Well, firstly, I try not who have sex with anyone who might make a complaint to police about it afterwards. So this involves me knowing them for a bit, making sure we're on the same page with what we want from the interaction, making sure they're not drunk/vulnerable/unconscious, that sort of thing.
Secondly, ongoing active consent is fun, not a legal excuse.
Thirdly, if someone wants to perjure themselves in order to invent a rape charge, the app isn't going to change anything in that regard. Every defensive tactic will just be attempted to be bypassed, just like rapists try to bypass every defensive tactic against rape.
The fact is that it always comes down to the specific circumstances of each situation. It's like asking how to defend oneself from a physical assault.
But it's not something you need to worry about immediately, which an assault is: act now or get thumped. You don't just have time to get an expert opinion, you can hire an expert to defend you: get a lawyer.
When the cops interview you, STFU. In an adversarial system, they are not your friend and anything you give them will only be used against you. Court is when you get to state your case.
But it's far more common to use that approach to introduce doubt about the fact that the consent was refused, rather than persuading beyond reasonable doubt that the consent (which had in reality been given) did not actually happen.
But the current situation in NZ is definitely weighted to being more problematic in one way (letting rapists pretend consent existed in order to avoid a guilty verdict or to avoid charges even being pressed) than the other (false complaints of rape resulting in an unjust rape conviction).
Fair enough, yet each one of those is essentially a form of contract, accompanied by a legal document. If I'm reading the above thread correctly – this has been explicitly rejected as 'mad'.
Not sure where this leaves us. Trials that hinge on 'he said, she said' are very unsatisfactory for all concerned. Yet when I read the entire article above
Fuller said his suggestion could gain popularity in time.
“To be honest with you, the app idea could be the worst idea I have in 2021, but the reality is in five years, perhaps it won’t be,” he said. “If you think about dating 10 years ago, this concept of single people swiping left and right was a term that we didn’t even know.”
The advice from McF above is perfectly fine if we could assume good faith, sound mind and good intentions – but people are not always like that.
Consent is an informal contract too. You don’t get to sign these contracts if you’re not sane of mind (or half-pissed or drugged), haven’t received or at least been offered professional advice, have not been properly informed (informed consent), and only in the presence of reliable witnesses who are also sane of mind and sober …
Oh, the signed piece of paper is kept in a safe place where it cannot be tempered with because it may be needed later, e.g. in Court …
Judith Collins tweets this morning "Our petition is working" which obviously refers to the petition she started a few days ago demanding that the "bubble" with Australia be opened immediately. I guess when you are polling as lowly as she is (and falling) you search for any crumb of comfort. The Government has been working continuously to find ways of safely opening the borders to Australians and Pacific Islanders. It would appear that the end of April could be a possibility but not certain. Sorry Judith, this would hardly signify "immediately".
I've noticed the nats have developed the ability to start demanding things that the government is going to do in the near future anyway? Then claim they had a win .
When your as fucking useless as they are(the nats that is) you gots to claim any little thing you can .
Asked what he would tell Mr Biden in response to his remarks, Mr Putin said: "I would tell him: 'Be well.' I wish him health, and I say that without any irony or joking."
Recalling his youth, Mr Putin said that he and his friends would respond to insults with the taunt: "The names you call are what you are yourself" — a Russian version of the childhood riposte, "I'm rubber, you're glue; what you say bounces off me and sticks to you."
"It's not just a rhymed childish joke; it has a deep psychological meaning: We see our own qualities in another person, we think he's like us and judge him accordingly," he added.
Thanks Francesca for trying to explain the point of what Putin said for some people not able to handle psychological subtleties. I think the Russians are winning this chess game. Next move Biden you nutmeister?
Calling all disabled people + those who love them. Time is running out to get your story in to hikoi4disabled@gmail. Stories will be read outside Parliment from 10:30am onwards on Tuesday 23rd March.
The purpose of this is to raise awareness of how systems such as welfare, health, housing, education are failing disabled people + highlight the lack of consultation which is still an issue.
Had the late Sir Owen's entire plan unfolded the scheme would have been extended to cover non injury/accident impairments. That would have been a step too far for ACC scheme and today we continue to have the obscene situation where a person disabled through absolutely no fault of their own has few rights and almost no entitlements compared to an ACC client (who in many cases knowingly took risks which led to their impairment).
Children born with spina bifida have no entitlement for MOH funding for supports, while the person paralysed as a result of a drunken car crash can claim entitlement to all manner of supports.
Today..the only real change for those not enjoying the entitlements of ACC is that now…and only after Te Virus struck…spouses and partners of someone with very high care needs (such as my partner with a C4/5 spinal injury) can be paid for the care we provide.
Just as well the extra $$$ are coming in from my wages, because we are now having to self- fund much more in the way of vital supplies and equipment.
Under the Ministry of Health…there is absolutely no entitlement whatsoever to receive Ministry funded supports/treatment. If they choose not to fund…there is little to no comeback.
The bastards keep disabled and their families in a constant state of insecurity.
Yes ACC could and should have been a great deal more ambitious than it has turned out.
We have an acquaintance here with significant head and upper body disabilities whose exact word to us were "NDIS has changed my life beyond all recognition". Another good friend who works professionally in this space describes it as a 'game changer'.
Again nothing is perfect, there will always be critics, but take another look at that link and consider if NZ couldn't do something like that. Or these kind of specialist housing options.
Everyone should feel included in our society and have access to opportunities. The Government has a responsibility to ensure disabled people can access their full and equal rights.
They can do this by setting up an independent regulatory body that is led and run by disabled people. This will enable a society where disabled people can be fully included to be able to fully participate.
There are many barriers disabled people face are because society is built inaccessibly. For too long disabled have been ignored and denied equitable access and it is long overdue to bring them in from the cold. If the Government was able to prioritise a Racing Ministry, why a regulatory body to oversee the rights and needs of disabled, led and run by disabled?
Please support our petition to help us gain full, non-disabling access to society. Remember disability is the only identity that does not discriminate.
