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?
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
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?