s any rail, not just electric rail that they won’t entertain. Rugby stadium however, not a problem.
Why is that?
Fundamental disinterest in adaptation within the ORC transport unit is one factor. Rumour has it that the DCC started making the bus hub before the ORC would countenance moving the bus route a block off the main street.
I really want the DCC to just take over dunedin public transport. The DCC keeps planning on trialling passenger rail (the trials have to work around the heavy freaight use seasons on the line, I've been told).
ORC couldn't care less about rail.
I wonder how much this has to do with the lack of interest
https://www.queenstownairport.co.nz/corporate/about/quick-facts
What's that got to do with getting people from Mosgiel to Palmerston and anywhere in between?
edit: but for that matter, a decent rail link to the city’s airport might be an idea for anyone serious about getting dunedinites out of cars.
Its got everything to do with where your revenue comes from and where your investment goes
Can you please connect the dots for us? What's the connection between ORC and QAC?
How does ORC get revenue from queenstown airport?
ORC gets its revenue from the businesses and residents supported by that influx.
QLDC has half the GDP of Dunedin.
what's the connection with ORC being uninterested in coastal Otago rail?
Currently….but where is the growth? Queenstown and Lakes highest growth area in country (before covid) …three times the rate of Dunedin.
Oh, it'll keep booming until there's a global shock again. Disease, war, a credit crunch, any of them.
Also, seems to me they're charging lower rates in q'town than dunedin as a function of property value.
"what's the connection with ORC being uninterested in coastal Otago rail?"
If you have limited resources where do you invest?…where you get the biggest bang for the buck (where you see the possibility of growth)….is rail going to bring 2.5m additional customers to your door every year?….while a well designed and run rail service may reduce activity…all those lost truck movements…regional economies love nothing more than spending from without (exports)
What do tourists buy off the ORC?
Where does ORCs revenue come from?
Not from tourists.
are you being deliberately obtuse?….where would the businesses and residents be without that annual influx and spend?….Queenstown Lakes wouldnt have been the growth engine of the ORC catchment….and that means less revenue for the ORC, or alternatively higher impediment to a diminished base with all the consequent risks.
That's the bit you're not connecting with the tourist influx.
As far as I can see, unless ORC has a tourist shop on Rees St then the main impact tourists will have is very indirectly on property prices, which Q'town actually pays less on per $100k value than dunedin does. But tourists don't buy lifestyle blocks.
"Growth engine" my arse. subsidised by port otago dividends and dunedin ratepayers, more like.
"Growth Change Factors Economic growth in Otago is dominated by tourism, primary production and education. The economy has been impacted negatively by the COVID-19 situation. Pre COVID-19 the population within certain areas of Otago was forecast to grow over the next ten years, the most significant being in the Queenstown Lakes district. Resident population in Queenstown is forecast to grow by 2.6% each year over the next ten years, and visitor numbers to grow by 2.4% per annum. This projection will be revised as part of the LTP 2021-31 process. There is currently a high level of uncertainty on growth over medium term and how that might impact on Council activity. Medium to longer term changes in the economy and population are likely to impact on the level of many activities carried out by Council, such as transport, demand on resource use, environmental incidents, civil defence and emergency management. The Council’s immediate short-term response is to maintain Council’s service for 202020-21 and seek revised forecasts on the impacts of COVID-19."
Page 37
https://www.orc.govt.nz/media/8679/annual-plan-2020-21_digital.pdf
How does that affect ORC revenue?
I can see how "impact on council activity" can be shorthand for "more buses and stress on water quality", but putting actual money in the council's pocket?
Has been raised here before.
https://twitter.com/puddleg/status/1415033724714897411
A rebuttal, of sorts, to the Quillette thing…from the Dark Horse's mouth. An investment.
https://odysee.com/@BretWeinstein:f/EvoLens87:1
(Youtube censored Dark Horse for the offending podcasts. Some here critical of Youtube as being the font of all nonsense might see that as an positive with regards to Weinstein and Heying's authority.)
Strange the Quilette piece uses so much emotive language for a scientific article.. like "bonkers", "insane", "ruinous", "eccentric", "cause carnage", "notorious conspiracy theory".
