Albert Einstein said we can’t solve problems with the same thinking or consciousness that created them. From my perspective, indigenous world-views, values and frameworks provide the thinking we need to solve some of the most pressing issues of our time. Also, the outcomes in New Zealand are so crappy for Māori, that if we get it right for tāngata whenua, it’ll work for everyone.
I am really proud that both ActionStation and RockEnrol pay people way more than a Living Wage to do paid purposeful work. I love creating pathways to meaningful employment. I also love seeing how many young people are standing for local government this year. I like to think that RockEnrol’s work (alongside folks like Chlöe Swarbrick and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) helped inspire that.
Petty messenger attacking again. Ironic particularly for Anne.
If I made things up like this about a regular here I suspect I'd be hammered for it.
And wrong. I was up at 5:30 researching for a house painting project I'm working on. Made. Watched Deep Blue with my granddaughter who is staying, then made a cuppa for everyone.
Complainants want the Labour Party to address it's archaic power structure, and hope that Jacinda Ardern can make it happen.
Alison Mau:
And while the party rows about how it's going to achieve next steps, the young people are laser-focussed on what needs to happen now. I asked one of them what it was they wanted, now that they really do have everyone's attention.
The group wants policy change at the top of course, with a complete overhaul of the sexual harm prevention and handling policy. It wants sensitive complaints referred to an expert third party for investigation.
And it wants the party to stop relying on its own supposed expertise, and take note of what the real experts have to say about the prevention of sexual harassment and bullying.
The group is now pinning its hopes on Jacinda Ardern.
They do not yet know when they will meet with her, and some of them are a little overwhelmed at the very thought, but they are refusing to condemn her, and they have a very clear idea of what they'd like to say when they do.
"We will go through our stories with her in more detail," one of the group told me.
"We would want an open, honest and frank conversation about what it's like to be a young recruit to Labour in 2019.
"We would tell her how hard we have pushed progressive parts of the party on subjects like abortion law reform – (that) we are not just bitter volunteers, we really care about this stuff.
"(We will tell her) here are some conditions that the party needs to look at, before any of us feel comfortable coming back into these (Labour) spaces."
Those conditions include requiring all staff to undergo sexual harassment prevention and disclosure handling training. They'd like to see a code of conduct being developed for party volunteers, rolled out party-wide.
They would like the party to finally understand the power imbalances in Labour: "we are not only male dominated, but incredibly white."
The young woman says she remains a Labour member and "has hope" because she's seen the party change and adapt before but it will have to address an "archaic" power structure.
I think that Ardern will understand that there's lot riding on this – for the victims of course, but also for the reputation of the Labour Party and it's attractiveness to young people, especially to young females.
Labour has talked about gender balance for years, but has failed to provide a safe environment for young people, especially females.
Note the names of those who seem to have been responsible for male staffer protection debacle – Nigel, Grant, Andrew, Rob.
And there's a lot riding on this for Jacinda herself. Her reputation, her primary attractiveness as a new generation leader who is a caring and empathetic champion of gender balance and rights, is on the line.
She needs to make sure the repair job from here is done transparently. If the inquiry terms of reference are stacked in favour of the party and the Council, if the report is kept secret like the last one, if there is a lack of openness and no public sign of real repair and progress, then Ardern have failed to live up to her PR, again.
"(We will tell her) here are some conditions that the party needs to look at, before any of us feel comfortable coming back into these (Labour) spaces."
That cannot be done in secret, because it is not just the group of victims who want change, it's the future of the party at stake. Prospective party recruits – volunteers and candidates – need to know that Labour has finally learnt from multiple failures and put things right.
It has been claimed (and not denied) that he was closely associated with the (now ex) staffer, and was aware of the seriousness of allegations and, if we are to believe Ardern, kept important information from her as did the other men named above.
Sorry, next time I will paste your words into my reply to make sure I read them more carefully. Could have sworn it said ‘the names of those staffers’.
"It has been claimed (and not denied)", and "if we are to believe" appear to be attempts to convince that any scurrilous accusation put forward without evidence must be given as much credence as supported facts. We have heard a lot of conjecture, and undoubtledly some fact, but separating the two has not been easy, or I suggest for most people possible. What started out as a complaint of office bullying seems to have developed into harrassment, sexual misconduct, and now serious sexual abuse. We don't know whether this is by a single individual to another individual, or by more than one of either culprit or victim. We generally trust our media, but we do not know what they have heard themselves or been told by others. I trust some of the media who have reported enough to believe that there has been some matters that needed and still need addressing. if we are talking about an employment matter it is not clear who that employer is – the Labour Party appears to have been involved but not Parliamentary Services. If there are criminal matters it is not clear why the victim(s) has or have not been prepared to report a crime to the police, or whether threats or inducements have discouraged police involvement. Now I have enough trust in our media to believe that they do not get everything wrong; I believe there has been at least one incident that either should not have happened and/or should have been dealt with differently. In the meantime the question of who knew what when is a sideshow, but a recent further article in the SpinOff does at least indicate that one journalist is convinced that Jacinda Ardern did not know of the extent of the complaints until last Monday.
If you know more, Pete, then by all means post the information with the evidence – provides that does not impede a possible criminal investigation of course), but if you do not have impeccable evidence, perhaps it is better to wait rather than to assume that every "claim" is automatically credible.
Ardern's halo effect has blinded many of Labour's supporters to the party's appalling failings in its handling of the whole sorry, sad mess. Some still don't get it. But pony tails, they protest. But Jami-Lee Ross.
But just contrast the last few weeks to former Prime Minister John Keys' swift removal of Richard Worth from both Cabinet and subsequently Parliament after a serious sexual allegation.
…
Helen Clark was the same, a legendary micro-manager, the iron fist in an iron glove.
…
So what now?
No leader likes loose ends and there are plenty of those as Ardern prepares to head overseas this week. So expect her to announce further action before she steps on a plane. But it will have to be more than token – Ardern has to be clear that urgent, and painful, culture change is needed in the organisation she leads.
Many of the party faithful will find it had to swallow that Labour has failed to walk the talk on an issue so core to its – and Ardern's -identity.
But the only place where they should be pointing the finger is at themselves.
[Added the correct punctuation in the quoted text; you wouldn’t want to create an impression that you might be quoting selectively, would you? Pete, you should know and do better. Next time, I’ll delete the text and only leave the link. In fact, I getting itchy fingers when I see large texts being copied & pasted here – Incognito]
[Pete should know better as he had a three week ban for the same thing in 2017. Perhaps he forgot, but I think another ban now will help him cement this in his mind. He’s also been moderated more than once in various ways over not linking.
Pete, you’re a really long term commenter, you know the deal: always link, don’t misquote, and try to avoid long tracts of cut and pastes. Looking at your comments to Sacha you appear to not understand the problem here. When you cut and past different pieces of an article you have to make it clear that they are not one block of text. If you still don’t get this, ask one of the moderators for clarification when you get back.
3 weeks again, given it’s been a long time, but expect bans to get longer for repeat offenses. Interim ban, as I’ll run this past the mods already active in this thread – weka]
[ban reduced to a week. Pete the key point here about quoting is that if you post separate sections of someone else’s work, you have to make it clear you have removed bits. This is quite different than what Sacha did, which was to post part of an article, but with no bits cut out of the part he quoted – weka]
The outcome must be that NZ faces itself in the "mirror". I'm a bit perplexed, and the use of the words men & women is solely to make a point that has occurred to me. In various comments and positions on this on an emotive level, and not necessarily based on facts that anyone can confirm, some of those now most concerned with the victims have not displayed that concern previously and appear to be purely political. Has it it been decided from an editorial perspective that having mainly "women" journalists, it appears to me anyway carry the message these or any offences are Labour's "fault". I hope not because the story, the facts and where that leads NZ is all I want to hear.
Labour has been at fault here. Not once but twice, badly, with multiple victims in both.
But it is symptomatic of whole of New Zealand society problems. The National Party has had it's own embarrassing problems, publicly as recently as last year.
Law firms have been in the spotlight.
It is generally and strongly agreed that our judicial system has is not fit for purpose, overall and particularly related to sex offences (and probably violence offences which are often connected).
Abuse of power is a common factor.
The law business community has tried to fix it's problems.
National say they have addressed their handling of bullying and sexual matters in the wake of the Jami-Lee Ross affairs. There's no way of the public knowing if that has been effective.
A review of the judicial system is currently under way.
And Labour re running their own inquiry into their mishandling of things.
Was the Beehive involved in a cover-up of the allegations that have rocked Labour?
It's likely we'll never know.
The party's investigations so far have been so ham-fisted and inept, it's hard to have any confidence in the latest process.
Barrister Maria Dew was hired by the party to re-investigate multiple allegations against a Labour parliamentary staffer.
But, the investigation is only looking at the allegations against the Labour staffer, not how the party bureaucracy handled complaints.
Labour's Council will sign off on the terms of reference for the Dew Review. Its 20-plus members bear responsibility for how the young complainants were failed – and it's new acting president was on the panel that dismissed complaints. It's no surprise they want to avoid scrutiny of their decisions. But it's hardly an independent process.
With this narrow focus on the complaints, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, her staff, ministers and MPs also escape a dissection of their role. Ardern's answers – beyond saying she was assured the allegations weren't serious – have been unsatisfactory and thin.
It's highly unlikely Dew's report would ever be made public anyway. The party refused to release the findings of lawyer Maria Austen (formerly Berryman) who was asked to look into Labour's handling of sexual assault claims made at a summer youth camp.
Media will be scrutinising how Labour handles this.
While it is a whole society problem a lot depends on how Labour handles this.
For a start, it could be a major factor in determining who our next Government is led by.
But it's bigger than that. If the Prime Minister and the major governing party openly deal with this well it will (finally) set a good example from the top that society needs to reform how it views and deals with bullying. violence, sexual violence and abuse of power.
If Labour sweep this under the carpet again then (some of) society will see this as a signal that sweeping under the carpet and business as usual (abuse as usual) is still normal practice.
Look, other than those who abuse and those who will use any part of this for political gain I can not think anyone who would want anything other than this "(finally) set a good example", can you?
…the first of Labour's issues (summer camp attacks) involved illegal behaviour that went to court.
It involved illegal behaviour of the kind that happens at parties in this country every weekend and doesn't usually end up in court because the media aren't interested and there's no political propaganda to be had from it. The perps in those cases are usually either not dealt with, or dealt with via public shaming or violence rather than complaints to the Police.
