Yep. A young man in our family (voting Greens for employment rights and the future) has said most of his mates are voting ACT because Seymour doesn't give much of a sh*t and so it will be funny.
I hope they never have to find out how deadly, ideologically serious, Seymour actually is.
Had dinner last night with friends, also from the UK, who belong to the bowling club – that typical Act focus group.
He couldn't believe all the 'handouts in this country' – they got Covid business support. She was telling us about all the ACC support she gets for a shoulder injury – $600/week, surgical treatment, travel expenses to appointments.
The graph comparing the 4 nations shows 3 of the same rising pattern and the other ….
In 2019, the US top 10% captures 45% of the national income, close to half of it.
Australia and New Zealand remain significantly more equal than their North American counterparts, with the top 10% capturing respectively 35% and 37% of the national income in 2019.
In all four countries, we see declining labor compensation (ie wage) as a share of national income, and this decline does not reflect an increase in self-employment. Instead, corporate profits have surged.
In all four countries, we see declining labor compensation (ie wage) as a share of national income, and this decline does not reflect an increase in self-employment. Instead, corporate profits have surged.
If national income has increased labour's (proportional) share may have decreased, even if wage levels have remained the same. Just a thought.
"What the PREFU is saying to the Minister of Finance after the election, is that the books are not in too bad a position (providing you have not promised anything stupid), but always – always – you will be under fiscal pressure. And you may have to deal with unexpected shocks."
….and remembering that the risks are all to the downside.
"The Treasury gives little guidance as to the particularities of the current pressures (other than the implications that politicians always want to reduce taxes and increase spending). Clearly the war resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine is among the big impacts on the world economy. China’s difficulties may be yet to come.
However, what I don’t think we have appreciated sufficiently is the impact of the Covid pandemic and the measures taken to reduce deaths. They had a substantial immediate economic impact – you can see it in the PREFU. But that is still unwinding three years later. It would be naive to think that those economic measures were a free lunch and almost as naive not to think about having to pay for the lunch. Trade-offs are central to economic management as the next government – whoever it may be – will find, even if in the heady days of election campaigning trade-offs are largely ignored."
It's not so much the policies in response to the pandemic, but the amount pumped through banks for property loans (and unrelated to new builds at that) 2020-2021.
This is a very chilling clip of what happened in Albert Park on 25th March. It is put together by Lesbian visibility and the voice over is by two of the Marshalls (one who had water thrown on her, was out in a head lock, tripped up and kicked. The other Marshall was a 69 year old woman (not the woman who was repeatedly punched in the face).
Meanwhile on another planet the Greens were proclaiming it was all trans pure joy.
There is so much fact free bullshit on the issue of what happened at Albert Park, from both sides, I’m not willing to let this happen on TS. I want us to lift our game on evidence based debate in this area.
From now on, if you want to make any claims of fact about KJK, LWS, or anything to do with aspect of the sex/gender wars in NZ, please provide evidence at the time you make the claim. As always, evidence is an explanation in your own words, supporting quotes and links. – weka]
You’re still not getting it. The problem wasn’t a lack of link, it was that you grossly misrepresented the situation. Basically you made some shit up on a highly contentious topic. You claimed that the assaulter was getting a discharge without conviction, when in fact no decision has been made about this. You’re really close to getting a long ban, because I am sick of going over these things.
Anker – and that's why many older women I know don't plan to vote this year. Can't bring themselves to vote for NACT / Greens etc but feel Labour has let them down badly.
This is incredibly frustrating. Yes, the sex/gender issues are not good. But there are other ways to deal with this than handing the election to National and Act, who will most certainly act to harm women in multiple ways. In addition, this will make it harder to address the issues around women's sex based rights. Because the election is so tight, not voting in this election is a defacto vote for a RW government.
Unfortunately, many women believe that handing the election to Labour/Greens will also act to harm women in multiple ways. As they will take an election win as implicit approval to continue to implement their current pro-trans policy agenda without giving any regard to the protection of very hard-fought-for women's rights.
The explicit support from multiple GP and Labour MPs for the trans protest at the PP event in Auckland, AND their refusal to condemn the violence which ensued – makes this situation quite clear.
While the RW may, indeed, have worse longer term consequences for women's rights – the short term outcome looks considerably less threatening than the full-scale' anyone can self-declare as a woman' platform from the Left.
it's not longer term consequences though. Seymour is talking about draconian welfare reform. It will impact worst on women, as always. That's just one example. Housing, employment law and wage rates, these are all women's issues.
As they will take an election win as implicit approval to continue to implement their current pro-trans policy agenda without giving any regard to the protection of very hard-fought-for women's rights.
The explicit support from multiple GP and Labour MPs for the trans protest at the PP event in Auckland, AND their refusal to condemn the violence which ensued – makes this situation quite clear.
yes, I'm aware of this view, but it's superficial imo. There are two ways that gender ideology has been pushed back at political, legislative, policy and NGO levels. One is by a serious conservative backlash eg in the US, the other is by progressives working over the long term to make changes eg the UK.
When women choose the conservative route, they are playing with fire and putting many, many more women at risk than are currently at risk from self ID in NZ. We still have other ways of working on this issues in NZ. A L/G/TPM government won't stop those other ways and in fact make them much more likely to succeed. We need progressive solutions to GI, not regressive, reactionary ones.
Do you honestly think that the conservatives will stop at this? Or the conspiracy groups if it comes via NZF?
Do you honestly think that the conservatives will stop at this? Or the conspiracy groups if it comes via NZF?
TBH I don't know. But I suspect that on the current political trajectory we're going to have a chance to find out.
Realistically, there is nothing that Labour can do about this. Any policy change they might make is going to be seen as too little, too late; and as an election bribe, rather than an trustworthy commitment. Hipkins lost this battle in the eye of public opinion when he fumbled the "What is a woman?" question.
The GP have made it very, very clear that they have no desire to roll back anything about their political stance on this issue – and indeed double down on it.
I do think equating the National Party (even with ACT involvement) with the hard conservative right in the US is a bridge too far. And, ignores ACTs socially liberal philosophy. They are probably the party in parliament least likely to be tied to any religious ideology.
It's not that Nact are the same as the US religious conservative politics, I was simply pointing out that there are two different pathways available to NZ women and the conservative one is dangerous. Some GC women are acting as if it's the only option, it's not.
What we need is for the left and centre right to change their position on GI. Because that will give us progressive and liberal policy and law rather than regressive. If it's left to the likes of Winston Peters or Luxon, we will get regressive and a door opening to worse.
Peters probably genuinely believes in single sex spaces, but it's significant that the NZF priorities list has no women's policies in it other than the GI one.
Act want to remove income support from drug addicts and remove privacy rights from disabled people on benefits. It's straight from the Paula Bennett playbook and Seymour is dog whistling NZ's bigots. He can't do that on women because we have too many women in positions of power here and too many Act voters that wouldn't put up with it. But he's doing it to Pasifica people.
