The media needs to take a hard look at themselves. Cut and pasting the press releases of unaccountable, dark funded lobby astroturf groups is disgraceful.
Don't platform these people (Auckland Ratepayers Alliance, Groundswell, Taxpayers Union) until they are open and accountable about who funds them. And if you continue to do this in spite of them not disclosing that information then you are also part of the problem.
It is a reflection of the decline of our parliaments, that MPs are no longer designing their own policies. They are in effect, like the idiot panels that front TV news, dysfunctional distractors with little or no relevance.
The rise of externally designed policies is visible across the spectrum, and it is pernicious. This is where shit policies like gender activism, gun nut-jobbery, and tax wacko stuff is coming from. What then is the role of MPs? And, since they are incapable of thinking for themselves, what right do they have to sit in parliament?
The fact that Groundswell only appears to exist as a commercial entity and not as a charity or incorporated society means that, unless they decide to release their returns, finding out who's funding them is pretty much impossible.
At the same time, the lack of transparency sort of goes against their claim to be a "grassroots volunteer-driven advocacy group" and not just a money-making exercise. Given that they ask for donations and try to sell merch, it's not hard to imagine that someone is making some decent money off of all this.
If you can stomach it, I would also recommend going through the comments of their social media posts. Along with general confusion over the lack of information about Thursday's protest, there also seems to be increasing frustration about the leadership's desire to stay halfway respectable.
Given that the organisation seems to be pretty decentralised however, I imagine there'll be quite a few who don't stick to the approved messages and start spouting some crazy bullshit about vaccines or whatever. If you can catalogue that and make a big deal of it, I imagine that would force the organisers to further alienate their more unhinged supporters.
Essentially, the message would be that the Groundswell leadership is scamming their supporters while preventing them from talking about whatever fringe issue actually motivates them to show up on Thursday.
When bank economists and paid for lobbyists for the bosses talk about the need to control "core inflation" as code for holding down wage growth, remember it is all pure, unadulterated class self-interest. Rather than listening to our anaemic, feeble media spouting the talking points of the neoliberal consensus I strongly recommend a read of the latest IMF World Economic Outlook.
The short version: true spirals of sustained wage and price increases are VERY rare.
It is interesting though how the low wages will 'stop' inflation, but not low rents, low energy costs and low food costs. And that is he crux of the matter. You can not earn enough ever to meet out of controll spiraling living costs and production costs.
Eventually like in the Weimar Republic one will bring a wheelbarrow full of useless notes for a loaf of bread.
"Thus any system which removes the ability to name and recognise the female sex as a class is seen to serve the interest of patriarchal capitalism. If male and female cease to be labels that recognise a material reality, but instead identity markers that can be adopted by either sex, it becomes impossible for women to organise or be recognised as a sex class. This is what gender identity results in – a system of idealist individual liberalism, where material reality is subordinate to an individual’s claim of identity."
males who will self id as women in order to get jobs if these jobs are for 'minorities including women'.
women who will be injured – badly injured even – by men who self id and play sports in womens teams.
Leave the construct of 'class' or 'category' aside, the only place women can be in a place without be-penised people is now very much the kitchen at home.
When i was a teenager one of my friends was a turkish girl called Hasina. I only ever sat in the kitchen or in the garden with the women, the living room was the place for the bepenised people, women only entered that space when no other males other then the ones of the family were in that space or when they were called to serve tea.
When this self id / genderquatsch is over women in the western world will actually be back in 1595 and we shall re-debate if we are actually humans and thus have a right to human rights and self fulfilment on the base of these rights.
have you heard of feminism? What do you think that is if it isn't women organising around being women?
Why do you think that women used to be denied the vote? How do you think that changed? What do the people, who were referred to as women, that were denied the vote and then granted it, have in common?
Is not defence of woman as a sex, by adopting a class identity, just going to cause division?
Do you object to any people organising around a collective then? Māori? Working class people?
What do you mean by class exactly? Are you using the term to mean socioeconomic? If you are, that would make more sense of your comments. The point isn't that women have a shared socioeconomic class (they don't).
Organising to achieve a group objective is not a synonym for having a common class identity.
I agree. Disabled people can organise collectively but aren't in this sense a class.
Also the clips from the Daily wire posted last week, out an Hospital in Nashville for their post of a Paedeatrician talking about how lucrative "top" and "botton" surgeries are, in part because they require a lot of follow up. far more lucrative than hormonal interventions.
Through the centuries since some chaps translated the Word they thought the god they'd made in their own image had mysteriously said, and bequeathed unto us what later chaps referred to as The Old Testament, we have been labelled in the 'Christian' world view as virgin, martyr, mystic, witch, or all four at once depending on how stroppy or shrill some choose to think we are.
Virginia Woolf put it best in A Room of One's Own:
Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size.
"Oh for fuck sacks it's not fucking capitalism, it's a group of mentally/hormonally abnormal men with identity problems causing this,"
While you are not off the mark, I don't think that answer provides the full picture in terms of HOW legislative change and institutional capture has occurred so swiftly.
We don't have many products left for 'growth' potential. Mining the human body for body parts, body modification, reproduction and its feeding ability and the providing of sex services is the last product. The rest we have already fucked over to the point of no return.
We are the product. Men – at least the poor sobs that still identify as male – too, and sooner rather then later will they understand that.
Religion, Patriarchy, Capitalism, Paternalism, it is all the same, The oppression by people in power and their enablers – who present the few but who ruin the lives of the many, women, children, and in the end men. Our new oppressors? The kind people of pray to the god of Gender Ideology and lucrative body modification and the selling of body parts and life human beings.
I would have thought reproduction rates have been much higher historically and prostitution has not been called one of the oldest "professions" for nothing.
The major growth area is in DNA genetic medicine to improve health outcomes and provide fertility assistance to women who delay childbirth.
nah, the major growth area is in creating a class of birthing bodies that will provide life human beings on order – genetically altered or not – to same 'sex' couples who are 'infertile' due to their lifestyle choices, afterall they could be same gender orientated with a partner who has the needed functions, next to the sterile and castrated caste of post op trans and 'puperty blocked' transpeople who can no longer reproduce, the class of single rich parents who would like to have a child, the class of opposite sex orientated that can't be bothered doing the job of child birth.
If you want to force the people who are born with the ability to gestate and birth life human beings you remove their ability to work other then either sex work, domestic support animal (aka owned property of a 'husband/wife :)", or birther.
Remove access to birthing controls such as the pill, IUD etc and chances are that they will either birth every time they get inseminated either by a semensquirter or artificially or they miscarry.
A good 'birther' such as Ma Duggar for example can provide you with 19 live human beings over her fertile years. See Quiverfull for more information on how to keep the breeder breeding.
At a few thousand dollar for the birthing agency per tick you are suddenly talking big money. And your investment is cheap, like a puppy breeder you just have to keep these sentient incubators alive.
No it's left wing people that cause this shit, I bet any country with out a strong left leaning sector of its society would just just slap these confused males down.
I think you are confusing left with liberal. Plenty of left wing people and analysis that is critical of gender identity ideology.
In the UK, where the major battle is being fought, the Tories were going to pass self-ID legislation, which would remove major power from women, but it was women that stood up and fought against it (and have won thus far on that particular legislation). Liz Truss was pro-gender ideology, although she seems to be shifting her position as she realises that in the UK this is a political nightmare.
But the point remains, the quote is saying that the ideology serves the patriarchal system. This matters because liberals like to think they're being progressive on gender but they're being regressive.
I'll also point out that the problem isn't males confused about their sex, it's the ideology that is pushing legislative and policy changes and the huge amount of power accruing behind that. Big pharma aren't left wing, nor the tech giants.
how to use class as a word when not applying either party belonging or gender ideology.
Class:
1. : a group sharing the same economic or social status : "the working class"
i.e woman worker vs male worker
2. : social rank especially : high social rank the classes as opposed to the masses
i.e. female as opposed to male
3. : a data type in object-oriented programming that consists of a group of objects (see OBJECT entry 1 sense 6a) with the same properties and behaviors and that can be arranged in a hierarchy with other such data types
i.e female cancers vs male cancers
all based on the differences between the humans beings that are of material reality rather then socially constructed stereotypes that anyone irrespective of their biological sex can live.