Just as an aside – the first two units we built were done to a Universal Access standard, but when we tried to get HNZ interested at the time we just hit a brick wall.
Non-disabled tenants love them all the same, but it's one thing I've always been a bit disappointed about.
Needless to say we didn't go down the same path with the rest.
Good to read you actually built units to a Universal Access standard, and I just don't understand why all new builds (providing the site is suitable) are not thus constructed.
We've dealt with two builders over the past twenty regarding accessible build/renovation. An absolute bottomline, non negotiable condition is that all entrances are absolutely no-bump dead level. Sliding doors tracks do not have to sit proud of the floor…and twenty years ago we were able to sink those units into the slab. Just a few months ago we had to get quite stroppy with local joinery manufacturer in order to get the latest totally level entry profiles for our cottage renovation. Fellow was quite persistent that such a thing did not exist and was quite put out when I presented him with the opposition's pamphlet. Had he not been the builder's pet joinery supplier we would have told him to sling his hook. He simply had no desire to even think about meeting these access needs.
Even he was impressed with the results when the ranchslider units he had grudgingly made for us fitted perfectly and were fit for purpose. Hoping we helped raise his consciousness.
Tradies are like that; they tend to be good at what they know, and are often initially resistant to new things. Often for good reason, most new ideas turn out to be bad ones that cost them money.
Still if you can handhold them through the process like you did, it can work out just fine.
The idea of a National Disability Insurance Scheme was first raised at the Australia 2020 Summit in 2008. The following year, the Australian Government announced that the Productivity Commission would hold a public inquiry into a long term disability care and support scheme. The Commission handed down its report in 2011 which found that the disability system was underfunded, unfair, fragmented and inefficient and gave people with disability, their families and carers little choice and no certainty of access to appropriate supports (see Productivity Commission Report ).
In particular the principles are stated as:
The NDIS is a social insurance scheme, not a welfare system. The NDIS is based on the following four insurance principles:
the total annual funding base required by the NDIS is determined by an actuarial estimate of the reasonable and necessary support needs of the target population. The NDIS continually compares these estimates of utilisation and costs with actual experience and outcomes;
the NDIS takes a lifetime approach (i.e. seeks to minimise support costs over a participant's lifetime) by investing in people early to build their capacity to help them pursue their goals and aspirations resulting in greater outcomes later in life;
the NDIS will invest in research and encourage innovation; and
the NDIS has the ability to act at the systemic level, as well as fund individual support needs. This is especially important for people with disability who are not participants
Glad to see Marama Davidson has called out Nicola Willis on her recent remarks.
She took advantage of the murder of an English woman by a London cop and commented how she, too is afraid to walk around Central Wellington at night blah, blah blah.
What has the tragedy in London got to do with an entitled woman who would never need to walk any streets at nights, and then tries to blame her 'plight' on inner city emergency housing as if they're murderers and thieves:
Have to say I disagree Anne. Wellington use to feel really safe. Hospo industry was commenting recently how this has change. Same with at Te Aro park.
The inner city housing she may have been referring to was on the news one night and houses mostly people who are on probation. Wellington has also had problems with a gang called the nomads of late. Likely 501s play a roll.
I was glad Willis said something……………and I am absolutely no fan of Willis.
What is racist about what Nicola Willis said? She didn't mention any race did she? I think Marama needs to think before she speaks. Other than re-claiming the "C" word what has she achieved? Even the reporter asked if she had actually done any work in the last 5 months.
Not agreeing with you at all. Actually I think Marama Davison was opportunistic and tried the race card to get points from her supporters (whoever they are). This is a bully tactic. And all the while, just having meetings will not make a dent in the issue of homelessness. To have a reporter standing there with no answer to an important question of public interest, turning the back to them in arrogance is despicable. Perhaps we need to remind Mrs. Davidson who is paying her wages. Her position is not a right but a privilege. She was not voted in but appointed. Last time I looked, NZ was calling itself a democracy.
Where in the article does Willis say anything about race?
Pure dog whistle, cancel culture by Marama Davidson. She is hiding the fact that she has done absolutely sweet FA in here role and is been shown up as bloody useless.
She's using an incident in another country to ferment the racist tendencies of the law n' order brigade in NZ for political gain. Course she doesn't mention the word Maori, Pacific Islander, but the people she is talking to know what she is saying.
I would not walk along any inner city road at night on my own. Its common sense and goes without saying. So why did she say it?
By all means work to change things so that people can go walking at night and be safe, but tainting a whole race of people which is what she was snidely doing is not the way to go about it.
I would not walk along any inner city road at night on my own. Its common sense and goes without saying.
So. A person who walks along an inner city road at night on there own lacks common sense?
Hmmm. Victim blaming, much?
Davidson's reaction smacks of defensiveness. She damn well knows she's part of an administration that has done sweet FA to mitigate homelessness and the multitude of ills that accompany profound hopelessness.
Course she doesn't mention the word Maori, Pacific Islander, but the people she is talking to know what she is saying.
Interesting. We know Maori and Pasifika are over -represented in the homelessness stats and we all know that emergency housing seems to attract the negative attention of gangs who prey on vulnerable people. MSN has had numerous articles about this issue from Paihia to Auckland to Rotorua. Pointing out facts is not racist.
Davidson has again gone off at the mouth end without thinking first. She'd be better off putting her energies into fixing some of this shit.
Dog whistle: a subtly aimed political message which is intended for, and can only be understood by, a particular demographic group.
It seems you have things the wrong way around with your comment Pataua4life. Nicola Willis's comment appears to have been the dog whistle and Marama Davidson responded, presumably on the basis of demographic knowledge. Feel free to check out the facilities, establish the ethnicities of the people in the inner city emergency housing, then come back to provide evidence to prove Marama Davidson was wrong with her response.
aom……not a dog whistle but a real whistle in Wellington right now. I used to happily walk around Wellington Street in the city at night. Now,, not so much.