There is nothing social liberal about any of that. If we're going to call GI a religious ideology, we should probably call Act's version of libertarianism a religious ideology too.
Well, yes, and we can call the Green Party doctrine religious ideology as well. You can call anything religious ideology – but it doesn't really help debate.
[NB: I did not describe GI as a religious ideology]
And, the tide in gender identity politics in the UK only really reversed (or began to reverse) when the SNP was threatened with a swingeing defeat at the polls (i.e. their constituency walked away from them). I don't see that as "progressives working over the long term to make changes". I see it as the same kind of electoral defeat the Left is courting in NZ.
The shift in UK Labour from TWAW to 'actually, we need to think about women's rights too' is from a long campaign by Labour members, MPs, and grass roots feminists. There have definitely been other events eg the Tavistock whistleblowers, various court cases, the MSM, what happened with the SNP, KJK and LWS and so on. But to get the buy in from liberals you have to have liberal arguments. It's progressives that have done that with Labour. And yep, it's in the context of Labour realising that it might cost them the next election, but again, that's the long campaign.
In NZ, we're not there yet. There are some people, ill advised imo, who are trying to bring the issues up this election (SUFW, the Women's Party), but the risk is that it costs the left the election, which from a left pov obviously is catastrophic. If the idea is that a term in opposition will force Labour and the GP to change their minds while the right are pushing back trans rights, I cannot see how this will change their minds.
What might change their minds is the large numbers of L and GP members and voters who don't believe that men should be in women's sport, and who understand the need for single sex spaces. But it takes time, care and process to make that change.
Belladona – I've to agree with your prediction. Replacing of the word women by so called ‘gender neutral’ language such that – women – no longer exist as a sex-based rights group. So you’ll get e.g. people’s wages, people’s housing rights and people’s employment’s rights.
And the more government regulations are non-specific the more employers/NGO make their own interpretations of the laws.
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” ― George Orwell
In the group of professional women I meet with who were/are so concerned about The Greens wealth tax and its affect on single women earlier on, there is a view from Friday's session that none would be voting for the Nats as:
1 Luxon is perceived to be in it for the status and would do anything to achieve it
2 His espoused religion (Prosperity Gospels) is perceived to be a big turn-off
3 He is 'creepy' !!!!!?
Labour/Hipkins with his bumbling on what is a woman and lack of knowledge on the issues is not held in much higher regard. Though I did get the feeling that the view is that his view is not innate unlike they perceive Luxon's views to be.
I have tried to encourage them to vote. We discussed the concept of least bad. One was going to vote party vote Labour only as the local Labour candidate is perceived to be anti women, another was going to spoil her vote.
Shanreagh I seem to think you are in Wellington. You may want to raise this (or not ) with your Wellington friends.
Both Green and Labour Wellington Central candidates put pressure on Mt Vics electorate candidates to not ask questions about transgender (male bodied) in women's sports.
Patricia2 – it is frustrating- but I read the current political polling as against Labour/Greens rather than for Nat/Act. Nat leader is not liked by many and the more he gets interviewed the more you see how he tries not to answer questions. And instead tries to play this tape again and again.
Your alternatives are still TOP and of course the Women's Rights Party who seem to go from strength to strength. They are unlikely to get into parliament but its a clear message to the main parties something very fundamentally has gone wrong for women. Many of them are long time ex- labour and greens members/voters.
I consider the labour leader a decent person – but he seems to be ill informed on this subject, I assume he gets his info, if he gets it at all, from some very biased people – who seem to keep him away from the concerns of the other side. I've yet to hear him say publicly anything in favour of women's sex based rights or be curious to find out what is going on re the medicalisation of non-conforming teenagers.
But change will come for sure – and we will slowly work our way to the top to make it happen.
I read the current political polling as against Labour/Greens rather than for Nat/Act
Listening to NatRad this evening – Caucus.
And one of the presenters made the comment (paraphrased) that this was not an election of personalities – that neither of the main leaders had any charisma – and so it came down to believability on economic management. Specifically that this was a Helen Clark election – and the winner (of the debates, and by inference the election), needed to be razor sharp and all over the detail of both their own policies and the opposition ones).
And, while they didn't feel Luxon fit that bill, they didn't think that Hipkins did, either.
Resulting in an election campaign which even the commentators are thinking of as lacklustre.
Thank you Anker – a very scary watch. Can't image the fear that the women must surely feel up and around the rotondo seeing the crowd getting out of hand, coming towards them and hell band on driving the women out town with pure force.
Lets hope the police on the 20th September realise that its actually their task to keep the fractions apart.
Thanks Tabletennis. I have all but given up posting on this site, but I do read what is on here a little.
I refrain from commenting too much, because I recognise that people here are worried about labour losing the election. Its tough fighting a political battle when its not going well
The $2 million dollar houses that are to sold to foreigners will be investments or holiday homes very few will be rented therefore total hoiusing capacity will be reduced.
The NZer's that sell these mansion are mainly going to build/buy a replacement building a replacement mansion building takes capacity away from more needed projects to reduce NZ's significant housing and buying is going to fuel housing inflation
Barfly. I think they on Thursday night they said that 27% of houses in Queenstown were unoccupied. Maybe when those awful rules about warm safe homes are lifted by Nact, then there will be 27% more houses for rent?
Queenstown has a very high proportion of holiday houses, always has. The rate of unoccupied dwellings will be higher than 27%. So it depends on how it is being defined. Are they excluding holiday houses? Including AirBnb etc?
I think the call from Nact was that having to comply with the "Healthy Homes" rules stopped house owners from renting out but with rules being undone by Nact, there will be no crisis in Queenstown. How kind are Nact!
I have no doubt that the health homes rules prevent some houses being rented. This is a consequence of lifting the standard of living of renters, and agree they're stupid af to think that removing the rules will somehow make things better, especially in a tourist town that allows rentals that are basically slums and lets labourers live on site in a tent.
One of the issues for Queentown is that holiday houses that were previously available as a seasonal rental eg over the ski season for workers, are now used for AirBnB because the owner makes more money for less wear and tear on the house.
Much of that comes down to QLDC not being willing to sort it out.
Based on a very unreliable sample data of 2 families I know living between Wanaka and Auckland. The Wanaka houses are used for long weekends every 2-3 weeks, combined with longer holidays of 1-2 weeks every school holidays & 3 weeks or so over summer.
So, yes, the houses are vacant for 'most' of the year – but the pattern of vacancy doesn't lend itself to home-rentals. It does (or can) lend itself to Air BnB occupations.
This is probably the pattern for most people with holiday homes. The old-fashioned idea that you just went to the bach over summer has changed, with modern transport links.
The National Party's plan to restore interest deductibility for residential landlords could cost as much as $100 million a year more than it anticipated due to rising mortgage rates.
In around 2 weeks the polls will open and currently ALL the options are terrible in various aspects….what is one to do?