But then i hear there are people that don't know what a male or a female is unless they inspects the genitals of the people they meet or unless they are provided a daily update on pronouns, and then they would not be able to differentiate between biological genitials and surgically crafted ones. These might be the people who have never in their life seen, met or spoken to a 'woman' and thus can't define them, class them and provide appropriate language so that this class of people can refer to themselves without upsetting males who are not and will not ever be part of that class of people.
Unmentionable ones is a good term for that class of people would you not agree?
A left wing analysis is that there are three classes – socioeconomic, race/ethnicity, and biological sex – that capitalism exploits to further the aims of capitalism. Women are impacted in some very specific ways because of their biological sex.
maybe you could explain what you think because I can't make sense of your comments. Are you saying that you don't believe there is a such a things a sex class?
Are you now arguing that being a female/women is not a biological sex category?
Class analysis related to capitalism is in the economic sphere. When it extends beyond that it reaches into the realm of colonialism/imperialism/patriarchy.
Women are only specifically included by biological sex in the HRA.
They may also be categorised by marital status, race, age and political creed, but none is specifically related to being female. And not one of those is a class. In fact no economic class is mentioned.
Civil rights, rights to private property ownership and employment/labour rights are covered otherwise.
So, little summary of what I said at the beginning of the panel on Female Class Politics which we gave at FiLiA. Structural oppression is a class based relation between a dominant class and a subjugated class through which the dominant class extracts labour, or access to bodies, or both, from the subjugated class. That is, structural oppression is a class based relation of material extraction, through which the dominant class profits from the oppression of the subjugated class.
…
There are three main axes of structural oppression – socio-economic class, sex and race. One of the things that it most notable about wokeist bullshit is the way they spend most of their time focussed on alleged oppression which are not in fact oppressions, and the fact that they have pretty much fuck all to say about extractive class based relations, especially with respect to socio-economic class, and of course sex, which they point blank deny is an axis of material extraction.
Denying recognition to axes of material class based extraction while making a big song and dance about non class based discrimination, is a really great cover for large exploitative institutions that want to carry on extracting, while covering themselves in symbols of justice that have no impact on their bottom line.
Philosopher and feminist Jane Clare Jones, quoted in this post,
mate, you’re the only one confusing them. I’ve made it very clear there are three classes: sex, race, socioeconomic. You appear to be insisting that economic class is the only class, but you haven’t presented any argument for why you think that is so.
You really don't like the idea that women look at each other, recognize each other as the same, with the same issues, due to the same reasons, and thus start organizing as a class of people for people such as themselves.
that is exactly what you do when you want to speak of one group of people and you want to make sure that other people understand whom you are talking about.
and we know full well what makes one male and what makes one not male.
And the fact that people are telling woman what women are or are not is simply pointing out the old adage of men being what they are or want to be vs men telling women what they can or can not be.
No just different examples of classes of people defined by their characteristics. I.e. black women and white women. Two different sets or classes of ethnicity. Both are part of the class 'adult human female'. Then they may be African and German. New classes, this time defined by nationality. One may be lutheran the other may be catholic. New classes, this time defined by creed. So here we have the class of human being that these two women belong too – adult human female. Then all the other classes that further defines who these two particular women are. The first class is rooted in biology and nature, i.e. material reality, and the rest of classes that categorize these adult human females are the social constructs of ethnicity, nationality and religion.
And men are still not part of that first class – adult human female, but they may share ethnicity, religion or nationality or job descriptions, or belong to the house owning class or the homeless class.
BBC at it again…in this BBC article on the Venezuelan migration problem, the economic fall out as a direct result of US imposed sanctions ( a benign term for a weapon of war) is not mentioned or referenced once as a cause for the population flight…the way MSM is circling the wagons in ever tighter postures in it's defense of the Capitalist status quo is quite alarming….there is misinformation on the net alright, the most damaging of it to Left Progressive politics, stems directly from once trusted left leaning news sources…so make sure you have your bullshit detectors on high alert when reading anything from BBC, The Guardian, Washington Post, NYT…or listening to RNZ
"The sanctions reduced the public’s caloric intake, increased disease and mortality (for both adults and infants), and displaced millions of Venezuelans who fled the country as a result of the worsening economic depression and hyperinflation. They exacerbated Venezuela’s economic crisis and made it nearly impossible to stabilize the economy, contributing further to excess deaths. All of these impacts disproportionately harmed the poorest and most vulnerable Venezuelans."
A documentary filmmaker was arrested at a Just Stop Oil protest in Shoreditch on Saturday, 14 October.
Footage shows Rich Felgate being arrested on Great Eastern Street as activists sat in the road in a protest to demand the government “halts all new oil and gas licenses and consents.”
Mr Felgate had filmed group members throwing soup onto Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting on Friday.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “A man was arrested on 15 October on suspicion of criminal damage outside New Scotland the previous day. The man was released without further action later that day.”
There will never be an 'acceptable' form of protest against the status quo, there are always reasons 'respectable society' can use to denigrate or demean the actions of activists.
Maybe they should apply to be bus drivers in the meantime until we in the future will get a government for whom public service is not just a vote getter every other year but something to commit to and invest in.
Wellington is cutting down on its bus services as they don't have enough drivers.
Hear, hear Sabine. Yes rather than activities that serve no purpose (likely lead to higher emissions by blocking roads) and generally get up peoples noses creating potential for a back lash, go out and be part of the solution. Drive a bus. Maybe they need to attract drivers, by advertising it as Green occupation helping safe the plannet.
Actually being a bus driver was something to aspire too in my childhood, even though in Germany at the time it was male dominated. But it was a job with good pay, decent benefits and essentially future proof.
I can see the slogan already: Choose a Green Job, Be a bus driver in your community!!
The Greens are trying to do such a thing, a petition from 2021:
“Public transport is an essential service, and it makes sense for it to be publicly owned,” says Green Party spokesperson for Transport Hon Julie Anne Genter.
“Good public transport is crucial for reducing climate pollution, connecting our communities and making our cities more liveable.
“But there are legislative barriers in the way of public ownership of our public transport, which means councils must contract out to private companies that prioritise profit over all else. We’ve already seen the fallout from private, overseas ownership of the Wellington bus network by Australian private equity firm Next Capital – with many cancelled services.
“Drivers have been fighting for better work and pay conditions for far too long, and this dispute stems from our public transport being run in a for-profit model.
“We support the bus drivers in their pursuit for better work and pay conditions, and this should be the norm. The needs of our community – for reliable bus services and fair pay for our drivers – should come before the profits of private equity firms.”
Then the Greens should encourage these young people to apply for these jobs, help them create a union and raise a stink.
But maybe absail down a tunnel or glue yourself to a raod while Joe and Jane 6 pack try to get to work will also do the trick to promote public transport. One pissed of commuter at a time.
You’ll be able to work any 5 out of 7 days on a variety of shifts (this includes weekends, early and late shifts and broken/split shifts). Your roster is provided 3-6 weeks in advance.
Yes, and that current payrate is what the bus drivers and the Tramways Union were able to get through their strike action last year; this was the pay rate prior to the industrial action, and the offer made by NZ Bus / Next Capital:
The base pay rate would rise from the current base rate of $19.29 an hour plus allowances to $22.10 an hour, or $24 for drivers with more than six months’ service, according to the documents.
This is what private ownership of public services gets us, poor delivery, poor employment conditions, increasing user charges and any profits are pocketed.
so that is 1112 NZD per week before tax, plus 3% min Kiwi saver contribution, plus sick pay, plus holiday pay.
5 days a week is a standard week, many people work Sats and Sund, unless one is an office drone.
oh look they provide these things
Training:
Receive fully paid training + we'll pay for your Class 2 licence!
Obtain your Class 2 Full licence in our in-house training school.
Support to obtain your Passenger Endorsement.
We'll teach you how to drive a bus, show you the bus routes and all other bus operator procedures- you'll be an expert driver in no time!
