Once all the seperated families have been reunited, will Trans- Tasman travel return to pre-pandemic business as usual levels?
Or will the public be left with a $1.5 billion stranded asset?
<
blockquote>
Alethea Warrington, campaigner at climate action charity Possible, when speaking to Reuters. “This polling shows that after a year of quick and easy virtual meetings, travellers aren’t planning to go back to business as usual.”
The UK’s aviation sector has been decimated by the pandemic, with Heathrow – the UK’s largest airport – seeing its passenger numbers slide by 72.2 per cent in 2020 from the year before.
International Air Transport Association analysts have forecasted that despite the Covid-19 vaccines and testing procedures rolling out worldwide, the recovery of demand for air travel may not reach pre-crisis levels until 2024.
While this estimate would imply that the aviation sector just needs to hold on for a few years until it can return to growth, the attitudes presented in the latest survey suggests a full recovery could take longer.
The weakest link is that the flight crew can still work on low risk routes and then work on the trans – Tasman bubble. I would have just had a trans – Tasman flight crew.
To have green flights but not green flight crews is asking for it.
Why do you keep doing this? Give us a reason, based on your personal analysis of the content, why we should click on this and read and listen to this podcast if not for any other reason because you believe for some reason that some guy is somehow wonderful and the sun shines out of his arse?
Oh yes, wonderful indeed. The man who delivered us George Bush the Lesser, better known as Shrub. Without Mr Nader, convergence moonbats would have had to work so much harder to find things to feed their eternal grievance complexes. Or not.
The man who delivered us George Bush the Lesser, better known as Shrub.
Nader was on the Supreme Court, was he? Or was he dressed up as Democratic Party strategic mastermind Warren Christopher, who decided not to be unsporting and insist on a full recount of the Florida votes?
I'd like to give a little shoutout to Sabine this morning. Sabine has been so dogged in her highlighting of the social housing and poverty issues in Rotorua.
I swear I complain so little about the media, but even RNZ this morning had two reporters from their Wellington office declaring at length how excited they were to be at the airport waiting to get on their Australian flights this morning …
… and yet it was just one guy who owned a bar in Rotorua on RNZ this morning who was able to talk about the Mongrel Mob colours proudly displayed in Rotorua shop windows, drug deals done in daylight, children running around at night, and a general fear for the future of Rotorua due to the huge levels of poor people stuck in low-end motels due to shortages of public housing.
It was like RNZ was sticking up gleefuly for the middle class who could afford to fly, while it relegated time spent on the degradation of the poor and working class in Rotorua.
There are plenty like Sonja Davies who took Labour to task in years gone by for similar issues, so keep it up Sabine.
There is a strong connection between emergency housing and the health care of those in emergency housing. Both are a crisis. This can also be said for others who can hardly afford the rent or find it hard to access or afford health care.
The issue is everywhere not just in Rotorua and an everywhere solution needs to be a priority.
Agree Sabine does good work on poverty and housing….but when I suggested that the Greens had the solution with their Wealth Tax that would raise 7.9 billion dollars annually specifically to tackle poverty she told me it wasn't about political parties….sorry Sabine that is exactly what it is about….who we vote for counts
We've got a Labour-dominated government for three terms at least, and there's no way around the Greens being a small and shrinking field of influence within that. Unlikely to change even in 2026. Both major parties will actively stop a Wealth Tax. The best chance of influence is from within Labour.
Ad-I disagree. With (entirely feasible) numbers like this at the next election:
Lab 44 Greens 9 MP 2 Nats 35 ACT 8 Others 2
the Greens would have a great deal of influence. I notice the Greens are polling 8% in the UK at the moment in the latest poll which is historically very high.
They got about the same last year and have fuck-all influence in this government.
And even if they improved slightly, they would not get their Wealth Tax up there with tall boots, spandex, a brisk following wind, a long pole and a cape.
We had three years of a coalition that got us very little in terms a solution to our homeless and poverty issue, heck it is an issue that is growing out of proportions every day.
We have a pandemic that still does not scare polititians into doing the right thing by those that need public assistance
When the Greens pay attention to who runs as a potential candidate and when they maybe start putting in a bit of work into the rural areas then maybe they become part of the solution, atm they are not. Not here in Rotorua anyways.
Last, this is not an issue of Rotorua, or Auckland, i advocate for those that live where i live, as charity always begins at home. But in reality, Rotorua is any other town, the only difference are the homeless that get send here by Winz. They sadly get stuck, we no option of housing or jobs, and yes Virginia the Government is really not here to help.
The woman who tweeted this has locked her account for a bit so cut and pasting.
I don’t think it’s possible to overestimate how angry women are about this, but certainly some people seem to be missing the fact. NZ govt is moving on gender self ID this year, so it’s useful to follow what is happening in the UK.
