Gender critical feminists are generally socially conservitive and reactionary. Quite frankly, there are views that need to be silenced, if we are to have some form of social progress.
The overturning of Roe v Wade is one of the end points of allowing free speech.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Gender critical feminists are generally socially conservitive and reactionary. Quite frankly, there are views that need to be silenced, if we are to have some form of social progress.
The overturning of Roe v Wade is one of the end points of allowing free speech.
This is complete nonsense. You are mistaking GCFs for gender critical conservatives. GCFs are left wing/centre left/progressive feminists, often with very long histories of work on women’s rights including on abortion rights. It’s that work (theory, analysis, academic, grassroots) that informs gender critical feminist positions. GCFs often critique conservative gender politics.
The reason we have a reactionary, conservative backlash against trans people is because the liberal left got sucked into No Debate by Stonewall UK and other progressional lobby groups. Had GCFs and women generally been allowed to speak freely, we would have solid left wing positions on women’s sex based rights to push back on the conservative positions. Instead, trans allies appear to have decided to shut all women up because anything is better than questioning gender identity ideology. Can’t really complain afterwards about the debate then being dominated by people like Kellie Jay Keen or Matt Walsh.
If people want o understand what gender critical feminism is, read Jane Clare Jones, Kathleen Stock, Julie Bindel, Jo Phoenix, Brighton Sisters, Women’s Place UK, FiLiA
Here’s the Standard’s category for gender critical feminism posts
No, Gender critical feminists have always been right wing. I have spent hours combing through the twitter feeds of various CG feminists, such as Maya Forstater, Helen Joyce, and the Landy sisters (to name a few), and there is a lot of stuff there that the likes of Pat Roberston, Jerry Falwell and the likes would agree with.
If there was any justice in this world, Matt Walsh would be in a prison cell for holding his posionious views.
[Please provide some evidence for your claims. You know how this works: your own explanation, supporting quotes and links from sources that are evidence based. Don’t use Pink News.
The claims are:
Gender critical feminists have always been right wing
that the women you name are GCF
the stuff specifically that each or any of them say that Robertson or Falwell would agree with
That’s a mod request. Please do this before you comment again elsewhere on TS. – weka]
The Landy’s aren’t GCF, they’re reactionary gender critical activists.
Neither is Forstater a GCF. I would guess her politics are centrist, and she is a feminist in the contemporary centrist understanding of the term. eg
… she describes herself as being “a mother and a feminist” who thinks “that sexist stereotypes about women and girls, and about men and boys, are damaging for children and adults”
I don’t consider Joyce to be GCF either, she is a socially liberal centrist conservative. I do think of her as feminist, but again in the centrist contemporary understanding.
Weka – please – why does Millsy have to provide all that supportive material for his expressed view, while on this thread, Anker can write,
"UNiversitites (sic) here and overseas have been captured by the ideologically driven left ie critical race theory and gender ideology. They have had a very significant influence on our institutions for example the public service" without having to provide links, quotes etc?
As I see it, Weka is trying to bring rigour to the left. Millsy often makes wild claims that do a disservice to the left. While I don't agree with everything Anker says, I've never seen her behave like Millsy. And Anker is quite right about our universities. I should know – I work at one. In 2022 our boss encouraged us to enroll in a Critical Theory course – not compulsory at this stage, but we were told it would be "good for your careers".
the short answer is that millsy is telling lies about gender critical feminism.
It's akin to a right winger saying on TS that feminists hate men and always have. Or that Māori radicals want to kill white people. You can get away with that opinion in limited circumstances but once it becomes a pattern, expressed as fact in different ways over time, it's tedious as fuck because it's basically propaganda designed to mislead political debate. As such it has no place on TS. Millsy has form for this on multiple topics and has been moderated for it by more than just me.
I know millsy is wrong on GCF because I am very well informed on the topic. Re anker's comment. Anyone is free to ask her for evidence if they think she is wrong. I don't think she is wrong (again, I am well informed so I know what she is talking about). I probably disagree with her framing and the extent to which it is happening, and her view could do with some teasing out so that other people know what she is talking about, but that's a different matter from what millsy is doing.
It's not akin to saying that feminists hate men and always have. Or that Māori radicals want to kill white people.
Akin to would be saying feminists are too political, and that Māori radicals all vote Labour. That's akin, and debatable.
By describing millsy's comment as similar to feminists hate men and always have and Māori radicals want to kill white people is the definition of a straw man argument.
That means projecting and attributing a false, exaggerated argument onto your opponent, then attacking that falsehood.
GCF is an actual thing. Millsy was telling lies about what GCF is. I agree that my comparisons were poor, I will try and think of better ones. But the point I was making is that someone could come onto TS and tell lies about specific politics and that would cause a problem. For obvious reasons.
If people want to make an argument against gender critical feminist politics, then make the argument. But millsy wasn't doing that. They were misleading what GCF is, and they weren't making any argument apart from throwing out slurs about GCF being the same as rw fundamentalist christian positions.
The problem here is that No Debate means people criticising GCF haven't actually had to formulate an argument. They just repeat talking points and thought terminating cliches.
Using Pink News as a main reference point rots people's brains.
[that’s not good enough. It took time for me to research and then moderate. Why should any of the mods have to keep doing this when we have explained repeatedly over the past few years? 2 month ban.
When you come back you will be in premod again, and you will have to provide evidence for every claim you make at the time you make it.
If you don’t you will get a longer ban and eventually a permanent one.
I strongly encourage you to review the moderations on this, because we have explained what the problem is a number of times. I will post links to them below – weka]
I started compiling this list below and I cannot understand why you should be given 15th chance. Ban upgraded to your second 12 month ban, simply to preserve moderator sanity.
the moderations from the past, in reverse chronological order, I gave up half way through 2022.
All the Gender Critical Feminists I know are pretty much like me. Older – with a history of working for progressive and women's movements and causes for most (if not all) of our working lives. Many are lesbians, and none of them ever vote for any kind of Tory.
We are GC because we worked for the stuff that the Trans Activists are busy stripping from us. We are not going to hand our rights over easily, and for those of us who are lesbian, we don't care if you call it a "Ladydick", or a "Girldick" or a "Shenis" – we are not interested it in and anything it hangs off.
Am with Visubversa on this. Politicised lesbian women are the staunchest most trustworthy allies to have in progressive struggles has been my experience for many years.
The new women with cocks and balls–trans women–are unlikely ultimately, to get away with denigrating lesbians. Trans women like any other group are entitled to have lives free of harassment but that does not entitle them to hound other traditionally oppressed people.
There can be some horrific othering and demonising of marginalised people on this forum sometimes. Punching down rather than up. It's not progressive and it's really depressing.
What, no link? I provided a link to support my claim, but you did not :/
Graham Lineman sets up fake accounts in order to troll, harass, and doxx people online. That's a big no, no pretty much everywhere in decent society.