Sadly the (largely western) political class handed control of the economy to the international financiers and are now only able to impact things at the margins, and that control is now so entrenched that any attempt to loosen it will likely result in the cure being worse than the disease.
Hopium appears the only strategy …..and that is (unsurprisingly) reflected in our so called leaders.
I appreciate your dramatic phrasing, and the assessment is largely accurate but there is a fundamental problem; 'least bad' remains better than the rest, and not participating makes the 'more bad' more likely.
The path ahead will be fraught with difficulties, largely self-inflicted, we can't afford to give up now. I don't particularly believe in accelerationism, or taking the ‘black pill’, Hopium is better for us all. Politics has moved rightward so far that people have lost faith in collective action and this has neutered the organisations that have been advocating for any alternative political economy.
At the core, we need to realise that politics as it is practised every three years, is not sufficient; that we take care of each other and we can do that whether state wants to assist or not.
Ultimately, just because something will be difficult and possibly insufficient doesn't make trying to do it less necessary or less worthy.
Society as it currently functioning IS detrimental to society and the planet. Trying to improve that, even marginally, is still an improvement; keeping the status quo keeps things getting worse.
It is a sort-of nihilist, teenaged-anarchist sentiment; "Don't vote, it only encourages them" and sure, representative democracy seems to limits our politics to casting a vote every three years, but that is not what all of politics is, it is happening all the time, all around us. Agitate, Educate, Organise! There is no rational reason for inaction, if we don't do anything things will only get worse. That is certainly detrimental to society and the planet.
Posie Parker has abandoned her trip to NZ on the grounds that "the NZ Police, Border Control and politicians are corrupt and she fears they would not ensure her and her supporters safety." [my bold]
In my view, a further example of her extremist positions we can well do without. We have enough fanatics creating societal damage without importing more of them from elsewhere.
What does this mean? She was asked not to go by her family after NZ police could give no assurances as to safety. Was she to have brought her own police force with her? Is that what the reference to money is about?
Why do we have to 'assume' anything re $$$ especially when the reasons given were about the fears for her safety from her family. Fears I can see are justified in view of the non- policing that occurred at Albert Park previously. I actually feel that she has a 'civil' right to be here and protected as she was the person assaulted by the tomato sauce thrower, she above all has a greater right to see the operation of justice than many others.
My opinion is that without her here the issue will slide away into wet bus ticket punishment as it seems likely with the person who assaulted the elderly woman. His solicitors have applied for a discharge without conviction.
Is it just controversial women who have to bring or pay for their own policing?
The police seem to be able to protect people like Julian Batchelor OK but then he is a guy despite all his racist views. Perhaps that is the difference?
The column by Katrina Biggs gives a 'breath of fresh air' view on the issue of KJM and the cancellation of her trip to NZ.
"As well as feeling disappointed that she wouldn’t be coming, there are many like myself who are devastated that our country has come to this – a handful of loud, lying, hateful, anti-women activists calling the shots with our police force, not to mention with our politicians. If either of the police or politicians exercised even the tiniest bit of professional discernment in their jobs, and unbiasedly listened to gender critical women as well, we may not have come to this pass. Instead, they’ve sold their souls to trans activists, and their minds to the stories trans activists tell. And, here we are."
So her family's concerns about her safety are dismissed because somewhere, some time she has mentioned private security payments. Private security arrangements are never supposed to take the place of Police in combatting civil unrest. Private security close guard 'their person'. Private security have no role to combat public disorder except when it is afftecting 'their' person and have limited resources to protect even then.
Only the Police have the right to arrest.
The idea that a visitor to NZ, especially from another common law country like the UK, having to supply their own army is anathema.
King John,the Magna Carta and the surrendering ot the ability to tax and raise private armies is all relevant to our democarcy just as it is to the UK.
[no-one in this thread has dismissed KJK’s family’s concern about her safety. In my comment I said that cost was one of the issues. If you are unwilling to listen to and make sense of what people are actually saying, that degrades the debate. 4 week ban for misleading the debate and so soon after being warned about this. – weka]
The police seem to be able to protect people like Julian Batchelor OK but then he is a guy despite all his racist views. Perhaps that is the difference?
That is absolute bullshit Shanreagh. I can hardly believe that an intelligent woman like yourself could make it. I'm not a huge fan of the police [for historical reasons] but to infer, as I believe you have done, that they disrespect women to the extent that they think them less worthy of protection has no bearing in reality.
My comment re-extremists and fanatics was meant in a general sense and to cover both sides of the Left and Right spectrum. They both raise dangerous barriers in society. Whether or not she set out to do it is open to question, but Posie Parker's presence in NZ and the way she chose to attract attention only served to inflame the tension that already existed between two differing sets of people. To my mind that helps nobody.
While far from 'extremist' I find RNZs insistence of describing KJK as an "anti-trans activist" a tad misleading at best. Somehow it is highly unlikely The Disinformation Project will act.
Sure some of those whose gender is a big deal in their life might be comfortable with this framing. It ignores the wider issue of taking a position against 'professionals' who would seek to medicate or operate on minors to affirm their current identity.
KJK is the MC of #LetWomenSpeak, the majority of time is given to women from each locale to speak – unvetted and uncurated.
There are four lines KJK says in each #LetWomenSpeak:
"Women don't have penises.
Men don't have vaginas.
Non-binary is a nonsense.
Transitioning children is profound abuse."
The fact that any of these sentences can be considered "extremist positions" should indicate the immense power gender ideology has attained in a very short time.
Why can't we have women speaking? What is so threatening?
Have the police and the trans community actually listened to what is being said at these gatherings? Some of it is not on the trans issue/s (NB the whole world does not revolve around the trans issues).
At these gatherings I have heard all sorts of snippets about women's lives around the world and realised that our rights as women is a fragile thing. To me the issues as reported by Molly 17 September 2023 at 7:53 am are uncontroversial.
Numbers 1 & 2 rely on having a competent grasp of biology which everyone can have. Number 4 goes to the concept of childhood and the roles of parents and society to bring up children so that when our work is done (is it ever?) our children can have the confidence to go ahead in the world making their own decisions. Number 3 is a nonsense as it is framed by anti women protestors but perhaps could be framed as we accept how people want to identify themselves and make no comment as long as it is not illegal or 'frighten the horses'.
"Women don't have penises.
Men don't have vaginas.
Non-binary is a nonsense.
Transitioning children is profound abuse."
In NZ. for some reason, we find these views very difficult to grasp.
When all the dust has settled I would love to read scholarly research on why two countries such as Ireland and NZ have evolved so differently. particulalary interesting is that Ireland was a supplier of many immigrants to NZ. Ireland and Northern Ireland https://www.youtube.com/live/wV8uTh1Pq7s?si=AjUSZtN6hApiiFQm
had the Let Women Speak go ahead, noisy etc but they did go ahead. Belfast the protestors were positioned a fair distance away and the lines were policed.