The fact that some men behave like that when drunk is a rape culture issue, not a Labour Party issue, and the prurient interest in this particular instance is mostly either politically motivated or just hand-wringing from conservatives who've led sheltered lives. Or both, I suspect, in your case.
Reflect on the rugby player in an airport toilet situation a couple of years back. Not the 'incident', the media handling of it and the explosion of public hysteria that generated.
The media love a good feeding frenzy and generating one is good for business, and egos. Couple that with the team at newstalkzb and the likes of Matthew Hooton quite simply wanting Labour and Jacinda Arden gone, the scenario is perfect.
Thank you, as a mother and a grandmother I have kept my opinion on that incident largely to myself as I knew it would not be popular to say what I thought and how I would use such examples. In an effort to keep them all safe "boys & girls" pointing out that things may not turn out always as you hope was a mainstay. That's not about blame it is about people, young people who as you say across the country can end up making utter fools of themselves when alcohol is at hand and even when it's not. That is part of the lesson the young need to learn hopefully sooner rather than later and even more so on the roads and in cars!
Granted there is a rape culture issue with drunken youth but this was a Labour Camp for under 16's where there was lotsa booze available and it was sanctioned by Labour. Not too many of us would allow or have a cabinet of (free?) booze at our children's 16th birthdays and not too many parents would approve of their children attending any teenage function where liquor was freely available to them. I think the party has to own this.
My parents sure as hell wouldn't have approved of the drinking I was doing at ages 15 – 17, but on the plus side, what they didn't know didn't hurt them. All this hand-wringing about Labour failing to prevent alcohol sullying the sacred temple of teenagers' bodies makes Doug Sellman look like a bad-ass.
Are you sure it was a camp "for" under 16s or a youth camp that incl that group and above, I very much doubt there were 13-15s there but you can correct me with some facts.
So much of the Jamie Lee Ross superbly mismanaged debacle was hidden. There's a lot there we need to know. Pompous Paula was right out of line divulging private information on public television which started Jamie's downward mental spiral.
Also what happened to that poor ' mistreated' woman Sarah Cowie who also in a drunken rage of rejection also contributed to his ultimate step of thinking of ending his life.
NOTHING! She's still in her very responsible role in the NationalParty. So what she did was acceptable to them?? Some double standards in there somewhere.
And petulant,perfidious Paula preaching from her pulpit of presumed power should take a look in her own back yard before trying to topple Jacinda with rabid rhetoric. I'm sure there is any amount of weed there that needs to be exposed. For the good of the country of course. Paula is fuelled by hatred for Jacind a.
Compared it how, exactly? Key's "prompt action" was very good for him and the National Party but did nothing for Worth's victims, nothing to improve public awareness of rape culture and how to respond to it, and nothing for openness and transparency in government. The fact that you compare Key favourably with Ardern in that case suggests you're thinking of this entirely in terms of how cleverly some players are playing a game.
Yes, prompt action is the only way – if only the people who were complained to had had the nous to realise that. And Key had never promised the most open and transparent Govt. ever.
In that particular case, it was the best way to minimise political damage to brand Key and the National Party. Whether it was also a good thing for the victims or not we'll never know, but my money's on them not getting even a second thought.
And Key had never promised the most open and transparent Govt. ever.
I don't recall Ardern promising that either.
It's commendably honest of right-wingers to admit that they just assume a National government's going to act in its own interests and conceal that from voters, but unfortunately (and I get sick of having to point this out), National itself is not so honest:
And the second has allegations of serious offences that many think should have gone to court.
It may or may not go to court. What manythink is irrelevant to the due process except for putting undue pressure on those who could make it happen.
There's also the problem that Ardern was seen as a champion of young people and of women's rights, and is seen to have failed on both. [my emphasis]
Public perception and opinion is influenced if not manipulated to a large degree by the media. To me, you come across as a media accomplice not as a truth seeker. I prefer the latter and these people differentiate themselves from the main crowd not be being more intelligent, more confident, or being louder (e.g. boasting and bragging) but by nuance, humility, sophisticated and critical thinking, and generally admitting that they know shit nothing in the first place.
It’s highly unlikely Dew’s report would ever be made public anyway.
Ummm. Have you ever actually read a report of this kind? I have.
It is full of material that was given under confidentiality, is full of inadmissible hearsay, people names, and is deeply prejudicial to any subsequent court processes.
Releasing it may be appreciated to the prurient dribblers slavering over the underwear details. However it doesn’t help anyone apart from journalists after column inches and airtime.
Perhaps you and the idiot who wrote that quoted piece should engage your brain rather than your lust for gossip and consider what options gets killed if that kind of report gets released. For a start, just think of the consequences for victims.
He's like a dog with an old bone. Can't leave it alone. Either that or he is trolling in which case it might be necessary for a moderator to intervene. It's been going on for nearly a week.
So you're trying to influence moderators to shut things down?
This has been the biggest story in political media all week. Given how important it is to Labour, I would have thought it would be of interest to discussions here – unless the intent is to aid the apparent Labour Party coverups, which looks increasingly what some are trying to do.
[lprent: You must be blind. There have been comments all over the site for days. Unlike you, some of them have actually had suggestions about what should be done to prevent this kind of crap again.
I realise that you prefer to act as a brainless critic who carps and can’t offer any ideas. But perhaps you should try exercising your brain a bit.
But my toleration for outright lying by you and other is wearing very thin. If you can’t bring yourself to actually participate in debate about how to solve a problem – then leave. ]
No, I'm under the impression that people here have been trying to avoid discussing an issue that is important not just to Labour but to the Government and the country.
And I don't care what sources you may read, I'm not doing it for you.
You could ignore things here that you've already read rather than join the petty pile-on.
I'm under the impression that people here have been trying to avoid discussing an issue that is important not just to Labour but to the Government and the country.
The lengthy threads of people discussing it gave you that impression, did they? I dread to think what you imagine not avoiding discussing it would like.
I haven’t noticed that Pete George has managed to suggest anything constructive on this topic. He still appears to be coming up to speed with his own lack of knowledge on the issues.
In fact his most recent post quotes some actual sensible advice from Young Labour via Alison Mau that appears to have been written here. That essentially says that the Labour Party shouldn’t try to rely on internal expertise to handle these kinds of issues, but should get outside expertise.
Reading PG, it is hard to see that he managed to grasp the point. That the core problem is that Labour simply doesn’t have in-house expertise and shouldn’t be trying to do their own investigations.
They’re saying a QC – but fundamentally that is way too expensive to do every time that someone raises these kinds of issues.
To be frank it’d be simpler to disband Young Labour so the Labour Party can get on with what we pay levies for. Just about every dumbarse political crap of this kind has arisen out Young Labour or the barely grown dickheads having access to them (think Darren Hughes).
Or perhaps the answer go the other way give and give the Labour Party the authority to launch criminal prosecutions. There are some National MPs and ex ones that I would be interested in seeing in court explaining their behaviour….
Perhaps Pete should try to contribute his actual ideas rather than stroking his outrage
To be frank it’d be simpler to disband Young Labour so the Labour Party can get on with what we pay levies for. Just about every dumbarse political crap of this kind has arisen out of Young Labour or the barely grown dickheads having access to them (think Darren Hughes).
Couldn't agree more!
In my day we young things worked through the main party. We learned from our elders how to behave in a political environment and they gave us the benefit of their knowledge and expertise, so that we were well informed and could avoid the ever present pit-falls of political life. Most of all we learnt how to socialise with all age groups and to show respect for the elderly who knew a darn sight more about life than we did.
I am opposed to lowering the voting age precisely for the type of behaviour we have seen in recent times and which has become all too prevalent among so many young people in this country.
The people who caused a problem were not Young Labour this time. Two people with vast experience made bad decisions, which has made things harder for the complainants and definitely harder for the PM.
She went to the heart of it.
1. What the complainants needed to happen
2. An independent 3rd party to look at actions and facts.
3. The PM to be kept in the loop.
Out of all of that….
4. To change Labour's culture in this sphere to make the Party spaces safer in the future.
I disagree about disbanding Young Labour. A Youth wing is essentially the school/club rugby of a political party – people build skills, connections and interests, and also do a lot of the ground work for local actions.
But all youth groups need to be properly supervised, otherwise harmful cultures can build up (especially around alcohol).
But this staffer thing has nothing really to do with Young Labour beyond an incidental connection and that it shows Labour didn't learn a damned thing about how to deal with sensitive complaints in an informal environment.
So – what about the children? Labour can'yt disassociate itself from pastoral care for its voters and its young adherents in Young Labour as well. Get back to some good old fashioned interest and leadership for the young where it isn't all about money and immediate power and advantage.
I was thinking more "have a rotating watch of authority figures who intervene to stop people getting too drunk", sort of thing.
What the YL incident and the student law society camp complaints in the last few years had in common was that most things being complained about happened after the adults/authority figures left/went to bed.
Then there's the issue of how to resolve complaints after they occur.
Prevention, and if prevention fails go to treatment.
I see that. So Sacha can selectively quote, then complain about me selectively quoting, and you choose to dump on me? (I know it's your call).
[Don’t be so melodramatic! You know how things work here and you have been warned before about your incessant pasting & linking here. It is in the Policy:
Similarly pasting long materials from other sites, especially copyrighted materials, is not permitted. Just link and selectively quote. Repeated offences is really dumb.
I’m not impressed with you playing dumb and/or tit-for-tat games with Sacha.
Your hypersensitivity to criticism is showing. I did not “dump” on you; I warned you through a moderation note, and the correct term for that is “moderate”. Please note that you have been wasting moderators’ time [plural] and if you keep this up you will be ‘dumped’ (you and I know it’s your call) – Incognito]
[Edit: I just saw that Weka has already taken action that is more decisive; I’m just fudge]
Pete is lucky I didn't see the dumping comment until after I had moderated. I agree the ball is in his court now (there's a note in the back end about the length of the ban).
Pete, please show it when you leave out chunks of an article as you have done here in at least two separate posts today. I understand you are simplifying but wrapping quotes around the whole passage misrepresents the original source.
Posting such large parts of each article may also discourage readers here from bothering to click through to the original. Took me a second coffee.
Those conditions include requiring all staff to undergo sexual harassment prevention and disclosure handling training. They’d like to see a code of conduct being developed for party volunteers, rolled out party-wide.