Visibersa and Tiger's comments on any other group of people (particularly marginalised people) I suspect would attract significant moderator attention…
…like I said it’s pretty depressing that sort of stuff is said here.
People can just go read and see for themselves, right?
Visibersa and Tiger’s comments on any other group of people (particularly marginalised people) I suspect would attract significant moderator attention.
So make an actual argument, that way you will get respect. But that sentence is just another meaningless slur.
In my long experience, and the experience of many gender critical women and men, what you are doing here is very familiar. Point the finger, accuse someone of being transphobic, but almost never explain what that means, nor engage with critical debate about your position.
How about you just lay out what your specific concerns are about visubversa and Tiger’s comments and then we can look at them and see if they are justified or have meaning. That’s what we do here, it’s robust debate.
My concerns about visubversa and Tiger's comments are that they trivialise and delegitimise all transgender people by mocking them as nothing more than sexual fetishists and imposters with cocks and balls.
This is a from of prejudice akin to racism which we don't stand for I think. Tiger asked that transgender people should be able to lives free of harassment conditional on none falling foul of the law. What, the, fuck.
Your claim below that my defense of transgender people living lives free of prejudice means I'm also defending prison rape is another straw man argument. That whole comment is akin to describing all Maori men as violent in the home because there have been some cases of that.
My concerns about visubversa and Tiger’s comments are that they trivialise and delegitimise all transgender people by mocking them as nothing more than sexual fetishists and imposters with cocks and balls.
I agree TM’s comment is close to the line, if not over it, in terms of talking about TW generally.
But visubversa named two groups: Trans Rights Activists (not all trans people), and the trans women and their allies who insist that lesbians should accept trans identified males into their sex lives. Lebsians have every right to be be both extremely fucked off about that as well as politically resistant.
This is a from of prejudice akin to racism which we don’t stand for I think. Tiger asked that transgender people should be able to lives free of harassment conditional on none falling foul of the law. What, the, fuck.
I don’t think that is what they meant at all. This is what they said,
Trans women like any other group are entitled to have lives free of harassment but that does not entitle them to hound other traditionally oppressed people.
How that reads to me is general support for the human rights of TW, and those rights don’t extend to telling lesbians they should like girldick.
That’s not a form of of prejudice like racism, it’s a political analysis of gender identity ideology. If you want to argue that lesbians should like girldick, please do so. If not, then my question for you is why you can’t see what is happening to lesbians. Or why you don’t think it’s important?
Your claim below that my defense of transgender people living lives free of prejudice means I'm also defending prison rape is another straw man argument. That whole comment is akin to describing all Maori men as violent in the home because there have been some cases of that.
If your position is that you believe trans people should be allowed/enabled to live lives free of prejudice, then that’s great. I agree.
I don’t believe all trans people are rapists, and you appear to have missed my point. GCFs, GC women, and people in general have been blocked from talking about serious issues around gender identity ideology.
Note I am not talking about trans people, or trans women, I am talking about the ideology and the politics that flow from it.
That ideology says trans women are literally women and society should enact legislation that allows any man to self identify as a woman at any time and then he must be treated as if he were a woman. That is why we have rapists self-identifying as women, and it’s why it took gender critical feminists and other GC people to force liberals and society to put some blocks on that. Although afaik there are still places in the world where men can self ID into women’s prisons.
I’ve seen it argued on TS that this is right, men should be allowed to do this, and women apparently should suck this up. So if you want to put say TM’s comments in the broader TS context, you have to understand that there have been left wing, pro-feminist men on TS who have argued that it’s ok for women to be rape collateral damage in order to support gender identity ideology.
What could have been fought for instead was safe prisons for gender non conforming males. But no, that won’t work because there is a subset of trans women for whom affirmation of their self ID has to be enshrined across all society. No matter who it hurts.
wealthy white cis men who are AGP are not more oppressed than lesbians in the (neo)liberal hierarchy of oppression. Critiquing gender identity ideology is not punching down.
If you wanted more support for TQ+ you probably should have stepped in quite some years ago when women were being subjected to heinous, often sexualised, online violence from the men you are defending here.
Women sorted that out themselves, and chose their own wellbeing and politics. Funny how many left wing men are now against them. Who is punching down exactly?
And before you say oh that's just a few rare examples, I could go on all day. As could anyone whose been paying attention and listening to women for the last 6 years.
That man at half time who did the slow strip in the white ensemble sure could move his legs though….. I do wonder how an American journalist would write up a T20 game in India or a Saudi Arabian view of the World Darts Final. I prefer to watch Parliament- lots of circus, not much bread and far less fattening.
Looks like the fiasco of Auckland's transport is about to be inflicted on the Cook Strait ferry service. National ideology is to do nothing, gut the state and create an opaque provider/funder split. Listening to Willis on RNZ just now the obvious plan for Cook Strait is to use Bluebridge and offload/on load rail containers in an inefficient manner. There will be a nightmare where Kiwirail own the rail, a private monopoly carry the freight at crippling costs, and the government spends nothing on infrastructure. Tax cuts now, and to hell with the infrastructure deficit.
But that's ok- those refunds mean the landlords won't have to raise their rents, so the workers and beneficiaries who are taking the massive income hit to pay for it, don't need to worry about being priced out of a roof over their heads. So everyone wins, right? /s
The landlord tax given away by the government would have funded the new ferries and new port facilities with state of art rail freight facilities for generations to come
I too heard Willis on RNZ this morning ..doesn't give a toss.
This government is simply crap….but Luxon will be ok with his 7 houses.
The fact that we will have useless ferries in three years time should be an election issue.
This country is going to be in an absolute state of destruction in 3 years time after this pack of vandals have had their go. Let's hope that the general public will learn their lesson and never again give this C of C the keys to the purse again.
Gobsmacked by huge 200k upward revision of long-term sickness numbers by @ONS. Overall picture is emphatic. Britain is too sick to work productively. The economic hit will be HARD. @hmtreasury will be gutted. Mandarins! We need to address our underlying health! Urgently!
New Study Sheds Light on COVID-19 and Dementia Risk in Older Adults
A groundbreaking study in preprint at Lancet has revealed a significant link between COVID-19 infection and the increased risk of new-onset dementia (NOD) in older adults (60+ years).
Here’s what you need to know…
What Did Researchers Do? – Reviewed 11 studies involving nearly 940,000 people who had COVID-19 and over 6.7 million controls (without COVID-19). – Compared the risk of developing dementia post-COVID across various time frames up to 24 months after infection.
Key Findings: – COVID-19 survivors are at a higher risk of developing dementia, with a risk ratio (RR) of 1.58, meaning they’re 58% more likely to develop dementia than those without the virus. – This risk spikes to 84% higher than non-COVID individuals at 12 months post-infection. – Women and patients with severe COVID-19 showed significantly higher risks of developing dementia.