'Police Scotland said that if a rape or attempted rape was perpetrated by a “male who self-identifies as a woman . . . the male who self-identifies as a woman would be expected to be recorded as a female on relevant police systems.'
'Campaigners claim that the position could lead to a “distortion” in society’s understanding of crime and the measures needed to tackle it. They also say the policy is at odds with what Humza Yousaf, the justice secretary, has said should be legal proof that a suspect is female.'
'The issue..follows concern over moves by public bodies to “erase” biological sex data from official records…Dr Kath Murray, of the policy analysts Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, said that a person’s sex at birth was hugely relevant information in the case of rape.'
This is the bit which is said to be a contradiction: 'In answer to a written query from Johann Lamont MSP, [Humza Yousaf] said a person born male would need a full gender recognition certificate for that person to be statistically recorded as having committed rape.', in a ->
..letter apparently seen by the Times.
Finally 'the Scottish government declined to comment, saying that “this is a matter for Police Scotland”.'
Gender self identification is an issue that Judith Collins should start speaking against. A friend and I were discussing this last week and we decided after all of our years of voting on the left we were now unable so, due to both Labour and the Greens supporting gender self identification. I wonder how Jacinda will feel when Neve finds out she has to compete with boys who say they are girls on the sports field at school and it is because her mother was trying to be "nice" to transgenders. Sex and gender are not interchangeable. Now I await the backlash.
Because the issue is quite concerning legally and in that case criminally.
Gender identification seem to be a "trendy" issue these days and it is not ever mentioned that a child/young person has already enough to work through with their hormone level change and the psychological component. This is not just on that rare occasion where a person identifies to the opposite gender and seeks a solution to this undoubtedly very difficult situation. It is something that will not necessarily discussed in schools and parents are sometimes unable to deal with those issues that are being portrait as an all compassing societal theme but are not. But it impact right into their home life.
Criminally speaking, this needs redefinition. Rape has been identified with a specific gender, but without going into details, injuries can be caused in all sorts of manner as we have seen in those cases in India.
Culturally it means that many people see this as an affront, insensitive to their believe system and a gross intrusion on their identification within a group affiliation.
Many seem to think this can be legislated but all it does is creating clusters and separation in communities.
So, no I don't agree with just denying a voice and walk away in the believe that anyone being in disagreement is a troll. I think it needs a bit more thought.
At no time did or do I agree with having our PMs daughter involved in any discussion. But this is a separate issue and no it will not involve you with a troll as you mentioned.
The gender ID however is quite a serious one and should be discussed in the open instead of giving the impression that it is a given that we now identify with 16 of them. It is completely unacceptable to have this kind of social engineering imposed as if this is the norm.
edit
Janice you raise clear questions in trying to cut through this melee' of sex identification which puzzles me. I think it is being raised as a result of our society's norms being upended by various political and financial ploys as those actors advance their own psychopathological obsessions with achieving a false self, based on consumption and constant self-adulation.
This relentless pursuit feeds off but also back into society and its culture, and has the effect of diminishing the self-image of the rest of us. Then the choice seems either follow the same self-interested pattern, or cast around for a different, seemingly better self-image to shelter behind.
Under English law (and I presume Scottish law also), a female cannot be charged with rape, only with sexual assault ('penetration' being a requisite in England for the charge of rape).
By self identifying as a female, presumably the alleged perpetrator will limit the maximum sentence they will be liable to.
Also note that in the UK if a male rapist self IDs as a woman (ie tells the justice system they are, doesn’t have to have transitioned), then the woman who was raped can be compelled in court to refer to the rapist as she. This is rape culture, institutionally abusive and retraumatising. That this is sanctioned by some on the left is unconscionable and needs addressing as to why.
The self-identification bill coming up was pushed by Genter from last term and is seriously dividing multiple activist groups in both women and LGBT groups in Auckland.
The bill and its impact needs a post by itself. Bags not.
Self-identification as anything seems inadequate for legal purposes – though I think we can fairly safely tolerate, accept or indulge it (depending on our disposition) in normal social interactions.
If I self-identify as a hippopotamus, a creature unable to form 'intent' of any sort, do I then get away with killing someone? Some form of expert corroboration (insofar as anybody is actually an expert on his) seems to be desirable in legal settings.
No – just someone more knowledgeable than ourselves (quite a large pool). And the legal system frequently resorts to expert testimony because it has no alternative that creates a similarly convincing feeling of objectivity.
If I self-identify as a hippopotamus, a creature unable to form 'intent' of any sort, do I then get away with killing someone? Some form of expert corroboration (insofar as anybody is actually an expert on his) seems to be desirable in legal settings.
Dangerous animals that kill people tend to be put down. Not sure a lethal injection or a bullet is "getting away" with anything.