Shanreagh I seem to think you are in Wellington. You may want to raise this (or not ) with your Wellington friends.
Both Green and Labour Wellington Central candidates put pressure on Mt Vics electorate candidates to not ask questions about transgender (male bodied) in women's sports.
Each challenge as to accuracy and veracity of policy opens a few more eyes ears and leads to questions which show politicians' natures positions and flaws.
Three weeks is a long time in politics.
I hope someone has told Chris Hipkins about Chris Luxon being a National Secondary School Debate champion. (Another fudge )
The gap between the party blocks is not that large, that the movement of 40 000 people could sway the election.
It will be tight, and some seats could throw up some interesting positions.
In a nutshell, voting is an action based on political engagement and interest. Disengagement, possibly because of disillusion, seems to be winning on the Left and the opposite on the Right. The polls and their media reporting & portrayal and of the election campaigns would seem to support this notion.
In general, the Right can count [pun intended] on a relatively more stable voter turnout.
I think that the high turnout in 2020 helped Labour securing an absolute majority because it tapped into other segments of voters. The corollary is that a low(er) turnout in this General Election will undo much or all of this and possibly go even further …
I don't think Nats think this way Weka……from my experience with my Nat family and friends. They tend to vote regardless of what the Polls are saying (perhaps despite what the polls are saying) as they see it as a civil duty.
I agree. Especially in the older age brackets (and IIRC, National voters tend to be weighted towards the 40+ age bracket) and the middle class – voting is much more a civic duty – regardless of whether their candidate is likely to be elected or not.
Problem is weka @10.1, there tends to be a lag from the time a policy flaw – even a major one – is revealed and the voters picking up on it. It can take a few weeks at least before the response starts to show in polling. Hipkins and Shaw in particular will need to harp on about it right up to election day.
The democratic facade is crumbling for any thinking person.
Must be a few who are happy about that, as they have sat and let the UK and US state to destroy Assange physically and mentally. With the added bonus to put the fear of god up journalist and publishers.
Something that caught my eye on Stuff.co.nz today.
A comparison of all major parties' policies that encompass climate change or the environment.
If you look through ACT's response to all the questions posed then you could well believe that ACT still think climate change is a myth and a socialist trick.
Without exception they oppose EVERY initiative that has ever been done to reduce CO2 emissions and climate change, even some that National support (half-heartedly it must be said). ACT's attitude is not just irresponsible, it is downright criminal.
ACT care only about their own bank balances, nothing else matters. They are a bunch of wankers. We must keep them out of government to have any chance of giving our grandchildren and great grandchildren a planet they can live in.
we're already past the point with climate where people should be making it hard for the government to govern. And yet people are largely not acting and many want a RW government. Scared people vote conservative, they don't revolt.
Another term of a centre left government buys us time to convince more people that we need to build strong community and address climate front on. We can't do that under the right.
“In their economy, workers live paycheck to paycheck while the billionaires buy another yacht… So we’re gonna wreck their economy cuz it only works for the billionaire class,” says @UAW prez Shawn Fain in Detroit.
As the Big Three automakers barrel towards a potential stake from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, Ford CEO Jim Farley has shared his sentiments about the matter. During a conversation with CNBC Overtime, a seemingly exasperated Farley stated that the UAW’s demands would have resulted in Ford going bankrupt.
The UAW’s demands include the restoration of defined benefit pensions for all workers, a four-day workweek, and a mid-30% raise, among others, as per a report from The Wall Street Journal. The UAW had initially targeted a 40% increase in wages for its members, as it matched the average salary hike that Detroit automotive executives received over the past four years.
Stopping the 10 match streak of the high flying Knights. Warriors put 40 on the board against a worthy opposition. Off to Brisbane next week for a match with the Broncos who supposedly will have home advantage.
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David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
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A funny but sad story about the election – and the appalling level of understanding of some voters.
I drive uber 2 nights a week. I always ask my passengers if they intend to vote, and urge them to do so if they say they don’t.
Sometimes this leads to a political discussion, though I never push it.
Well, I had one young fellow tell me he intended to vote for Act, and when I asked why, he said, in all seriousness:
“Because David Seymour is going to make crate day a public holiday.”
After I’d corrected my steering, I tried, successfully I hope, to persuade him that just wasn’t so!
Crikey, we need civic classes in NZ schools.
Somehow, I doubt that the young fellow will actually vote.
I think that someone was pulling someone's leg. Either he was pulling your leg, or David Seymour was pulling his.
PS: This is actually a reply to David Veitch. Sorry.
Crate day?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crate_Day
Thanks. Yuk
Yep. A young man in our family (voting Greens for employment rights and the future) has said most of his mates are voting ACT because Seymour doesn't give much of a sh*t and so it will be funny.
I hope they never have to find out how deadly, ideologically serious, Seymour actually is.
Brilliant Tony V.
Voting can be pretty random despite all the media analysis. It's not over yet.
I was told by a pakeha woman that she was voting Act because they would straighten out those Maoris. Up till then I thought she was a reasonable lady.
Had dinner last night with friends, also from the UK, who belong to the bowling club – that typical Act focus group.
He couldn't believe all the 'handouts in this country' – they got Covid business support. She was telling us about all the ACC support she gets for a shoulder injury – $600/week, surgical treatment, travel expenses to appointments.
I thought Seymour was promising a chicken in every pot, even if it turns out to be mostly feathers and shit.
Indeed he did.
https://www.facebook.com/davidseymourACT/videos/under-act-crate-day-would-be-a-national-holiday/656355895528821/
Well, I never!
Even as a joke, that’s pretty damned irresponsible!
The graph comparing the 4 nations shows 3 of the same rising pattern and the other ….
https://wid.world/news-article/whats-new-about-inequality-in-australia-canada-new-zealand-and-the-united-states/
If national income has increased labour's (proportional) share may have decreased, even if wage levels have remained the same. Just a thought.
For some well reasoned analysis of the situation as it is…not how we wish it to be.
https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/what-is-prefu-2023-really-telling-us
"What the PREFU is saying to the Minister of Finance after the election, is that the books are not in too bad a position (providing you have not promised anything stupid), but always – always – you will be under fiscal pressure. And you may have to deal with unexpected shocks."
….and remembering that the risks are all to the downside.
Thus the folly of poorly costed (not so budget neutral) changes, and especially to raid the money for response to weather events.
And using foreign money (buy up of $2m+ homes) in the package is by definition inflationary.
"The Treasury gives little guidance as to the particularities of the current pressures (other than the implications that politicians always want to reduce taxes and increase spending). Clearly the war resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine is among the big impacts on the world economy. China’s difficulties may be yet to come.