The staff of the Labour party are about 20-30 people all up. I believe that most if not all have had this training. Certainly we don’t appear to have received any complaints from them about their behaviour.
Where they have arisen to date they have come from (in no particular order) volunteers, MPs, parliamentary staff, and random idiots who apparently weren’t even members and just turned up.
Certainly the party needs to craft a policy on it. That should be farmed out to someone with actual expertise in dealing with workplace bullying and sexual assaults. Their primary role shouldn’t be to investigate. It should be to support and shepard the complaints to the appropriate authorities so that they get dealt with.
Great article which pretty much sums up my feelings towards this and many other issues. For all the platitudes and tokenism their isn't actually the political and social will to make the changes necessary to prevent this impending doom. There will be one day when we are on the precipice of the apocalypse. But when that day arrives, a hollow feeling will swell in those peoples stomachs when they finally realize that they can now do nothing, their time has come and gone, and any grand scheme to prevent our destructions time was 20 to 50 years ago. As I said last week, I have taken steps to ensure my hopeful survival and adapt as best as I can. Will it work? Probably not, but at least I'm giving it my best effort. If only our leaders and people in influence would do the same.
There will be one day when we are on the precipice of the apocalypse. But when that day arrives, a hollow feeling will swell in those peoples stomachs when they finally realize that they can now do nothing,
Has that day arrived? There is significant evidence that the ssw event has forced a catastrophic (bifurcation ) reversal in the antarctic atmosphere.ie near reversal of the polar vortex,decreased ozone loss (and breakup of the ozone hole)
The increased probability for a wetter,colder and windier spring,summer in NZ with decreased mean T.Is that good for NZ?
The problem with Franzen article,is that he cited a paper where he invoked catastrophe (which did not exist)
According to a recent paper in Nature, the carbon emissions from existing global infrastructure, if operated through its normal lifetime, will exceed our entire emissions “allowance”—the further gigatons of carbon that can be released without crossing the threshold of catastrophe.
cant access the graph you have in your link but ask the question…do you accept the rational behind the IPCC's target of staying below a 2 deg C increase?
My opinion is to read what the science is suggesting.Not what various purveyors of crisis are suggesting.
The emergent scientific consensus is the IPCC science irrationally.Not by sceptics but alarmists and it has no place in science analysis.
the wmo sg statement here.
In my interview, I made clear that a science-based approach underpins climate action, and that our best science shows that the climate is changing, driven in large part by human action. However, I pointed out that the science-based approach is undermined when facts are taken out of context to justify extreme measures in the name of climate action.
so thats a negative….well i do accept the IPCC rationale advocating 2 deg C as a likely tipping point to unrecoverable climate change that is outside our habitability…maybe a little less or more…and on that basis the statement that if the existing infrastructure burns FF forhe estimated lifespan of that infrastructure we will well exceed the carbon budget for 2 deg C is obviously right…so the statement in the article is accurate
I said read what the science says (not what you think i said)
2c is not a tipping point .That s your unscientific opinion of a mathematical statement ie it has a strict description (including grammar) no more no less,and of which your understanding would be say limited.
2 deg C (above pre industrial average) has been determined as a point where unrecoverable climate feedbacks will (with a high degree of probability) be triggered…with your superior understanding of scientific principle do you wish to dispute that is the position of the IPCC?
A tipping point is a bifurcation.back to back saddle node,and or Shilnikov in the case of the ENSO complex system with regime change due to negative feedbacks
Large amplitude response to feedbacks appear only in linear systems and have significant constraints on prediction of complex systems. eg Zalipin and Ghil.
We revisit a recent claim that the Earth’s climate system is characterized by sensitive dependence to parameters; in particular, that the system exhibits an asymmetric,large-amplitude response to normally distributed feedback forcing. Such a response would imply irreducible uncertainty in climate change predictions and thus have notable implications for climate science and climate-related policy making. We show that equilibrium climate sensitivity in all generality does not support such an intrinsic indeterminacy; the latter appears only in essentially linear systems.The main flaw in the analysis that led to this claim is in-appropriate linearization of an intrinsically nonlinear model;there is no room for physical interpretations or policy conclusions based on this mathematical error.
"To judge from recent opinion polls, which show that a majority of Americans (many of them Republican) are pessimistic about the planet’s future, and from the success of a book like David Wallace-Wells’s harrowing “The Uninhabitable Earth,” which was released this year, I’m not alone in having reached this conclusion. But there continues to be a reluctance to broadcast it. Some climate activists argue that if we publicly admit that the problem can’t be solved, it will discourage people from taking any ameliorative action at all. This seems to me not only a patronizing calculation but an ineffectual one, given how little progress we have to show for it to date. The activists who make it remind me of the religious leaders who fear that, without the promise of eternal salvation, people won’t bother to behave well. In my experience, nonbelievers are no less loving of their neighbors than believers. And so I wonder what might happen if, instead of denying reality, we told ourselves the truth."
I have just heard on the 8am news on RNZ that a victim who survived the mosque attack can only recieve 60 % of their income due to only having worked for some months. The man is married and has 4 children.
What I find to be unacceptable is that the family is having to wash their clothing by hand. Due to being on ACC the earner is not entitled to a Work and Income grant for a washing machine.
Who ever is managing the fund which was raised, has overlooked what practical/essential assistance a family requires.
Each time the family washes their clothing they should not be reminded of why there is no washing machine.
My mother did not have a washing machine until the 6th child was born in 1961. Her hands would have been swollen and sore.
Shame on whoever has deprived the family and immediate action is required to assist victims where there is a need.
It is the loss of income which is the reason there is no washing machine.
I did not say that any money raised was for the loss of income.
There is more on this story on RNZ just after 8.10 am. My power ran out, so I have not listened to it yet.
I would like to know what is on the list which the donations are permitted for.
If this family were refugees why was there no washing machine or vacuum.
My mother was an orphaned refugee and when she went out into the world at age 21 the NZ govt provided her with sufficient clothing, a job and accommodation she could afford. This was in 1950.
The man on ACC was here on a work permit, his wife and family were overseas (not sure when they came to NZ). All victims of the mosque attacks are eligible to get permanent residence. The man's application is not yet processed.
I though that a person could apply for both ACC and Work and Income assistance but one reduces the final amount as is cancelled $ for $. Also even though residence of 24 months is required I thought that is what an emergency benefit was for.
……a subject that has been grinding my gears of late has been some of the static that has followed the initiative of putting free lunches into schools.What a surprise it was to hear (or sadly not that much of a surprise) so many narrow minded comments on both radio and TV, when the trial was announced by Government."Isn't it the parents responsibility" …"why aren't they budgeting better"… or the old classic "what, so the parents can spend more on smokes". What an embarrassment. To think so many people are that detached and quite prepared in their comments to punish the child rather than consider the underlying dynamics…….
…. it is the cohort that now includes many working poor that are exposed to the brunt of the changes.When you are earning $600 but your unavoidable bills are $650, that's not a budgeting issue, that's a crisis with no apparent solution.But not once have I heard that issue raised as a causative factor as to why a child may be coming to school hungry.The prioritising required of the impoverished is a challenge that the detached would benefit from experiencing.But in the meantime I think silence would be the best contribution they could make to the discussions.
Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt, who also has a role as an SIT ambassador, was particularly scathing of Hipkins' plans and want they meant for Invercargill.Shadbolt and SIT chief executive Penny Simmonds also indicated they would look at potential legal options on the back of the announcement.
Cadogan said many of the other polytechnics had been quite accepting of Thursday's announcement and he would prefer a similar approach from those in the deep south."At the moment we should be working to discuss the positives and what we can do to position us for the future."He said SIT's strength put it in a strong position when working through the detail of the merger.Rather than fighting it, Cadogan said the focus should centre on working with the Establishment Board for a positive outcome for the lower South Island. He has applauded Hipkins' "bold" move to restructure what Cadogan said was a broken polytechnic and training institute system.
Even if poor parenting is the reason kids are hungry at school, that's not the kid's fault.
I've come across plenty of people with punitive views towards the impoverished. But even they can't come up with a reason why kids should suffer the consequence of going hungry because of their parents' choices. (But they're really good at changing the subject when you ask why the kids should suffer)
Ensuring kids get at least one decent feed a day, five days a week, would give the kids suffering the biggest opportunity gaps a boost way out of proportion to the tiny cost involved. FFS, even most places in the US have worked out some way to ensure the worst-off kids get a free lunch at school.
Do you think this should be expanded because of school holidays? Children need decent nutrition 24/7, not just during school terms. In the US they can also get free (or bought) breakfast at school.
Absolutely expand it to 365 days, if anyone can figure out the politics of how to get there from where we are now. But while I reckon Icould map out a politically workable path to feeding kids in schools, I've no idea how to swing a program that would feed them outside of school.
The US also has the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (food stamps). Not sure how often recipients have to reapply, but it's certainly longer-term and more secure than our one-off food benefit that you have to use within 3 days of getting it.
The Cadogan boys are an interesting pair, brother Tim is mayor of Central Otago and an interesting character too. On the face of it a Nat (very strong National majority in area) but when you dig deeper quite left.
Shadbolt needs to roll a blunt and inhale for a bit.
There is nothing stopping the southern Licensing trusts from continuing to fund free places to their local polytech – so exactly what harm to Southland is he on about?
Shadbolt is an establishment synchophant now. I wouldnt be suprised if he is a member of the National Party. He has been parroting all their lines for over a decade now.
Mind you, all Trotskyists seem to take the same course.
He'll probably be denounced by National's Red (or is that Blue?) Guards and paraded through Balclutha's main street naked with a billboard round his neck.
There's going to be a rearrangement of electorates in the South before the next election and things will change quite a bit due to the huge population growth in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago. Quite on the cards that it could turn out to be not quite as blue as at present. Add in a couple of young incumbent MPs who seem to keep making fools of themselves by barking at every car that goes past, often missing the point completely, and it could be all on.
I had never even seen the link box. I had always just done the crude posting of the copied URL into the comment itself. It worked but it wasn't very pretty.
Hey now I can try and give much prettier links with text instead of just the URL. Never did master that before.
Followed your instructions but the same thing happened. When I submit, half the address line drops off. lprent is aware there is a glitch and will sort it when he gets the time. Only some of us appear to be affected.
Actually it is starting to look good. I have one more task at home, have no real required work at work. My slave master / student is heading away for weeks to the land of the deluded peasants (US), and I have almost a years complement of unused holiday time available.