Glad if you now have a whistle to keep you safe in the city at night. Now all we have to worry about is you deafening some poor person who walks innocently past when you panic and blow it in their ear.
The primary purpose of housing the homeless is to improve the well-being of the homeless – it's not to make people like Willis feel safe. So she may simply be guilty of a sense of entitlement that places herself at the center of every calculation – scarcely a crime, but rather disqualifying in an aspiring politician.
Alternatively or additionally, she may be mischief-making. Trying to scare middle-class Wellingtonians into thinking the streets aren't safe and that they will be attacked by (it doesn't need spelling out) brown people. This would just be solid National Party 'laura norder' campaigning – a successful tactic with a long history. So nothing unexpected there.
Also – it's distinctly possible that homeless is making central Wellington objectively less safe. It's a bit on the nose for Willis, who belongs to a party that saw housing inequality and homelessness rise under their watch and now opposes any attempt to control the investor-driven demand side, to require an urgent solution. Arsonists don't get to call out the firemen – not even when the supposed firemen turn out to also be arsonists (as seems to be what is occurring)
Davidson's response is understandable because of this slather of entitlement, mischief-making and hypocrisy that surrounds what Willis is saying. But it's not helpful – because it takes the whole discussion into the swamp of unwinnable culture wars. Best to get on with trying to fix or reduce the core problem.
The primary reason for people to seek shelter is to be safe from the elements, have a safe place to sleep and live and raise our families in them.
The primary reason for a government to provide shelter/housing/food/social welfare etc for its citizen is to prevent social unrest.
So yes, it should be the primary reason for all of us to want others to be housed, well fed, well cared for so that we a;; can stay a peaceful nation that allows for all of us to be save and not scared of a mugging, assault, sexual assault or death.
And frankly we are doing a shitty job at housing us and preventing the resulting social unrest that comes with homelessness, hunger, poverty, and nothing to do all day long. And longterm that is going to be a problem for all of us, not just some women who works in Wellington and who does not feel safe anymore on her way home at night.
Davidson's response is understandable because of this slather of entitlement, mischief-making and hypocrisy that surrounds what Willis is saying. But it's not helpful – because it takes the whole discussion into the swamp of unwinnable culture wars. Best to get on with trying to fix or reduce the core problem.
Thank you AB, but fear it is a little too intelligent and insightful for the likes of P4l, David and Jimmy to comprehend.
Wow people…..A MP is talking about a real issue, i.e. not feeling safe walking in the CBD. The police report an increase in crime there (recent murder outside Te Papa) and hospo industry comment that they have never seen the levels in violence in the CBD like now. As a Wellington dweller I concur with this.
Talk about invalidation guys
Didn't appreciate your sarcasm, Aom, about me whistling at some innocent person. I was the victim of a nasty assault in a public place many years ago.
As I have said I don't have any time for Willis, but actually she is entitled to, I am entitled to and all women walking the streets in the CBD are entitled to feel safe……..otherwise what are we saying here? Too bad middle class women feel unsafe? Shame on all of you
As I have said I don't have any time for Willis, but actually she is entitled to, I am entitled to and all women walking the streets in the CBD are entitled to feel safe……..otherwise what are we saying here? Too bad middle class women feel unsafe? Shame on all of you
so good it had to be repeated. Thank you for pointing out that feeling safe has nothing to do with class, standing, race…………. Thanks.
Anker, if you read what I've actually said – including the initial comment which started this conversation – neither I or those who have effectively supported my claim are talking about the right of women to be safe in the streets. It goes without saying we all should be able to do so without fear.
We are talking about Willis using the occasion of a high profile murder case on the other side of the world to "dog whistle" for political gain.
AB puts it succinctly when he says:
The primary purpose of housing the homeless is to improve the well-being of the homeless – it's not to make people like Willis feel safe. So she may simply be guilty of a sense of entitlement that places herself at the center of every calculation – scarcely a crime, but rather disqualifying in an aspiring politician.
Alternatively or additionally, she may be mischief-making. Trying to scare middle-class Wellingtonians into thinking the streets aren't safe and that they will be attacked by (it doesn't need spelling out) brown people. This would just be solid National Party 'laura norder' campaigning – a successful tactic with a long history. So nothing unexpected there.
Personally I go with the latter but even if it was the former, it is bad form coming from an "aspiring to ultimate leadership" politician.
Marama Davidson was well within her rights to make the distinction and call Nicola Willis out.
Willis might have used the high profile case of the tragic murder in the UK. But actually many journos e.g. Rosemary McLeod and Verity Johnstone (I think that's her name) have written about that high profile case this week because sadly the situation where women feel unsafe is global. Can't think of anywhere in the world where women wouldn't share this fear.
Willis teamed that case up with violence in the CBD that seemed o.k. to me because there has been an increase in violence in Wellington, not just in the CBD but in a suburb not too far away from where I live in Wellington which is being attributed to a gang.
When I think of violence I always thing of men. And this is no difference.
I don't have much tolerance for violence whoever the perpertrator is. I appreciate the local MP raising it. It is her job to raise local issues and to challenge the Minister who I think has a portfolio around violence towards women……..
Marama is such an overworked MP as shown on the parliamentary website and perhaps a bit stressed, guess we have to cut her a bit of slack in her tweets shooting from the hip.
Compost has a good green sound about it so I don't think of waste from mining etc when I hear it mentioned. In Taranaki maybe I should. I think this is called 'greenwashing'.
It is seeking to renew consents to discharge to land, water and air, which lapsed about two years ago. It is still permitted to accept various waste at Uruti – including oil and gas drilling cuttings and drilling fluids – to either compost or use in worm farming.
"This has caused what's referred to in Remediation NZ's application as a 'legacy' issue, as they have been unable to sell this product off-site due to its association with drilling activities. "It also means that it has not produced any saleable compost from the site in the last 10 years, other than the vermicast."