There's plenty of perks working for NZ Bus- including discounted health insurance, free flu shots, access to an employee assistance programme, fully provided uniform, and more! We've got great facilities to enjoy during your breaks- we've got pool tables, computers with internet access & plenty of tea and coffee!
Please note that due to training investment, a bonded employment period will apply.
This is actually not a bad job. But then, maybe any work where some actually have to show up is a badly paid exploitation job.
WE just want passenger trains and public transport, what we don't want is to do these jobs.
now the problem with say 800 NZD per week not being enough to pay rent, bills and food is an issue of not regulating the rental market, the food market, and the energy market. But surely someday we shall have a government that will do such things. Surely, any day now. ideally one that has a full majority so they could push through that progressive legislation without then need to compromise. Any day now. right?
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/#72993.htm – Appendices at the end, and the list of occupations as exceptions is Appendix 7. Train driver and tour guide are on that list, but bus driver isn't, so the current SMC pathway requires 1.5 x median wage (which as the minister notes in his letter, has not been subject to recent adjustments for work visas – for SMC, it was last set at $27.00/hr).
Bus drivers getting AEWVs will have to be paid median wage for immigration which is currently $27.76/hr but going up to $29.66/hr in February, but won't have a pathway to residence at that pay rate unless they are added to the Green List.
NZBus in Auckland regularly puts buses out on the road with malfunctioning or non functioning air conditioning. They were doing it before Covid and they are still doing it. It is unsafe and uncomfortable enough for the passengers, but must be much worse for the drivers. Auckland Transport refuses to answer the simple question as to whether this is permitted in the contract they have with NZBus.
One of the many reasons why AT deserves everything Wayne Brown hands out to them.
“This will no doubt also be condemned across traditional and social media”….yep, that is for sure..MSM including pretty much all traditional ‘Left’ leaning media have proved themselves to be nothing more than ultra-aggressive guard dogs of the Capitalist status quo…the planet and the people who want to defend the planet will find no serious allies there…
…and don’t be fooled by the occasional inclusion on those platforms of serious Climate Activists at the present moment. …when and if there is ever a real ground swell to make the type of deep rooted social and infrastructural changes needed to deal with Climate Change, you can be absolutely sure that the undermining of that project will come from The Guardian, BBC, Washington Post etc as much as from Right wing media.
Inflation print just released.Come in at 7.2,mostly driven by non tradeable inflation such as council rents and housing costs,utilities etc.
Non tradeable inflation is the highest since the series began,and starting to reflect fiscal policies,with services funding to the non productive sector,
With a .75 rise in the OCR baked in by markets,and looking at 5.25 ocr next year,the borrowing costs are now becoming a large burden,with Fiscal stimulus fueling inflation not growth.
the plant is still on track to be producing saleable plasterboard in May 2023 and be fully commissioned by September 2023.
There is still some risk around those dates – risk mitigation poses a daily challenge for our engineering team and equipment manufacturers – but at the moment we’re still tracking to start commissioning the first plasterboard late March, early April, with the first of the saleable board (10mm GIB® Standard and 13mm GIB® Standard) coming off the production line in May. It will take another good eight weeks from there to get all the other products, such as our GIB Braceline® and GIB Fyreline®, fully commissioned, BRANZ appraised and off the production line.
the NZ$ depreciated in the last 12 months (19.5%) significantly due to the balance of trade problems,and high current account deficit.
There has been little if any fiscal spending to ensure enhanced productivity,to remove cost out of the economy.
Labours policies are essentially inverse to the Truss catastrophe,with large spending on the non productive sector,mostly by way of wages and not efficiency.With a construction industry over extended you do not keep fiscally stimulating by borrowed money,in an overheated economy,with high debt.
The return of tourism and student inflows will help the accounts.
Any solution that blocks fair pay and industry awards suppress wages and raise unemployment will just increase inequality.
1. the current building of a new gib board plant is a supply solution (it not being in time is a market failure).
2. diesel cost increases is a global matter.
3. a housing shortage is not solved without supply, and nor is it solved by raising demand for housing via high levels of immigration. Preventing landlords from exploiting a market shortage via a rent freeze is prudent.
4. our public debt is not high compared to other OECD nations and nor is the proportion of government spending to GDP.
Care to identify the "fiscal" spending that removes cost from the economy?
Tourism is arbitrary as kiwis also travel overseas spending local savings. Students also remove accommodation opportunities.
Resource consents are around 5% of the project cost,delays adding to holding costs of which gib is a small part.The biggest problem is an overextended construction sector,which is now performing less efficient due to overpricing (highest costs in the OECD),
The housing shortage has been forced by large scale immigration and changes to the rental inventory due to government policy, meaning investors have moved to the short end of the market (airbnb etc) large scale demolition of housing stock to provide more expensive infill housing etc.
Our public debt measured by our ability to pay is very high with the highest current account deficit in the g10 currency countries,high interest rates,Robertsons gamble on changing the measurement for government debt,did not influence the markets (read lenders) and was based on revaluations of property stock (which are moving south faster then the expected tenure of a labour list MP)
Globally most currencies have depreciated against the us$ (not as much as NZ) which has also depreciated against most other currencies ,where the aus has depreciated by 15% and has lower interest rates.
We are now exposed to worse interest rates then the UK with the NZ margin .50 points across rates.
So Jacinda Ardern, via Chris Hipkins have rescued Creative NZ by providing funding for the Shakespeares schools festival via education.
This article written before the bail out is excellent in its criticism of Creative NZ and its call for an enquiry that goes deeper than the Shakespeare issue.
The CEO of CNZ earns over three hundred thousand a year. And 28 of the 85 staff earn over $100,00. They took the advice of someone on the cancellation of the Shakespeare festival…………..So, why do such highly paid bureacratics need to take advice on who they fund? Surely that is what they exist to do. Why did Creative NZ listen to such dumb and embarrasing advice? (Shakespeare ..the canon of imperialism. Um England was not an imperial nation when Shakespeare was writing). And the advice also said Shakespeare didn't fit with the decolonisation of NZ. Who the f..k said the public service are to de colonise NZ and what does that even mean? (Colonisation was also not around in Shakespeares time, so the advice is not only bloody ignorant, its frankly embarrasing).
If over paid bureacrats have to rely on advice to make funding decisions and take utterly ridiculous advice, that is politically based, not arts based, then yes at the very least Creative NZ needs to be reviewed. And there needs to be a review into what is happening in our public service, that it is thought that their role is to "de colonise" NZ.
There doesn't, however, seem to be any significant belief that Shakespeare shouldn't be studied in Ireland, because of past imperialism/colonization/invasion (whatever you want to call it)
The Irish academic Edel Semple runs the blog Shakespeare in Ireland. She says British people are often surprised at how popular he is with the Irish.
"I can understand people supposing that with independence in the 1920s there might have been a feeling he was too British. But there's no evidence for that happening. He seems always to have had a cultural free pass.
It seems as though the Irish, at least, can separate great works of literature from the cultural environment which produced them. Something for Creative NZ to aspire to.
In the same vein there is a cheap Irish joke in The Comedy of Errors, where a servant named Dromio tells his master about a kitchen wench who is so fat that "she is spherical, like a globe", and that he "could find out countries in her". He finds Spain in her hot breath, Scotland in the barren palm of her hand, and England in the chalky cliffs of her forehead.
When Antipholus asks, “In what part of her body stands Ireland?” Dromio replies, “in her buttocks: I found it out by the bogs.” This Irish slur still gets a big laugh – and, unlike the other ethnic jokes, it is rarely cut in production.
Counting up the Irish
Shakespeare mentions “Ireland” 31 times in his works, or 32 if we include a slip of the pen to which I will return shortly. The adjective “Irish” is spoken 10 times, and the word “Irishman” appears twice.
What I find especially striking about these allusions to the “Irish” or “Irishman” is how concentrated they all are within a very narrow band of time, one that stretched from about 1596 to 1599.
Shakespeare reflected the bigotry of his times- his anti-Jewish stance, his view of the Scots, Irish, Welsh. Remember his was a time when people were martyred, wars were fought for religion, empire, resources- as usual.