Could have been a direct quote from Kiwiblog anytime during the previous Government's time. I wonder if that reveals the failings of the whole oppositional, binary system we operate in? They're right, then we're right; they're wrong then we are wrong.
What irks me most is the language these Government MPs are using; trash-talking the previous Government and its specific ministers seems churlish, mean-spirited, and a word beloved by Kiwibloggers, nasty 🙂
completely agree. The left wing anger is palpable and justified. But we're no longer in a world where that oppositional binary system works (before it worked albeit dysfunctionally). We're still using that system, but the game has completely changed and we haven't caught up yet.
How to change that? Or how to adapt to the new dynamics so that we have agency towards all of life?
(and this is where we're going to sorely miss the likes of James Shaw).
this is another serious problem with our oppositional binary system, how to Tory proof legislation and policy. But it works the other way too, if we tory-proof from our side, they can socialist-proof from theirs.
Shaw walked a different path from that. The value is threefold (at least).
he demonstrated a different way of doing things
he passed legislation that had support from across the house
as a Minister he was able to change culture within government departments to be conscious of the importance of climate/eco crisis.
To step out of the oppositional binary for a moment, how about we list Shaw's achievements that will survive this government, wholly or in part?
One less obvious one is that all the people in government departments who are on board with climate and transition thanks to having had two terms of a Green Climate Minister, they're not going to suddenly disappear.
He was also constantly frustrated by the lack of depth and speed of progress and I have no doubt he's appalled by the tweaks from this Government; clean car discount etc.
All progressive actions are vulnerable to regressive governance.
I still believe strongly that providing narratives of how things can work out is imperative.
Macro implied above that we need to replace the government in 3 years time. What are the things that we can do between now and then that increase the chances of a change of govt in 2026? At the moment we are understandably focused on anger and calling out NACTF. This is important too (micky's posts and many of the comments on TS are great at this).
In addition, we need to be talking about how to win next time. That gives us 2024 and 2025 to organise. Then 2026 being the election campaign itself (I bet you have some thoughts on political campaigning!)
That's a short term, working with the system we've got option. I might see if I can do a post on that but have been wanting TS lefties to get the initial anger out of their system a bit.
Alongside and overlapping that is what Swarbrick is talking about, movement building at the community level. The left have been banging on about that for a long time, so I'm curious to see what CS comes up with.
I said yesterday that the details on that are probably going to be available to members as the Greens work on that over the next year. So anyone who hasn't and is inclined, might want to join the party now and get involved at the local level.
That is both short, medium and long term mahi. Getting our heads around the generational nature of change is probably a fairly big challenge.
Back to the how things work out. What would a new government in 2026 look like? Where will be at with climate/ecology? Can we develop a two pathways approach (parliament and community/movement)? What would that look like when we win in 2026?
I feel we could co-create a wonderful system, for sure.
But if the "others" stick to their game plan, they'll smash everything again. Community /movements would have to be free from the need for Government assistance, and also wary that the threat they will represent, will be met by unkind Government actions.
I agree that government funding is problematic. In the age of the internet, networking, and crowd funding, this is less of a problem now than it used to be.
In CS' electorate campaign, the workers were free from government crackdown, and I assume used a mix of fundraising and GP monies (some of which come from the government??).
I assume this is true for the three other electorates the Greens did well in.
Great questions Weka and ones I've been waiting for more people to ask. We can all see the horror show unfolding in front us but what do we do about it? I hear your point about letting the anger disappate a bit but I feel it's going to continue as the wreckers continue their work.
Perhaps one answer is to harness it. I'm on the verge of re-joining the Greens
While joining The Greens is a positive step, any meaningful solution is to be found at grass/flax roots level.
No party can implement the changes needed and get voted in.
To move to a less carbon dense lifestyle is the answer to almost all serious issues we face- climate, economic, social, inequality, ecosystem collapse/extinctions.
Transition Towns offer a great model, tweaked to your own circumstance/location.
Sharing will be at the heart of our future.
When we move, the pollies have no option but to follow.
Sigh. I wish we could find a way to "Tory proof" the WCC. Can we please have our infrastructure fixed rather then provide huge subsidies to US theatre owners?
If a transaction is between private individuals or organisations I see no reason for them not to be confidential.
When, on the other hand, one side of the transaction is a Governmental organisation, such as the central Government or a local body which is financed by the taxpayer or the ratepayer I don't see that there is any transaction that should be hidden.
I believe that the Governmental group should always offer the same deal to anyone. The only way to ensure that that happens is to make them known. I certainly don't want the Wellington Council giving special rates to their mates at my, the ratepayer's, expense.
If you, as a private individual chose to charge one of your friends less for work you do for them, and it is you own money that is providing the discount, why should it be anything to do with me?
the commercially sensitive transaction in this case was the WCC buying a piece of land. Where it being public might increase the amount the WCC had to pay.
I certainly don't want the Wellington Council giving special rates to their mates at my, the ratepayer's, expense.
I was thinking about contract bidding being done privately. Aren't there rules in place for that kind of thing to prevent mates rates?
The people who owned the cinemas were the ones who owned the land they were sitting on. They were selling it to the Council but were going to keep on running the cinemas.
As the sellers they obviously knew how much they were going to be paid.
I can see no way that the Council could have to pay more money if the public knew how much the price was going to be.
Tory-proofing is difficult when they operate in bad faith and rely on disinformation campaigns against progressive reforms.
Jacinda's frustrating incrementalism and consensus-building was an attempt to embed legislation for the long term. The miniscule carbon prices attached to farming were hammered out over years of negotiations in good faith. But Groundswell threw that away and decided to drive tractors up and down the country at the horror of having to pay for a tiny bit of their emissions.
Co-governance was a principle established by the previous National government and should be uncontroversial by now, but the munters and shit-stirrers found it a useful wedge for their racist conspiracy theories.
I still have a bit of faith that most Kiwis don't particularly like National or Luxon, but the resentment and anger at Jacinda and lockdowns is still palpable out there. She was wise to fall on her sword, but the hostile sentiment still remains. Hopefully people will wake up soon when they see the Nats trying to sell off half the country again. Before it's too late.
"Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says farmers have been treated ‘’like villains’’ for the last six years, and his Government was working hard to remove red tape and regulations that were slowing down the economy."
He hasn't got a clue or is the worst served PM by advisors in history. He turned up at a well known Marlborough wine company in the campaign sprouting the same target of doubling production only to be rebuked by the owner who pointed out that that was impossible because most of the suitable land was already in grapes and the industry's goal was quality not quantity. He has no idea that doubling production is almost impossible in most areas of primary production, certainly in sheep, probably also in beef and almost all other sectors as the constraints are not only local but mostly external with protected markets and over supply. The man is a muppet who has spent most of his working life in the US and is seriously ill-informed personally and professionly.