Sarah Roberts from the environmental lobby group Taranaki Energy Watch was thankful the site stopped accepting oil and gas waste in December… "Conservatively 40,000 cubic metres of drilling materials came in, but for four or five years the council said there was very little record taking and so really the whole process of our submission is trying to find out what happened to it and what's going to happen to it?…
"I guess if you really looked at that drilling waste pile – more than 20,000 tonne – I guess you'd start to think this potentially looks more like a landfill than it does a composting facility.
Rare events, even so, but it does show how random buildings aren't entriely suited to quarantine facilities. There's the traffic/surface contacts, but also the quarantine rooms should really be negative-pressure environments instead of positive (i.e. draughts under doors, but the air is sucked out then filtered before release, rather than blown directly in and then sucked out of the hallway).
I know a government hotel system might be too much to ask in this era, but subsidising some hotels provided they meet MIQ adaptation standards could be an idea. This won't be the last time we have a global issue. Even if the country isn't fully cut off, having some quarantine beds for the next sars/ebola scare could be useful.
Agree with you on this one totally. Hotels located in urban areas are considerably less than ideal for the purpose. Quarantine stations used to be quite spartan affairs located well outside city or town boundaries.
Considering the on-going findings about Covid 19 and its possibility for return as later serious disease, the transmission of it should be a high concern to control. One idea that should be looked at is the closing of the lid of the toilet before flushing; the rush of water sprays up and there must be a small mix of droplets from the bowl. If there is some escape then it will hit at knee level not rise to the nose. It should be adopted as another limiting activity.
Well, it should be a concern for facility designers and operators. Not so much for anyone else (except, wear your masks).
The reason these instances don't have confirmed transmission avenues (it's a good hypothesis, maybe better than surface contact, but it's still not quite a slam dunk) is because their transmission avenue (no skin-skin contact or direct aerosol exposure) is relatively rare. It's big enough to be regularly attributable when we have hundreds or thousands of cases, but a few dozen cases at any one time? This form of transmission is not exactly a daily or weekly occurrence in NZ, and it's not frequent enough to keep an outbreak going by itself.
The main transmission avenues are sustained exposure in poorly venitlated and densely populated environments. Planes, bars, nightclubs, theatres, tour coachs, cruise ships, supermarkets, churches, schools.
The occasional case outside those areas is something to try to identify and eliminate, but not to the extent that normal folks lose sleep over it.
University of Canterbury education researcher David Pomeroy, who has done previous research on implicit racial bias in streaming of maths, was alarmed by the findings.
"I wanted to understand why students from different backgrounds – different ethnic, socioeconomic and gender backgrounds – seem to approach school subjects in such different ways and why we end up on such different paths depending on those backgrounds.
I wonder if he has been asking all the questions he needs to? Many of the young people might say they wanted to do what their friends and family do. In other words they choose to stay in a cohort that moves on together and does not wish to go on to more education other than a course aimed at immediate employment.
If parents don't see the advantages of further education, then that would mean less reason to consider it by the youngster. And the parents may feel they are being practical, that extra expense studying won't be met with a job in their area. Maybe study would take them away from their home area, and their family, and/or their friends and also the job, so they would break the family solidarity and mutual support.
I think that a package that a family signs up to, which would include a responsible employer in the district offering an apprenticeship to a young person who succeeded at a basic, starter course at 'tech and would then have proved their ability to learn and follow directions, and would be able to handle future block courses, would start more youngsters on the higher skills road.
And perhaps an adult course could be offered in computer use, reading and technical jargon, or cooking and health and exercise, for the parent would bring them into a learning circle, and more likely to think favourably of further training. The ideal would be to have a group of mothers and fathers from the area attending such courses, picked up by a small bus and dropped off home before school came out at no cost to them. Then whole families, even streets, could get into a different line of thinking; the tide would lift all boats sort of thing.
that extra expense studying won't be met with a job in their area
That's certainly been my experience – and I did read a paper on drivers of NZ suicide a while back, that pointed to chronic underemployment. I'm sure Stats are oblivious however. Stepping out of one's assigned class in a saturated job market not only won't get you a job, you'll get labeled a troublemaker.
What about the mothers. Where are our caring and responsible standards fro families especially mothers in NZ?? We are just a bunch of fudgers and liars I think. I'm so disappointed with this country and its attitudes that have deteriorated badly. Mothers particularly need more care so how about mother Jacinda?
Willis might have used the high profile case of the tragic murder in the UK. But actually many journos e.g. Rosemary McLeod and Verity Johnstone (I think that's her name) have written about that high profile case this week because sadly the situation where women feel unsafe is global. Can't think of anywhere in the world where women wouldn't share this fear.
Willis teamed that case up with violence in the CBD that seemed o.k. to me because there has been an increase in violence in Wellington, not just in the CBD but in a suburb not too far away from where I live in Wellington which is being attributed to a gang.
When I think of violence I always thing of men. And this is no difference.
I don't have much tolerance for violence whoever the perpetrator is. I appreciate the local MP raising it. It is her job to raise local issues and to challenge the Minister who I think has a portfolio around violence towards women……..
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Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
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What could possibly go wrong?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/300256453/australian-police-boss-suggests-app-to-prove-sexual-consent
unbelievably mad idea. Consent is not a contract.
Also how many abusers have access to/control over their victims phones?
yep.
Genuine question – how do you think people should go about establishing consent in a manner that will stand up in a Court?
Well, firstly, I try not who have sex with anyone who might make a complaint to police about it afterwards. So this involves me knowing them for a bit, making sure we're on the same page with what we want from the interaction, making sure they're not drunk/vulnerable/unconscious, that sort of thing.
Secondly, ongoing active consent is fun, not a legal excuse.
Thirdly, if someone wants to perjure themselves in order to invent a rape charge, the app isn't going to change anything in that regard. Every defensive tactic will just be attempted to be bypassed, just like rapists try to bypass every defensive tactic against rape.
Great advice to give to a 16yr old. But honestly I don't think it answers the question.
Well, it's an odd question.