Have we changed? How much? Look at the bigotry about today. Still there. Better? I hope so.
Belladonna at 8.1.1 makes a very good final point. We do have to consider the 'tempora", the "mores" of the culture whence art came.
Just as we will be judged in the future for our cultural beliefs from transubstantiation to transgenderism.
At the end of Trotter's article. he speaks of the essential humanity of Shakespeare's work which transcended time, place, country, even the imaginary and the fey.
From Greece, Italy, England, Scotland, France. from ancient times to the near present, from Fools to the foolish, from kings to paupers, across men and women and the fairy realm, from songs and poems to bawdy humour, Shakespeare's celebration and exposing of human greatness and weakness was sublime.
My daughter won a Sheila Winn trip to England which she did not take up. She is still involved in drama thirty years later, now as a director.
Her father played the Fool, Touchstone, singing his song "There was a Lover and his Lass" as a gospel-belter blues and delivered such lines of wisdom as this,"The more pity that fools may not speak wisely what wise men do foolishly."
Shakespeare was updated in Sheila Winn. My daughter won her prize playing Lady MacBeth who had a female husband, and her friend won best supporting actor as King Duncan, without saying a word.
Sheila Winn pushed boundaries, inspired careers, entertained and taught us all, as only the best art can.
Shakespeare gave us beautiful language, sayings, drama, humour, wisdom and sometimes a view of the world where the Fools were wise and the rest unaware of their shortcomings.
Shakespeare could well have said, had he spoken Māori, "Mā te wahine, mā te whenua, ka ngaro te tangata."
Many Public Good funders use this system of independent peer review to review grant funding applications in contestable funding rounds just as Creative NZ, which uses two assessors to review each application. I have never heard of a CEO of a funding agency being directly involved in the funding decisions of specific funding committees in their agency other than possibly signing off on them, which is or should be a mere formality.
Here’s a very good article on [the lack of] arts funding in NZ that also offers you some insights into the funding process:
What do you mean Incognito "but of course you missed it". I probably did miss it. So what, there's a lot I miss on the Standard.
ARe the two assessors part of the 85 public servants employed at Creative NZ? If not who appointed the assessors? They are ideologically compromised and made a ignorant decision which has lead to a public outcry about both the decison and also the rationsale for the decision (de colonizing, imperialism). The CEO may sign off the decision (or not) but overall he is responsible. He has made our country look like a laughing stock has lead to the PM intervening to ensure Shakespeare continues. Ardern's intervention show what an absolutely stupid mistake these people have made.
ARe the two assessors part of the 85 public servants employed at Creative NZ?
Nope, what do you think the italicised (twice) “external peer assessors” mean?
If not who appointed the assessors?
You seem to think that Creative NZ employed them as assessors. Often peer reviewers don’t receive anything. If they do need to attend meetings in person they’ll get travel costs reimbursed.
The CEO may sign off the decision (or not) but overall he is responsible. He has made our country look like a laughing stock has lead to the PM intervening to ensure Shakespeare continues.
Wow! You’ve lost the plot there big time and now it is the CEO who is to blame. The reasons you make these outlandish claims are that you think he earns too much and you’re scapegoating. Shakespeare was never discontinued! Get a grip!
Ardern's intervention show what an absolutely stupid mistake these people have made.
Nope, it doesn’t show that at all. It shows that Ardern disagreed with the decision by Creative NZ and was desperate enough to score some brownie points [no pun] with the public. Ardern is, of course, Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage and arts funding is piss poor in NZ.
Looks like the PM— who was a S-in-S participant herself has leaned on Chippie. As for Creative NZ= FFS Wellington Woke elite intellectuals totally out of sync,,, I saw some of the current crop of Maori stars on TV and film take their first steps on stage… you guessed it= S in S. No colonial oppression, just joy in giving something a go.
Happy Xmas–War (on COVID) is Over–Govt. waves the biggest white flag!
…just as another variant appears. Now there may be anti virals available, if you can actually see a doctor to get them, but some have health problems or social issues that make them more vulnerable.
Has Jacinda been spanked by the bankers and middle class focus groups again? It is such a shame after 2020’s amazing “public health before private profit” Jacinda.
Sometimes Governments obtain special powers and never get around to revoking them, or remove some of citizens rights and don’t return them promptly, or ever. So in that respect the Labour Caucus has done well with these changes. But in terms of public health it sucks.
Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma, who was removed from Labour's caucus in August for breaching confidentiality and losing his colleagues' trust, has resigned.
He says he has been informed the Labour Party and the prime minister plan to use the waka-jumping legislation to remove him from Parliament six months before the next election, and decided to resign as an MP to ensure a by-election.
I think a snap election is Labour best chance at a third term. The polling trend is clear, the left are losing support and it is frankly not going to improve.
Go to the electorate now, whilst you are still a chance.
Imho, an obviously better option for NZ Labour is to make good use of their absolute parliamentary majority (unprecedented in the MMP era) for another year, which is a long time in politics if the fortunes of those financial wizards, the tax-cutting Tories are anything to go by.
Hamilton West is pure bellwether, and goes according to the country. It went National four times 2008-2017 because National won the nationwide vote four times in a row.
SUBSCRIBER: A Groundswell NZ co-founder says the group has accepted Voices for Freedom’s support at this week’s planned protest, as long as the message remains clear.
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
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. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
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 ...
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I'm starting to wonder if this government could catch a break.
The media needs to take a hard look at themselves. Cut and pasting the press releases of unaccountable, dark funded lobby astroturf groups is disgraceful.
Don't platform these people (Auckland Ratepayers Alliance, Groundswell, Taxpayers Union) until they are open and accountable about who funds them. And if you continue to do this in spite of them not disclosing that information then you are also part of the problem.
It is a reflection of the decline of our parliaments, that MPs are no longer designing their own policies. They are in effect, like the idiot panels that front TV news, dysfunctional distractors with little or no relevance.
The rise of externally designed policies is visible across the spectrum, and it is pernicious. This is where shit policies like gender activism, gun nut-jobbery, and tax wacko stuff is coming from. What then is the role of MPs? And, since they are incapable of thinking for themselves, what right do they have to sit in parliament?
thinking I'll do a post on the problems with Groundswell for Thurs. Have you got anything useful to read about the funding issue?
didn't know about the connections with the Taxpayer's Onion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundswell_NZ#Links_to_the_NZ_Taxpayers'_Union
The fact that Groundswell only appears to exist as a commercial entity and not as a charity or incorporated society means that, unless they decide to release their returns, finding out who's funding them is pretty much impossible.
https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/8256357/detail
At the same time, the lack of transparency sort of goes against their claim to be a "grassroots volunteer-driven advocacy group" and not just a money-making exercise. Given that they ask for donations and try to sell merch, it's not hard to imagine that someone is making some decent money off of all this.
If you can stomach it, I would also recommend going through the comments of their social media posts. Along with general confusion over the lack of information about Thursday's protest, there also seems to be increasing frustration about the leadership's desire to stay halfway respectable.
Given that the organisation seems to be pretty decentralised however, I imagine there'll be quite a few who don't stick to the approved messages and start spouting some crazy bullshit about vaccines or whatever. If you can catalogue that and make a big deal of it, I imagine that would force the organisers to further alienate their more unhinged supporters.
Essentially, the message would be that the Groundswell leadership is scamming their supporters while preventing them from talking about whatever fringe issue actually motivates them to show up on Thursday.
thanks, that's very helpful.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_for_Policy_Studies
When bank economists and paid for lobbyists for the bosses talk about the need to control "core inflation" as code for holding down wage growth, remember it is all pure, unadulterated class self-interest. Rather than listening to our anaemic, feeble media spouting the talking points of the neoliberal consensus I strongly recommend a read of the latest IMF World Economic Outlook.
The short version: true spirals of sustained wage and price increases are VERY rare.
It is interesting though how the low wages will 'stop' inflation, but not low rents, low energy costs and low food costs. And that is he crux of the matter. You can not earn enough ever to meet out of controll spiraling living costs and production costs.