But when you're up against those conspiracy theorists like an expert in mRNA vaccines, a leading medical researcher and an experienced doctor on the covid frontlines, you have to win the argument somehow…
…for a scientific article
I can just about pinpoint when the rot set in…. published in an actual Sciencey Journal with a very Sciencey title, in February 2020.
The piece starts off sounding very technical and authoritative, but just when it begins to get to the interesting part the author delivers this line…
Lack of the definite origin of 2019-nCoV has led to speculation that 2019-nCoV might be derived from genetic manipulation or even for the purpose of use as a bioweapon. This notion has been fully debunked in the media.
Had the authors provided a reference to where the media had published scientific proof that Te Virus hadn't originated from a lab then perhaps this might not have been so concerning. But the authors didn't…and obviously they were under the misguided impression that readers of scientific papers would find nothing incongruous in a scientist referring to the media as being an authority on a scientific matter.
Very strange. And shit's been getting stranger ever since.
Yeah, that’s exactly when and where the rot set in: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7033698/citedby/ [Is Cited by the Following 21 Articles in this Archive:]
It went viral from exactly that point in space and time.
Good grief, SSDD 🙁
Yeah, and even stranger is that it isn’t a scientific article in a scientific journal that has been peer-reviewed by other scientific experts. How strange indeed, you created a strawman.
For the record, I enjoyed reading the Quillette article but then again, I would say that, of course, because I’ve been long lost to the Dark Side. FFS.
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10217703918183477&set=a.10201506603220726
Facecloth does not auto-embed here so you may want to say what the link is of.
My bad, the picture is a critique of climate change,
Huh? Are you critiquing Climate Change now too?
And while cartoonist are onto this one – at last – Richard Branson is chasing, now promoting , another rainbow that the earth does not need. His rocket rides! I just don,t get it !
Needle phobia is another reason for people not being vaccinated. This can be overcome or managed by having people arrive for the appointment and not being kept waiting or a small side room.
There needs to be information for needle phobic people such as being able to be vaccinated in a partly reclined comfortable chair and having a support person.
I understand there will be a press release today about a Provisional Improvement Notice at our local DHB.
I am keen for ideas for helping the buraurcrats solve some if the pressing issues.
Bedspace in the hospital is one issue. How about requisitioning a hotel ala MIQ and put stable patients in makeshift wards?
Bigger picture, when building the next hospital, listen to the staff on the floor and keep the bean counters out of the room. After all, a beer made by a bean counter is not a tasty brew.
To be honest I had a lot of respect for the bean counter at the DHB meeting I was at who stood up and said as the DHB was deciding to reduce hours of help for the elderly –
“You know already that we get many unpaid hours of work worth millions of dollars from the staff that currently look after those people, who despite previous cuts to hours often stay on until the person is dressed, fed, showered, etc. You also know that cutting paid hours will also give you more unpaid hours of work. I don’t support the the cuts”.
Dunno if he still works there but it was clear that it wasn’t the bean counters that were the problem. Management was the problem – knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing.
And yeah they cut hours again impacting on those I was advocating for.
I’ve seen other bean-counters show similar empathy and kindness over the years as well. In my observation they often provide alongside what they have been asked specifically to cost other options and a good assessment of the pros and cons.
Often they bear the reputational brunt of senior management decisions.
(The site at the moment doesn’t like carriage returns. You have to go redo them in edit mode as everything gets run together when posting. Using Chrome.)
CDHB?…the management of Canterbury home care services is an absolute disaster
In health, what can amd cant be done comes down to the money provided in the budget…
Someone has to make hard calls as to who of which sector of the community misses out.
A bit of philosophy for lunch. Probably more broadly applicable, but also relevant to the gender/sex debate (GCFs take the position that sex is a material reality).
https://twitter.com/tommygun1964/status/1415092144696483842
“…follow the laws of perspective and reflection of light, so it is easy to arrive at a permanent object underlying all the different people’s sense-data.”
At what point does “sense” become “nonsense”?
Serious question…when a man says they ‘feel’ like they are a woman (trapped in a man’s body etc….), what does that actually mean?
(I don’t know what it ‘feels’ like to be a woman…I just am a woman. ‘Feels’ have nothing to do with it.)
Perhaps one of those people celebrating the removal of the offensive billboard giving the dictionary definition of “woman” can shed some light here.