However, what I don’t think we have appreciated sufficiently is the impact of the Covid pandemic and the measures taken to reduce deaths. They had a substantial immediate economic impact – you can see it in the PREFU. But that is still unwinding three years later. It would be naive to think that those economic measures were a free lunch and almost as naive not to think about having to pay for the lunch. Trade-offs are central to economic management as the next government – whoever it may be – will find, even if in the heady days of election campaigning trade-offs are largely ignored."
worth repeating…"whoever it may be".
It's not so much the policies in response to the pandemic, but the amount pumped through banks for property loans (and unrelated to new builds at that) 2020-2021.
https://youtu.be/0nXYwqsEKsU?si=s-7bdzce91Eg0Oeu
This is a very chilling clip of what happened in Albert Park on 25th March. It is put together by Lesbian visibility and the voice over is by two of the Marshalls (one who had water thrown on her, was out in a head lock, tripped up and kicked. The other Marshall was a 69 year old woman (not the woman who was repeatedly punched in the face).
Meanwhile on another planet the Greens were proclaiming it was all trans pure joy.
[deleted]
[I’ve deleted your post because here we are again with me having to use my time chasing you up on moderation stuff. This sentence was the problem “the person who attacked the elderly woman, last I heard, was getting a discharge without conviction”. You provide no evidence for this assertion, and a quick google tells me that his lawyer had applied for a discharge without conviction but I cannot find any evidence that this has been granted. NZH says the sentencing/conviction hearing date hasn’t been set yet. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/crime/posie-parker-protest-activist-pleads-guilty-to-punching-elderly-woman-at-heated-auckland-trans-rights-protest/A5RG2HY2TJFLFKAP4OT7JLGIGU/
There is so much fact free bullshit on the issue of what happened at Albert Park, from both sides, I’m not willing to let this happen on TS. I want us to lift our game on evidence based debate in this area.
From now on, if you want to make any claims of fact about KJK, LWS, or anything to do with aspect of the sex/gender wars in NZ, please provide evidence at the time you make the claim. As always, evidence is an explanation in your own words, supporting quotes and links. – weka]
mod note.
I accept I did not link to the quote re the application for a discharge. Sorry Weka…
You’re still not getting it. The problem wasn’t a lack of link, it was that you grossly misrepresented the situation. Basically you made some shit up on a highly contentious topic. You claimed that the assaulter was getting a discharge without conviction, when in fact no decision has been made about this. You’re really close to getting a long ban, because I am sick of going over these things.
Anker – and that's why many older women I know don't plan to vote this year. Can't bring themselves to vote for NACT / Greens etc but feel Labour has let them down badly.
This is incredibly frustrating. Yes, the sex/gender issues are not good. But there are other ways to deal with this than handing the election to National and Act, who will most certainly act to harm women in multiple ways. In addition, this will make it harder to address the issues around women's sex based rights. Because the election is so tight, not voting in this election is a defacto vote for a RW government.
Unfortunately, many women believe that handing the election to Labour/Greens will also act to harm women in multiple ways. As they will take an election win as implicit approval to continue to implement their current pro-trans policy agenda without giving any regard to the protection of very hard-fought-for women's rights.
The explicit support from multiple GP and Labour MPs for the trans protest at the PP event in Auckland, AND their refusal to condemn the violence which ensued – makes this situation quite clear.
While the RW may, indeed, have worse longer term consequences for women's rights – the short term outcome looks considerably less threatening than the full-scale' anyone can self-declare as a woman' platform from the Left.
it's not longer term consequences though. Seymour is talking about draconian welfare reform. It will impact worst on women, as always. That's just one example. Housing, employment law and wage rates, these are all women's issues.
yes, I'm aware of this view, but it's superficial imo. There are two ways that gender ideology has been pushed back at political, legislative, policy and NGO levels. One is by a serious conservative backlash eg in the US, the other is by progressives working over the long term to make changes eg the UK.
When women choose the conservative route, they are playing with fire and putting many, many more women at risk than are currently at risk from self ID in NZ. We still have other ways of working on this issues in NZ. A L/G/TPM government won't stop those other ways and in fact make them much more likely to succeed. We need progressive solutions to GI, not regressive, reactionary ones.
Do you honestly think that the conservatives will stop at this? Or the conspiracy groups if it comes via NZF?
TBH I don't know. But I suspect that on the current political trajectory we're going to have a chance to find out.
Realistically, there is nothing that Labour can do about this. Any policy change they might make is going to be seen as too little, too late; and as an election bribe, rather than an trustworthy commitment. Hipkins lost this battle in the eye of public opinion when he fumbled the "What is a woman?" question.
The GP have made it very, very clear that they have no desire to roll back anything about their political stance on this issue – and indeed double down on it.
I do think equating the National Party (even with ACT involvement) with the hard conservative right in the US is a bridge too far. And, ignores ACTs socially liberal philosophy. They are probably the party in parliament least likely to be tied to any religious ideology.
It's not that Nact are the same as the US religious conservative politics, I was simply pointing out that there are two different pathways available to NZ women and the conservative one is dangerous. Some GC women are acting as if it's the only option, it's not.
What we need is for the left and centre right to change their position on GI. Because that will give us progressive and liberal policy and law rather than regressive. If it's left to the likes of Winston Peters or Luxon, we will get regressive and a door opening to worse.
Peters probably genuinely believes in single sex spaces, but it's significant that the NZF priorities list has no women's policies in it other than the GI one.
Act want to remove income support from drug addicts and remove privacy rights from disabled people on benefits. It's straight from the Paula Bennett playbook and Seymour is dog whistling NZ's bigots. He can't do that on women because we have too many women in positions of power here and too many Act voters that wouldn't put up with it. But he's doing it to Pasifica people.
There is nothing social liberal about any of that. If we're going to call GI a religious ideology, we should probably call Act's version of libertarianism a religious ideology too.
Well, yes, and we can call the Green Party doctrine religious ideology as well. You can call anything religious ideology – but it doesn't really help debate.
[NB: I did not describe GI as a religious ideology]
And, the tide in gender identity politics in the UK only really reversed (or began to reverse) when the SNP was threatened with a swingeing defeat at the polls (i.e. their constituency walked away from them). I don't see that as "progressives working over the long term to make changes". I see it as the same kind of electoral defeat the Left is courting in NZ.
The shift in UK Labour from TWAW to 'actually, we need to think about women's rights too' is from a long campaign by Labour members, MPs, and grass roots feminists. There have definitely been other events eg the Tavistock whistleblowers, various court cases, the MSM, what happened with the SNP, KJK and LWS and so on. But to get the buy in from liberals you have to have liberal arguments. It's progressives that have done that with Labour. And yep, it's in the context of Labour realising that it might cost them the next election, but again, that's the long campaign.
In NZ, we're not there yet. There are some people, ill advised imo, who are trying to bring the issues up this election (SUFW, the Women's Party), but the risk is that it costs the left the election, which from a left pov obviously is catastrophic. If the idea is that a term in opposition will force Labour and the GP to change their minds while the right are pushing back trans rights, I cannot see how this will change their minds.