Eventually like in the Weimar Republic one will bring a wheelbarrow full of useless notes for a loaf of bread.
The most useful thing I have read so far today.
https://voidifremoved.substack.com/p/identitarianism-is-not-left
"Thus any system which removes the ability to name and recognise the female sex as a class is seen to serve the interest of patriarchal capitalism. If male and female cease to be labels that recognise a material reality, but instead identity markers that can be adopted by either sex, it becomes impossible for women to organise or be recognised as a sex class. This is what gender identity results in – a system of idealist individual liberalism, where material reality is subordinate to an individual’s claim of identity."
that quote is spot on.
Exhibit A: the number of liberal men who think they get to tell women what feminism is.
Exhibit B: women being kicked out of women's groups for wanting female only spaces.
Exhibit C: lesbians being told that they cannot formally meet without male bodied people present.
Exhibit D: males who self ID as women taking women's places in political parties.
All of those impact on women's ability to organise as a class.
males who will self id as women in order to get jobs if these jobs are for 'minorities including women'.
women who will be injured – badly injured even – by men who self id and play sports in womens teams.
Leave the construct of 'class' or 'category' aside, the only place women can be in a place without be-penised people is now very much the kitchen at home.
When i was a teenager one of my friends was a turkish girl called Hasina. I only ever sat in the kitchen or in the garden with the women, the living room was the place for the bepenised people, women only entered that space when no other males other then the ones of the family were in that space or when they were called to serve tea.
When this self id / genderquatsch is over women in the western world will actually be back in 1595 and we shall re-debate if we are actually humans and thus have a right to human rights and self fulfilment on the base of these rights.
What is a women? Any man who says so.
Since when have women ever organised as a class? Is not defence of woman as a sex, by adopting a class identity, just going to cause division?
have you heard of feminism? What do you think that is if it isn't women organising around being women?
Why do you think that women used to be denied the vote? How do you think that changed? What do the people, who were referred to as women, that were denied the vote and then granted it, have in common?
Do you object to any people organising around a collective then? Māori? Working class people?
Are you now arguing that being a female/women is not a biological sex category?
Organising to achieve a group objective is not a synonym for having a common class identity.
Put it this way, Sylvia P (socialist) and Christabel P Tory candidate) were part of the same group of suffragettes.
No, I'm saying that biological sex is a class.
What do you mean by class exactly? Are you using the term to mean socioeconomic? If you are, that would make more sense of your comments. The point isn't that women have a shared socioeconomic class (they don't).
I agree. Disabled people can organise collectively but aren't in this sense a class.
That is a brilliant quote Visub.
Sums it up really well
Oh for fuck sacks it's not fucking capitalism, it's a group of mentally/hormonally abnormal men with identity problems causing this,
Capitalism is a tool used by society it's not a living being.
Bwagon, you also make an excellent point.
Also the clips from the Daily wire posted last week, out an Hospital in Nashville for their post of a Paedeatrician talking about how lucrative "top" and "botton" surgeries are, in part because they require a lot of follow up. far more lucrative than hormonal interventions.
https://twitter.com/glosswitch/status/1582053077364117505
Through the centuries since some chaps translated the Word they thought the god they'd made in their own image had mysteriously said, and bequeathed unto us what later chaps referred to as The Old Testament, we have been labelled in the 'Christian' world view as virgin, martyr, mystic, witch, or all four at once depending on how stroppy or shrill some choose to think we are.
Virginia Woolf put it best in A Room of One's Own:
Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size.
"Oh for fuck sacks it's not fucking capitalism, it's a group of mentally/hormonally abnormal men with identity problems causing this,"
While you are not off the mark, I don't think that answer provides the full picture in terms of HOW legislative change and institutional capture has occurred so swiftly.
There's quite a lot on strategy here:
The document that reveals the remarkable tactics of trans lobbyists – James Kirkup, The Spectator 2019
And Jennifer Bilek's research on the funding apparatus:
The Billionaire Family Pushing Synthetic Sex Identities (SSI)
read it again,
It's saying that it serves the form of capitalism that controls women. Which it does.
We don't have many products left for 'growth' potential. Mining the human body for body parts, body modification, reproduction and its feeding ability and the providing of sex services is the last product. The rest we have already fucked over to the point of no return.
We are the product. Men – at least the poor sobs that still identify as male – too, and sooner rather then later will they understand that.
Religion, Patriarchy, Capitalism, Paternalism, it is all the same, The oppression by people in power and their enablers – who present the few but who ruin the lives of the many, women, children, and in the end men. Our new oppressors? The kind people of pray to the god of Gender Ideology and lucrative body modification and the selling of body parts and life human beings.
I would have thought reproduction rates have been much higher historically and prostitution has not been called one of the oldest "professions" for nothing.
The major growth area is in DNA genetic medicine to improve health outcomes and provide fertility assistance to women who delay childbirth.
nah, the major growth area is in creating a class of birthing bodies that will provide life human beings on order – genetically altered or not – to same 'sex' couples who are 'infertile' due to their lifestyle choices, afterall they could be same gender orientated with a partner who has the needed functions, next to the sterile and castrated caste of post op trans and 'puperty blocked' transpeople who can no longer reproduce, the class of single rich parents who would like to have a child, the class of opposite sex orientated that can't be bothered doing the job of child birth.
If you want to force the people who are born with the ability to gestate and birth life human beings you remove their ability to work other then either sex work, domestic support animal (aka owned property of a 'husband/wife :)", or birther.
Remove access to birthing controls such as the pill, IUD etc and chances are that they will either birth every time they get inseminated either by a semensquirter or artificially or they miscarry.
A good 'birther' such as Ma Duggar for example can provide you with 19 live human beings over her fertile years. See Quiverfull for more information on how to keep the breeder breeding.
At a few thousand dollar for the birthing agency per tick you are suddenly talking big money. And your investment is cheap, like a puppy breeder you just have to keep these sentient incubators alive.
No it's left wing people that cause this shit, I bet any country with out a strong left leaning sector of its society would just just slap these confused males down.
I think you are confusing left with liberal. Plenty of left wing people and analysis that is critical of gender identity ideology.
In the UK, where the major battle is being fought, the Tories were going to pass self-ID legislation, which would remove major power from women, but it was women that stood up and fought against it (and have won thus far on that particular legislation). Liz Truss was pro-gender ideology, although she seems to be shifting her position as she realises that in the UK this is a political nightmare.
But the point remains, the quote is saying that the ideology serves the patriarchal system. This matters because liberals like to think they're being progressive on gender but they're being regressive.
I'll also point out that the problem isn't males confused about their sex, it's the ideology that is pushing legislative and policy changes and the huge amount of power accruing behind that. Big pharma aren't left wing, nor the tech giants.
Thanks for taking the time to clarify,
I'll think on it
Calling the female sex a class to make it part of some left wing cause vs capitalism is nonsense.
how to use class as a word when not applying either party belonging or gender ideology.
Class:
1. : a group sharing the same economic or social status : "the working class"
i.e woman worker vs male worker
2. : social rank especially : high social rank the classes as opposed to the masses
i.e. female as opposed to male
3. : a data type in object-oriented programming that consists of a group of objects (see OBJECT entry 1 sense 6a) with the same properties and behaviors and that can be arranged in a hierarchy with other such data types
i.e female cancers vs male cancers
all based on the differences between the humans beings that are of material reality rather then socially constructed stereotypes that anyone irrespective of their biological sex can live.
But then i hear there are people that don't know what a male or a female is unless they inspects the genitals of the people they meet or unless they are provided a daily update on pronouns, and then they would not be able to differentiate between biological genitials and surgically crafted ones. These might be the people who have never in their life seen, met or spoken to a 'woman' and thus can't define them, class them and provide appropriate language so that this class of people can refer to themselves without upsetting males who are not and will not ever be part of that class of people.
Unmentionable ones is a good term for that class of people would you not agree?
Dividing class groups, into male and female, does not make them male and female class groups.