However I also have a jury service notice – complete with a warning that is a trial in it for up to 5 weeks.
Here is why – 28 minutes – can do house work and listen. Elizabeth Anderson is Giant. Love her books, Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don't Talk about It) . is fantastic and a must read for anyone interested in political economy.
You can't help yourself being rude talking over the top of Jacinda.
I don't think that it's fair on the people victim of the parliament scandal these peoples should not be used as a political FOOTBALL.
Our farmers do have a very low carbon footprint but they can lower there carbon footprint more they just have to focus on a lower carbon footprint and lower there water use to help save our environment we need to all work together to get to a carbon neutral society by 2050 not fight about it letting t the years roll by in that process making becoming carbon neutral by 2050 harder and harder you WE have to start now.
Ka pai Geovana Pères Aotearoa Wahine WBO Champion all the best it's great to see more of our Wahine Sports Stars being given the Star light kia kaha.
I agree with Mark on the Basket Ball.
I agree with Marie views about on the parliament staff issues.
I… It warms Eco Maori Ngaku to see finally that the majority of people can see OUR reality on human cause climate change. Even more when I see that our Rangatahi can see the big picture clearly through all the putea that is spent trying to deceive OUR Realities on Human Cause Climate change. Kia kaha Rangatahi of the Papatuanuku keep up the excellent MAHI. Championing positive action to minimise climate change and become carbon neutral ASAP
Americans are waking up': two thirds say climate crisis must be addressed
Major CBS News poll released as part of Covering Climate Now, a collaboration of more than 250 news outlets around the world to strengthen coverage of the climate story
Young people have been galvanized by climate science being taught in schools as well as a spreading global activist movement spearheaded by Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who started a wave of school walkouts to demand action. Thunberg recently arrived in the US on a solar-powered yacht, ahead of a major United Nations climate summit in New York on 23 September.
This generational divide even cuts across party affiliation, with two-thirds of Republican voters aged under 45 considering it their duty to address the climate crisis, according to the CBS poll. Just 38% of Republicans aged over 45 feel the same.
“Younger Republicans are much more convinced climate change is a crisis and are supportive of action than older Republicans – which has big implications for the future of the party,” said Leiserowitz.
Around three-quarters of all respondents said they understand that climate change is melting the Arctic, raising sea levels and causing warmer summers. A further two-thirds accept that hurricanes will be made more severe by global heating. Hurricane Dorian, which recently devastated parts of the Bahamas, made 38% of Americans more concerned about the climate crisis, with 56% unswayed.
Leiserowitz said that the relationship between extreme weather events and concern over climate change is a complex one, with people already worried the most likely to say that their alarm has increased when a major storm or flood hits.
Regardless of concern over climate change there appears to be skepticism among Americans about how much humans can do about it. Just 19% said humans can stop rising temperatures and the associated impacts, with nearly half thinking it possible to slow but not stop the changes and 23% refusing to believe humans can do anything at all.
This may well influence the views of leading presidential contenders’ climate plans. Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders, for example, has proposed a rapid remodeling of society where planet-warming emissions from transport and power generation are eradicated within just 11 years
That's great the Japan Rugby World Cup is looking like a big secess that is good for the Game.
Still a lot of questions around that digger hitting the Auckland Airport fuel pipe.
Arsonists burning anything is boggling burning our tamariki schools is even worse idiots
Kia kaha to all the Tangata picking up the plastic waste from Tangaroa and our Awa we will change to a society that use minimal resources in everyday life.
That's is correct Maori and Pacific tamariki will be discriminated against the most in Schools. That has to stop.
Ngāti Kahu do not want a ship like Captain Cook landing in their harbor to celebrate Cooks arrival to Aotearoa Ka pai
I agree its not on that a social worker gave up the address were a destressed Wahine and tamariki to a out of control man who could do some dumb stuff.
Condolences to the Mullins Whanau for the loss have lost their Father.
I… we have to come up with new systems to minimise our usage taonga resources and minimise our waste by making a close loop system.
Eco Maori always likes listening to our great Kau matua stories and views on the Present kia kaha
To. Much Dug Clark teaching people vehicle mantince and serviceing fixing peoples cars just for the price of the parts in Kaitaia great skills to have
That's awesome our Taonga Te Kakapo indangered native parrot population has increased to 213 birds this year great mahi.
Its good to see you are concerned about human cause climate change.
Eco Maori sort of knows how some people feel when every conclusion I voice gets spun out to the Matariki.
Its great that Facebook is making changes to stop online extremists haters from using their platforms Ka pai don't give them any oxygen.
Its excellent to see Gull is moving into the South Island that will force the others to lower prices and save our consumers costs considerably kia Ora.
That's the way Customs is stopping more PEE like drugs from getting on New Zealand Street and ultimately destroying people lives.
He waimare etahi taangata He tangata taangata ahu.
Yes Te Kakapu native fish are rear with our degraded Wai quality in our Awa times are changing we are now going to treat our Taonga Wai with the respect it deserves.
Ka pai to Lisa for your massive feat swimming hundreds of miles for your cause Mana Wahine.
We must all make changes to the way we live now as the sooner we act the easier it will be to minimise global warming. The longer we wait the harder it will be to get to a carbon-free society its not ROCKET SCIENCE its logical.
Greta Thunberg to Congress: ‘You’re not trying hard enough. Sorry’
The Swedish environmentalist was one of several who spoke at a Senate climate crisis task force.
At a meeting of the Senate climate crisis task force on Tuesday, lawmakers praised a group of young activists for their leadership, their gumption and their display of wisdom far beyond their years. They then asked the teens for advice on how Congress might combat one of the most urgent and politically contentious threats confronting world leaders: climate change.
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist who has galvanized young people across the world to strike for more action to combat the impact of global warming, politely reminded them that she was a student, not a scientist – or a senator.
“Please save your praise. We don’t want it,” she said. “Don’t invite us here to just tell us how inspiring we are without actually doing anything about it because it doesn’t lead to anything.
The Green New Deal is an ambitious 14-page resolution that calls for a “10-year national mobilization” that would eliminate the nation’s emissions in one decade. Scientists say limiting warming to 1.5C would require cutting manmade carbon levels by 45% by 2030 and reaching net zero around 2050.
Markey said their movement is shifting the political landscape. The senator pointed to the 2020 presidential debates as evidence of what has changed. Candidates are being asked about climate change and pushed to introduce plans to combat global warming. This is in stark contrast to 2016.
“What has happened? You have happened,” he told the activists. “You are giving this extra level of energy to the political process that is absolutely changing the dynamics of politics in the United States Ka kite Ano link below.
Typical of some business people say one thing in the public EYE and in the board rooms do the opposite what do we call them Lies. If they don't get on the climate mitigation waka they will lose their shoulders CASH. What a lot of business people haven't figured out is clean tech or anything that makes products with low or no carbon footprint is going to be the NEXT GOLD Rush. All the natural materials produced with low or no carbon will have a higher value .
Wall Street investment giants voting against key climate resolutions
Asset management companies BlackRock Inc and Vanguard have failed to live up to pledge to support climate action at energy firms
Some of Wall Street’s largest asset management companies are failing to live up to commitments to use their voting power to fight the climate crisis, according to a new report.
The report, published on Tuesday by the Washington DC-based Majority Action and the Climate Majority Project, claims that BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager with more than $6tn under management, and Vanguard, with assets of $5.2tn, have voted overwhelmingly against the key climate resolutions at energy companies, including a resolution at ExxonMobil’s annual shareholder meeting, and at Duke Energy.
Had BlackRock and Vanguard not torpedoed these investor efforts, at least 16 climate-critical shareholder resolutions at S&P 500 companies would have received majority support in 2019, representing a significant corporate shift on climate, the report claims.
Refusing to use their proxy votes to support shareholders’ resolutions means letting companies off the hook – even as the climate crisis threatens their investors, their business models and the planet, the group says.
“The climate crisis is well upon us, and leading investors are stepping up to press fossil-fuel-dependent companies to align their strategies to the goals of the Paris agreement but some of the largest US investment companies are severely lagging,” said Majority Action’s Eli Kasargod-Staub.
Majority Action, which delivered a petition of 129,000 petition signatures to Blackrock in April, claims it ranks at the bottom of the list of fund managers using their voting powers to force companies to act responsibly on climate.
Nicholas Eisenberger at the advisory firm Pure Energy Partners said he was encouraged by the growing awareness of the urgency of the climate crisis in the business sector.
“Large asset managers are just at the beginning of taking the urgent actions required to more aggressively confront the threat of climate change,” he said, describing them as battleships at the start of an emergency corrective turn.
“We seen a fundamental shift in the last two years in the understanding of the dangers climate change presents but the steps we’ve taken are nowhere near adequate to the task yet
Its excellent that Amazon is going to make The Lord Of The Rings TV series in Aotearoa we have A Beautiful Contry and the most environmental way to shear Aotearoa to the Papatuanuku is with Films and TV series.
Brain fart lol
Cool find in North Canterbury a tooth bird 62 million years old birds are beautiful creatures. Aotearoa Te Whenua of ancient birds.
Let's hope not to many Pilot whales get stranded in Te Tai tokorau. Pilot Whales have huge brains and bond with each other quite closely.
Reduce emissions /becoming carbon neutral is definitely great for everyone every living thing.
Pilot Whale stranding it cool that heaps of tangata working together to try and save the stranded awesome.
Its sad that tangata whenua of Whangarei is being cut out of there Taonga Wai
Its great that Tangata whenua tourists operator's are chasing more revenue from entertaing our guests. It would be great to see more of our guests experiencing the best place in Aotearoa Te Tairawhiti best hunting fishing first whenua to see Te Ra in Eco Maori view
Isac great innovation finding a valuable oil from industrial hemp teno pai.
Turangi sing to give up smoking anyway you can give the stuff up is cool.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
Opinion: New Health NZ commissioner Lester Levy is authorised to assume operational leadership – chief executive Margie Apa is effectively relegated to his operational deputy The post All-powerful Levy is feudal baron of a $28b fiefdom appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Profile of an influential young NZ activist https://storyo.co/stories/laura-oconnell-rapira
Yay. In before Pete!
Not by much. 🙁
Can picture it. 7am alarm goes off. Jumps out of bed. Makes toast and a cuppa. Grabs the latest installment out of the newspaper and he’s off……….