Heh. Travelling through Africa, we heard a lot about how dangerous hippopotamus were. We also heard a lot about how lions, crocodiles, hyenas etc would get hunted down and killed if they attacked a human. But I never heard of hippos getting dealt to after attacking humans, even though hippo attacks are apparently much more common than other animal attacks.
Behold the hippopotamus!
We laugh at how he looks to us,
And yet in moments dank and grim,
I wonder how we look to him.
Peace, peace, thou hippopotamus!
We really look all right to us,
As you no doubt delight the eye
Of other hippopotami.
Flanders and Swann waxed lyrical about hippos. And it indicates that as a self-identification it may earn a big round of applause and make quite a splash.
Weka, Yes but the self identification as a female undermines that very clear law. I can already see the QC's rubbing their hands in anticipation.
Jimmy, in South Africa numerous women have been charged with rape. They drugged men, kidnapped them and forced them to have sex whilst in a drugged state ('involuntary erection'). It was part of some crazy superstition nonsense a few years ago.
Really ?. Havent there been cases of women being charged with sexual offences against men to the point of sexual union? I vaguely remember something from a few years ago, and what is anal penetration with an instrument charged as, if not rape?
The technical meaning of “rape” in New Zealand law
Crimes Act 1961, ss 128, 128B
In New Zealand law, the word “rape” is restricted to cases of a male penetrating a female’s vagina with his penis. However, under the law this is just one of two types of the crime of “sexual violation”. The other type – “unlawful sexual connection” – covers all the other types of sexual assault described above, and it has the same maximum penalty (20 years’ jail) as cases of “rape” of a female by a male.
Crimes Act 1961, s 135 (definitions of “genitalia” and “sexual connection”) and ss 128, 128B
Being a rather pretty boy in my day I got hit on by creeps a lot, including many women. It was horrible for me, too.
This is a mess aye. While I support the trans community – thinking something does not make it so. Me thinking I'm a woman does not remove my penis, nor the potential for penetration.
I think in the case of rape they need to keep it biological.
Thinking some more on it, I think biological is the wrong approach in that people also use inanimate objects in abusive situations. The use of the word 'penetration' in the law is a reasonable start – if it means by any object, and where consent is lacking. Determining that rape must involve a penis is plainly wrong in many circumstances.
The sex of an offender should not be a consideration in law except where that law attempts to redress specific gender imbalance.
Yeah it's a mess. Need better minds than mine to make sense of it.
Yeah it's a mess. Need better minds than mine to make sense of it.
Same here. Part of the problem is the antiquated 1961 Crimes Act. 60 f – ing years old and MPs are trying to fit new legislation into legislation which is already detrimental to those who make a complaint or have an historical complaint.
It's not actually a mess. It's already covered in legislation: rape is by males on females, other kinds of sexual assault are dealt with as unlawful sexual connection.
As McFlock points out, the Crimes Act has been amended to remove some gendered language, but it's still clear what the meaning of rape is (males raping females),
128 Sexual violation defined
(1)
Sexual violation is the act of a person who—
(a)
rapes another person; or
(b)
has unlawful sexual connection with another person.
(2)
Person A rapes person B if person A has sexual connection with person B, effected by the penetration of person B’s genitalia by person A’s penis,—
(a)
without person B’s consent to the connection; and
(b)
without believing on reasonable grounds that person B consents to the connection.
(3)
Person A has unlawful sexual connection with person B if person A has sexual connection with person B—
(a)
without person B’s consent to the connection; and
(b)
without believing on reasonable grounds that person B consents to the connection.
That's in law. In public debate, rape has a wider meaning.
With regard to my original comment, the issue is whether gender identification takes precedent over sex based rights, and this is exactly why feminists are saying there is conflict of rights. This is going to be an issue this year as the government pushes to legislate gender self ID and parts of the left push to suppress debate.
Part of the amendment included the definition of penis:
penis includes a surgically constructed or reconstructed organ analogous to a naturally occurring penis (whether the person concerned is male, female, or of indeterminate sex)
Rape is a crime committed with a penis. The Crimes Act doesn't make any statement about the sex or gender of the person with the penis.
Whether the the use of "male" and "female" in the community law link is based on a definition in an unreferenced piece of legislation, or simply reflects community law's own understanding of the entire trans debate, I do not know.
The relevant law does not seem to define people with penises as "male", nor does it restrict "genitalia capable of being penetrated" to only people for whom those organs were naturally-occurring.
sorry, haven't been keeping up. Appreciate those two comments, it makes sense they've done this and good to get up to speed myself. From a feminist perspective this leaves it as a cultural and political issue, are women going to still be able to name sexed/gendered violence, and what are the forces trying to change that and why.
Rape is a crime commited by males, and the legal definition should remain that.