The fact is that it always comes down to the specific circumstances of each situation. It's like asking how to defend oneself from a physical assault.
But it's not something you need to worry about immediately, which an assault is: act now or get thumped. You don't just have time to get an expert opinion, you can hire an expert to defend you: get a lawyer.
When the cops interview you, STFU. In an adversarial system, they are not your friend and anything you give them will only be used against you. Court is when you get to state your case.
But it's far more common to use that approach to introduce doubt about the fact that the consent was refused, rather than persuading beyond reasonable doubt that the consent (which had in reality been given) did not actually happen.
Yup … all kinds of problematic every way you look at it.
But the current situation in NZ is definitely weighted to being more problematic in one way (letting rapists pretend consent existed in order to avoid a guilty verdict or to avoid charges even being pressed) than the other (false complaints of rape resulting in an unjust rape conviction).
In the same way they get married, write a will, or apply for euthanasia. I think having sex is a more than appropriate fit with these.
Fair enough, yet each one of those is essentially a form of contract, accompanied by a legal document. If I'm reading the above thread correctly – this has been explicitly rejected as 'mad'.
Not sure where this leaves us. Trials that hinge on 'he said, she said' are very unsatisfactory for all concerned. Yet when I read the entire article above
The advice from McF above is perfectly fine if we could assume good faith, sound mind and good intentions – but people are not always like that.
Consent is an informal contract too. You don’t get to sign these contracts if you’re not sane of mind (or half-pissed or drugged), haven’t received or at least been offered professional advice, have not been properly informed (informed consent), and only in the presence of reliable witnesses who are also sane of mind and sober …
Oh, the signed piece of paper is kept in a safe place where it cannot be tempered with because it may be needed later, e.g. in Court …
You asked, I answered.
So… Cherry 2000 with apps instead of lawyers. Dude is repeating 35 year old tropes that were stupid at the time.
But congrats to him for making a 1980s hollywood vision of the future marginally less inaccurate.
Judith Collins tweets this morning "Our petition is working" which obviously refers to the petition she started a few days ago demanding that the "bubble" with Australia be opened immediately. I guess when you are polling as lowly as she is (and falling) you search for any crumb of comfort. The Government has been working continuously to find ways of safely opening the borders to Australians and Pacific Islanders. It would appear that the end of April could be a possibility but not certain. Sorry Judith, this would hardly signify "immediately".
I've noticed the nats have developed the ability to start demanding things that the government is going to do in the near future anyway? Then claim they had a win .
When your as fucking useless as they are(the nats that is) you gots to claim any little thing you can .
Biden in a deft move of deeply considered international diplomacy suggests "Putin has no Soul" and is a "Killer"…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xa0YVmXXXU
Putin responds by suggesting that Biden is projecting his inner self..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySix1puDlCQ
Both Correct!
Soon the anti-war activists will be saying 'bring back Trump!".
Well. Biden's first act was, bombing Syria.
@ Chris, So are you a pro-war activist, or are you just on the fence when it comes to war?
So Putin openly admits that he is a killer.
Except that's not what Putin actually said
Recalling his youth, Mr Putin said that he and his friends would respond to insults with the taunt: "The names you call are what you are yourself" — a Russian version of the childhood riposte, "I'm rubber, you're glue; what you say bounces off me and sticks to you."
"It's not just a rhymed childish joke; it has a deep psychological meaning: We see our own qualities in another person, we think he's like us and judge him accordingly," he added.
Typical to accept the western interpretation as the actual source
Thanks Francesca for trying to explain the point of what Putin said for some people not able to handle psychological subtleties. I think the Russians are winning this chess game. Next move Biden you nutmeister?
The beginning of wisdom is calling things by their right names. Confucius
Calling all disabled people + those who love them. Time is running out to get your story in to hikoi4disabled@gmail. Stories will be read outside Parliment from 10:30am onwards on Tuesday 23rd March.
The purpose of this is to raise awareness of how systems such as welfare, health, housing, education are failing disabled people + highlight the lack of consultation which is still an issue.
This is one area where Australia seems well ahead of NZ.
While I'm sure like anything else it has it's critics, the Aussie NDIS scheme simply has no equivalent in NZ.
…the Aussie NDIS scheme simply has no equivalent in NZ.
It does have an equivalent here in NZ…and I recall the NDIS system was modeled on the same.
We call it the Accident Compensation Corporation.
Had the late Sir Owen's entire plan unfolded the scheme would have been extended to cover non injury/accident impairments. That would have been a step too far for ACC scheme and today we continue to have the obscene situation where a person disabled through absolutely no fault of their own has few rights and almost no entitlements compared to an ACC client (who in many cases knowingly took risks which led to their impairment).
Children born with spina bifida have no entitlement for MOH funding for supports, while the person paralysed as a result of a drunken car crash can claim entitlement to all manner of supports.
This 2013 paper, released after a joint ACC/Ministry of Health Spinal Cord impairment strategy compares ACC supports (and conditions for receiving them) with the paltry crumbs from MOH for the same disability.( Page 83 onwards for those bothered to read it.)
Today..the only real change for those not enjoying the entitlements of ACC is that now…and only after Te Virus struck…spouses and partners of someone with very high care needs (such as my partner with a C4/5 spinal injury) can be paid for the care we provide.
Just as well the extra $$$ are coming in from my wages, because we are now having to self- fund much more in the way of vital supplies and equipment.
Under the Ministry of Health…there is absolutely no entitlement whatsoever to receive Ministry funded supports/treatment. If they choose not to fund…there is little to no comeback.
The bastards keep disabled and their families in a constant state of insecurity.
Yes ACC could and should have been a great deal more ambitious than it has turned out.
We have an acquaintance here with significant head and upper body disabilities whose exact word to us were "NDIS has changed my life beyond all recognition". Another good friend who works professionally in this space describes it as a 'game changer'.
Again nothing is perfect, there will always be critics, but take another look at that link and consider if NZ couldn't do something like that. Or these kind of specialist housing options.