It's also pretty easy to copy and paste a post you've already prepared for your own website: https://yournz.org/2019/09/15/complainant-labour-party-will-have-to-address-archaic-power-structure/
Yes. That crossed my mind but wanted to be short and sweet.
You're wrong. I posted here first, then decided to cut and paste to a post at YNZ.
Why are you being so petty?
Nothing petty about early morning amazement.
Petty messenger attacking again. Ironic particularly for Anne.
If I made things up like this about a regular here I suspect I'd be hammered for it.
And wrong. I was up at 5:30 researching for a house painting project I'm working on. Made. Watched Deep Blue with my granddaughter who is staying, then made a cuppa for everyone.
I was right about the cuppa then. 😀
You have no sense of humour Pete.
Complainants want the Labour Party to address it's archaic power structure, and hope that Jacinda Ardern can make it happen.
Alison Mau:
I think that Ardern will understand that there's lot riding on this – for the victims of course, but also for the reputation of the Labour Party and it's attractiveness to young people, especially to young females.
Labour has talked about gender balance for years, but has failed to provide a safe environment for young people, especially females.
Note the names of those who seem to have been responsible for male staffer protection debacle – Nigel, Grant, Andrew, Rob.
And there's a lot riding on this for Jacinda herself. Her reputation, her primary attractiveness as a new generation leader who is a caring and empathetic champion of gender balance and rights, is on the line.
She needs to make sure the repair job from here is done transparently. If the inquiry terms of reference are stacked in favour of the party and the Council, if the report is kept secret like the last one, if there is a lack of openness and no public sign of real repair and progress, then Ardern have failed to live up to her PR, again.
"(We will tell her) here are some conditions that the party needs to look at, before any of us feel comfortable coming back into these (Labour) spaces."
That cannot be done in secret, because it is not just the group of victims who want change, it's the future of the party at stake. Prospective party recruits – volunteers and candidates – need to know that Labour has finally learnt from multiple failures and put things right.
Grant is not a staffer. Nice try though.
I didn't say he was a staffer.
It has been claimed (and not denied) that he was closely associated with the (now ex) staffer, and was aware of the seriousness of allegations and, if we are to believe Ardern, kept important information from her as did the other men named above.
Sorry, next time I will paste your words into my reply to make sure I read them more carefully. Could have sworn it said ‘the names of those staffers’.
"It has been claimed (and not denied)", and "if we are to believe" appear to be attempts to convince that any scurrilous accusation put forward without evidence must be given as much credence as supported facts. We have heard a lot of conjecture, and undoubtledly some fact, but separating the two has not been easy, or I suggest for most people possible. What started out as a complaint of office bullying seems to have developed into harrassment, sexual misconduct, and now serious sexual abuse. We don't know whether this is by a single individual to another individual, or by more than one of either culprit or victim. We generally trust our media, but we do not know what they have heard themselves or been told by others. I trust some of the media who have reported enough to believe that there has been some matters that needed and still need addressing. if we are talking about an employment matter it is not clear who that employer is – the Labour Party appears to have been involved but not Parliamentary Services. If there are criminal matters it is not clear why the victim(s) has or have not been prepared to report a crime to the police, or whether threats or inducements have discouraged police involvement. Now I have enough trust in our media to believe that they do not get everything wrong; I believe there has been at least one incident that either should not have happened and/or should have been dealt with differently. In the meantime the question of who knew what when is a sideshow, but a recent further article in the SpinOff does at least indicate that one journalist is convinced that Jacinda Ardern did not know of the extent of the complaints until last Monday.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/14-09-2019/on-the-labour-party-crisis-and-jacinda-ardern/
If you know more, Pete, then by all means post the information with the evidence – provides that does not impede a possible criminal investigation of course), but if you do not have impeccable evidence, perhaps it is better to wait rather than to assume that every "claim" is automatically credible.
Tracy Watkins: Jacinda Ardern must force Labour to face itself in the mirror
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/115804055/editorial-jacinda-ardern-must-force-labour-to-face-itself-in-the-mirror
[Added the correct punctuation in the quoted text; you wouldn’t want to create an impression that you might be quoting selectively, would you? Pete, you should know and do better. Next time, I’ll delete the text and only leave the link. In fact, I getting itchy fingers when I see large texts being copied & pasted here – Incognito]
[Pete should know better as he had a three week ban for the same thing in 2017. Perhaps he forgot, but I think another ban now will help him cement this in his mind. He’s also been moderated more than once in various ways over not linking.
Pete, you’re a really long term commenter, you know the deal: always link, don’t misquote, and try to avoid long tracts of cut and pastes. Looking at your comments to Sacha you appear to not understand the problem here. When you cut and past different pieces of an article you have to make it clear that they are not one block of text. If you still don’t get this, ask one of the moderators for clarification when you get back.
3 weeks again, given it’s been a long time, but expect bans to get longer for repeat offenses. Interim ban, as I’ll run this past the mods already active in this thread – weka]
[ban reduced to a week. Pete the key point here about quoting is that if you post separate sections of someone else’s work, you have to make it clear you have removed bits. This is quite different than what Sacha did, which was to post part of an article, but with no bits cut out of the part he quoted – weka]
The outcome must be that NZ faces itself in the "mirror". I'm a bit perplexed, and the use of the words men & women is solely to make a point that has occurred to me. In various comments and positions on this on an emotive level, and not necessarily based on facts that anyone can confirm, some of those now most concerned with the victims have not displayed that concern previously and appear to be purely political. Has it it been decided from an editorial perspective that having mainly "women" journalists, it appears to me anyway carry the message these or any offences are Labour's "fault". I hope not because the story, the facts and where that leads NZ is all I want to hear.
Labour has been at fault here. Not once but twice, badly, with multiple victims in both.
But it is symptomatic of whole of New Zealand society problems. The National Party has had it's own embarrassing problems, publicly as recently as last year.
Law firms have been in the spotlight.
It is generally and strongly agreed that our judicial system has is not fit for purpose, overall and particularly related to sex offences (and probably violence offences which are often connected).
Abuse of power is a common factor.
The law business community has tried to fix it's problems.
National say they have addressed their handling of bullying and sexual matters in the wake of the Jami-Lee Ross affairs. There's no way of the public knowing if that has been effective.
A review of the judicial system is currently under way.
And Labour re running their own inquiry into their mishandling of things.
Media will be scrutinising how Labour handles this.
While it is a whole society problem a lot depends on how Labour handles this.
For a start, it could be a major factor in determining who our next Government is led by.
But it's bigger than that. If the Prime Minister and the major governing party openly deal with this well it will (finally) set a good example from the top that society needs to reform how it views and deals with bullying. violence, sexual violence and abuse of power.
If Labour sweep this under the carpet again then (some of) society will see this as a signal that sweeping under the carpet and business as usual (abuse as usual) is still normal practice.
I'm fine with that but remain perplexed that Nat Party inquiries and outcomes were not so scrutinised and followed up on by media.
National had just one major issue last year, Jami Lee Ross.
Labour stuffed up twice in a row.
Another difference is that the first of Labour's issues (summer camp attacks) involved illegal behaviour that went to court.
And the second has allegations of serious offences that many think should have gone to court.
There's also the problem that Ardern was seen as a champion of young people and of women's rights, and is seen to have failed on both.
Look, other than those who abuse and those who will use any part of this for political gain I can not think anyone who would want anything other than this "(finally) set a good example", can you?
…the first of Labour's issues (summer camp attacks) involved illegal behaviour that went to court.
It involved illegal behaviour of the kind that happens at parties in this country every weekend and doesn't usually end up in court because the media aren't interested and there's no political propaganda to be had from it. The perps in those cases are usually either not dealt with, or dealt with via public shaming or violence rather than complaints to the Police.
The fact that some men behave like that when drunk is a rape culture issue, not a Labour Party issue, and the prurient interest in this particular instance is mostly either politically motivated or just hand-wringing from conservatives who've led sheltered lives. Or both, I suspect, in your case.
I think this is a good summary.
Reflect on the rugby player in an airport toilet situation a couple of years back. Not the 'incident', the media handling of it and the explosion of public hysteria that generated.
The media love a good feeding frenzy and generating one is good for business, and egos. Couple that with the team at newstalkzb and the likes of Matthew Hooton quite simply wanting Labour and Jacinda Arden gone, the scenario is perfect.
Thank you, as a mother and a grandmother I have kept my opinion on that incident largely to myself as I knew it would not be popular to say what I thought and how I would use such examples. In an effort to keep them all safe "boys & girls" pointing out that things may not turn out always as you hope was a mainstay. That's not about blame it is about people, young people who as you say across the country can end up making utter fools of themselves when alcohol is at hand and even when it's not. That is part of the lesson the young need to learn hopefully sooner rather than later and even more so on the roads and in cars!
Granted there is a rape culture issue with drunken youth but this was a Labour Camp for under 16's where there was lotsa booze available and it was sanctioned by Labour. Not too many of us would allow or have a cabinet of (free?) booze at our children's 16th birthdays and not too many parents would approve of their children attending any teenage function where liquor was freely available to them. I think the party has to own this.
My parents sure as hell wouldn't have approved of the drinking I was doing at ages 15 – 17, but on the plus side, what they didn't know didn't hurt them. All this hand-wringing about Labour failing to prevent alcohol sullying the sacred temple of teenagers' bodies makes Doug Sellman look like a bad-ass.
Are you sure it was a camp "for" under 16s or a youth camp that incl that group and above, I very much doubt there were 13-15s there but you can correct me with some facts.
So much of the Jamie Lee Ross superbly mismanaged debacle was hidden. There's a lot there we need to know. Pompous Paula was right out of line divulging private information on public television which started Jamie's downward mental spiral.
Also what happened to that poor ' mistreated' woman Sarah Cowie who also in a drunken rage of rejection also contributed to his ultimate step of thinking of ending his life.
NOTHING! She's still in her very responsible role in the NationalParty. So what she did was acceptable to them?? Some double standards in there somewhere.
And petulant,perfidious Paula preaching from her pulpit of presumed power should take a look in her own back yard before trying to topple Jacinda with rabid rhetoric. I'm sure there is any amount of weed there that needs to be exposed. For the good of the country of course. Paula is fuelled by hatred for Jacind a.
National had just one major issue last year, Jami Lee Ross.
Pfft. There were two that we know about.
What about Richard Worth? He sexually abused two women (the ones we know about) and got away with it.