Agreed – no need to change the legal definition of rape in NZ. The legal hierarchy of sexual violations varies between countries, but in NZ the maximum penalty for rape and other types of sexual violation is the same; 20 yrs (see Weka @5.2.1.3.2)
Note, however, that:
…many jurisdictions, such as Canada and several US and Australian states, have abandoned the term "rape" in favor of other terms such as "sexual assault", "sexual intercourse without consent", or "criminal sexual conduct". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_regarding_rape
'Sexual assault culture' doesn't have quite the same ring to it as 'rape culture'.
I recognise it as a personal failing, and yet feel uneasy about the ramifications of blurring the lines between biological sex identity and gender identity. If these two identities are incongruent to the extent of causing distress (gender dysphoria), then the idea that suppressing (the reality of one's) biological sex is the optimal solution is problematic. If only societies could celebrate diversity to the extent that medical interventions were not the preferred route to contentment – think faʻafafine on steroids (we all have 'em), and in all 'directions'.
I see a lot of sense in the research and views of Cordelia Fine:
And also in the research and views of Simon Baron-Cohen e.g.
Men, Women, and Ghosts in Science Classifying individuals in general terms, he [Simon Baron-Cohen] concludes that among men, about 60% have a male brain, 20% have a balanced brain, and 20% have a female brain. Women show the inverse figures, with some 60% having a female brain. Many facts argue that these differences have their roots in biology and genetics.
And most important of all, could we try to select for the one characteristic we need most, scientific originality? Originality and creativity are all too rare, and I know of no evidence that these traits are more frequent in one sex.
There is some discordance between these valuable views. When it comes to gender reassignment, perhaps my unease stems from the idea that society is running before it can walk, or that pre-pubescent children are making decisions about their own gender reassignment. But, for now, if society can't change, then affording individuals agency for personal change is a step in the right direction, imho.
The revitalisation of the wool industry is a great idea. I just want some decent woolies to wear for winter, y'know. Instead the stores are loaded with synthetic or synthetic/natural gloves hats and scarves, and they're not nearly so warm, or durable. And they create plastic rubbish.
Everything is plastic we need to reverse it as fast as we can.
Yeah wool doesn't burn well at all. I think that's because it smells so bad it puts itself out.
…Last year the Chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) General Angus Campbell recommended the meritorious unit citation be revoked for the Special Operations Task Group, in the wake of the Inspector-General of the ADF's Inquiry report into war crimes.
The group served in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013, and included around 3000 personnel. General Campbell announced the move while handing down the explosive report which found Australian special forces murdered at least 39 prisoners and civilians during the Afghanistan war.
The decision was met with significant criticism within defence and veterans circles, as well as the government.
You don't take your rellies words for gospel. At the start of Covid19 my b-in-law who is a practical bloke and not one to get fussed, said why worry it is just another flu. I said yes but – it seems a lot more infectious, and if too many get sick at the same time the hospitals will be overwhelmed and the medical system might break down. I felt the need for caution on that point and it seems now it was a realistic understanding of something that has gone on to pose more and more problems for the recovered. Why can't people think for themselves? Sit down together and go through what they know, and what the stats are, and look at what other countries are trying, and how that is going.
Just ringing up and doing an emotional doesn't show an adult approach to a problem. And most of the anti-vaxxers I've seen are adults.
A worried Maori man is concerned at the fast-moving flim-flam filling people's minds.
A recent post from a cousin falsely claims China is refusing to inoculate any of its citizens for safety reasons. It encourages people to cure themselves of the virus through 'heat therapy', by inhaling steam from a boiled kettle, gargling hot water and drinking cups of hot tea four times each a day. On the fifth day, it says, 'you are Corona negative'.
Rarere laughs – he can't help himself sometimes. But the truth is he's afraid. He knows of two kaumātua who are also sharing misinformation online, and he's deeply worried they won't take the vaccine. He says the thought of them contracting the virus, and suffering, is inconceivable.
Bit hard to see the brexit link here as 9 European clubs are doing the same and the UK clubs european participation was hardly effected by brexit anyway.
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Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
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 Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Chartres, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney shutterstockAhmet Misirligul/Shutterstock You go to the gym, eat healthy and walk as much as possible. You wash your hands and get vaccinated. You control your health. This is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Hendriks, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Curtin University Children and young people may be seeing news headlines about men murdering women or footage of people rallying to call for action. Perhaps they or their friends have even gone to the protests. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Balanzategui, Senior Lecturer in Media, RMIT University ABC “Bluey mania” shows no sign of abating. Bluey’s season finale, The Sign, was the most viewed ABC program of all time on iView. A “hidden” follow-up episode, aptly named The Surprise, created ...
Labour market figures came in softer than the Reserve Bank had forecast, but they won’t be enough to move the needle on interest rates, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Unemployment ...
The campaign will engage the community and encourage submissions on the bill to the New Zealand government by the closing submission deadline of Friday 31st of May 2024 4pm. ...