A left wing analysis is that there are three classes – socioeconomic, race/ethnicity, and biological sex – that capitalism exploits to further the aims of capitalism. Women are impacted in some very specific ways because of their biological sex.
maybe you could explain what you think because I can't make sense of your comments. Are you saying that you don't believe there is a such a things a sex class?
Are you now arguing that being a female/women is not a biological sex category?
Class analysis related to capitalism is in the economic sphere. When it extends beyond that it reaches into the realm of colonialism/imperialism/patriarchy.
"Are you now arguing that being a female/women is not a biological sex category?"
Hold onto your hat, SPC – because apparently this will come as a surprise:
Women are part of (adult) a biological sex category AND
a class for political analysis AND
representative of a protected characteristic in Human Rights Act (1993).
Many other aspects affect women/females as a distinct class.
Why are you so resistant to the use of the word "class" to describe this group?
Women are only specifically included by biological sex in the HRA.
They may also be categorised by marital status, race, age and political creed, but none is specifically related to being female. And not one of those is a class. In fact no economic class is mentioned.
Civil rights, rights to private property ownership and employment/labour rights are covered otherwise.
we're not talking economic class.
Philosopher and feminist Jane Clare Jones, quoted in this post,
.https://thestandard.org.nz/class-oppression-and-discrimination/
Jane Clare Jones did not confuse sex and race with class – she referred to the three as separate.
mate, you’re the only one confusing them. I’ve made it very clear there are three classes: sex, race, socioeconomic. You appear to be insisting that economic class is the only class, but you haven’t presented any argument for why you think that is so.
You really don't like the idea that women look at each other, recognize each other as the same, with the same issues, due to the same reasons, and thus start organizing as a class of people for people such as themselves.
Oh boy.
There are two distinct definitions of the word class.
Confusing one, which refers to the categorisation of difference with the other, socio and economic class, with the other is poor use of language.
PS the effort to impugn those who do not agree with you, speaks to breeding/class/identity politics at its lower level.
"category" is probably a less confusing term than "class" which has several meanings — in left wing discourse it usually refers to socioeconomic class
actually yes it does.
that is the point of having classes of people.
like white and black people
like tall and short people
like fat and skinny people
like educated and not educated people
like rich and poor people
like homeowning people and homeless people
that is exactly what you do when you want to speak of one group of people and you want to make sure that other people understand whom you are talking about.
and we know full well what makes one male and what makes one not male.
And the fact that people are telling woman what women are or are not is simply pointing out the old adage of men being what they are or want to be vs men telling women what they can or can not be.
Conflation of distinctive category with class.
No just different examples of classes of people defined by their characteristics. I.e. black women and white women. Two different sets or classes of ethnicity. Both are part of the class 'adult human female'. Then they may be African and German. New classes, this time defined by nationality. One may be lutheran the other may be catholic. New classes, this time defined by creed. So here we have the class of human being that these two women belong too – adult human female. Then all the other classes that further defines who these two particular women are. The first class is rooted in biology and nature, i.e. material reality, and the rest of classes that categorize these adult human females are the social constructs of ethnicity, nationality and religion.
And men are still not part of that first class – adult human female, but they may share ethnicity, religion or nationality or job descriptions, or belong to the house owning class or the homeless class.
But you do you.
MSM Propaganda Alert!!!
BBC at it again…in this BBC article on the Venezuelan migration problem, the economic fall out as a direct result of US imposed sanctions ( a benign term for a weapon of war) is not mentioned or referenced once as a cause for the population flight…the way MSM is circling the wagons in ever tighter postures in it's defense of the Capitalist status quo is quite alarming….there is misinformation on the net alright, the most damaging of it to Left Progressive politics, stems directly from once trusted left leaning news sources…so make sure you have your bullshit detectors on high alert when reading anything from BBC, The Guardian, Washington Post, NYT…or listening to RNZ
Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela
"The sanctions reduced the public’s caloric intake, increased disease and mortality (for both adults and infants), and displaced millions of Venezuelans who fled the country as a result of the worsening economic depression and hyperinflation. They exacerbated Venezuela’s economic crisis and made it nearly impossible to stabilize the economy, contributing further to excess deaths. All of these impacts disproportionately harmed the poorest and most vulnerable Venezuelans."
UK Police intimidating climate activists:
https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/shoreditch-just-stop-oil-arrest-b2204120.html
There will never be an 'acceptable' form of protest against the status quo, there are always reasons 'respectable society' can use to denigrate or demean the actions of activists.
On Earth Day earlier this year, Wynn Phillips followed a buddhist protest tradition and the story was largely buried. Climate scientists around the world are engaging in activism, and today activists have unfurled a banner over Mt Vic tunnel:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/476866/wellington-s-mount-victoria-tunnel-closed-as-climate-activist-group-lowers-banner-over-road
This will no doubt also be condemned across traditional and social media.
For those who are aghast at soup being thrown at a glass-covered painting, saying "leave art out of it, why don't they protest something relevant…"
Well here it is. And as predicted, people are still aghast. Maybe they should just protest out fot he way, where no one can hear?
Maybe they should apply to be bus drivers in the meantime until we in the future will get a government for whom public service is not just a vote getter every other year but something to commit to and invest in.
Wellington is cutting down on its bus services as they don't have enough drivers.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/476617/driver-shortages-put-breaks-on-nearly-70-wellington-bus-services
Hear, hear Sabine. Yes rather than activities that serve no purpose (likely lead to higher emissions by blocking roads) and generally get up peoples noses creating potential for a back lash, go out and be part of the solution. Drive a bus. Maybe they need to attract drivers, by advertising it as Green occupation helping safe the plannet.
Actually being a bus driver was something to aspire too in my childhood, even though in Germany at the time it was male dominated. But it was a job with good pay, decent benefits and essentially future proof.
I can see the slogan already: Choose a Green Job, Be a bus driver in your community!!
The Greens are trying to do such a thing, a petition from 2021:
https://www.greens.org.nz/petition_for_publicly_owned_public_transport
Then the Greens should encourage these young people to apply for these jobs, help them create a union and raise a stink.
But maybe absail down a tunnel or glue yourself to a raod while Joe and Jane 6 pack try to get to work will also do the trick to promote public transport. One pissed of commuter at a time.
There is a current endeavour to create an industry award that takes bus drivers into the category that makes them eligible for skilled worker migrant.
That's currently $40.50/hr = $84,240 p.a. Hopefully that would attract people into the industry as a reasonable living.
Meanwhile, here’s a current NZ Bus driver advert:
https://careers.nzbus.co.nz/jobdetails?ajid=vay18
Thanks, arkie.
That puts the focus clearly on why there is a recruitment and retention problem.
Yes, and that current payrate is what the bus drivers and the Tramways Union were able to get through their strike action last year; this was the pay rate prior to the industrial action, and the offer made by NZ Bus / Next Capital:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/wellington/125150453/wellington-bus-drivers-offered-as-much-as-10000-each-to-accept-weakened-collective-agreement
This is what private ownership of public services gets us, poor delivery, poor employment conditions, increasing user charges and any profits are pocketed.
so that is 1112 NZD per week before tax, plus 3% min Kiwi saver contribution, plus sick pay, plus holiday pay.
5 days a week is a standard week, many people work Sats and Sund, unless one is an office drone.
oh look they provide these things
This is actually not a bad job. But then, maybe any work where some actually have to show up is a badly paid exploitation job.
WE just want passenger trains and public transport, what we don't want is to do these jobs.
now the problem with say 800 NZD per week not being enough to pay rent, bills and food is an issue of not regulating the rental market, the food market, and the energy market. But surely someday we shall have a government that will do such things. Surely, any day now. ideally one that has a full majority so they could push through that progressive legislation without then need to compromise. Any day now. right?
Accredited Employer Work Visa.
https://www.gw.govt.nz/assets/Documents/2022/09/Minister-of-Transport-re-MPOL-718-Daran-Ponter.pdf
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/#72993.htm – Appendices at the end, and the list of occupations as exceptions is Appendix 7. Train driver and tour guide are on that list, but bus driver isn't, so the current SMC pathway requires 1.5 x median wage (which as the minister notes in his letter, has not been subject to recent adjustments for work visas – for SMC, it was last set at $27.00/hr).