What about Mike Sabin?
Very selective in your interminably long and boring offerings aren't you.
I you're going back that fr why re you being selective and omitting the likes of Hughes?
Worth was quickly dumped by Key. Media have compared that prompt action to Ardern's inaction.
Compared it how, exactly? Key's "prompt action" was very good for him and the National Party but did nothing for Worth's victims, nothing to improve public awareness of rape culture and how to respond to it, and nothing for openness and transparency in government. The fact that you compare Key favourably with Ardern in that case suggests you're thinking of this entirely in terms of how cleverly some players are playing a game.
Yes, prompt action is the only way – if only the people who were complained to had had the nous to realise that. And Key had never promised the most open and transparent Govt. ever.
Yes, prompt action is the only way…
In that particular case, it was the best way to minimise political damage to brand Key and the National Party. Whether it was also a good thing for the victims or not we'll never know, but my money's on them not getting even a second thought.
And Key had never promised the most open and transparent Govt. ever.
I don't recall Ardern promising that either.
It's commendably honest of right-wingers to admit that they just assume a National government's going to act in its own interests and conceal that from voters, but unfortunately (and I get sick of having to point this out), National itself is not so honest:
Bill English, 2014:
He told TV3's The Nation this morning that Prime Minister John Key ran the "most transparent government that New Zealand's ever seen".
It may or may not go to court. What many think is irrelevant to the due process except for putting undue pressure on those who could make it happen.
Public perception and opinion is influenced if not manipulated to a large degree by the media. To me, you come across as a media accomplice not as a truth seeker. I prefer the latter and these people differentiate themselves from the main crowd not be being more intelligent, more confident, or being louder (e.g. boasting and bragging) but by nuance, humility, sophisticated and critical thinking, and generally admitting that they know
shitnothing in the first place.Ummm. Have you ever actually read a report of this kind? I have.
It is full of material that was given under confidentiality, is full of inadmissible hearsay, people names, and is deeply prejudicial to any subsequent court processes.
Releasing it may be appreciated to the prurient dribblers slavering over the underwear details. However it doesn’t help anyone apart from journalists after column inches and airtime.
Perhaps you and the idiot who wrote that quoted piece should engage your brain rather than your lust for gossip and consider what options gets killed if that kind of report gets released. For a start, just think of the consequences for victims.
Sometimes you are just an idiot.
Are you under the impression we don't know where Stuff is or something, Pete?
He's like a dog with an old bone. Can't leave it alone. Either that or he is trolling in which case it might be necessary for a moderator to intervene. It's been going on for nearly a week.
I do not believe Mr George is trolling, just fixated.
It can be a fine line between being fixated and needing a fix.
So you're trying to influence moderators to shut things down?
This has been the biggest story in political media all week. Given how important it is to Labour, I would have thought it would be of interest to discussions here – unless the intent is to aid the apparent Labour Party coverups, which looks increasingly what some are trying to do.
[lprent: You must be blind. There have been comments all over the site for days. Unlike you, some of them have actually had suggestions about what should be done to prevent this kind of crap again.
I realise that you prefer to act as a brainless critic who carps and can’t offer any ideas. But perhaps you should try exercising your brain a bit.
But my toleration for outright lying by you and other is wearing very thin. If you can’t bring yourself to actually participate in debate about how to solve a problem – then leave. ]
It's Sacha and Anne who have been making things up here, but par for the course for me to get the threats to shut up..
What have I made up?
9 September 2019 at 12:19 pm
"There were these two terriers who loved the scent of blood…"
No, I'm under the impression that people here have been trying to avoid discussing an issue that is important not just to Labour but to the Government and the country.
And I don't care what sources you may read, I'm not doing it for you.
You could ignore things here that you've already read rather than join the petty pile-on.
Just as well there's a fearless moral conscience here to set things straight then. Undies on the outside!
I'm under the impression that people here have been trying to avoid discussing an issue that is important not just to Labour but to the Government and the country.
The lengthy threads of people discussing it gave you that impression, did they? I dread to think what you imagine not avoiding discussing it would like.
I haven’t noticed that Pete George has managed to suggest anything constructive on this topic. He still appears to be coming up to speed with his own lack of knowledge on the issues.
In fact his most recent post quotes some actual sensible advice from Young Labour via Alison Mau that appears to have been written here. That essentially says that the Labour Party shouldn’t try to rely on internal expertise to handle these kinds of issues, but should get outside expertise.
Reading PG, it is hard to see that he managed to grasp the point. That the core problem is that Labour simply doesn’t have in-house expertise and shouldn’t be trying to do their own investigations.
They’re saying a QC – but fundamentally that is way too expensive to do every time that someone raises these kinds of issues.
To be frank it’d be simpler to disband Young Labour so the Labour Party can get on with what we pay levies for. Just about every dumbarse political crap of this kind has arisen out Young Labour or the barely grown dickheads having access to them (think Darren Hughes).
Or perhaps the answer go the other way give and give the Labour Party the authority to launch criminal prosecutions. There are some National MPs and ex ones that I would be interested in seeing in court explaining their behaviour….
Perhaps Pete should try to contribute his actual ideas rather than stroking his outrage
Couldn't agree more!
In my day we young things
worked through the main party. We learned from our elders how to behave in a political environment and they gave us the benefit of their knowledge and expertise, so that we were well informed and could avoid the ever present pit-falls of political life. Most of all we learnt how to socialise with all age groups and to show respect for the elderly who knew a darn sight more about life than we did.
I am opposed to lowering the voting age precisely for the type of behaviour we have seen in recent times and which has become all too prevalent among so many young people in this country.
The people who caused a problem were not Young Labour this time. Two people with vast experience made bad decisions, which has made things harder for the complainants and definitely harder for the PM.
She went to the heart of it.
1. What the complainants needed to happen
2. An independent 3rd party to look at actions and facts.
3. The PM to be kept in the loop.
Out of all of that….
4. To change Labour's culture in this sphere to make the Party spaces safer in the future.
May it succeed.
I disagree about disbanding Young Labour. A Youth wing is essentially the school/club rugby of a political party – people build skills, connections and interests, and also do a lot of the ground work for local actions.
But all youth groups need to be properly supervised, otherwise harmful cultures can build up (especially around alcohol).
But this staffer thing has nothing really to do with Young Labour beyond an incidental connection and that it shows Labour didn't learn a damned thing about how to deal with sensitive complaints in an informal environment.
So – what about the children? Labour can'yt disassociate itself from pastoral care for its voters and its young adherents in Young Labour as well. Get back to some good old fashioned interest and leadership for the young where it isn't all about money and immediate power and advantage.
I was thinking more "have a rotating watch of authority figures who intervene to stop people getting too drunk", sort of thing.
What the YL incident and the student law society camp complaints in the last few years had in common was that most things being complained about happened after the adults/authority figures left/went to bed.
Then there's the issue of how to resolve complaints after they occur.
Prevention, and if prevention fails go to treatment.
Yeah nah – the Key government moved heaven and earth to protect Mike Sabin.
Any process becomes difficult when the guy running it is the guy you're trying to stop.
See my Moderation note @ 7:49 AM.
I see that. So Sacha can selectively quote, then complain about me selectively quoting, and you choose to dump on me? (I know it's your call).
[Don’t be so melodramatic! You know how things work here and you have been warned before about your incessant pasting & linking here. It is in the Policy:
I’m not impressed with you playing dumb and/or tit-for-tat games with Sacha.
Your hypersensitivity to criticism is showing. I did not “dump” on you; I warned you through a moderation note, and the correct term for that is “moderate”. Please note that you have been wasting moderators’ time [plural] and if you keep this up you will be ‘dumped’ (you and I know it’s your call) – Incognito]
[Edit: I just saw that Weka has already taken action that is more decisive; I’m just fudge]
See my Moderation note @ 12:32 PM.
Pete is lucky I didn't see the dumping comment until after I had moderated. I agree the ball is in his court now (there's a note in the back end about the length of the ban).
Thanks and I responded in the back-end.
moderation note for you Pete.
"The Wheels of Justice turn slowly but exceedingly fine."
Pete, please show it when you leave out chunks of an article as you have done here in at least two separate posts today. I understand you are simplifying but wrapping quotes around the whole passage misrepresents the original source.
Posting such large parts of each article may also discourage readers here from bothering to click through to the original. Took me a second coffee.
You "left out chunks" of the article that you quoted from.
Which article?
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15-09-2019/#comment-1655068
[HTH]
[link fixed – weka]
Do you mean my post #1? What have I left out from between the two (continuous) paragraphs I quoted?
A moderator has fixed one of yours above at 2.2, for comparison.
The staff of the Labour party are about 20-30 people all up. I believe that most if not all have had this training. Certainly we don’t appear to have received any complaints from them about their behaviour.
Where they have arisen to date they have come from (in no particular order) volunteers, MPs, parliamentary staff, and random idiots who apparently weren’t even members and just turned up.
Certainly the party needs to craft a policy on it. That should be farmed out to someone with actual expertise in dealing with workplace bullying and sexual assaults. Their primary role shouldn’t be to investigate. It should be to support and shepard the complaints to the appropriate authorities so that they get dealt with.
this piece from jonothan franzen has been getting some attention..
in it he argues that we are pretty much fucked..
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-if-we-stopped-pretending
'The climate apocalypse is coming.
To prepare for it, we need to admit that we can’t prevent it.'
Great article which pretty much sums up my feelings towards this and many other issues. For all the platitudes and tokenism their isn't actually the political and social will to make the changes necessary to prevent this impending doom. There will be one day when we are on the precipice of the apocalypse. But when that day arrives, a hollow feeling will swell in those peoples stomachs when they finally realize that they can now do nothing, their time has come and gone, and any grand scheme to prevent our destructions time was 20 to 50 years ago. As I said last week, I have taken steps to ensure my hopeful survival and adapt as best as I can. Will it work? Probably not, but at least I'm giving it my best effort. If only our leaders and people in influence would do the same.