The paper raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand's political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency plays in that. ...
The Urban Habitat Collective was an attempt to built an innovative new form of apartment building in Wellington. Here’s why it failed, and why the idea could still work, writes co-founder Bronwen Newton. When we started the Urban Habitat Collective in November 2018, we thought we were starting a revolution, ...
Two decades ago this week, a controversial law that attempted to define ownership of the foreshore and seabed prompted a formidable display of outrage and kōtahitanga as 15,000 marched to parliament. Jamie Tahana looks back.‘Hīkoi, hīkoi,” they chanted by the thousands as the biggest Māori march in a generation ...
A Labour Party Member’s Bill aims to plug a culpability gap between manslaughter and health and safety breaches The post New push for corporate killing laws appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Terence O’Brien had the rare and no doubt undesired distinction of rising to one of the most exalted positions in New Zealand diplomacy, then being unceremoniously recalled to Wellington without explanation just when his career was at its zenith. What is perhaps more surprising is that he appears to have ...
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Why has New Zealand slipped from third to 12th on Quality of Death Indexes over the past decade or so? Hospice New Zealand Chief Executive Wayne Naylor has a list of reasons. “We don’t have a current national strategy – the Government hasn’t renewed our 2001 strategy, so we don’t ...
While women’s sport is exploding in Aotearoa and around the world, you still don’t hear a lot of talk about athletes and their periods, RED-S, breastfeeding and visible panty-lines. SASS (Suze and Sez Sports)Talk isn’t afraid to have that kōrero.LockerRoom founder Suzanne McFadden and Olympian broadcaster Sarah ...
On an unusually hot night in January 2019, a little boy’s lifeless body was found face up in a small town’s sewage oxidation pond. To the police, it was an open and shut case: three-year-old Lachlan Jones had run away from his home in the Southland town of Gore, climbed ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the Māori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Government’s decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
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The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
The Trans-Tasman bubble opens today.
Once all the seperated families have been reunited, will Trans- Tasman travel return to pre-pandemic business as usual levels?
Or will the public be left with a $1.5 billion stranded asset?
<
blockquote>
Alethea Warrington, campaigner at climate action charity Possible, when speaking to Reuters. “This polling shows that after a year of quick and easy virtual meetings, travellers aren’t planning to go back to business as usual.”
The UK’s aviation sector has been decimated by the pandemic, with Heathrow – the UK’s largest airport – seeing its passenger numbers slide by 72.2 per cent in 2020 from the year before.
International Air Transport Association analysts have forecasted that despite the Covid-19 vaccines and testing procedures rolling out worldwide, the recovery of demand for air travel may not reach pre-crisis levels until 2024.
While this estimate would imply that the aviation sector just needs to hold on for a few years until it can return to growth, the attitudes presented in the latest survey suggests a full recovery could take longer.
https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2021/04/business-flyers-could-stick-to-video-calls-even-after-covid-19-pandemic-survey-suggests/
The weakest link is that the flight crew can still work on low risk routes and then work on the trans – Tasman bubble. I would have just had a trans – Tasman flight crew.
To have green flights but not green flight crews is asking for it.
The wonderful Ralph Nader
Treasure him while he is still with us.
https://ralphnaderradiohour.com/the-war-crimes-of-george-w-bush/
Why do you keep doing this? Give us a reason, based on your personal analysis of the content, why we should click on this and read and listen to this podcast if not for any other reason because you believe for some reason that some guy is somehow wonderful and the sun shines out of his arse?
Oh yes, wonderful indeed. The man who delivered us George Bush the Lesser, better known as Shrub. Without Mr Nader, convergence moonbats would have had to work so much harder to find things to feed their eternal grievance complexes. Or not.
The man who delivered us George Bush the Lesser, better known as Shrub.
Nader was on the Supreme Court, was he? Or was he dressed up as Democratic Party strategic mastermind Warren Christopher, who decided not to be unsporting and insist on a full recount of the Florida votes?
Without Mr Nader, convergence moonbats….
???? Wasn't it the Russians?
I'd like to give a little shoutout to Sabine this morning. Sabine has been so dogged in her highlighting of the social housing and poverty issues in Rotorua.
I swear I complain so little about the media, but even RNZ this morning had two reporters from their Wellington office declaring at length how excited they were to be at the airport waiting to get on their Australian flights this morning …
… and yet it was just one guy who owned a bar in Rotorua on RNZ this morning who was able to talk about the Mongrel Mob colours proudly displayed in Rotorua shop windows, drug deals done in daylight, children running around at night, and a general fear for the future of Rotorua due to the huge levels of poor people stuck in low-end motels due to shortages of public housing.
It was like RNZ was sticking up gleefuly for the middle class who could afford to fly, while it relegated time spent on the degradation of the poor and working class in Rotorua.