If you have a link to a press release I can put it up as a post. Or if someone has written about this and is happy for me to cross post to TS.
Hi Kay, thanks for reminiding us about this.
Here's the Action Station page which gives some more detail about the hikoi and the overall aims…
https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/disabled-people-deserve-their-full-equitable-rights-1?source=facebook-share-button&time=1615161007&utm_source=facebook&share=e9987f8b-c702-4663-9ed0-e6291e340573&fbclid=IwAR3hRt1-_3AKdoM0Gbb1H6oIRvbt6cxBchuhZkDhWrnhVQisUp15xz9v46I
Why is this important?
Everyone should feel included in our society and have access to opportunities. The Government has a responsibility to ensure disabled people can access their full and equal rights.
They can do this by setting up an independent regulatory body that is led and run by disabled people. This will enable a society where disabled people can be fully included to be able to fully participate.
There are many barriers disabled people face are because society is built inaccessibly. For too long disabled have been ignored and denied equitable access and it is long overdue to bring them in from the cold. If the Government was able to prioritise a Racing Ministry, why a regulatory body to oversee the rights and needs of disabled, led and run by disabled?
Please support our petition to help us gain full, non-disabling access to society. Remember disability is the only identity that does not discriminate.
Just as an aside – the first two units we built were done to a Universal Access standard, but when we tried to get HNZ interested at the time we just hit a brick wall.
Non-disabled tenants love them all the same, but it's one thing I've always been a bit disappointed about.
Needless to say we didn't go down the same path with the rest.
Good to read you actually built units to a Universal Access standard, and I just don't understand why all new builds (providing the site is suitable) are not thus constructed.
We've dealt with two builders over the past twenty regarding accessible build/renovation. An absolute bottomline, non negotiable condition is that all entrances are absolutely no-bump dead level. Sliding doors tracks do not have to sit proud of the floor…and twenty years ago we were able to sink those units into the slab. Just a few months ago we had to get quite stroppy with local joinery manufacturer in order to get the latest totally level entry profiles for our cottage renovation. Fellow was quite persistent that such a thing did not exist and was quite put out when I presented him with the opposition's pamphlet. Had he not been the builder's pet joinery supplier we would have told him to sling his hook. He simply had no desire to even think about meeting these access needs.
Even he was impressed with the results when the ranchslider units he had grudgingly made for us fitted perfectly and were fit for purpose. Hoping we helped raise his consciousness.
Now check this out.
Tradies are like that; they tend to be good at what they know, and are often initially resistant to new things. Often for good reason, most new ideas turn out to be bad ones that cost them money.
Still if you can handhold them through the process like you did, it can work out just fine.
Thanks! I forgot about the petition.
Sorry to keep banging on about the Australian NDIS but I strongly suggest NZ activists in this space take a closer look at it where it came from and the principles that motivate it:
In particular the principles are stated as:
The NDIS is a social insurance scheme, not a welfare system. The NDIS is based on the following four insurance principles:
Glad to see Marama Davidson has called out Nicola Willis on her recent remarks.
She took advantage of the murder of an English woman by a London cop and commented how she, too is afraid to walk around Central Wellington at night blah, blah blah.
What has the tragedy in London got to do with an entitled woman who would never need to walk any streets at nights, and then tries to blame her 'plight' on inner city emergency housing as if they're murderers and thieves:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/nationals-nicola-willis-and-greens-co-leader-marama-davidson-clash-over-racist-accusation/5T7FZ3JHMIBFEQJCERIUVYZIQQ/
Painting a picture of inner city criminal mayhem by the homeless in particular.
Yep. Its racism and classism. of the worst kind.
Have to say I disagree Anne. Wellington use to feel really safe. Hospo industry was commenting recently how this has change. Same with at Te Aro park.
The inner city housing she may have been referring to was on the news one night and houses mostly people who are on probation. Wellington has also had problems with a gang called the nomads of late. Likely 501s play a roll.
I was glad Willis said something……………and I am absolutely no fan of Willis.
I think the deflected was from Davison
What is racist about what Nicola Willis said? She didn't mention any race did she? I think Marama needs to think before she speaks. Other than re-claiming the "C" word what has she achieved? Even the reporter asked if she had actually done any work in the last 5 months.
Not agreeing with you at all. Actually I think Marama Davison was opportunistic and tried the race card to get points from her supporters (whoever they are). This is a bully tactic. And all the while, just having meetings will not make a dent in the issue of homelessness. To have a reporter standing there with no answer to an important question of public interest, turning the back to them in arrogance is despicable. Perhaps we need to remind Mrs. Davidson who is paying her wages. Her position is not a right but a privilege. She was not voted in but appointed. Last time I looked, NZ was calling itself a democracy.
Where in the article does Willis say anything about race?
Pure dog whistle, cancel culture by Marama Davidson. She is hiding the fact that she has done absolutely sweet FA in here role and is been shown up as bloody useless.
Agree. Deflect, deflect, deflect.
Willis is the one who is dog whistling.
She's using an incident in another country to ferment the racist tendencies of the law n' order brigade in NZ for political gain. Course she doesn't mention the word Maori, Pacific Islander, but the people she is talking to know what she is saying.
I would not walk along any inner city road at night on my own. Its common sense and goes without saying. So why did she say it?
By all means work to change things so that people can go walking at night and be safe, but tainting a whole race of people which is what she was snidely doing is not the way to go about it.
I would not walk along any inner city road at night on my own. Its common sense and goes without saying.
So. A person who walks along an inner city road at night on there own lacks common sense?
Hmmm. Victim blaming, much?
Davidson's reaction smacks of defensiveness. She damn well knows she's part of an administration that has done sweet FA to mitigate homelessness and the multitude of ills that accompany profound hopelessness.
Course she doesn't mention the word Maori, Pacific Islander, but the people she is talking to know what she is saying.