What might change their minds is the large numbers of L and GP members and voters who don't believe that men should be in women's sport, and who understand the need for single sex spaces. But it takes time, care and process to make that change.
ok, so when you said Act were the least religiously ideological, were you talking about Christianity rather than GI?
I was talking about any organized religions – not just Christianity.
Belladona – I've to agree with your prediction. Replacing of the word women by so called ‘gender neutral’ language such that – women – no longer exist as a sex-based rights group. So you’ll get e.g. people’s wages, people’s housing rights and people’s employment’s rights.
And the more government regulations are non-specific the more employers/NGO make their own interpretations of the laws.
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” ― George Orwell
What rights as per wages, housing and employment apply to women and not others, or to others and not women?
Yes I know a few as well.
In the group of professional women I meet with who were/are so concerned about The Greens wealth tax and its affect on single women earlier on, there is a view from Friday's session that none would be voting for the Nats as:
1 Luxon is perceived to be in it for the status and would do anything to achieve it
2 His espoused religion (Prosperity Gospels) is perceived to be a big turn-off
3 He is 'creepy' !!!!!?
Labour/Hipkins with his bumbling on what is a woman and lack of knowledge on the issues is not held in much higher regard. Though I did get the feeling that the view is that his view is not innate unlike they perceive Luxon's views to be.
I have tried to encourage them to vote. We discussed the concept of least bad. One was going to vote party vote Labour only as the local Labour candidate is perceived to be anti women, another was going to spoil her vote.
https://www.speakupforwomen.nz/post/media-release-wellington-central-candidates-censor-free-speech
Shanreagh I seem to think you are in Wellington. You may want to raise this (or not ) with your Wellington friends.
Both Green and Labour Wellington Central candidates put pressure on Mt Vics electorate candidates to not ask questions about transgender (male bodied) in women's sports.
Patricia2 – it is frustrating- but I read the current political polling as against Labour/Greens rather than for Nat/Act. Nat leader is not liked by many and the more he gets interviewed the more you see how he tries not to answer questions. And instead tries to play this tape again and again.
Your alternatives are still TOP and of course the Women's Rights Party who seem to go from strength to strength. They are unlikely to get into parliament but its a clear message to the main parties something very fundamentally has gone wrong for women. Many of them are long time ex- labour and greens members/voters.
I consider the labour leader a decent person – but he seems to be ill informed on this subject, I assume he gets his info, if he gets it at all, from some very biased people – who seem to keep him away from the concerns of the other side. I've yet to hear him say publicly anything in favour of women's sex based rights or be curious to find out what is going on re the medicalisation of non-conforming teenagers.
But change will come for sure – and we will slowly work our way to the top to make it happen.
Listening to NatRad this evening – Caucus.
And one of the presenters made the comment (paraphrased) that this was not an election of personalities – that neither of the main leaders had any charisma – and so it came down to believability on economic management. Specifically that this was a Helen Clark election – and the winner (of the debates, and by inference the election), needed to be razor sharp and all over the detail of both their own policies and the opposition ones).
And, while they didn't feel Luxon fit that bill, they didn't think that Hipkins did, either.
Resulting in an election campaign which even the commentators are thinking of as lacklustre.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/caucus
Specific programme from this evening not yet listed – but this is where it will be, when its up.
Thank you Anker – a very scary watch. Can't image the fear that the women must surely feel up and around the rotondo seeing the crowd getting out of hand, coming towards them and hell band on driving the women out town with pure force.
Lets hope the police on the 20th September realise that its actually their task to keep the fractions apart.
Thanks Tabletennis. I have all but given up posting on this site, but I do read what is on here a little.
I refrain from commenting too much, because I recognise that people here are worried about labour losing the election. Its tough fighting a political battle when its not going well
Here's a couple of thoughts –
The $2 million dollar houses that are to sold to foreigners will be investments or holiday homes very few will be rented therefore total hoiusing capacity will be reduced.
The NZer's that sell these mansion are mainly going to build/buy a replacement building a replacement mansion building takes capacity away from more needed projects to reduce NZ's significant housing and buying is going to fuel housing inflation
Barfly. I think they on Thursday night they said that 27% of houses in Queenstown were unoccupied. Maybe when those awful rules about warm safe homes are lifted by Nact, then there will be 27% more houses for rent?
And meanwhile we get this shit
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/132937917/queenstown-man-unable-to-get-a-house-to-rent-living-in-a-shack-in-the-bush
Way short of good enough to be called a shack to me
Queenstown has a very high proportion of holiday houses, always has. The rate of unoccupied dwellings will be higher than 27%. So it depends on how it is being defined. Are they excluding holiday houses? Including AirBnb etc?
I think the call from Nact was that having to comply with the "Healthy Homes" rules stopped house owners from renting out but with rules being undone by Nact, there will be no crisis in Queenstown. How kind are Nact!
I have no doubt that the health homes rules prevent some houses being rented. This is a consequence of lifting the standard of living of renters, and agree they're stupid af to think that removing the rules will somehow make things better, especially in a tourist town that allows rentals that are basically slums and lets labourers live on site in a tent.
One of the issues for Queentown is that holiday houses that were previously available as a seasonal rental eg over the ski season for workers, are now used for AirBnB because the owner makes more money for less wear and tear on the house.
Much of that comes down to QLDC not being willing to sort it out.
Nobody seems to have reliable stats on this….people talk about Wanaka being 40% empty houses most of the year
Based on a very unreliable sample data of 2 families I know living between Wanaka and Auckland. The Wanaka houses are used for long weekends every 2-3 weeks, combined with longer holidays of 1-2 weeks every school holidays & 3 weeks or so over summer.
So, yes, the houses are vacant for 'most' of the year – but the pattern of vacancy doesn't lend itself to home-rentals. It does (or can) lend itself to Air BnB occupations.
This is probably the pattern for most people with holiday homes. The old-fashioned idea that you just went to the bach over summer has changed, with modern transport links.
Yes you're about right there.
OOps Nicola. From the Newsroom Marc Daalder:
Another $100mil to account for?
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/nationals-landlord-tax-break-could-cost-100m-more-a-year?utm_source=Newsroom&utm_campaign=daa045f384-Week+In+Review+16.09.2023&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-daa045f384-95522477&mc_cid=daa045f384&mc_eid=88a3081e75
In around 2 weeks the polls will open and currently ALL the options are terrible in various aspects….what is one to do?
Sadly the (largely western) political class handed control of the economy to the international financiers and are now only able to impact things at the margins, and that control is now so entrenched that any attempt to loosen it will likely result in the cure being worse than the disease.
Hopium appears the only strategy …..and that is (unsurprisingly) reflected in our so called leaders.
The 'least bad' option is still a bad option.
I appreciate your dramatic phrasing, and the assessment is largely accurate but there is a fundamental problem; 'least bad' remains better than the rest, and not participating makes the 'more bad' more likely.