There are plenty like Sonja Davies who took Labour to task in years gone by for similar issues, so keep it up Sabine.
Agree on both counts
There is a strong connection between emergency housing and the health care of those in emergency housing. Both are a crisis. This can also be said for others who can hardly afford the rent or find it hard to access or afford health care.
The issue is everywhere not just in Rotorua and an everywhere solution needs to be a priority.
Agree Sabine does good work on poverty and housing….but when I suggested that the Greens had the solution with their Wealth Tax that would raise 7.9 billion dollars annually specifically to tackle poverty she told me it wasn't about political parties….sorry Sabine that is exactly what it is about….who we vote for counts
We've got a Labour-dominated government for three terms at least, and there's no way around the Greens being a small and shrinking field of influence within that. Unlikely to change even in 2026. Both major parties will actively stop a Wealth Tax. The best chance of influence is from within Labour.
Ad-I disagree. With (entirely feasible) numbers like this at the next election:
Lab 44 Greens 9 MP 2 Nats 35 ACT 8 Others 2
the Greens would have a great deal of influence. I notice the Greens are polling 8% in the UK at the moment in the latest poll which is historically very high.
They got about the same last year and have fuck-all influence in this government.
And even if they improved slightly, they would not get their Wealth Tax up there with tall boots, spandex, a brisk following wind, a long pole and a cape.
Ad….you seem not understand how MMP works, or you are pretending this.
Seems to be working fine for Labour.
yeah, and the poor are poor and the homeless are homeless.
it is not working fine for anyone but labour and a very few in the middle and upper middle class.
Everyone else is scared of babys in gang colors.
We had three years of a coalition that got us very little in terms a solution to our homeless and poverty issue, heck it is an issue that is growing out of proportions every day.
We have a pandemic that still does not scare polititians into doing the right thing by those that need public assistance
When the Greens pay attention to who runs as a potential candidate and when they maybe start putting in a bit of work into the rural areas then maybe they become part of the solution, atm they are not. Not here in Rotorua anyways.
Last, this is not an issue of Rotorua, or Auckland, i advocate for those that live where i live, as charity always begins at home. But in reality, Rotorua is any other town, the only difference are the homeless that get send here by Winz. They sadly get stuck, we no option of housing or jobs, and yes Virginia the Government is really not here to help.
thanks Ad.
The woman who tweeted this has locked her account for a bit so cut and pasting.
I don’t think it’s possible to overestimate how angry women are about this, but certainly some people seem to be missing the fact. NZ govt is moving on gender self ID this year, so it’s useful to follow what is happening in the UK.
https://twitter.com/threadreaderapp/status/1383368177627791371?s=21
Gender self identification is an issue that Judith Collins should start speaking against. A friend and I were discussing this last week and we decided after all of our years of voting on the left we were now unable so, due to both Labour and the Greens supporting gender self identification. I wonder how Jacinda will feel when Neve finds out she has to compete with boys who say they are girls on the sports field at school and it is because her mother was trying to be "nice" to transgenders. Sex and gender are not interchangeable. Now I await the backlash.
I don't believe a single word of what you just said.
Backlash? You're just a stupid troll. Yawn.
I don't believe a single word of what you just said.
Backlash? You're just a stupid troll. Yawn.
I would have thought you better than that WTB.
How about expanding on the ad homs…?
Why, this is clearly a Troll. Not worth the effort at all.
Because the issue is quite concerning legally and in that case criminally.
Gender identification seem to be a "trendy" issue these days and it is not ever mentioned that a child/young person has already enough to work through with their hormone level change and the psychological component. This is not just on that rare occasion where a person identifies to the opposite gender and seeks a solution to this undoubtedly very difficult situation. It is something that will not necessarily discussed in schools and parents are sometimes unable to deal with those issues that are being portrait as an all compassing societal theme but are not. But it impact right into their home life.
Criminally speaking, this needs redefinition. Rape has been identified with a specific gender, but without going into details, injuries can be caused in all sorts of manner as we have seen in those cases in India.
Culturally it means that many people see this as an affront, insensitive to their believe system and a gross intrusion on their identification within a group affiliation.
Many seem to think this can be legislated but all it does is creating clusters and separation in communities.
So, no I don't agree with just denying a voice and walk away in the believe that anyone being in disagreement is a troll. I think it needs a bit more thought.
I agree with some of what you're saying but none of giving any credence to the post I slammed. Look at it:
Judith should speak out
How will Jacinda feel
when Neve has to compete with boys…
While you might fall for this, I do not. It's clearly dishonest in intent. Recall:
"And we decided after all our years of voting on the left we were now unable to do so."
Gimme a f'n break. Who even talks like that.
Meanwhile, troll has you engaged with me. Job done.