Interesting. We know Maori and Pasifika are over -represented in the homelessness stats and we all know that emergency housing seems to attract the negative attention of gangs who prey on vulnerable people. MSN has had numerous articles about this issue from Paihia to Auckland to Rotorua. Pointing out facts is not racist.
Davidson has again gone off at the mouth end without thinking first. She'd be better off putting her energies into fixing some of this shit.
Anne, I think you just try to justify the indefensible.
And I think you're not reading comments properly or you don't grasp the nuances Willis is using to create political mischief.
Dog whistle: a subtly aimed political message which is intended for, and can only be understood by, a particular demographic group.
It seems you have things the wrong way around with your comment Pataua4life. Nicola Willis's comment appears to have been the dog whistle and Marama Davidson responded, presumably on the basis of demographic knowledge. Feel free to check out the facilities, establish the ethnicities of the people in the inner city emergency housing, then come back to provide evidence to prove Marama Davidson was wrong with her response.
aom……not a dog whistle but a real whistle in Wellington right now. I used to happily walk around Wellington Street in the city at night. Now,, not so much.
Glad if you now have a whistle to keep you safe in the city at night. Now all we have to worry about is you deafening some poor person who walks innocently past when you panic and blow it in their ear.
@ aom
The primary purpose of housing the homeless is to improve the well-being of the homeless – it's not to make people like Willis feel safe. So she may simply be guilty of a sense of entitlement that places herself at the center of every calculation – scarcely a crime, but rather disqualifying in an aspiring politician.
Alternatively or additionally, she may be mischief-making. Trying to scare middle-class Wellingtonians into thinking the streets aren't safe and that they will be attacked by (it doesn't need spelling out) brown people. This would just be solid National Party 'laura norder' campaigning – a successful tactic with a long history. So nothing unexpected there.
Also – it's distinctly possible that homeless is making central Wellington objectively less safe. It's a bit on the nose for Willis, who belongs to a party that saw housing inequality and homelessness rise under their watch and now opposes any attempt to control the investor-driven demand side, to require an urgent solution. Arsonists don't get to call out the firemen – not even when the supposed firemen turn out to also be arsonists (as seems to be what is occurring)
Davidson's response is understandable because of this slather of entitlement, mischief-making and hypocrisy that surrounds what Willis is saying. But it's not helpful – because it takes the whole discussion into the swamp of unwinnable culture wars. Best to get on with trying to fix or reduce the core problem.
The primary reason for people to seek shelter is to be safe from the elements, have a safe place to sleep and live and raise our families in them.
The primary reason for a government to provide shelter/housing/food/social welfare etc for its citizen is to prevent social unrest.
So yes, it should be the primary reason for all of us to want others to be housed, well fed, well cared for so that we a;; can stay a peaceful nation that allows for all of us to be save and not scared of a mugging, assault, sexual assault or death.
And frankly we are doing a shitty job at housing us and preventing the resulting social unrest that comes with homelessness, hunger, poverty, and nothing to do all day long. And longterm that is going to be a problem for all of us, not just some women who works in Wellington and who does not feel safe anymore on her way home at night.
Thank you AB, but fear it is a little too intelligent and insightful for the likes of P4l, David and Jimmy to comprehend.
Wow people…..A MP is talking about a real issue, i.e. not feeling safe walking in the CBD. The police report an increase in crime there (recent murder outside Te Papa) and hospo industry comment that they have never seen the levels in violence in the CBD like now. As a Wellington dweller I concur with this.
Talk about invalidation guys
Didn't appreciate your sarcasm, Aom, about me whistling at some innocent person. I was the victim of a nasty assault in a public place many years ago.
so good it had to be repeated. Thank you for pointing out that feeling safe has nothing to do with class, standing, race…………. Thanks.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/the-story-i-couldnt-write-why-sarah-everards-death-shook-women-to-their-core/DPX5K7AMQLSZNG56NGNAX42J6M/
Thanks so much Sabine. An article about women feeling unsafe and it does refer to the woman who was murdered in the UK.
Anker, if you read what I've actually said – including the initial comment which started this conversation – neither I or those who have effectively supported my claim are talking about the right of women to be safe in the streets. It goes without saying we all should be able to do so without fear.
We are talking about Willis using the occasion of a high profile murder case on the other side of the world to "dog whistle" for political gain.
AB puts it succinctly when he says:
Personally I go with the latter but even if it was the former, it is bad form coming from an "aspiring to ultimate leadership" politician.
Marama Davidson was well within her rights to make the distinction and call Nicola Willis out.
Willis might have used the high profile case of the tragic murder in the UK. But actually many journos e.g. Rosemary McLeod and Verity Johnstone (I think that's her name) have written about that high profile case this week because sadly the situation where women feel unsafe is global. Can't think of anywhere in the world where women wouldn't share this fear.
Willis teamed that case up with violence in the CBD that seemed o.k. to me because there has been an increase in violence in Wellington, not just in the CBD but in a suburb not too far away from where I live in Wellington which is being attributed to a gang.
When I think of violence I always thing of men. And this is no difference.
I don't have much tolerance for violence whoever the perpertrator is. I appreciate the local MP raising it. It is her job to raise local issues and to challenge the Minister who I think has a portfolio around violence towards women……..
Marama is such an overworked MP as shown on the parliamentary website and perhaps a bit stressed, guess we have to cut her a bit of slack in her tweets shooting from the hip.
lol your angle a few hours didn't work, so now you're concerned. Deary me.
Huh???
Marama could never be accused of being the hardest working MP in Parliament!
You’re definitely not wrong there.
Compost has a good green sound about it so I don't think of waste from mining etc when I hear it mentioned. In Taranaki maybe I should. I think this is called 'greenwashing'.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/438713/compost-firm-stockpiles-20-000-tonnes-of-contaminated-waste
Remediation NZ is part of the Revital Group that produces compost and vermiculture products – many of them Biogro-certified.
It is seeking to renew consents to discharge to land, water and air, which lapsed about two years ago.
It is still permitted to accept various waste at Uruti – including oil and gas drilling cuttings and drilling fluids – to either compost or use in worm farming.