The path ahead will be fraught with difficulties, largely self-inflicted, we can't afford to give up now. I don't particularly believe in accelerationism, or taking the ‘black pill’, Hopium is better for us all. Politics has moved rightward so far that people have lost faith in collective action and this has neutered the organisations that have been advocating for any alternative political economy.
At the core, we need to realise that politics as it is practised every three years, is not sufficient; that we take care of each other and we can do that whether state wants to assist or not.
Ultimately, just because something will be difficult and possibly insufficient doesn't make trying to do it less necessary or less worthy.
very good arkie, thanks for that.
Alternatively it could be considered knowingly supporting something detrimental to society.
Im sure the rationalisation has been used before.
Society as it currently functioning IS detrimental to society and the planet. Trying to improve that, even marginally, is still an improvement; keeping the status quo keeps things getting worse.
It is a sort-of nihilist, teenaged-anarchist sentiment; "Don't vote, it only encourages them" and sure, representative democracy seems to limits our politics to casting a vote every three years, but that is not what all of politics is, it is happening all the time, all around us. Agitate, Educate, Organise! There is no rational reason for inaction, if we don't do anything things will only get worse. That is certainly detrimental to society and the planet.
Excepting it is the opposite of nihilism…it is a position of principle.
God bless the UAW.
It's on like Donkey Kong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHLkJMmIeuE
Posie Parker has abandoned her trip to NZ on the grounds that "the NZ Police, Border Control and politicians are corrupt and she fears they would not ensure her and her supporters safety." [my bold]
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/498122/posie-parker-cancels-trip-to-new-zealand-over-safety-concerns
In my view, a further example of her extremist positions we can well do without. We have enough fanatics creating societal damage without importing more of them from elsewhere.
Posy possibly could not raise the funds
What does this mean? She was asked not to go by her family after NZ police could give no assurances as to safety. Was she to have brought her own police force with her? Is that what the reference to money is about?
I think it's reasonable to assume that one of the issues was the large fee KJK would have had to pay for private security.
Why do we have to 'assume' anything re $$$ especially when the reasons given were about the fears for her safety from her family. Fears I can see are justified in view of the non- policing that occurred at Albert Park previously. I actually feel that she has a 'civil' right to be here and protected as she was the person assaulted by the tomato sauce thrower, she above all has a greater right to see the operation of justice than many others.
My opinion is that without her here the issue will slide away into wet bus ticket punishment as it seems likely with the person who assaulted the elderly woman. His solicitors have applied for a discharge without conviction.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/crime/posie-parker-protest-activist-pleads-guilty-to-punching-elderly-woman-at-heated-auckland-trans-rights-protest/A5RG2HY2TJFLFKAP4OT7JLGIGU/
Is it just controversial women who have to bring or pay for their own policing?
The police seem to be able to protect people like Julian Batchelor OK but then he is a guy despite all his racist views. Perhaps that is the difference?
The column by Katrina Biggs gives a 'breath of fresh air' view on the issue of KJM and the cancellation of her trip to NZ.
https://aboldwoman.substack.com/p/kellie-jay-keen-is-not-coming-to?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1177996&post_id=137086819&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=wthj9&utm_medium=email
"As well as feeling disappointed that she wouldn’t be coming, there are many like myself who are devastated that our country has come to this – a handful of loud, lying, hateful, anti-women activists calling the shots with our police force, not to mention with our politicians. If either of the police or politicians exercised even the tiniest bit of professional discernment in their jobs, and unbiasedly listened to gender critical women as well, we may not have come to this pass. Instead, they’ve sold their souls to trans activists, and their minds to the stories trans activists tell. And, here we are."
Because KJK has talked about the costs of providing private security.
So her family's concerns about her safety are dismissed because somewhere, some time she has mentioned private security payments. Private security arrangements are never supposed to take the place of Police in combatting civil unrest. Private security close guard 'their person'. Private security have no role to combat public disorder except when it is afftecting 'their' person and have limited resources to protect even then.
Only the Police have the right to arrest.
The idea that a visitor to NZ, especially from another common law country like the UK, having to supply their own army is anathema.
King John,the Magna Carta and the surrendering ot the ability to tax and raise private armies is all relevant to our democarcy just as it is to the UK.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta
[no-one in this thread has dismissed KJK’s family’s concern about her safety. In my comment I said that cost was one of the issues. If you are unwilling to listen to and make sense of what people are actually saying, that degrades the debate. 4 week ban for misleading the debate and so soon after being warned about this. – weka]
That is absolute bullshit Shanreagh. I can hardly believe that an intelligent woman like yourself could make it. I'm not a huge fan of the police [for historical reasons] but to infer, as I believe you have done, that they disrespect women to the extent that they think them less worthy of protection has no bearing in reality.
Extremist positions?
"We have enough fanatics creating societal damage " I agree.
do you know how to crop screenshots on your phone? This image would be more readable if it was only the pink/blue bit.
Yes, I agree.
Didn't realise there was a crop option. Will try next time.
My comment re-extremists and fanatics was meant in a general sense and to cover both sides of the Left and Right spectrum. They both raise dangerous barriers in society. Whether or not she set out to do it is open to question, but Posie Parker's presence in NZ and the way she chose to attract attention only served to inflame the tension that already existed between two differing sets of people. To my mind that helps nobody.
While far from 'extremist' I find RNZs insistence of describing KJK as an "anti-trans activist" a tad misleading at best. Somehow it is highly unlikely The Disinformation Project will act.
Sure some of those whose gender is a big deal in their life might be comfortable with this framing. It ignores the wider issue of taking a position against 'professionals' who would seek to medicate or operate on minors to affirm their current identity.
"Posie Parker's presence in NZ and the way she chose to attract attention only "
How exactly was this done, and what did you find so objectionable about it?
KJK has been given copies of rsponses to OIA requests that give insight into the (in) actions of the police at Albert Park:
https://x.com/SimonRAnderson1/status/1702125388871475422?s=20
KJK is the MC of #LetWomenSpeak, the majority of time is given to women from each locale to speak – unvetted and uncurated.
There are four lines KJK says in each #LetWomenSpeak:
"Women don't have penises.
Men don't have vaginas.
Non-binary is a nonsense.
Transitioning children is profound abuse."
The fact that any of these sentences can be considered "extremist positions" should indicate the immense power gender ideology has attained in a very short time.
The latest #LetWomenSpeak from Dublin:
https://www.youtube.com/live/wV8uTh1Pq7s?si=AjUSZtN6hApiiFQm
Why can't we have women speaking? What is so threatening?
Have the police and the trans community actually listened to what is being said at these gatherings? Some of it is not on the trans issue/s (NB the whole world does not revolve around the trans issues).
At these gatherings I have heard all sorts of snippets about women's lives around the world and realised that our rights as women is a fragile thing. To me the issues as reported by Molly 17 September 2023 at 7:53 am are uncontroversial.