The fact you don’t “feel” anything doesn’t disallow others to “feel” otherwise. Good for you, and myself, I’m quite happy & comfortable with who & what I am, yet I can grasp others may feel different, & who am I to say they shouldn’t, just because I don’t.
And maybe look a bit deeper into it, “trapped in a mans body” is quite an ignorant view TBH, which is what the SUFW thrive on.
Would you mind expanding in that? I know it gets used dismissively but I also hear it used within trans activism and by trans people.
That is incorrect I feel love. SUFW don't thrive on "trapped in a mans body." I have heard SUFW say otherwise.
Others are entitled to feel what they feel. I don't have a problem with that, although psychologists state there are only something like 6 or 7 feelings including sadness, fear, disgust, joy, anger.
I accept some people feel this way, it is not a problem, the problem is that gender ideology requires me to accept their feelings as a factual reality "trans women are real women". I object to that….strongly.
Thanks for responding…but I’m still wanting to know exactly what being a woman “feels” like, since trans ideology demands that ‘feeling‘ like a woman is all that is required to be a woman.
To the point where the sex on a birth certificate can be changed at the stroke of a pen.
Maybe this will elucidate:
I have a sense of myself as a woman beyond my biology but it can’t be separated from my biology (and before anyone starts, no this isn’t biological essentialism).
I do believe there is such a thing as women’s culture and have spent a lot of time in groups and places where that’s a given.
Trans people covers a wide range of experiences. Young lesbians transitioning then detransitioning are having different experiences than a middle aged man leaving a marriage and coming out as a TW. Technically I fit under the now very large trans umbrella in a number of ways. I feel there is so much rich human experience to be explored but no debate and neoliberalism have birthed a nasty bluepink social dynamic that serves very few well.
Why people identify, and are identified, as female or male is relatively clear. It’s also clear that the idea of one’s gender (woman/man) being more ‘fluid’ than one’s sex (female/male) is not for everyone.
For women who “don’t know what it feels like to be a woman” to want/expect trans women to articulate exactly why they feel like women seems odd, but then cis women do constitute a (healthy) majority.
Would any description of how a trans woman ‘feels like a woman‘ (or how a trans man feels like a man) be sufficient to broaden the views of those who have a firm (if narrow) grasp of what “is required to be a woman” (or man)?
Fwiw, I’ve found it difficult to judge how to act normally (in as much as any of my behaviour qualifies as ‘normal’) around the handful of trans men of my acquaintance – I’m possibly overly attentive (a slippery slope) so as not to be seen to be ignoring/avoiding them. But maybe some are content to be ignored – would certainly be easier for introvert me.
gender (woman/man)
sex (female/male)
Might have to put it to the vote, but I think more accurate definitions would be…
sex(male/female, man/woman, girl/boy)
gender(masculine/feminine, boyish/girly, and perhaps blue/pink, spice/sugar)
gender: woman, girl, man, boy, etc
gender expression: masculine, feminine, etc
what's the definition of gender there? I assume you're not referring to biological sex.
sex: male, female, etc
man: adult human male
woman: adult human female
etc?
do I look like a billboard?
🙂
I'm guessing there's little agreement on what those words mean here.
Weesht weka! Words can mean anything to anyone and be damned if you or anyone else will tell others' what to believe.
Somewhere there will be a definition of "language" that might come in handy…
the principal method of human communication, consisting of words used in a structured and conventional way and conveyed by speech, writing, or gesture.
Of course, effective communication requires accepted meanings of words.
Discarding traditional definitions because a small minority of persons reject the reality and demand the majority accept their beliefs is going to lead to strife.
Which are politically negotiated over time and cultures. Welcome to humanity.
Transgender people = trans women and trans men (widely understood?)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_woman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_man
But thanks Rosemary, your terms (transfeminine / transmasculine) might be better, although they do seem more like adjectives.
https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/07/17/trans-masculine-people-are-being-excluded-from-the-conversation
"Some people may feel that their body is not in line with their deeply felt sense of self."
Part of the problem here is that society is being expected to accept some big legislative and social changes without adequate explanation. If how someone identifies is sufficient without explanation, why is this not true for women as well?
I don't need trans women to articulate exactly why they feel like a woman. I however think it's important that society gets to look at what gender and sex are, and whether prioritising gender over sex is the best way forward, and to do that we do need to have some kind of coherent and shared understanding of the various concepts. Hence the Russell quote.