"This has caused what's referred to in Remediation NZ's application as a 'legacy' issue, as they have been unable to sell this product off-site due to its association with drilling activities.
"It also means that it has not produced any saleable compost from the site in the last 10 years, other than the vermicast."
Sarah Roberts from the environmental lobby group Taranaki Energy Watch was thankful the site stopped accepting oil and gas waste in December…
"Conservatively 40,000 cubic metres of drilling materials came in, but for four or five years the council said there was very little record taking and so really the whole process of our submission is trying to find out what happened to it and what's going to happen to it?…
"I guess if you really looked at that drilling waste pile – more than 20,000 tonne – I guess you'd start to think this potentially looks more like a landfill than it does a composting facility.
Interesting – the button/rubbish bin transmissions in MIQ might actually have been rare micro-aerosol transmission.
Rare events, even so, but it does show how random buildings aren't entriely suited to quarantine facilities. There's the traffic/surface contacts, but also the quarantine rooms should really be negative-pressure environments instead of positive (i.e. draughts under doors, but the air is sucked out then filtered before release, rather than blown directly in and then sucked out of the hallway).
I know a government hotel system might be too much to ask in this era, but subsidising some hotels provided they meet MIQ adaptation standards could be an idea. This won't be the last time we have a global issue. Even if the country isn't fully cut off, having some quarantine beds for the next sars/ebola scare could be useful.
Agree with you on this one totally. Hotels located in urban areas are considerably less than ideal for the purpose. Quarantine stations used to be quite spartan affairs located well outside city or town boundaries.
Northern Territories repurposed an unused mine camp with great success.
It's worked very well for them.
Considering the on-going findings about Covid 19 and its possibility for return as later serious disease, the transmission of it should be a high concern to control. One idea that should be looked at is the closing of the lid of the toilet before flushing; the rush of water sprays up and there must be a small mix of droplets from the bowl. If there is some escape then it will hit at knee level not rise to the nose. It should be adopted as another limiting activity.
Mar.11/21 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/responder-stories/revealing-many-faces-covid19.html
Jul.9/20 https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/diagnostics/scientists-warn-of-potential-wave-of-covid-linked-brain-damage/76871205
Well, it should be a concern for facility designers and operators. Not so much for anyone else (except, wear your masks).
The reason these instances don't have confirmed transmission avenues (it's a good hypothesis, maybe better than surface contact, but it's still not quite a slam dunk) is because their transmission avenue (no skin-skin contact or direct aerosol exposure) is relatively rare. It's big enough to be regularly attributable when we have hundreds or thousands of cases, but a few dozen cases at any one time? This form of transmission is not exactly a daily or weekly occurrence in NZ, and it's not frequent enough to keep an outbreak going by itself.
The main transmission avenues are sustained exposure in poorly venitlated and densely populated environments. Planes, bars, nightclubs, theatres, tour coachs, cruise ships, supermarkets, churches, schools.
The occasional case outside those areas is something to try to identify and eliminate, but not to the extent that normal folks lose sleep over it.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/438727/teens-dreams-limited-by-gender-racial-stereotypes-study
University of Canterbury education researcher David Pomeroy, who has done previous research on implicit racial bias in streaming of maths, was alarmed by the findings.
"I wanted to understand why students from different backgrounds – different ethnic, socioeconomic and gender backgrounds – seem to approach school subjects in such different ways and why we end up on such different paths depending on those backgrounds.
I wonder if he has been asking all the questions he needs to? Many of the young people might say they wanted to do what their friends and family do. In other words they choose to stay in a cohort that moves on together and does not wish to go on to more education other than a course aimed at immediate employment.
If parents don't see the advantages of further education, then that would mean less reason to consider it by the youngster. And the parents may feel they are being practical, that extra expense studying won't be met with a job in their area. Maybe study would take them away from their home area, and their family, and/or their friends and also the job, so they would break the family solidarity and mutual support.
I think that a package that a family signs up to, which would include a responsible employer in the district offering an apprenticeship to a young person who succeeded at a basic, starter course at 'tech and would then have proved their ability to learn and follow directions, and would be able to handle future block courses, would start more youngsters on the higher skills road.
And perhaps an adult course could be offered in computer use, reading and technical jargon, or cooking and health and exercise, for the parent would bring them into a learning circle, and more likely to think favourably of further training. The ideal would be to have a group of mothers and fathers from the area attending such courses, picked up by a small bus and dropped off home before school came out at no cost to them. Then whole families, even streets, could get into a different line of thinking; the tide would lift all boats sort of thing.
that extra expense studying won't be met with a job in their area
That's certainly been my experience – and I did read a paper on drivers of NZ suicide a while back, that pointed to chronic underemployment. I'm sure Stats are oblivious however. Stepping out of one's assigned class in a saturated job market not only won't get you a job, you'll get labeled a troublemaker.
What about the mothers. Where are our caring and responsible standards fro families especially mothers in NZ?? We are just a bunch of fudgers and liars I think. I'm so disappointed with this country and its attitudes that have deteriorated badly. Mothers particularly need more care so how about mother Jacinda?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/438737/better-postnatal-care-petition-closes-with-55-000-signatures
Willis might have used the high profile case of the tragic murder in the UK. But actually many journos e.g. Rosemary McLeod and Verity Johnstone (I think that's her name) have written about that high profile case this week because sadly the situation where women feel unsafe is global. Can't think of anywhere in the world where women wouldn't share this fear.
Willis teamed that case up with violence in the CBD that seemed o.k. to me because there has been an increase in violence in Wellington, not just in the CBD but in a suburb not too far away from where I live in Wellington which is being attributed to a gang.
When I think of violence I always thing of men. And this is no difference.
I don't have much tolerance for violence whoever the perpetrator is. I appreciate the local MP raising it. It is her job to raise local issues and to challenge the Minister who I think has a portfolio around violence towards women……..
If I have misunderstood you I apologise