Can only assume he means further dairy intensification (double the intensification by definition) with all the destructiveness that brings upon the environment.
Trading off the New Zealand brand while simultaneously destroying that brand. Vulture capitalist, anyone?
They seem to be blithely unaware (or just callous) that climate catastrophies will totally fuck up the supply chain that underpins global free markets, and environmental collapse will put a stop to our food producing capacities
We need to become self sufficient in all things as soon as possible, which means subsidies for farmers to produce for the domestic market, (as well as encouraging those who can to have home gardens).And regenerative agriculture! Something Damien O'Connor was pushing for in our area.
We produce milk powder that ends up as a filler in all manner of unhealthy foodstuffs, nothing to be proud of, while ruining one of the most essential elements to life…our water.
Puppet rather than muppet as this is just another role where he works to direction, has the rhetoric provided and gets rewarded based on his ability to get the 'job' done.
That 'job' as we're starting to see is an ideologically driven destruction. Haters and wreckers.
No one from Fonterra would be interviewed about Mr Spierings' payout, but a Fonterra statement said he was given the $4.6m when he left the co-op last August.
It said the payment covered the final part of a deferred bonus dating back to 2017 and Mr Spierings' final remuneration for this year including his base salary, superannuation, and holiday pay.
Mr Spierings' annual annual salary was $2.5m a year but he earned over $8m for each of the last two years with bonuses.
Did Luxon and Stuff mean 'villeins' and not 'villains'? Defined as "(in medieval England) villeins were feudal tenants entirely subject to a lord or manor to whom they paid dues and services in return for land."
Bowls of decidedly pink-tinged rice are about to feature on sustainable food menus, according to researchers who created rice grains with beef and cow fat cells grown inside them.
Scientists made the experimental food by covering traditional rice grains in fish gelatin and seeding them with skeletal muscle and fat stem cells which were then grown in the laboratory.
After culturing the muscle, fat and gelatin-smothered rice for nine to 11 days, the grains contained meat and fat throughout, resulting in an end product the researchers believe could become a nutritious and flavourful food.
Prof Jinkee Hong, who led the work at Yonsei University in South Korea, cooked and tasted the beef-cultured rice, which he hopes will be a more affordable source of protein than traditional beef, with a much smaller carbon footprint.
So the prediction that this lot would wreak the economy for us all by Feb is coming true, every day these muppets are doing more bat shit ideological shitfuckary with economy than ann randy on steroids.
In fact it's a bloody roid rage event. How much of a fetishist wet dream can this lot run with? We can only guess that purity is the only thing holden them together.
How many times have we got to have this shitfucker bugger with people lives till they work out ideological free markets and business does it best – is a sick bloody joke?
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Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Kiwis planning a swim or heading out on a boat this summer should remember to stop and think about water safety, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop and ACC and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand’s beaches, lakes and rivers are some of the most beautiful in the ...
The Government is urging Kiwis to drive safely this summer and reminding motorists that Police will be out in force to enforce the road rules, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This time of year can be stressful and result in poor decision-making on our roads. Whether you are travelling to see ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
By Litia Cava, FBC News multimedia journalist Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has revealed how arms and ammunition used to conduct the 1987 military coup were secretly brought into Fiji on board a naval survey ship. Speaking at the commissioning of a new research vessel for the Lands and Mineral ...
Youth advocates are worried tighter rules for emergency housing could lead to someone dying due to the impacts on mental health and physical safety for those denied shelter. ...
“We urge the Health Select Committee to extend the date for submissions,” concluded Rev Bush. “There is too much at stake to leave the outcome of this review only in the hands of politicians or those with vested interests.” ...
A separate passport, citizenship and membership of the United Nations are only available to fully independent nations, Winston Peters' office says. ...
By Emma Andrews, Henare te Ua Māori Journalism Intern at RNZ News The New Zealand fuel company Z Energy is swapping out street names for “correct” kupu on service stops around the country, with the help of local hapū. When Z took over 226 fuel sites from Shell in 2010, ...
Summer reissue: Was it a false measurement, a full-blown conspiracy or just some mild incompetence? Mad Chapman uncovers the truth of Maddi Wesche’s final throw. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Old, Associate Professor, Biology, Zoology, Animal Science, Western Sydney University Dmitry Chulov, Shutterstock At this time of year, images of reindeer are everywhere. I’ve had a soft spot for reindeer ever since I was a little girl. Doesn’t everyone? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grozdana Manalo, Career Services Manager (Education), University of Sydney hedgehog94/Shutterstock Getting casual work over summer, or a part-time job that you might continue once your tertiary course starts, can be a great way to get workplace experience and earn some extra ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ty Ferguson, Research associate in exercise, nutrition and activity, University of South Australia Peera_Stockfoto/Shutterstock It’s never been easier to stay connected to work. Even when we’re on leave, our phones and laptops keep us tethered. Many of us promise ourselves we ...
The NZ Media Council upheld the complaint under principle four: comment and fact On 5 September 2024, The Spinoff published a brief article titled Made in Palestine, found in 1970s Hastings, which highlighted an upcoming art exhibition featuring photographs of vintage cosmetic products labelled “Made in Palestine.” The piece, described ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kasey Symons, Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University We are well and truly in cricket season. The Australian men’s cricket team is taking centre stage against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series while the Big Bash League is underway, as ...
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Gender critical feminists are generally socially conservitive and reactionary. Quite frankly, there are views that need to be silenced, if we are to have some form of social progress.
The overturning of Roe v Wade is one of the end points of allowing free speech.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[moved from here https://thestandard.org.nz/a-sad-lament-from-the-serial-left/#comment-1989347%5D
This is complete nonsense. You are mistaking GCFs for gender critical conservatives. GCFs are left wing/centre left/progressive feminists, often with very long histories of work on women’s rights including on abortion rights. It’s that work (theory, analysis, academic, grassroots) that informs gender critical feminist positions. GCFs often critique conservative gender politics.
The reason we have a reactionary, conservative backlash against trans people is because the liberal left got sucked into No Debate by Stonewall UK and other progressional lobby groups. Had GCFs and women generally been allowed to speak freely, we would have solid left wing positions on women’s sex based rights to push back on the conservative positions. Instead, trans allies appear to have decided to shut all women up because anything is better than questioning gender identity ideology. Can’t really complain afterwards about the debate then being dominated by people like Kellie Jay Keen or Matt Walsh.
If people want o understand what gender critical feminism is, read Jane Clare Jones, Kathleen Stock, Julie Bindel, Jo Phoenix, Brighton Sisters, Women’s Place UK, FiLiA
Here’s the Standard’s category for gender critical feminism posts
https://thestandard.org.nz/category/government-and-politics/gender-critical-feminism/
No, Gender critical feminists have always been right wing. I have spent hours combing through the twitter feeds of various CG feminists, such as Maya Forstater, Helen Joyce, and the Landy sisters (to name a few), and there is a lot of stuff there that the likes of Pat Roberston, Jerry Falwell and the likes would agree with.