When I checked the other day, "sex" was defined as
either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions.
and "gender" as
either of the two sexes (male and female), especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. The term is also used more broadly to denote a range of identities that do not correspond to established ideas of male and female.
The trans lobby is so powerful that I can see these definitions being overthrown completely and biological sex being consigned to quaint scientific history.
The idea that for millenia humans used to wrongly think that biological sex was (in the vast majority cases) accurately obvious at birth and was immutable, will be the source of much mirth.
Much like the idea that Earth orbits the Sun.
White humans, and lately a very small but loud group of them from the UK. Other people and cultures do not think the sky is falling.
Unlikely that it is only white folks that understand that the perpetuation of the species relies on two different sexes.
Biology… kindergarten level.
Unlikely that it is only non white folks from placesotherthantheuk who acknowledge that forcing individuals to conform to culturally proscribed sex role stereotypes is outdated and harmful.
This is not about demanding that people accept gender roles (in fact, quite the opposite), it is about acknowledging that sex is real…not a social construct.
Biological essentialism is turning the clock back. Sad to see fear drive some women to a stance their mothers and grandmothers fought so hard to escape from under.
Biological essentialism is turning the clock back.
@Sacha
You are going to have to define "biological essentialism".
Sad to see fear drive some women to a stance their mothers and grandmothers fought so hard to escape from under.
Sigh. Do I have to explain, again? It is the trans lobby turning back the clock by demanding that the sex marker on their birth certificate must be changed so it reflects the 'reality' of their gender ID.
As if sex dictates gender expression these days.
It is saddening to see that for some, being accepted as the opposite sex is vital for them to be comfortable in their own skin.
And as for "fear"… I am Woman, hear me roar!
"Saddening" because their sense of self is 'faulty'? Maybe all some transfeminine/transmasculine people need is a bit of good old-fashioned conversion therapy?
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2021/06/translation-gay-transgender-children-still-being-sent-to-conversion-therapy/
The ‘rising tide‘ of transgender people is a challenging trend and I'm ashamed to admit I'd rather it wasn't happening, but it's fruitless to deny the reality that "being accepted as the opposite sex is vital for them [transgender people] to be comfortable in their own skin."
I’m trying to understand the transgender PoV – trans men and trans women are people too – but of course that's not for everyone.
“Author? Author? Did you write these legs?'
'Yes."
'Well, I don't like dem. I don't like 'em at all at all. I could ha' writted better legs meself.”
― Spike Milligan, Puckoon
"My happily splashing daughter said,
"My legs are getting shorter!"
Well she must be dim, to take a swim,
In shark-infested water…."
(Also the Bard of the Silly Isles…but for the life of me I can't find it anywhere. I think it was in A Book of Bits etc.)
they both seem appropriate
Same for me. My problem is that women are being denied the right to self ID as a class, and all the flow in effects of that politically and socially.
You cannot know what it feels like to be a woman because you have no way of knowing (experiencing) what it feels like to not be a woman. You need to have a basis for making comparisons.
Personally, being a woman is not based on 'feeling', it is a reality.
I have no choice in the matter. I was born female, and the girl grew to be a woman.
That I can tick many of the boxes that some claim are symptoms of gender dysphoria makes me feel incredibly fortunate to have grown up during a time when there was growing acceptance of those who did not conform to traditional sex roles.
It seems to me that much of the trans ideology is about turning back the clock to times when men were supposed to be men, and we women were supposed to be ladies.
This activism grew out of literary criticism, including the claim that a piece of literature can mean whatever a reader reads, not what the author intended. On broadening to more tangible subjects the idea that reality is socially constructed is applied in similar terms.
What Russell discusses is that there is a shared reality which is perceptible, but totally independent of our perception of that reality. Were as the socially constructed version claims that man/woman stems from language and how people apply it and ultimately claims that getting society to act on that will overcome biological differences between these categories.
Of course ultimately this in incompatible with science, but thats why terminology is a priority and social pressure is used over appeals to fact.
No acknowledgement of cultural context there – what table means to different people, and the social power dynamics about which meanings are most public at any time. What it looks like is trivial.