Numbers 1 & 2 rely on having a competent grasp of biology which everyone can have. Number 4 goes to the concept of childhood and the roles of parents and society to bring up children so that when our work is done (is it ever?) our children can have the confidence to go ahead in the world making their own decisions. Number 3 is a nonsense as it is framed by anti women protestors but perhaps could be framed as we accept how people want to identify themselves and make no comment as long as it is not illegal or 'frighten the horses'.
"Women don't have penises.
Men don't have vaginas.
Non-binary is a nonsense.
Transitioning children is profound abuse."
In NZ. for some reason, we find these views very difficult to grasp.
When all the dust has settled I would love to read scholarly research on why two countries such as Ireland and NZ have evolved so differently. particulalary interesting is that Ireland was a supplier of many immigrants to NZ. Ireland and Northern Ireland https://www.youtube.com/live/wV8uTh1Pq7s?si=AjUSZtN6hApiiFQm
had the Let Women Speak go ahead, noisy etc but they did go ahead. Belfast the protestors were positioned a fair distance away and the lines were policed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LF5Nn-rNfY
https://www.speakupforwomen.nz/post/media-release-wellington-central-candidates-censor-free-speech
Shanreagh I seem to think you are in Wellington. You may want to raise this (or not ) with your Wellington friends.
Both Green and Labour Wellington Central candidates put pressure on Mt Vics electorate candidates to not ask questions about transgender (male bodied) in women's sports.
It is not over.
Each challenge as to accuracy and veracity of policy opens a few more eyes ears and leads to questions which show politicians' natures positions and flaws.
Three weeks is a long time in politics.
I hope someone has told Chris Hipkins about Chris Luxon being a National Secondary School Debate champion. (Another fudge )
The gap between the party blocks is not that large, that the movement of 40 000 people could sway the election.
It will be tight, and some seats could throw up some interesting positions.
Completely agree. Will be interesting to see what the polls after Nat's tax policy show. Maybe people don't care, maybe they do.
Bugger the polls!
Voter turnout is going to be deciding factor.
what's your thinking there?
In a nutshell, voting is an action based on political engagement and interest. Disengagement, possibly because of disillusion, seems to be winning on the Left and the opposite on the Right. The polls and their media reporting & portrayal and of the election campaigns would seem to support this notion.
In general, the Right can count [pun intended] on a relatively more stable voter turnout.
I think that the high turnout in 2020 helped Labour securing an absolute majority because it tapped into other segments of voters. The corollary is that a low(er) turnout in this General Election will undo much or all of this and possibly go even further …
https://elections.nz/media-and-news/2020/2020-general-election-official-results/
https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/historical-events/2020-general-election-and-referendums/voter-turnout-statistics-for-the-2020-general-election/
would this not be offset by RW voters not bothering to vote because they think Nat will win anyway?
I don't think Nats think this way Weka……from my experience with my Nat family and friends. They tend to vote regardless of what the Polls are saying (perhaps despite what the polls are saying) as they see it as a civil duty.
I agree. Especially in the older age brackets (and IIRC, National voters tend to be weighted towards the 40+ age bracket) and the middle class – voting is much more a civic duty – regardless of whether their candidate is likely to be elected or not.
I liked this from Francisco Hernandez,
"Don't watch the polls, become the polls."
https://twitter.com/Fran4Dunedin/status/1702819633861181587
Problem is weka @10.1, there tends to be a lag from the time a policy flaw – even a major one – is revealed and the voters picking up on it. It can take a few weeks at least before the response starts to show in polling. Hipkins and Shaw in particular will need to harp on about it right up to election day.
Yep. I think it's been running for a few weeks, but agree that it might not show in the immediate polls.
'slow motion execution' of Julian Assange.
The democratic facade is crumbling for any thinking person.
Must be a few who are happy about that, as they have sat and let the UK and US state to destroy Assange physically and mentally. With the added bonus to put the fear of god up journalist and publishers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x9Bltb7ZYE
With written introduction.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2023/09/the-slow-motion-execution-of-julian-assange/
A criticism of the acceptance of capitalism dominant (monopoly)
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/08/29/craig-murray-destitution-capitalism/
A generation of a dying democracy behind neo-liberal supremacy.
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/07/24/craig-murray-democracys-demise/
Great links SPC
Something that caught my eye on Stuff.co.nz today.
A comparison of all major parties' policies that encompass climate change or the environment.
If you look through ACT's response to all the questions posed then you could well believe that ACT still think climate change is a myth and a socialist trick.
Without exception they oppose EVERY initiative that has ever been done to reduce CO2 emissions and climate change, even some that National support (half-heartedly it must be said). ACT's attitude is not just irresponsible, it is downright criminal.
ACT care only about their own bank balances, nothing else matters. They are a bunch of wankers. We must keep them out of government to have any chance of giving our grandchildren and great grandchildren a planet they can live in.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/300956490/the-next-governments-environment-agenda-we-created-a-one-stop-shop-to-compare-parties‘
yep. So many reasons to fight with everything we've got for this election, and Act's position on climate is one of the big ones.
Oh I don't know.
We may get a government that is scared of the people for a change.
I mean act can say and do what it likes, but if it changes any progress on global boiling then I and many others will make it hard for them to govern.
Hard for them to do anything really.
So they can say what they like, but reality is a harsh task master.
we're already past the point with climate where people should be making it hard for the government to govern. And yet people are largely not acting and many want a RW government. Scared people vote conservative, they don't revolt.
Another term of a centre left government buys us time to convince more people that we need to build strong community and address climate front on. We can't do that under the right.
Last year the Ford CEO made $21 million and between them the big car companies forked out $5 billion in stock buybacks for wealthy investors.
Teddy Ostrow
@TeddyOstrow
“In their economy, workers live paycheck to paycheck while the billionaires buy another yacht… So we’re gonna wreck their economy cuz it only works for the billionaire class,” says @UAW prez Shawn Fain in Detroit.
https://twitter.com/TeddyOstrow/status/1702810700563800288
As the Big Three automakers barrel towards a potential stake from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, Ford CEO Jim Farley has shared his sentiments about the matter. During a conversation with CNBC Overtime, a seemingly exasperated Farley stated that the UAW’s demands would have resulted in Ford going bankrupt.
The UAW’s demands include the restoration of defined benefit pensions for all workers, a four-day workweek, and a mid-30% raise, among others, as per a report from The Wall Street Journal. The UAW had initially targeted a 40% increase in wages for its members, as it matched the average salary hike that Detroit automotive executives received over the past four years.
https://www.teslarati.com/ford-ceo-jim-farley-uaw-proposal-bankruptcy
What a performance.
Stopping the 10 match streak of the high flying Knights. Warriors put 40 on the board against a worthy opposition. Off to Brisbane next week for a match with the Broncos who supposedly will have home advantage.
Up da Wahs.
Still plenty of room on the bandwagon.