If there was any justice in this world, Matt Walsh would be in a prison cell for holding his posionious views.
[Please provide some evidence for your claims. You know how this works: your own explanation, supporting quotes and links from sources that are evidence based. Don’t use Pink News.
The claims are:
That’s a mod request. Please do this before you comment again elsewhere on TS. – weka]
The Landy’s aren’t GCF, they’re reactionary gender critical activists.
Neither is Forstater a GCF. I would guess her politics are centrist, and she is a feminist in the contemporary centrist understanding of the term. eg
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/maya-forstater-transgender-twitter-jk-rowling-b1838151.html
I don’t consider Joyce to be GCF either, she is a socially liberal centrist conservative. I do think of her as feminist, but again in the centrist contemporary understanding.
Weka – please – why does Millsy have to provide all that supportive material for his expressed view, while on this thread, Anker can write,
"UNiversitites (sic) here and overseas have been captured by the ideologically driven left ie critical race theory and gender ideology. They have had a very significant influence on our institutions for example the public service" without having to provide links, quotes etc?
I don't get it.
As I see it, Weka is trying to bring rigour to the left. Millsy often makes wild claims that do a disservice to the left. While I don't agree with everything Anker says, I've never seen her behave like Millsy. And Anker is quite right about our universities. I should know – I work at one. In 2022 our boss encouraged us to enroll in a Critical Theory course – not compulsory at this stage, but we were told it would be "good for your careers".
the short answer is that millsy is telling lies about gender critical feminism.
It's akin to a right winger saying on TS that feminists hate men and always have. Or that Māori radicals want to kill white people. You can get away with that opinion in limited circumstances but once it becomes a pattern, expressed as fact in different ways over time, it's tedious as fuck because it's basically propaganda designed to mislead political debate. As such it has no place on TS. Millsy has form for this on multiple topics and has been moderated for it by more than just me.
I know millsy is wrong on GCF because I am very well informed on the topic. Re anker's comment. Anyone is free to ask her for evidence if they think she is wrong. I don't think she is wrong (again, I am well informed so I know what she is talking about). I probably disagree with her framing and the extent to which it is happening, and her view could do with some teasing out so that other people know what she is talking about, but that's a different matter from what millsy is doing.
It's not akin to saying that feminists hate men and always have. Or that Māori radicals want to kill white people.
Akin to would be saying feminists are too political, and that Māori radicals all vote Labour. That's akin, and debatable.
By describing millsy's comment as similar to feminists hate men and always have and Māori radicals want to kill white people is the definition of a straw man argument.
That means projecting and attributing a false, exaggerated argument onto your opponent, then attacking that falsehood.
GCF is an actual thing. Millsy was telling lies about what GCF is. I agree that my comparisons were poor, I will try and think of better ones. But the point I was making is that someone could come onto TS and tell lies about specific politics and that would cause a problem. For obvious reasons.
If people want to make an argument against gender critical feminist politics, then make the argument. But millsy wasn't doing that. They were misleading what GCF is, and they weren't making any argument apart from throwing out slurs about GCF being the same as rw fundamentalist christian positions.
The problem here is that No Debate means people criticising GCF haven't actually had to formulate an argument. They just repeat talking points and thought terminating cliches.
Using Pink News as a main reference point rots people's brains.
Probably because Millsy appears to be quite happy to imprision people for what he beleives is 'wrong think'
mod note.
I will also remind you of this, where you agreed to post evidence at the time of making claims,
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09-01-2024/#comment-1983905
in response to this mod note about making unsubstantiated claims,
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09-01-2024/#comment-1983853
Please reread that.
Never mind. I withdraw the allegations.
[that’s not good enough. It took time for me to research and then moderate. Why should any of the mods have to keep doing this when we have explained repeatedly over the past few years? 2 month ban.
When you come back you will be in premod again, and you will have to provide evidence for every claim you make at the time you make it.
If you don’t you will get a longer ban and eventually a permanent one.
I strongly encourage you to review the moderations on this, because we have explained what the problem is a number of times. I will post links to them below – weka]
mod note.
I started compiling this list below and I cannot understand why you should be given 15th chance. Ban upgraded to your second 12 month ban, simply to preserve moderator sanity.
the moderations from the past, in reverse chronological order, I gave up half way through 2022.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10-02-2024/#comment-1989245
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11-01-2024/#comment-1984201
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11-01-2024/#comment-1984202
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09-01-2024/#comment-1983853
https://thestandard.org.nz/atlas-smirked/#comment-1983696
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-07-01-2023/#comment-1929460
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29-12-2022/#comment-1928564
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11-11-2022/#comment-1920633
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11-11-2022/#comment-1920681
"Gender critical feminists have always been right wing.."?
I don't think many here would agree with you.
All the Gender Critical Feminists I know are pretty much like me. Older – with a history of working for progressive and women's movements and causes for most (if not all) of our working lives. Many are lesbians, and none of them ever vote for any kind of Tory.
We are GC because we worked for the stuff that the Trans Activists are busy stripping from us. We are not going to hand our rights over easily, and for those of us who are lesbian, we don't care if you call it a "Ladydick", or a "Girldick" or a "Shenis" – we are not interested it in and anything it hangs off.
Am with Visubversa on this. Politicised lesbian women are the staunchest most trustworthy allies to have in progressive struggles has been my experience for many years.
The new women with cocks and balls–trans women–are unlikely ultimately, to get away with denigrating lesbians. Trans women like any other group are entitled to have lives free of harassment but that does not entitle them to hound other traditionally oppressed people.
There can be some horrific othering and demonising of marginalised people on this forum sometimes. Punching down rather than up. It's not progressive and it's really depressing.
You mean baseless smears against Graham Linehan that you like to throw round and don't back up?
Hypocrite much.
Graham Linehan is a white cis male. Hardly marginalised.
He's also a hateful transphobe.
Sounds yucky.
Who would support him?
The Sovereign crowd, I suppose.
And you're a hateful misogynist.
What, no link? I provided a link to support my claim, but you did not :/
Graham Lineman sets up fake accounts in order to troll, harass, and doxx people online. That's a big no, no pretty much everywhere in decent society.
Visibersa and Tiger's comments on any other group of people (particularly marginalised people) I suspect would attract significant moderator attention…
…like I said it’s pretty depressing that sort of stuff is said here.
I’ve explained this to you before. If you are going to throw out lazy slurs, I will throw out one about you.
As for your link, that’s about as useful as me giving this one,
https://thestandard.org.nz/search/muttonbird+trans/?search_comments=true&search_posts=true&search_sortby=date
People can just go read and see for themselves, right?
So make an actual argument, that way you will get respect. But that sentence is just another meaningless slur.