Discussing the issues – no, a sad pathetic fucking troll.
WTB
At no time did or do I agree with having our PMs daughter involved in any discussion. But this is a separate issue and no it will not involve you with a troll as you mentioned.
The gender ID however is quite a serious one and should be discussed in the open instead of giving the impression that it is a given that we now identify with 16 of them. It is completely unacceptable to have this kind of social engineering imposed as if this is the norm.
[removed spurious letters “WTB” from user name]
edit
Janice you raise clear questions in trying to cut through this melee' of sex identification which puzzles me. I think it is being raised as a result of our society's norms being upended by various political and financial ploys as those actors advance their own psychopathological obsessions with achieving a false self, based on consumption and constant self-adulation.
This relentless pursuit feeds off but also back into society and its culture, and has the effect of diminishing the self-image of the rest of us. Then the choice seems either follow the same self-interested pattern, or cast around for a different, seemingly better self-image to shelter behind.
Under English law (and I presume Scottish law also), a female cannot be charged with rape, only with sexual assault ('penetration' being a requisite in England for the charge of rape).
By self identifying as a female, presumably the alleged perpetrator will limit the maximum sentence they will be liable to.
Also note that in the UK if a male rapist self IDs as a woman (ie tells the justice system they are, doesn’t have to have transitioned), then the woman who was raped can be compelled in court to refer to the rapist as she. This is rape culture, institutionally abusive and retraumatising. That this is sanctioned by some on the left is unconscionable and needs addressing as to why.
The self-identification bill coming up was pushed by Genter from last term and is seriously dividing multiple activist groups in both women and LGBT groups in Auckland.
The bill and its impact needs a post by itself. Bags not.
Yep, it’s a shit show. I’ll have to do a post eventually but not looking forward the backlash I’ll get for it.
Feel free to drop any relevant links in front of me (re the Bill, timeframes, analysis).
Self-identification as anything seems inadequate for legal purposes – though I think we can fairly safely tolerate, accept or indulge it (depending on our disposition) in normal social interactions.
If I self-identify as a hippopotamus, a creature unable to form 'intent' of any sort, do I then get away with killing someone? Some form of expert corroboration (insofar as anybody is actually an expert on his) seems to be desirable in legal settings.
Ah – we need an Expert:
No – just someone more knowledgeable than ourselves (quite a large pool). And the legal system frequently resorts to expert testimony because it has no alternative that creates a similarly convincing feeling of objectivity.
The skit is an expression of how I feel when reading threads on this topic. Also just close enough to workaday reality to induce melancholia.
DMK I laughed like a drain right to the end.
This is literally my job.
Dangerous animals that kill people tend to be put down. Not sure a lethal injection or a bullet is "getting away" with anything.
Heh. Travelling through Africa, we heard a lot about how dangerous hippopotamus were. We also heard a lot about how lions, crocodiles, hyenas etc would get hunted down and killed if they attacked a human. But I never heard of hippos getting dealt to after attacking humans, even though hippo attacks are apparently much more common than other animal attacks.
to be fair, shooting a hippo will probably just piss it off, unless you have a handheld artillery piece.
Here is the answer in prose form:
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS
I shoot the Hippopotamus
with bullets made of platinum,
Because if I use leaden ones
his hide is sure to flatten 'em.
Hilaire Belloc
.
Behold the hippopotamus!
We laugh at how he looks to us,
And yet in moments dank and grim,
I wonder how we look to him.
Peace, peace, thou hippopotamus!
We really look all right to us,
As you no doubt delight the eye
Of other hippopotami.
– Ogden Nash
Flanders and Swann waxed lyrical about hippos. And it indicates that as a self-identification it may earn a big round of applause and make quite a splash.
Under the 1961 Crimes Act NZ. Rape involves a penis and a vagina. Our Crimes Act needs to be updated when it comes to gender identity.
Why? Rape is a crime commited by males, and the legal definition should remain that.
Hasn't there been some rapes committed by women?
sexual assault by women is covered by other legislation afaik.
Weka, Yes but the self identification as a female undermines that very clear law. I can already see the QC's rubbing their hands in anticipation.
Jimmy, in South Africa numerous women have been charged with rape. They drugged men, kidnapped them and forced them to have sex whilst in a drugged state ('involuntary erection'). It was part of some crazy superstition nonsense a few years ago.
Really ?. Havent there been cases of women being charged with sexual offences against men to the point of sexual union? I vaguely remember something from a few years ago, and what is anal penetration with an instrument charged as, if not rape?
it's covered by a different law I think.
https://communitylaw.org.nz/community-law-manual/chapter-8-gender-and-sexuality/sexual-orientation-and-your-rights/rape-sexual-assault-and-family-domestic-violence/
Being a rather pretty boy in my day I got hit on by creeps a lot, including many women. It was horrible for me, too.