I think there's potential there to bring together both the materialist position and the social one. Neither is trivial, and having both would give us more than the sum of the parts.
I don't see Russell talking about what the table looks like, but about how we perceive that there is a table at all. Thus establishing that humans have the capacity to observe reality on a shared basis despite some variation in how that observation is interpreted or reported.
There is a lot of philosophy over the last century or so about how we negotiate reality. Whole degrees in it.
Yes. I liked the one quoted above.
He's not much part of it.
Surrealism?
Some of this 'discussion' qualifies.
Good luck with that. A trivial part of what Russell is saying there is that, at the beginning of the universe there actually was a universe. Now once humans evolved we have ways of perceiving that universe (and internal mental models of that including social models), but the existance of that universe doesn't require anyone to perceive it.
The next important area is that a mental model (e.g a piece of logic or maths or a factual statement) doesn't need to be scientifically true of reality. Now if reality is socially constructed then whatever claim is socially dominant is true but this is fundamentally incompatible with scientific validity, because people are quite capable of believing things which are not true, even in large social groups.
We know Paraparaumu is a hard one…
https://www.facebook.com/jgeekandthegeeks/videos/1016513785761380
Excellent. That brought a smile to my face.
And those shoes!
The Southern version:
Ōtepoti
Ōtākou
Waikouaiti
Te Wai Pounamu
Oraka 😉
It’s a good time to think about fixing your mortgage interest rates if you haven’t already as it seems like they have hit rock bottom and as everyone seems to be predicting, are about to start increasing. In fact I believe the ASB has just increased some of their rates.
Good advice IMO. An ANZ economist here was telling an Oz bus show they’re expecting inflation.
The markets been banging on about reflation/inflation awhile now so at the slightest hint off they’ll go as banks have seen money leaving their low/no interest term deposits for much better returns pretty much anywhere else.
Nick Tuffley of ASB has just pointed the finger at wages growth when asked.
Some recent examples of financial commentators over predicting inflation.
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=47883
NZ interest rates will go up when the RBNZ wants them to, not according to what the market thinks.
Ask about freight rates to export/import and have a look around at the pump to see what is happening there. Sometimes you don’t need experts, just a little observation can sometimes give you an idea of what is happening and just as well as land and property are not part of the inflation equation. And with labour shortages what is the obvious consequence of that ??
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/freight-costs-ship-inflation-higher
Looks more like ASB tried to pre-empt today’s Reserve Bank announcement.
Well interest rate is staying at 0.25% and cheap money funding for lending programme will continue. However bond buying will cease.
Lets see how many other banks follow ASB’s lead, and how long it takes ASB to quietly backtrack.
I dont think there will be any backtrack near term….but they will likely have company soon…..and they have the second largest book.
Unlikely. The banks project risk (to themselves) out into the future. The analytical view of the significiant portion of the announcement was summarised as (from your link and my italics)..
This is pure signalling a forward risk to the banks. Change is risk and has to be calculated into the cost of borrowing. That was why the the longer term rates (3 -5 years) rose last month across virtually all banks – the uncertainty into the future increased. Why the shorter term rates (<= 2 years) slightly decreased – the risk in the shorter term was low, so get customers form other banks while they could..
Banks are likely to increase rates sooner rather than later, and as the ASB announcement showed, it’d be less of an increase in the short term loans, more in the longer term loans because of the risk..
//—————–
And just like that – this popped up in my mailbox. Link
Yeah, rates can only go up. That's been increasingly obvious for the last year.
My point was how long can ASB maintain their position in a very competitive market for those with the ability to borrow. Can't see them keeping that rate if other banks hold their rates as they were. Once the RB lifts their rate from 0.25% we may see banks raise rates but in the meantime the banks will be increasingly picky on who they lend too and fight tooth and nail for those eligible borrowers.
The answer was that after the inflation figures went up, so did all of the major banks lending rates. Risk overruled – as I suspected.
Unfortunately, I think the other banks will move their rates up as well shortly.
Farmer’s will protest to show their anger at townies, raising hell in urban centres like Gore and Queenstown.
Only apparently it will only be a drive-by bark in Dunedin because it’s “not safe to stop in Dunedin”. Probably scared of being outnumbered by hippie students smoking their “reefer” and demanding workers’ rights and clean drinking water.