In my long experience, and the experience of many gender critical women and men, what you are doing here is very familiar. Point the finger, accuse someone of being transphobic, but almost never explain what that means, nor engage with critical debate about your position.
How about you just lay out what your specific concerns are about visubversa and Tiger’s comments and then we can look at them and see if they are justified or have meaning. That’s what we do here, it’s robust debate.
My concerns about visubversa and Tiger's comments are that they trivialise and delegitimise all transgender people by mocking them as nothing more than sexual fetishists and imposters with cocks and balls.
This is a from of prejudice akin to racism which we don't stand for I think. Tiger asked that transgender people should be able to lives free of harassment conditional on none falling foul of the law. What, the, fuck.
Your claim below that my defense of transgender people living lives free of prejudice means I'm also defending prison rape is another straw man argument. That whole comment is akin to describing all Maori men as violent in the home because there have been some cases of that.
thanks for clarifying MB, I think that’s useful.
I agree TM’s comment is close to the line, if not over it, in terms of talking about TW generally.
But visubversa named two groups: Trans Rights Activists (not all trans people), and the trans women and their allies who insist that lesbians should accept trans identified males into their sex lives. Lebsians have every right to be be both extremely fucked off about that as well as politically resistant.
I don’t think that is what they meant at all. This is what they said,
How that reads to me is general support for the human rights of TW, and those rights don’t extend to telling lesbians they should like girldick.
That’s not a form of of prejudice like racism, it’s a political analysis of gender identity ideology. If you want to argue that lesbians should like girldick, please do so. If not, then my question for you is why you can’t see what is happening to lesbians. Or why you don’t think it’s important?
If your position is that you believe trans people should be allowed/enabled to live lives free of prejudice, then that’s great. I agree.
I don’t believe all trans people are rapists, and you appear to have missed my point. GCFs, GC women, and people in general have been blocked from talking about serious issues around gender identity ideology.
Note I am not talking about trans people, or trans women, I am talking about the ideology and the politics that flow from it.
That ideology says trans women are literally women and society should enact legislation that allows any man to self identify as a woman at any time and then he must be treated as if he were a woman. That is why we have rapists self-identifying as women, and it’s why it took gender critical feminists and other GC people to force liberals and society to put some blocks on that. Although afaik there are still places in the world where men can self ID into women’s prisons.
I’ve seen it argued on TS that this is right, men should be allowed to do this, and women apparently should suck this up. So if you want to put say TM’s comments in the broader TS context, you have to understand that there have been left wing, pro-feminist men on TS who have argued that it’s ok for women to be rape collateral damage in order to support gender identity ideology.
What could have been fought for instead was safe prisons for gender non conforming males. But no, that won’t work because there is a subset of trans women for whom affirmation of their self ID has to be enshrined across all society. No matter who it hurts.
wealthy white cis men who are AGP are not more oppressed than lesbians in the (neo)liberal hierarchy of oppression. Critiquing gender identity ideology is not punching down.
If you wanted more support for TQ+ you probably should have stepped in quite some years ago when women were being subjected to heinous, often sexualised, online violence from the men you are defending here.
https://terfisaslur.com/
Women sorted that out themselves, and chose their own wellbeing and politics. Funny how many left wing men are now against them. Who is punching down exactly?
Sorry, who am I defending here apart from transgender people?
These trans identified males:
https://terfisaslur.com
And the ones here protesting a feminist conference with signs saying things like "suck my dick you transphobic cunts"
https://thestandard.org.nz/new-misogyny-same-as-the-old-misogyny/
Or this rapist who self-ID into a women's prison,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isla_Bryson_case
Or this trans woman who told a crowd to punch feminists
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-66676737
Or this bloke who did punch a GC woman,
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/26/woman-punched-in-brawl-between-transgender-activists-and-radical-feminists
And this one, a young man who punched an elderly woman because of her GC politics,
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/crime/posie-parker-protest-activist-pleads-guilty-to-punching-elderly-woman-at-heated-auckland-trans-rights-protest/A5RG2HY2TJFLFKAP4OT7JLGIGU/
And before you say oh that's just a few rare examples, I could go on all day. As could anyone whose been paying attention and listening to women for the last 6 years.
Excellent review of the Superbowl. Bread and Circuses.
Super Bowl LVIII Review: An American Orgy of Late Stage Capitalism | The Daily Blog
That man at half time who did the slow strip in the white ensemble sure could move his legs though….. I do wonder how an American journalist would write up a T20 game in India or a Saudi Arabian view of the World Darts Final. I prefer to watch Parliament- lots of circus, not much bread and far less fattening.
But wait there's more. In a poetic script of our times, written in pure American tradition:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/350180345/shots-fired-kansas-city-chiefs-super-bowl-celebration
Looks like the fiasco of Auckland's transport is about to be inflicted on the Cook Strait ferry service. National ideology is to do nothing, gut the state and create an opaque provider/funder split. Listening to Willis on RNZ just now the obvious plan for Cook Strait is to use Bluebridge and offload/on load rail containers in an inefficient manner. There will be a nightmare where Kiwirail own the rail, a private monopoly carry the freight at crippling costs, and the government spends nothing on infrastructure. Tax cuts now, and to hell with the infrastructure deficit.
As the sun sets on New Zealand, here are those new ferries sailing off into the pockets of amateur landlords:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/governments-3-billion-landlord-tax-cut-would-be-retrospective-and-trigger-some-refunds-ird/FR2BQCUMDBEDHGZETZZEYJARZI/
But that's ok- those refunds mean the landlords won't have to raise their rents, so the workers and beneficiaries who are taking the massive income hit to pay for it, don't need to worry about being priced out of a roof over their heads. So everyone wins, right? /s
Who has shares in Bluebridge? Willis? Luxon?
+100
Well now, why aren't they for the high jump? Seems like a conflict of interest.
The landlord tax given away by the government would have funded the new ferries and new port facilities with state of art rail freight facilities for generations to come
I too heard Willis on RNZ this morning ..doesn't give a toss.
This government is simply crap….but Luxon will be ok with his 7 houses.
The fact that we will have useless ferries in three years time should be an election issue.
Like blip's list of Key's lies, this needs to go on the "National are good economic managers" legacy of disappointment.
Sir Dove Meyer Robinson would be spinning in his grave.
This country is going to be in an absolute state of destruction in 3 years time after this pack of vandals have had their go. Let's hope that the general public will learn their lesson and never again give this C of C the keys to the purse again.
We're heading for disaster in several ways.
A new pandemic wave is about to break.
Water infrastructure isn't getting fixed.
Cheaping out on Cook Strait ferries is forgetting the Wahine disaster (and disrespecting the power of Tangaroa)
BuckleMask up.Lord Bethell
@JimBethell
Gobsmacked by huge 200k upward revision of long-term sickness numbers by @ONS. Overall picture is emphatic. Britain is too sick to work productively. The economic hit will be HARD. @hmtreasury will be gutted. Mandarins! We need to address our underlying health! Urgently!