Bus drivers getting AEWVs will have to be paid median wage for immigration which is currently $27.76/hr but going up to $29.66/hr in February, but won't have a pathway to residence at that pay rate unless they are added to the Green List.
The Australian private equity company that owns Wellington buses locked their drivers out because that were demanding improved pay and conditions.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/wellington/125175905/nz-bus-owner-wont-rule-out-another-lockout-if-drivers-reject-pay-offer
NZBus in Auckland regularly puts buses out on the road with malfunctioning or non functioning air conditioning. They were doing it before Covid and they are still doing it. It is unsafe and uncomfortable enough for the passengers, but must be much worse for the drivers. Auckland Transport refuses to answer the simple question as to whether this is permitted in the contract they have with NZBus.
One of the many reasons why AT deserves everything Wayne Brown hands out to them.
PS I certainly did not vote for him!
“This will no doubt also be condemned across traditional and social media”….yep, that is for sure..MSM including pretty much all traditional ‘Left’ leaning media have proved themselves to be nothing more than ultra-aggressive guard dogs of the Capitalist status quo…the planet and the people who want to defend the planet will find no serious allies there…
…and don’t be fooled by the occasional inclusion on those platforms of serious Climate Activists at the present moment. …when and if there is ever a real ground swell to make the type of deep rooted social and infrastructural changes needed to deal with Climate Change, you can be absolutely sure that the undermining of that project will come from The Guardian, BBC, Washington Post etc as much as from Right wing media.
Inflation print just released.Come in at 7.2,mostly driven by non tradeable inflation such as council rents and housing costs,utilities etc.
Non tradeable inflation is the highest since the series began,and starting to reflect fiscal policies,with services funding to the non productive sector,
https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/annual-inflation-at-7-2-percent/
With a .75 rise in the OCR baked in by markets,and looking at 5.25 ocr next year,the borrowing costs are now becoming a large burden,with Fiscal stimulus fueling inflation not growth.
Building costs (gib board ?)
https://www.gib.co.nz/gib-news/new-tauranga-facility/new-tauriko-facility-building-for-a-generation-of-change/
diesel
A substitute for gas in power generation and also used for heating homes in Europe – will rise further with the northern winter
rents
surely a freeze asap ….
the NZ$ depreciated in the last 12 months (19.5%) significantly due to the balance of trade problems,and high current account deficit.
There has been little if any fiscal spending to ensure enhanced productivity,to remove cost out of the economy.
Labours policies are essentially inverse to the Truss catastrophe,with large spending on the non productive sector,mostly by way of wages and not efficiency.With a construction industry over extended you do not keep fiscally stimulating by borrowed money,in an overheated economy,with high debt.
The return of tourism and student inflows will help the accounts.
Any solution that blocks fair pay and industry awards suppress wages and raise unemployment will just increase inequality.
1. the current building of a new gib board plant is a supply solution (it not being in time is a market failure).
2. diesel cost increases is a global matter.
3. a housing shortage is not solved without supply, and nor is it solved by raising demand for housing via high levels of immigration. Preventing landlords from exploiting a market shortage via a rent freeze is prudent.
4. our public debt is not high compared to other OECD nations and nor is the proportion of government spending to GDP.
Care to identify the "fiscal" spending that removes cost from the economy?
Tourism is arbitrary as kiwis also travel overseas spending local savings. Students also remove accommodation opportunities.
Resource consents are around 5% of the project cost,delays adding to holding costs of which gib is a small part.The biggest problem is an overextended construction sector,which is now performing less efficient due to overpricing (highest costs in the OECD),
The housing shortage has been forced by large scale immigration and changes to the rental inventory due to government policy, meaning investors have moved to the short end of the market (airbnb etc) large scale demolition of housing stock to provide more expensive infill housing etc.
Our public debt measured by our ability to pay is very high with the highest current account deficit in the g10 currency countries,high interest rates,Robertsons gamble on changing the measurement for government debt,did not influence the markets (read lenders) and was based on revaluations of property stock (which are moving south faster then the expected tenure of a labour list MP)
How much of the drop in NZ$ is caused by the US$ increasing due to their interest rates increasing to bring inflation under control?
Globally most currencies have depreciated against the us$ (not as much as NZ) which has also depreciated against most other currencies ,where the aus has depreciated by 15% and has lower interest rates.
We are now exposed to worse interest rates then the UK with the NZ margin .50 points across rates.
Had to laugh Liz Truss's approval rating is now _ 61% !!
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2209/S00051/time-for-a-public-inquiry-into-cnz.htm
So Jacinda Ardern, via Chris Hipkins have rescued Creative NZ by providing funding for the Shakespeares schools festival via education.
This article written before the bail out is excellent in its criticism of Creative NZ and its call for an enquiry that goes deeper than the Shakespeare issue.
The CEO of CNZ earns over three hundred thousand a year. And 28 of the 85 staff earn over $100,00. They took the advice of someone on the cancellation of the Shakespeare festival…………..So, why do such highly paid bureacratics need to take advice on who they fund? Surely that is what they exist to do. Why did Creative NZ listen to such dumb and embarrasing advice? (Shakespeare ..the canon of imperialism. Um England was not an imperial nation when Shakespeare was writing). And the advice also said Shakespeare didn't fit with the decolonisation of NZ. Who the f..k said the public service are to de colonise NZ and what does that even mean? (Colonisation was also not around in Shakespeares time, so the advice is not only bloody ignorant, its frankly embarrasing).
If over paid bureacrats have to rely on advice to make funding decisions and take utterly ridiculous advice, that is politically based, not arts based, then yes at the very least Creative NZ needs to be reviewed. And there needs to be a review into what is happening in our public service, that it is thought that their role is to "de colonise" NZ.
Anker, briefly. You are correct about a foolish decision by Creative NZ.
However, regarding " Um England was not an imperial nation when Shakespeare was writing)."
You're not Irish, are you? As my dear old irish nun once told me, “Mac1, there are some things we do not joke abour!”
700 years of colonisation did include the Elizabethan and early Stuart era when Shakespeare wrote his magnificent plays and poems.
https://www.historyofengland.net/british-empire/ireland-the-first-colony
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/ireland-has-yet-to-come-to-terms-with-its-imperial-past-1.4444146
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ireland_(1536–1691)
All three sources confirm the imperial England that you want to deny.
There doesn't, however, seem to be any significant belief that Shakespeare shouldn't be studied in Ireland, because of past imperialism/colonization/invasion (whatever you want to call it)
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49031179
It seems as though the Irish, at least, can separate great works of literature from the cultural environment which produced them. Something for Creative NZ to aspire to.
Wonder what the Bard might make of it.
Much Ado about Nothing? Tempest in a teacup?
https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/plays.php
He did his bit fueling anti-Irish bigotry, too.
.
In the same vein there is a cheap Irish joke in The Comedy of Errors, where a servant named Dromio tells his master about a kitchen wench who is so fat that "she is spherical, like a globe", and that he "could find out countries in her". He finds Spain in her hot breath, Scotland in the barren palm of her hand, and England in the chalky cliffs of her forehead.
When Antipholus asks, “In what part of her body stands Ireland?” Dromio replies, “in her buttocks: I found it out by the bogs.” This Irish slur still gets a big laugh – and, unlike the other ethnic jokes, it is rarely cut in production.
Counting up the Irish
Shakespeare mentions “Ireland” 31 times in his works, or 32 if we include a slip of the pen to which I will return shortly. The adjective “Irish” is spoken 10 times, and the word “Irishman” appears twice.
What I find especially striking about these allusions to the “Irish” or “Irishman” is how concentrated they all are within a very narrow band of time, one that stretched from about 1596 to 1599.
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/what-ish-my-nation-shakespeare-s-irish-connections-1.2619173
Shakespeare reflected the bigotry of his times- his anti-Jewish stance, his view of the Scots, Irish, Welsh. Remember his was a time when people were martyred, wars were fought for religion, empire, resources- as usual.