Gotta say, a name like “Groundswell NZ” just screams astroturfing lol. Getting a fair bit of plugging by the ODT, too. But I guess we’ll see.
Judging by the comments below the ODT article I don’t blame them for just doing a drive-by….
Can’t see them getting much of a reception in Queenstown either, apart from pissing a lot of people off, the town centre’s seriously disrupted by road works from a council sewer upgrade that didn’t quite go to plan and street upgrades financed by COVID stimulus. Then most of the CBD business are taking it up the chook so that everyone else can swan about having little protests and otherwise getting on with life. That everything else in town, apart from tourism, is going gangbusters is beside the point.
More ute than tractor in Queenstown I’m guessing.
Most of the ute / pickup lot here are more American market led, well the ones I talk to anyway, and are reasonably exposed to electric transition. An awful lot of Teslas tooling around town. Chatter the last couple of days is whether the EV Rams will qualify for the feebate
Can't quite see what that is. Is that twin cab? 4WD?
Just a big American pick-up / ute. Most likely double cab and 4×4. What every builder in Queenstown aspires, especially EV. Good for the branding. Cybertruck even better.
Toyota has fucked up not developing EV or hybrid utes, other manufacturers will have them in showrooms in the next year or so and they will be the thing to have. The only people buying a new Hilux in 2023 will be diehard farmers and the Taliban
I told my mate I thought it was a poster for good coffee beans. He wasn't impressed.
Will Judith step up or is she just full of tūtae?
https://www.twitter.com/Mihi_Forbes/status/1414736665927507971
Judith meant Demand The Debate For White People
If we are going to do large scale mass vaccination events like this through August, could someone stand outside with a donation bucket and Labour Party membership forms?
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/auckland-mass-vaccination-event-begin-months-end-1-5m-doses-coming-in-august
Oh please no.
For the sake of getting as much vaccine coverage as we reasonably can, the last thing we need is anything pushing towards vaccine politicisation like has become such a problem elsewhere.
Getting people vaccinated transcends any link to politics.
it won't seem like that to non-Labour voters.
Fafo in action.
PARIS, July 13 (Reuters) – More than 900,000 people in France rushed to set up appointments to get vaccinated on Monday night after the president warned that people would see curbs imposed on them if they did not have a health pass that covered a vaccine or negative COVID test
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-france-idUSL1N2OP0B4
When the travel bubble opened with Oz, it was clearly signalled it could pop at any moment without warning, and anyone travelling had to bear that risk on their own.
So why the actual fuck is the government now giving away free MIQ to the poor darling snowflakes that were in NSW when the clearly signalled risk actually happened?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/travel-troubles/125745140/covid19-free-miq-for-kiwis-stranded-in-nsw-feels-like-a-slap-in-the-face-for-expats-stranded-abroad
why indeed
Maybe it is that this Government cares about people and knows that sometimes well-intended decisions and choices can have negative unintended consequences even though some of the risks were relatively clear. However, it does raise the question of fairness and balance compared to other overseas stranded Kiwis. FWIW, personally, I’d rather not spend 14 days cooped up in an MIQ facility.
It also raises the question whether any other government proclamations/instructions will be taken seriously
…government proclamations/instructions will be taken seriously
Is there still the "PM at1pm" show? Used to be a watcher until I came to my senses.
not currently…but who knows whether it will be resurrected or not
Do you two idiots realise that the disruptive Covid outbreaks in Australia are due in large part to non-compliance to public orders?
One thing NZ has done very well is compliance to public orders. It is for the benefit of us all. That we have done so well is because of clear communication.
One of the biggest components of that clear communication is regular or semi-regular appearances by JA, Hipkins, Bloomfield, and/or other MoH officials.
That communication and response is the envy of the world yet you run it down because you are offended in some way, or claim you took leave of your senses for a moment?
Grow up.
Yes communication was clear
"There will still be an element of 'flyer beware' for New Zealanders travelling to Australia, with the government saying it will not be coming to their rescue if they get trapped because of an outbreak."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/439909/new-zealand-australia-travel-no-quarantine-bubble-to-start-on-19-april-ardern-hipkins
But you are of course correct, it was childish of me to expect a politician to mean what they say….shame on me.
Well, I'm certainly not happy that taxpayer monies are going towards free MIQ for NSW holidaymakers.