1 of 5
[…]
https://obr.uk/frs/fiscal-risks-and-sustainability-july-2023/#chapter-2
[…]
https://twitter.com/JimBethell/status/1754518991941579038
( https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1754518991941579038.html)
@drseanmullen
New Study Sheds Light on COVID-19 and Dementia Risk in Older Adults
A groundbreaking study in preprint at Lancet has revealed a significant link between COVID-19 infection and the increased risk of new-onset dementia (NOD) in older adults (60+ years).
Here’s what you need to know…
What Did Researchers Do? – Reviewed 11 studies involving nearly 940,000 people who had COVID-19 and over 6.7 million controls (without COVID-19). – Compared the risk of developing dementia post-COVID across various time frames up to 24 months after infection.
Key Findings: – COVID-19 survivors are at a higher risk of developing dementia, with a risk ratio (RR) of 1.58, meaning they’re 58% more likely to develop dementia than those without the virus. – This risk spikes to 84% higher than non-COVID individuals at 12 months post-infection. – Women and patients with severe COVID-19 showed significantly higher risks of developing dementia.
[…]
https://twitter.com/drseanmullen/status/1757429814376398963
( https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1757429814376398963.html )
Could have been a direct quote from Kiwiblog anytime during the previous Government's time. I wonder if that reveals the failings of the whole oppositional, binary system we operate in? They're right, then we're right; they're wrong then we are wrong.
What irks me most is the language these Government MPs are using; trash-talking the previous Government and its specific ministers seems churlish, mean-spirited, and a word beloved by Kiwibloggers, nasty 🙂
completely agree. The left wing anger is palpable and justified. But we're no longer in a world where that oppositional binary system works (before it worked albeit dysfunctionally). We're still using that system, but the game has completely changed and we haven't caught up yet.
How to change that? Or how to adapt to the new dynamics so that we have agency towards all of life?
(and this is where we're going to sorely miss the likes of James Shaw).
But James' success was short-lived; largely trashed by the incoming orcs?
Sorry, "arsonists"
https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2024/02/climate-change-arsonists.html
this is another serious problem with our oppositional binary system, how to Tory proof legislation and policy. But it works the other way too, if we tory-proof from our side, they can socialist-proof from theirs.
Shaw walked a different path from that. The value is threefold (at least).
To step out of the oppositional binary for a moment, how about we list Shaw's achievements that will survive this government, wholly or in part?
One less obvious one is that all the people in government departments who are on board with climate and transition thanks to having had two terms of a Green Climate Minister, they're not going to suddenly disappear.
Afaik the the zero carbon act will survive.
some more here
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/133356580/the-unexpected-climate-plans-of-the-new-government
He was also constantly frustrated by the lack of depth and speed of progress and I have no doubt he's appalled by the tweaks from this Government; clean car discount etc.
All progressive actions are vulnerable to regressive governance.
What's the solution to that?
that's the million trees question.
A few starting thoughts.
I still believe strongly that providing narratives of how things can work out is imperative.
Macro implied above that we need to replace the government in 3 years time. What are the things that we can do between now and then that increase the chances of a change of govt in 2026? At the moment we are understandably focused on anger and calling out NACTF. This is important too (micky's posts and many of the comments on TS are great at this).
In addition, we need to be talking about how to win next time. That gives us 2024 and 2025 to organise. Then 2026 being the election campaign itself (I bet you have some thoughts on political campaigning!)
That's a short term, working with the system we've got option. I might see if I can do a post on that but have been wanting TS lefties to get the initial anger out of their system a bit.
Alongside and overlapping that is what Swarbrick is talking about, movement building at the community level. The left have been banging on about that for a long time, so I'm curious to see what CS comes up with.
I said yesterday that the details on that are probably going to be available to members as the Greens work on that over the next year. So anyone who hasn't and is inclined, might want to join the party now and get involved at the local level.
That is both short, medium and long term mahi. Getting our heads around the generational nature of change is probably a fairly big challenge.
Back to the how things work out. What would a new government in 2026 look like? Where will be at with climate/ecology? Can we develop a two pathways approach (parliament and community/movement)? What would that look like when we win in 2026?
I feel we could co-create a wonderful system, for sure.
But if the "others" stick to their game plan, they'll smash everything again. Community /movements would have to be free from the need for Government assistance, and also wary that the threat they will represent, will be met by unkind Government actions.
Let's start with the low hanging fruit then.
I agree that government funding is problematic. In the age of the internet, networking, and crowd funding, this is less of a problem now than it used to be.
In CS' electorate campaign, the workers were free from government crackdown, and I assume used a mix of fundraising and GP monies (some of which come from the government??).
I assume this is true for the three other electorates the Greens did well in.
We can help build on that by getting involved.
Great questions Weka and ones I've been waiting for more people to ask. We can all see the horror show unfolding in front us but what do we do about it? I hear your point about letting the anger disappate a bit but I feel it's going to continue as the wreckers continue their work.
Perhaps one answer is to harness it. I'm on the verge of re-joining the Greens
nice one. It does seem such a simple act to join the Greens, or Te Pati Māori, whichever is the best fit.
Agree about the anger. I'm a fan of using anger to act. Is that a skill that can be learned?
While joining The Greens is a positive step, any meaningful solution is to be found at grass/flax roots level.
No party can implement the changes needed and get voted in.
To move to a less carbon dense lifestyle is the answer to almost all serious issues we face- climate, economic, social, inequality, ecosystem collapse/extinctions.
Transition Towns offer a great model, tweaked to your own circumstance/location.
Sharing will be at the heart of our future.
When we move, the pollies have no option but to follow.
They'll smash the grass-roots, just as they smashed forests.
that’s dark.
Who's "they”?
"how to Tory proof legislation and policy"
Sigh. I wish we could find a way to "Tory proof" the WCC. Can we please have our infrastructure fixed rather then provide huge subsidies to US theatre owners?
https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350085030/council-planning-buy-reading-cinema-land-offset-earthquake-strengthening-cost
When this deal became public knowledge the Mayor, Tory by name, then started a witch hunt against the Councillors who opposed the scheme.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/133216223/accused-wellington-councillors-brand-leak-review-political-and-biased-attack
are you in favour of all commercially sensitive transactions being done publicly?
In general my opinion is this.
If a transaction is between private individuals or organisations I see no reason for them not to be confidential.
When, on the other hand, one side of the transaction is a Governmental organisation, such as the central Government or a local body which is financed by the taxpayer or the ratepayer I don't see that there is any transaction that should be hidden.
I believe that the Governmental group should always offer the same deal to anyone. The only way to ensure that that happens is to make them known. I certainly don't want the Wellington Council giving special rates to their mates at my, the ratepayer's, expense.