Have we changed? How much? Look at the bigotry about today. Still there. Better? I hope so.
Belladonna at 8.1.1 makes a very good final point. We do have to consider the 'tempora", the "mores" of the culture whence art came.
Just as we will be judged in the future for our cultural beliefs from transubstantiation to transgenderism.
Fair call Mac1. I misquoted Chris Trotter in his excellent article in which he said, England had no empire in Shakespeares time.
Happy to stand corrected.
https://www.interest.co.nz/public-policy/118041/only-excluding-cultural-achievements-past-arts-council-suggests-can-any
At the end of Trotter's article. he speaks of the essential humanity of Shakespeare's work which transcended time, place, country, even the imaginary and the fey.
From Greece, Italy, England, Scotland, France. from ancient times to the near present, from Fools to the foolish, from kings to paupers, across men and women and the fairy realm, from songs and poems to bawdy humour, Shakespeare's celebration and exposing of human greatness and weakness was sublime.
My daughter won a Sheila Winn trip to England which she did not take up. She is still involved in drama thirty years later, now as a director.
Her father played the Fool, Touchstone, singing his song "There was a Lover and his Lass" as a gospel-belter blues and delivered such lines of wisdom as this,"The more pity that fools may not speak wisely what wise men do foolishly."
Shakespeare was updated in Sheila Winn. My daughter won her prize playing Lady MacBeth who had a female husband, and her friend won best supporting actor as King Duncan, without saying a word.
Sheila Winn pushed boundaries, inspired careers, entertained and taught us all, as only the best art can.
Shakespeare gave us beautiful language, sayings, drama, humour, wisdom and sometimes a view of the world where the Fools were wise and the rest unaware of their shortcomings.
Shakespeare could well have said, had he spoken Māori, "Mā te wahine, mā te whenua, ka ngaro te tangata."
Kia ora mai tatou.
Wonderful to hear all that Mac 1.
That however is something that Ireland needs to sort with England. White people oppressing white people.
I doubt that whomever decided that Shakespeare needed to be 'decolonised' had Ireland in mind when they thought about 'decolonising'.
I posted this only 3 days ago, but of course you missed it:
https://creativenz.govt.nz/Funds-and-opportunities/Find-opportunities/Arts-Grants#how-applications-are-assessed
Many Public Good funders use this system of independent peer review to review grant funding applications in contestable funding rounds just as Creative NZ, which uses two assessors to review each application. I have never heard of a CEO of a funding agency being directly involved in the funding decisions of specific funding committees in their agency other than possibly signing off on them, which is or should be a mere formality.
Here’s a very good article on [the lack of] arts funding in NZ that also offers you some insights into the funding process:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/130193686/the-fuss-over-shakespeare-is-a-distraction-from-the-real-scandal-of-arts-funding
What do you mean Incognito "but of course you missed it". I probably did miss it. So what, there's a lot I miss on the Standard.
ARe the two assessors part of the 85 public servants employed at Creative NZ? If not who appointed the assessors? They are ideologically compromised and made a ignorant decision which has lead to a public outcry about both the decison and also the rationsale for the decision (de colonizing, imperialism). The CEO may sign off the decision (or not) but overall he is responsible. He has made our country look like a laughing stock has lead to the PM intervening to ensure Shakespeare continues. Ardern's intervention show what an absolutely stupid mistake these people have made.
You replied to my comment the first time: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15-10-2022/#comment-1915874
Nope, what do you think the italicised (twice) “external peer assessors” mean?
You seem to think that Creative NZ employed them as assessors. Often peer reviewers don’t receive anything. If they do need to attend meetings in person they’ll get travel costs reimbursed.
Wow! You’ve lost the plot there big time and now it is the CEO who is to blame. The reasons you make these outlandish claims are that you think he earns too much and you’re scapegoating. Shakespeare was never discontinued! Get a grip!
Nope, it doesn’t show that at all. It shows that Ardern disagreed with the decision by Creative NZ and was desperate enough to score some brownie points [no pun] with the public. Ardern is, of course, Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage and arts funding is piss poor in NZ.
Looks like the PM— who was a S-in-S participant herself has leaned on Chippie. As for Creative NZ= FFS Wellington Woke elite intellectuals totally out of sync,,, I saw some of the current crop of Maori stars on TV and film take their first steps on stage… you guessed it= S in S. No colonial oppression, just joy in giving something a go.
Happy Xmas–War (on COVID) is Over–Govt. waves the biggest white flag!
…just as another variant appears. Now there may be anti virals available, if you can actually see a doctor to get them, but some have health problems or social issues that make them more vulnerable.
Has Jacinda been spanked by the bankers and middle class focus groups again? It is such a shame after 2020’s amazing “public health before private profit” Jacinda.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/130205819/government-scraps-covid-powers-for-vaccine-mandates-gathering-limits-and-lockdowns?fbclid=IwAR3MOMc0NpTpx4vI9wSPxMcHsgNN_8PfmV5_6dip-4dexvNeg-z69H7EzSI
Sometimes Governments obtain special powers and never get around to revoking them, or remove some of citizens rights and don’t return them promptly, or ever. So in that respect the Labour Caucus has done well with these changes. But in terms of public health it sucks.
There must be an election coming!
With a majority in Parliament the Covid legislation can be put back in place – under urgency – when the 'powers' are wanted again.
ALL is smoke and mirrors ……
There must be an election coming!
Sooner than you think … in Hamilton West. Labours to lose.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/476899/gaurav-sharma-resigns-as-an-mp-months-after-expulsion-from-labour
Nah, Sharmas to lose, not Labour's. It was held by National for 4 election cycles prior to Sharma so hardly considered a Labour seat.
"…"Sharma said he intended to launch a "new centrist party" alongside the by-election, with a focus on "outcomes and action rather than on ideologies"…."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
The most pathetic thing is this guy actually seems to believe the bullshittery he constantly spouts.
He's now likely the only way Labour can get back into Hamilton: split vote.
Ye gods the guy is as daft as a brush.
However I'm pleased he is staying in politics.
I sure as shit wouldn't want him to be my GP or any body else's for that matter
Yeah, but let's look at the turnout. There will be a message in that, or not, for Labour?
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politics/former-labour-party-mp-gaurav-sharma-quits-parliament/
In fact, Jacinda, let's have an early election. More than a few people would be in favour of that. Save some money.
I think a snap election is Labour best chance at a third term. The polling trend is clear, the left are losing support and it is frankly not going to improve.
Go to the electorate now, whilst you are still a chance.
Wishful thinking – recall how the last NZ snap election worked out.
Imho, an obviously better option for NZ Labour is to make good use of their absolute parliamentary majority (unprecedented in the MMP era) for another year, which is a long time in politics if the fortunes of those financial wizards, the tax-cutting Tories are anything to go by.
Only if it's wildly different.
A new centrist party might be amusing, given that this one is unlikely to take much of a chunk out of Labour as it goes, the way Dunne & UF did.
Personally I'd be surprised if meaningful conclusions will come of it – though Sharma scraping in on National voter support is an outside possibility.
Hamilton West is pure bellwether, and goes according to the country. It went National four times 2008-2017 because National won the nationwide vote four times in a row.
Change parties?
Finally we get the SharmaSharmaSharmaDrama Sharma Chameleon.
He comes and goes, he comes and goes.
Groundswell and Voices For Freedom
Up in a tree
Otago Daily Times
·
SUBSCRIBER: A Groundswell NZ co-founder says the group has accepted Voices for Freedom’s support at this week’s planned protest, as long as the message remains clear.
Farmers rights and Medical rights movements in NZ. All is not well.
The message needs to remain clear at what stage? Has somebody finally figured out what the message was from February yet?
If I recall correctly it was Trevor Mallard must allow actual children to use his personal playground on parliament grounds.
I like the Herald's use of 'allegedly' and 'claimed' in its article about Sharma.
I remember well a mate finding out he'd been duped by someone, confronting them and saying very vehemently. "You lying little shit!"
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/former-labour-party-mp-gaurav-sharma-quits-parliament/M3FG6HNQPPYJYUTO4DDHVHV4UE/