There will be one day when we are on the precipice of the apocalypse. But when that day arrives, a hollow feeling will swell in those peoples stomachs when they finally realize that they can now do nothing,
Has that day arrived? There is significant evidence that the ssw event has forced a catastrophic (bifurcation ) reversal in the antarctic atmosphere.ie near reversal of the polar vortex,decreased ozone loss (and breakup of the ozone hole)
The increased probability for a wetter,colder and windier spring,summer in NZ with decreased mean T.Is that good for NZ?
http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/tcc/tcc/products/clisys/STRAT/gif/pole10_sh.gif
https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/meteorology/figures/ozone/omds_2019_toms+omi+omps.pdf
https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/meteorology/figures/merra2/wind/u45_75s_10_2019_merra2.pdf
I personally believe that day arrived 15 years ago. All we can really do now imo is prepare as best we can for a horrible future.
The problem with Franzen article,is that he cited a paper where he invoked catastrophe (which did not exist)
According to a recent paper in Nature, the carbon emissions from existing global infrastructure, if operated through its normal lifetime, will exceed our entire emissions “allowance”—the further gigatons of carbon that can be released without crossing the threshold of catastrophe.
https://twitter.com/KenCaldeira/status/1170775296825425922
cant access the graph you have in your link but ask the question…do you accept the rational behind the IPCC's target of staying below a 2 deg C increase?
rationale
Here is a better graph from the paper using the IPCC scenario.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EAl1NApXoAAfSLK.jpg:large
My opinion is to read what the science is suggesting.Not what various purveyors of crisis are suggesting.
The emergent scientific consensus is the IPCC science irrationally.Not by sceptics but alarmists and it has no place in science analysis.
the wmo sg statement here.
In my interview, I made clear that a science-based approach underpins climate action, and that our best science shows that the climate is changing, driven in large part by human action. However, I pointed out that the science-based approach is undermined when facts are taken out of context to justify extreme measures in the name of climate action.
https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/statement-wmo-secretary-general-petteri-taalas
so thats a negative….well i do accept the IPCC rationale advocating 2 deg C as a likely tipping point to unrecoverable climate change that is outside our habitability…maybe a little less or more…and on that basis the statement that if the existing infrastructure burns FF forhe estimated lifespan of that infrastructure we will well exceed the carbon budget for 2 deg C is obviously right…so the statement in the article is accurate
I said read what the science says (not what you think i said)
2c is not a tipping point .That s your unscientific opinion of a mathematical statement ie it has a strict description (including grammar) no more no less,and of which your understanding would be say limited.
2 deg C (above pre industrial average) has been determined as a point where unrecoverable climate feedbacks will (with a high degree of probability) be triggered…with your superior understanding of scientific principle do you wish to dispute that is the position of the IPCC?
A tipping point is a bifurcation.back to back saddle node,and or Shilnikov in the case of the ENSO complex system with regime change due to negative feedbacks
http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Saddle-node_bifurcation
Large amplitude response to feedbacks appear only in linear systems and have significant constraints on prediction of complex systems. eg Zalipin and Ghil.
We revisit a recent claim that the Earth’s climate system is characterized by sensitive dependence to parameters; in particular, that the system exhibits an asymmetric,large-amplitude response to normally distributed feedback forcing. Such a response would imply irreducible uncertainty in climate change predictions and thus have notable implications for climate science and climate-related policy making. We show that equilibrium climate sensitivity in all generality does not support such an intrinsic indeterminacy; the latter appears only in essentially linear systems.The main flaw in the analysis that led to this claim is in-appropriate linearization of an intrinsically nonlinear model;there is no room for physical interpretations or policy conclusions based on this mathematical error.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1003.0253.pdf
You're planning on being cryogenically frozen…?
No, I'm going to upload my conciousness to a computer and come back as a Kelly Lebrock lookalike human hybrid like in the movie weird science…
"To judge from recent opinion polls, which show that a majority of Americans (many of them Republican) are pessimistic about the planet’s future, and from the success of a book like David Wallace-Wells’s harrowing “The Uninhabitable Earth,” which was released this year, I’m not alone in having reached this conclusion. But there continues to be a reluctance to broadcast it. Some climate activists argue that if we publicly admit that the problem can’t be solved, it will discourage people from taking any ameliorative action at all. This seems to me not only a patronizing calculation but an ineffectual one, given how little progress we have to show for it to date. The activists who make it remind me of the religious leaders who fear that, without the promise of eternal salvation, people won’t bother to behave well. In my experience, nonbelievers are no less loving of their neighbors than believers. And so I wonder what might happen if, instead of denying reality, we told ourselves the truth."
Could have written it myself….if I could write,
Good link
A stupid false binary from Frantzen.
We're all obligated to do our best to mitigate climate change – to whatever temperature our collective efforts merit.
He should stick to being a novelist – which is the one thing he’s good at.
I have just heard on the 8am news on RNZ that a victim who survived the mosque attack can only recieve 60 % of their income due to only having worked for some months. The man is married and has 4 children.
What I find to be unacceptable is that the family is having to wash their clothing by hand. Due to being on ACC the earner is not entitled to a Work and Income grant for a washing machine.
Who ever is managing the fund which was raised, has overlooked what practical/essential assistance a family requires.
Each time the family washes their clothing they should not be reminded of why there is no washing machine.
My mother did not have a washing machine until the 6th child was born in 1961. Her hands would have been swollen and sore.
Shame on whoever has deprived the family and immediate action is required to assist victims where there is a need.
No vacuum cleaner either.
Looking after the daily needs of these families is the least we can do as a nation. Disgusting.
What happened to the donated money?
It was never intended to make up for months of lost income. That's on how our govt have chosen to arrange matters.
It is the loss of income which is the reason there is no washing machine.
I did not say that any money raised was for the loss of income.
There is more on this story on RNZ just after 8.10 am. My power ran out, so I have not listened to it yet.
I would like to know what is on the list which the donations are permitted for.
If this family were refugees why was there no washing machine or vacuum.
My mother was an orphaned refugee and when she went out into the world at age 21 the NZ govt provided her with sufficient clothing, a job and accommodation she could afford. This was in 1950.
The man on ACC was here on a work permit, his wife and family were overseas (not sure when they came to NZ). All victims of the mosque attacks are eligible to get permanent residence. The man's application is not yet processed.
I though that a person could apply for both ACC and Work and Income assistance but one reduces the final amount as is cancelled $ for $. Also even though residence of 24 months is required I thought that is what an emergency benefit was for.
A W&I and ACC advocate needs to become involved.
Also he stepped from the ranks recently to say
Even if poor parenting is the reason kids are hungry at school, that's not the kid's fault.
I've come across plenty of people with punitive views towards the impoverished. But even they can't come up with a reason why kids should suffer the consequence of going hungry because of their parents' choices. (But they're really good at changing the subject when you ask why the kids should suffer)
Ensuring kids get at least one decent feed a day, five days a week, would give the kids suffering the biggest opportunity gaps a boost way out of proportion to the tiny cost involved. FFS, even most places in the US have worked out some way to ensure the worst-off kids get a free lunch at school.
Do you think this should be expanded because of school holidays? Children need decent nutrition 24/7, not just during school terms. In the US they can also get free (or bought) breakfast at school.
Absolutely expand it to 365 days, if anyone can figure out the politics of how to get there from where we are now. But while I reckon I could map out a politically workable path to feeding kids in schools, I've no idea how to swing a program that would feed them outside of school.
The US also has the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (food stamps). Not sure how often recipients have to reapply, but it's certainly longer-term and more secure than our one-off food benefit that you have to use within 3 days of getting it.
The Cadogan boys are an interesting pair, brother Tim is mayor of Central Otago and an interesting character too. On the face of it a Nat (very strong National majority in area) but when you dig deeper quite left.
https://crux.org.nz/2019-local-body-elections/tim-cadogan/ (edit, link is a 10 minute video covering Tim’s local politics)
Shadbolt needs to roll a blunt and inhale for a bit.
There is nothing stopping the southern Licensing trusts from continuing to fund free places to their local polytech – so exactly what harm to Southland is he on about?
Shadbolt is an establishment synchophant now. I wouldnt be suprised if he is a member of the National Party. He has been parroting all their lines for over a decade now.
Mind you, all Trotskyists seem to take the same course.
He'll probably be denounced by National's Red (or is that Blue?) Guards and paraded through Balclutha's main street naked with a billboard round his neck.
The population centres are not as blue in the south as one might think (with some notable exceptions)
There's going to be a rearrangement of electorates in the South before the next election and things will change quite a bit due to the huge population growth in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago. Quite on the cards that it could turn out to be not quite as blue as at present. Add in a couple of young incumbent MPs who seem to keep making fools of themselves by barking at every car that goes past, often missing the point completely, and it could be all on.
Who needs Bolton to start a war?
https://twitter.com/bpolitics/status/1172971900664012802
Must be a delicate thing trying to time it right for the presidential election.
Republican diversity.
https://twitter.com/AdrienChorn_/status/1172539989030313984
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/09/elizabeth-heng-aoc-cambodia-khmer-rouge-new-voices.html
A local short story for your afternoon: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/09/07/785976/saturday-short-story-the-black-monk-by-charlotte-grimshaw
People having trouble with linking to TS comments, here's how to do it:
If you want to make it fancier, you can put some words in the Display Text box.
I had never even seen the link box. I had always just done the crude posting of the copied URL into the comment itself. It worked but it wasn't very pretty.
Hey now I can try and give much prettier links with text instead of just the URL. Never did master that before.
Thank you for the tip.
Jeeze alwyn, I can't believe it, I thought you knew everything, just like Hosking.![surprise surprise](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/omg_smile.png)
concise 🙂
I'm sorry to destroy one of your cherished beliefs.
Now I am really going to spoil your day.
There is no Santa Claus!
Hi weka
Followed your instructions but the same thing happened. When I submit, half the address line drops off. lprent is aware there is a glitch and will sort it when he gets the time. Only some of us appear to be affected.
Time, if I only had time…
Actually it is starting to look good. I have one more task at home, have no real required work at work. My slave master / student is heading away for weeks to the land of the deluded peasants (US), and I have almost a years complement of unused holiday time available.
However I also have a jury service notice – complete with a warning that is a trial in it for up to 5 weeks.
Liberals, Leninists and the Libertarians suck.
Here is why – 28 minutes – can do house work and listen. Elizabeth Anderson is Giant. Love her books, Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don't Talk about It) . is fantastic and a must read for anyone interested in political economy.
Looks like Boris Johnson's tactics are working and Corbyn is even more ineffective.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/14/tories-extend-poll-lead-to-12-despite-week-of-political-chaos
Conservatives up 2%
Labour stays same.
Doesn't seem to match Gosman's point. Perhaps it was another poll?