But otherwise the government is not "coming to their rescue" as they have to pay for repatriation flights.
The 14 day quarantine is something imposed by us on them.
It would be good from this point for the government to state that in future should a bubble burst then all travellers wanting to re-enter NZ they will have to pay for MIQ.
Your comment at 13.2.1.1.1 totally departed from the complaint that TT travellers were getting treatment over and above what was indicated.
Ah, youre displeased by my interaction with a fellow poster…thats a shame.
This government has one, and only one, area of competence and that is its response to covid (imperfect though it has been) and they appear determined to fuck that up as well with self inflicted wounds.
All National/Act have to do is give them more rope.
And then you'll something real to be pissed off about.
What? I'm displeased because you went full Simon Bridges on the idea "it's not fair the PM gets to do Covid updates".
I think it is crucial that the people know that their Government is providing a safety net and can be relied upon to help those who need it. At the core, it is a trust issue. This works both ways, as the $16 billion wage subsidy scheme has shown. The elimination strategy is another case in point.
It is indeed a trust issue….and they have demonstrated their word is not to be trusted
Still trust our Govt to try to do their best for all NZers, but the absolute outrage at their inconsistency is papable. Saying they're not going to help and then subsequently helping – "That pisses me off." [YouTube link – mind the language]
Yeah, yeah. We got het up because of all the inconsistencies in the Government Response to Te Virus in the Early Days…but then Siouxsie explained it thus…
….we are having to build the plane at the same time as flying it.
Trouble is though…folks are tired and folks are stressed and folks trusted both the NZ and Aus governments when they got all enthusiastic about our Bubble and the fantastic money making potential for both countries from Opening Up.
So flights were booked and plans made and because of some leakage in the border protection everything went to shit. Folks got stuck and folks begged and folks cried and folks got told by Officials Tough Shit.
Media broadcasts sad and sorry stories of stranded, tearful folks and suddenly flights are on and places in MIQ magically become available.
Enough to make folks think that The Government Kindness is only activated by media intervention. Almost as if the Government learns more about what's going on around our border from the media than they do from Officials.
I thought there was a Minister dedicated to managing the Covid…
"Almost as if" indeed. What are Te Officials and Te Government good for anyway – worse than Te Experts eh? Not one independent thought among the lot of them – 'consensus suckers' everyone!
And I'm no better – got sucked in by the pro-vax lobby and already had a dose of that dreadful Pfizer vaccine (Comirnaty). Bound to be a disaster – can almost feel a 5G microchip (curse you Bill Gates!) working its way towards what passes for my brain; moulding my ‘mind’ – wish me luck.
"You're forgetting something Miles – you have no choice."
You didn't get the microchip version coz you're not the target demographic.
The government does not care enough about some groups of people when it comes to their welfare. The Lake Alice survivors and people who witnessed 15 March 2019.
Government has money to pay for MIQ for people who travelled for a holiday, (an exception for a seriously unwell family member is made) and not for those who were tortured or witnessed extreme terrorism.
With respect, but that’s a load of nonsense, which you seem to believe.
The emphasis is on not care enough.
It is not nonsense. The government would need to provide money for lawyers in order to convince me that all which could be done for the above groups is being done. Without legal advice people may not have the energy or confidence to challenge a ACC decision.
You know that the inquiry into Lake Alice Hospital is part of a bigger wider and ongoing Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, don’t you?
We have already discussed previously here on TS the issue of ACC cover for mental health issues of witnesses of terrorist acts, please keep up. Did you know that some Lake Alice survivors do get ACC cover PTSD, et cetera? I bet you didn’t know this.
How many TTTs who were caught when the travel bubble burst did go purely for a holiday? Please provide some hard numbers, not just speculation and assumption.
Government cannot ignore or bypass the Law.
3rd attempt to reply so will be a short reply. Yes I am aware of all your questions.
I will continue to raise my disgust with the governments handling of some ACC claimants. Mainly ECT not being covered when used as torture and witness to a terrorist attack and some historical issues with government departments.
That’s fine with me, as long as you’re aware that you’re not always barking up the right tree. For one, ACC =//= Government.
You know why ECT is not covered by ACC, don’t you?
Not on the schedule 3 list for a mental injury and a physical injury needs to have occurred.