If you, as a private individual chose to charge one of your friends less for work you do for them, and it is you own money that is providing the discount, why should it be anything to do with me?
the commercially sensitive transaction in this case was the WCC buying a piece of land. Where it being public might increase the amount the WCC had to pay.
I was thinking about contract bidding being done privately. Aren't there rules in place for that kind of thing to prevent mates rates?
The people who owned the cinemas were the ones who owned the land they were sitting on. They were selling it to the Council but were going to keep on running the cinemas.
As the sellers they obviously knew how much they were going to be paid.
I can see no way that the Council could have to pay more money if the public knew how much the price was going to be.
Just curious and I can't let it go, where do you sit in regards to Speaker Brownlee's secrecy in relation to the identity of the 4 swipe card holders?
It would be safe to assume there is a commercial imperative tied up in it all.
I have no idea what this is about and I therefore have no way of making a reasoned comment.
Gosh, I'm surprised it passed under yr radar.
https://thestandard.org.nz/who-are-the-four-lobbyists-with-parliamentary-swipe-cards/
Don't have to know details to have an opinion as to its appropriateness.
If Winston had any gumption he would vote against the ferry policy. I don't think it is popular with the NZ people.
That is how MMP is supposed to work.
'how to Tory proof legislation and policy.'
Tory-proofing is difficult when they operate in bad faith and rely on disinformation campaigns against progressive reforms.
Jacinda's frustrating incrementalism and consensus-building was an attempt to embed legislation for the long term. The miniscule carbon prices attached to farming were hammered out over years of negotiations in good faith. But Groundswell threw that away and decided to drive tractors up and down the country at the horror of having to pay for a tiny bit of their emissions.
Co-governance was a principle established by the previous National government and should be uncontroversial by now, but the munters and shit-stirrers found it a useful wedge for their racist conspiracy theories.
I still have a bit of faith that most Kiwis don't particularly like National or Luxon, but the resentment and anger at Jacinda and lockdowns is still palpable out there. She was wise to fall on her sword, but the hostile sentiment still remains. Hopefully people will wake up soon when they see the Nats trying to sell off half the country again. Before it's too late.
The general public never learn. They make the same mistakes time and again. Everywhere.
"Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says farmers have been treated ‘’like villains’’ for the last six years, and his Government was working hard to remove red tape and regulations that were slowing down the economy."
Groundswell has the Government's ear.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350174744/luxon-farmers-have-been-treated-villains
He hasn't got a clue or is the worst served PM by advisors in history. He turned up at a well known Marlborough wine company in the campaign sprouting the same target of doubling production only to be rebuked by the owner who pointed out that that was impossible because most of the suitable land was already in grapes and the industry's goal was quality not quantity. He has no idea that doubling production is almost impossible in most areas of primary production, certainly in sheep, probably also in beef and almost all other sectors as the constraints are not only local but mostly external with protected markets and over supply. The man is a muppet who has spent most of his working life in the US and is seriously ill-informed personally and professionly.
Can only assume he means further dairy intensification (double the intensification by definition) with all the destructiveness that brings upon the environment.
Trading off the New Zealand brand while simultaneously destroying that brand. Vulture capitalist, anyone?
They seem to be blithely unaware (or just callous) that climate catastrophies will totally fuck up the supply chain that underpins global free markets, and environmental collapse will put a stop to our food producing capacities
We need to become self sufficient in all things as soon as possible, which means subsidies for farmers to produce for the domestic market, (as well as encouraging those who can to have home gardens).And regenerative agriculture! Something Damien O'Connor was pushing for in our area.
We produce milk powder that ends up as a filler in all manner of unhealthy foodstuffs, nothing to be proud of, while ruining one of the most essential elements to life…our water.
And that leaked Cabinet paper!
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/02/leaked-cabinet-paper-reveals-government-considering-allowing-potential-influx-of-overseas-landlords.html
More leaks please
I wonder how many are now privately experiencing voter remorse?
But the Groundswellers cheered themselves silly!
Puppet rather than muppet as this is just another role where he works to direction, has the rhetoric provided and gets rewarded based on his ability to get the 'job' done.
That 'job' as we're starting to see is an ideologically driven destruction. Haters and wreckers.
"Puppet rather than muppet "
Agreed.
I thought that too, about his Waitangi Day speech.
Luxon may have no idea, but does he care? Spierings brought Fonterra to its knees.
Did Luxon and Stuff mean 'villeins' and not 'villains'? Defined as "(in medieval England) villeins were feudal tenants entirely subject to a lord or manor to whom they paid dues and services in return for land."
The previous head of Federated Farmers is now a Minister.
The previous GM Corporate Relations for Fonterra is now our Minister of Finance.
There's more of course if people just want to go through the CV's.
Big tRumpy vibe….
Luxon got out of the tractor cab sporting a wide smile.
“That was great fun — the highlight of my day,” Luxon said.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/southern-field-days-christopher-luxon-attends-first-day-as-farmers-flock-to-event/E45YGGU5WJCDLFRD6FV7V62C2Q/
Soylent pink. Its here…
Bowls of decidedly pink-tinged rice are about to feature on sustainable food menus, according to researchers who created rice grains with beef and cow fat cells grown inside them.
Scientists made the experimental food by covering traditional rice grains in fish gelatin and seeding them with skeletal muscle and fat stem cells which were then grown in the laboratory.
After culturing the muscle, fat and gelatin-smothered rice for nine to 11 days, the grains contained meat and fat throughout, resulting in an end product the researchers believe could become a nutritious and flavourful food.
Prof Jinkee Hong, who led the work at Yonsei University in South Korea, cooked and tasted the beef-cultured rice, which he hopes will be a more affordable source of protein than traditional beef, with a much smaller carbon footprint.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/14/lab-grown-beef-rice-could-offer-more-sustainable-protein-source-say-creators
'believe could' is doing some heavy lifting there.
BUT PINK RICE IS PEOPLE!
This should help Biden out.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/02/christopher-luxon-joins-anthony-albanese-justin-trudeau-in-major-statement-on-israel-gaza.html
So these three have "grave concern about "indications that Israel is planning a ground offensive" into the southern Gazan city of Rafah.""
Well whoop de doo. No call for a ceasefire. Just continuing to enable genocide.
Luxon just wanting to look prime ministerial while the human toll mounts.
Despicable.
So the prediction that this lot would wreak the economy for us all by Feb is coming true, every day these muppets are doing more bat shit ideological shitfuckary with economy than ann randy on steroids.
In fact it's a bloody roid rage event. How much of a fetishist wet dream can this lot run with? We can only guess that purity is the only thing holden them together.
My favourite today –
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/509263/auckland-train-cancellations-kiwirail-says-foundations-on-some-tracks-not-strong-enough
How many times have we got to have this shitfucker bugger with people lives till they work out ideological free markets and business does it best – is a sick bloody joke?