A former president of the European Council has said he believes Brexit has changed EU attitudes to Scottish independence.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-49690513
Amidst the nutso reporting of late, a real scandal affecting hundreds of Kiwi families goes unremarked
https://twitter.com/hamish_keith/status/1172637706276364288?s=20
Kia Ora Newshub.
You can't help yourself being rude talking over the top of Jacinda.
I don't think that it's fair on the people victim of the parliament scandal these peoples should not be used as a political FOOTBALL.
Our farmers do have a very low carbon footprint but they can lower there carbon footprint more they just have to focus on a lower carbon footprint and lower there water use to help save our environment we need to all work together to get to a carbon neutral society by 2050 not fight about it letting t the years roll by in that process making becoming carbon neutral by 2050 harder and harder you WE have to start now.
Ka pai Geovana Pères Aotearoa Wahine WBO Champion all the best it's great to see more of our Wahine Sports Stars being given the Star light kia kaha.
I agree with Mark on the Basket Ball.
I agree with Marie views about on the parliament staff issues.
Ka kite Ano
Ka pai to the Bubbles foiling sea taxi in France cool new tech coming from France.
I… It warms Eco Maori Ngaku to see finally that the majority of people can see OUR reality on human cause climate change. Even more when I see that our Rangatahi can see the big picture clearly through all the putea that is spent trying to deceive OUR Realities on Human Cause Climate change. Kia kaha Rangatahi of the Papatuanuku keep up the excellent MAHI. Championing positive action to minimise climate change and become carbon neutral ASAP
Americans are waking up': two thirds say climate crisis must be addressed
Major CBS News poll released as part of Covering Climate Now, a collaboration of more than 250 news outlets around the world to strengthen coverage of the climate story
Young people have been galvanized by climate science being taught in schools as well as a spreading global activist movement spearheaded by Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who started a wave of school walkouts to demand action. Thunberg recently arrived in the US on a solar-powered yacht, ahead of a major United Nations climate summit in New York on 23 September.
This generational divide even cuts across party affiliation, with two-thirds of Republican voters aged under 45 considering it their duty to address the climate crisis, according to the CBS poll. Just 38% of Republicans aged over 45 feel the same.
“Younger Republicans are much more convinced climate change is a crisis and are supportive of action than older Republicans – which has big implications for the future of the party,” said Leiserowitz.
Around three-quarters of all respondents said they understand that climate change is melting the Arctic, raising sea levels and causing warmer summers. A further two-thirds accept that hurricanes will be made more severe by global heating. Hurricane Dorian, which recently devastated parts of the Bahamas, made 38% of Americans more concerned about the climate crisis, with 56% unswayed.
Leiserowitz said that the relationship between extreme weather events and concern over climate change is a complex one, with people already worried the most likely to say that their alarm has increased when a major storm or flood hits.
Regardless of concern over climate change there appears to be skepticism among Americans about how much humans can do about it. Just 19% said humans can stop rising temperatures and the associated impacts, with nearly half thinking it possible to slow but not stop the changes and 23% refusing to believe humans can do anything at all.
This may well influence the views of leading presidential contenders’ climate plans. Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders, for example, has proposed a rapid remodeling of society where planet-warming emissions from transport and power generation are eradicated within just 11 years
Ka kite Ano link below below.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/sep/15/americans-climate-change-crisis-cbs-poll
Kia Ora Newshub.
Kia Pai Winston Peters is back Kia Kaha.
That's great the Japan Rugby World Cup is looking like a big secess that is good for the Game.
Still a lot of questions around that digger hitting the Auckland Airport fuel pipe.
Arsonists burning anything is boggling burning our tamariki schools is even worse idiots
Kia kaha to all the Tangata picking up the plastic waste from Tangaroa and our Awa we will change to a society that use minimal resources in everyday life.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
That's is correct Maori and Pacific tamariki will be discriminated against the most in Schools. That has to stop.
Ngāti Kahu do not want a ship like Captain Cook landing in their harbor to celebrate Cooks arrival to Aotearoa Ka pai
I agree its not on that a social worker gave up the address were a destressed Wahine and tamariki to a out of control man who could do some dumb stuff.
Condolences to the Mullins Whanau for the loss have lost their Father.
I… we have to come up with new systems to minimise our usage taonga resources and minimise our waste by making a close loop system.
Eco Maori always likes listening to our great Kau matua stories and views on the Present kia kaha
To. Much Dug Clark teaching people vehicle mantince and serviceing fixing peoples cars just for the price of the parts in Kaitaia great skills to have
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora The Am Show.
That's awesome our Taonga Te Kakapo indangered native parrot population has increased to 213 birds this year great mahi.
Its good to see you are concerned about human cause climate change.
Eco Maori sort of knows how some people feel when every conclusion I voice gets spun out to the Matariki.
Its great that Facebook is making changes to stop online extremists haters from using their platforms Ka pai don't give them any oxygen.
Its excellent to see Gull is moving into the South Island that will force the others to lower prices and save our consumers costs considerably kia Ora.
That's the way Customs is stopping more PEE like drugs from getting on New Zealand Street and ultimately destroying people lives.
He waimare etahi taangata He tangata taangata ahu.
Yes Te Kakapu native fish are rear with our degraded Wai quality in our Awa times are changing we are now going to treat our Taonga Wai with the respect it deserves.
Ka pai to Lisa for your massive feat swimming hundreds of miles for your cause Mana Wahine.
Ka kite Ano
We must all make changes to the way we live now as the sooner we act the easier it will be to minimise global warming. The longer we wait the harder it will be to get to a carbon-free society its not ROCKET SCIENCE its logical.
Greta Thunberg to Congress: ‘You’re not trying hard enough. Sorry’
The Swedish environmentalist was one of several who spoke at a Senate climate crisis task force.
At a meeting of the Senate climate crisis task force on Tuesday, lawmakers praised a group of young activists for their leadership, their gumption and their display of wisdom far beyond their years. They then asked the teens for advice on how Congress might combat one of the most urgent and politically contentious threats confronting world leaders: climate change.
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist who has galvanized young people across the world to strike for more action to combat the impact of global warming, politely reminded them that she was a student, not a scientist – or a senator.
“Please save your praise. We don’t want it,” she said. “Don’t invite us here to just tell us how inspiring we are without actually doing anything about it because it doesn’t lead to anything.
The Green New Deal is an ambitious 14-page resolution that calls for a “10-year national mobilization” that would eliminate the nation’s emissions in one decade. Scientists say limiting warming to 1.5C would require cutting manmade carbon levels by 45% by 2030 and reaching net zero around 2050.
Markey said their movement is shifting the political landscape. The senator pointed to the 2020 presidential debates as evidence of what has changed. Candidates are being asked about climate change and pushed to introduce plans to combat global warming. This is in stark contrast to 2016.
“What has happened? You have happened,” he told the activists. “You are giving this extra level of energy to the political process that is absolutely changing the dynamics of politics in the United States Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/17/greta-thunberg-to-congress-youre-not-trying-hard-enough-sorry
Typical of some business people say one thing in the public EYE and in the board rooms do the opposite what do we call them Lies. If they don't get on the climate mitigation waka they will lose their shoulders CASH. What a lot of business people haven't figured out is clean tech or anything that makes products with low or no carbon footprint is going to be the NEXT GOLD Rush. All the natural materials produced with low or no carbon will have a higher value .
Wall Street investment giants voting against key climate resolutions
Asset management companies BlackRock Inc and Vanguard have failed to live up to pledge to support climate action at energy firms
Some of Wall Street’s largest asset management companies are failing to live up to commitments to use their voting power to fight the climate crisis, according to a new report.
The report, published on Tuesday by the Washington DC-based Majority Action and the Climate Majority Project, claims that BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager with more than $6tn under management, and Vanguard, with assets of $5.2tn, have voted overwhelmingly against the key climate resolutions at energy companies, including a resolution at ExxonMobil’s annual shareholder meeting, and at Duke Energy.
Had BlackRock and Vanguard not torpedoed these investor efforts, at least 16 climate-critical shareholder resolutions at S&P 500 companies would have received majority support in 2019, representing a significant corporate shift on climate, the report claims.
Refusing to use their proxy votes to support shareholders’ resolutions means letting companies off the hook – even as the climate crisis threatens their investors, their business models and the planet, the group says.
“The climate crisis is well upon us, and leading investors are stepping up to press fossil-fuel-dependent companies to align their strategies to the goals of the Paris agreement but some of the largest US investment companies are severely lagging,” said Majority Action’s Eli Kasargod-Staub.
Majority Action, which delivered a petition of 129,000 petition signatures to Blackrock in April, claims it ranks at the bottom of the list of fund managers using their voting powers to force companies to act responsibly on climate.
Nicholas Eisenberger at the advisory firm Pure Energy Partners said he was encouraged by the growing awareness of the urgency of the climate crisis in the business sector.
“Large asset managers are just at the beginning of taking the urgent actions required to more aggressively confront the threat of climate change,” he said, describing them as battleships at the start of an emergency corrective turn.
“We seen a fundamental shift in the last two years in the understanding of the dangers climate change presents but the steps we’ve taken are nowhere near adequate to the task yet
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/17/wall-street-asset-management-climate-change-blackrock-vanguard
Kia Ora Newshub.
Its excellent that Amazon is going to make The Lord Of The Rings TV series in Aotearoa we have A Beautiful Contry and the most environmental way to shear Aotearoa to the Papatuanuku is with Films and TV series.
Brain fart lol
Cool find in North Canterbury a tooth bird 62 million years old birds are beautiful creatures. Aotearoa Te Whenua of ancient birds.
Let's hope not to many Pilot whales get stranded in Te Tai tokorau. Pilot Whales have huge brains and bond with each other quite closely.
Reduce emissions /becoming carbon neutral is definitely great for everyone every living thing.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Te Maori King has made the correct call Ka pai
Pilot Whale stranding it cool that heaps of tangata working together to try and save the stranded awesome.
Its sad that tangata whenua of Whangarei is being cut out of there Taonga Wai
Its great that Tangata whenua tourists operator's are chasing more revenue from entertaing our guests. It would be great to see more of our guests experiencing the best place in Aotearoa Te Tairawhiti best hunting fishing first whenua to see Te Ra in Eco Maori view
Isac great innovation finding a valuable oil from industrial hemp teno pai.
Turangi sing to give up smoking anyway you can give the stuff up is cool.
Ka kite Ano