1982-1992 there was cover for mental shock (a category not the ECT) and no physical injury had to be proven.
The deemed date of injury is important as some claimants could be under the 1982-1992 ACC legislation.
The date of injury is when a person first gets treatment for the injury being covered. An accurate diagnosis is not required at the start of treatment either.
It could be argued that placement of the electrodes on the genitals is a schedule 3 cover.
Until there is access to full legal representation for claimants legal arguments cannot be made.
If moderator feels the first paragraph needs to be removed or a warning please do so.
Thank you.
Indeed, demonstrable and consequential injury has to be present for a claim to proceed and possibly be approved under current legislation, which ACC is bound by. Government can change relevant legislation if necessary. A legal process (challenge) may indeed be required for change. It is a step-wise (slow, tedious, and expensive) process, but this is how the system works, by design and for good reason, and by that I don’t mean just ACC and the Accident Compensation Act 2001. At the same time, political pressure may be required. In short, make a case, present it, and then follow through, all the way.
Melbourne will be next to have a lockdown as a resurgence in community transmission. With a pre departure test required 72 hours before departure, this could delay a quick get away.
This was not hard to predict.
Oh that sound familiar :
High Profile Party Leaders Resign from Green Party; cite: “mob of dogmatic, self-righteous authoritarians” within ranks.
In their heavily footnoted 13 page letter, the Central Illinois grandparents who have devoted 25 years to building the Green party while raising their family, cite a broad range of offences by various members of party leadership which they assert violate the founding values of the party, including:
https://www.dialoguenotexpulsion.org/nlc-vs-gagp/prs-rls/High_Profile_Resignations_prompted_by_Mob_of_Self-Righteous_Authoritarians?fbclid=IwAR2VXwW5yLWPIluxzBzDCCz7raMOkUg-ue19TYqyDOhQbU5WOX7mDyTlBo8
So this is Green Party USA Illinois state details? It would be good to state that. Most of us are NZrs here and have to keep an eye on our own politics, in case they change drastically or even disappear when we look away. It is interesting to know the Green Party is confused probably everywhere in the world. Just let us know what country you are talking about will you. As you have done below referring to Scottish. Luckily we know that Dublin is in Ireland, or Eire?
Greywarshark, you got that correct, Illinois is in the U$.
I merely see a trend that trips up well respected GP leaders, who have given years to the green movement, over the trans religion.
Today I read that the co-leader quit the green party of the UK over the trans conflict.
Which made someone comment along the lines of: almost as if someone was financing TRAs to infiltrate ecology focused political parties.
Being distracted totally from the effects of climate change on whole groups of people, their food security and can we still do something do about it…
Andy Wightman, the Scottish Greens’ list member for Lothian region and a highly respected campaigner for tenants’ rights and land reform, stated in his resignation letter published on Friday afternoon:
“Some of the language, approaches and postures of the party and its spokespeople have been provocative, alienating and confrontational for many women and men”.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/18/scottish-greens-msp-resigns-claiming-intolerance-over-women-and-trans-rights
A fourth councillor has resigned from the Green Party. (Jan 2021)
Dublin-based Peter Kavanagh has stepped away from the Greens, citing internal abuse over his criticism of the party leadership.
https://www.newstalk.com/news/fourth-green-party-councillor-resigns-over-culture-within-party-1140398
Gosh, what a shambles it must be with a few resignations. We've never seen the like.
It Must Be Taxing Taxing Taxes.
Simon was told mate just get on your bike
Then Todd had a go and then Todd took a hike
Now Judith’s in charge and she paid for her likes
Paid for her likes so she’s liked
Adams said Madam now I’ve had enough
And Kaye said OK well that’s my innings up
And Falloon was soon in the news so screwed up
But she paid for some likes so they’re liked
There’s been English & Joyce, & who’d forget Ross
Finlayson, Korako, Walker & Scott
Guy, Barry, Dowie, Wagner & Carter
Abandoned the ship before Jude got the charter
No Tolley or Bennett nor Yang do we spy
It’s bare in Nats lair as elections draw nigh
But Jude, Paul & Gerry are building on dreams
Cue tax cuts and roads from the strongest of teams.
Well done.
Excellent! 🙂
Great nightcap, thanks WTB.