This is a mess aye. While I support the trans community – thinking something does not make it so. Me thinking I'm a woman does not remove my penis, nor the potential for penetration.
I think in the case of rape they need to keep it biological.
This is a mess aye.
There is a lot to consider when it comes to rape and self identification.
What is the situation when a person becomes pregnant due to being raped and the pregnancy is not terminated?
I think in the case of rape they need to keep it biological.
By biological do you also mean a sperm and an ova?
Thinking some more on it, I think biological is the wrong approach in that people also use inanimate objects in abusive situations. The use of the word 'penetration' in the law is a reasonable start – if it means by any object, and where consent is lacking. Determining that rape must involve a penis is plainly wrong in many circumstances.
The sex of an offender should not be a consideration in law except where that law attempts to redress specific gender imbalance.
Yeah it's a mess. Need better minds than mine to make sense of it.
Yeah it's a mess. Need better minds than mine to make sense of it.
Same here. Part of the problem is the antiquated 1961 Crimes Act. 60 f – ing years old and MPs are trying to fit new legislation into legislation which is already detrimental to those who make a complaint or have an historical complaint.
It's not actually a mess. It's already covered in legislation: rape is by males on females, other kinds of sexual assault are dealt with as unlawful sexual connection.
As McFlock points out, the Crimes Act has been amended to remove some gendered language, but it's still clear what the meaning of rape is (males raping females),
https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1961/0043/latest/whole.html?search=ts_act%40bill%40regulation%40deemedreg_Crimes+Act+1961_resel_25_a&p=1%2f#DLM327382
That's in law. In public debate, rape has a wider meaning.
With regard to my original comment, the issue is whether gender identification takes precedent over sex based rights, and this is exactly why feminists are saying there is conflict of rights. This is going to be an issue this year as the government pushes to legislate gender self ID and parts of the left push to suppress debate.
The amendment towards gender-neutral language was in 2005.
Part of the amendment included the definition of penis:
The current law is clear about what rape is, I was not referring this to be a mess.
With regard to your original comment there is a conflict of rights which requires classification.
"By biological do you also mean a sperm and an ova?"
In this case, in NZ law, rape is defined biologically by genitalia.
That page might need updating.
Rape is a crime committed with a penis. The Crimes Act doesn't make any statement about the sex or gender of the person with the penis.
Whether the the use of "male" and "female" in the community law link is based on a definition in an unreferenced piece of legislation, or simply reflects community law's own understanding of the entire trans debate, I do not know.
they haven't changed the definition of rape though. It's still by males (people with a penis) against females (genitalia capable of being penetrated).
No date on the CL piece, would be interested to know if/when the legislation was amended.
The relevant law does not seem to define people with penises as "male", nor does it restrict "genitalia capable of being penetrated" to only people for whom those organs were naturally-occurring.
sorry, haven't been keeping up. Appreciate those two comments, it makes sense they've done this and good to get up to speed myself. From a feminist perspective this leaves it as a cultural and political issue, are women going to still be able to name sexed/gendered violence, and what are the forces trying to change that and why.
So I am clear a woman does not have a penis when it comes to rape.
Were the rapist to identify as a woman and have a penis what then?
Agreed – no need to change the legal definition of rape in NZ. The legal hierarchy of sexual violations varies between countries, but in NZ the maximum penalty for rape and other types of sexual violation is the same; 20 yrs (see Weka @5.2.1.3.2)
Note, however, that:
'Sexual assault culture' doesn't have quite the same ring to it as 'rape culture'.
I recognise it as a personal failing, and yet feel uneasy about the ramifications of blurring the lines between biological sex identity and gender identity. If these two identities are incongruent to the extent of causing distress (gender dysphoria), then the idea that suppressing (the reality of one's) biological sex is the optimal solution is problematic. If only societies could celebrate diversity to the extent that medical interventions were not the preferred route to contentment – think faʻafafine on steroids (we all have 'em), and in all 'directions'.
I see a lot of sense in the research and views of Cordelia Fine:
And also in the research and views of Simon Baron-Cohen e.g.
There is some discordance between these valuable views. When it comes to gender reassignment, perhaps my unease stems from the idea that society is running before it can walk, or that pre-pubescent children are making decisions about their own gender reassignment. But, for now, if society can't change, then affording individuals agency for personal change is a step in the right direction, imho.
Really good food for thought Drowsy – thanks.
Good news for diversification of farming dollars, and industry in NZ we hope. Help NZ – use wool carpeting – warm, hard wearing and fire-resistant.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/440778/sustainable-wool-research-programme-backed-by-government
Research: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/004051757504500503 – wool and particularly flame-resistant wool perform significantly better than the other man-made fibers investigated
Godfrey Hirst manufacturer report – https://www.godfreyhirst.com/au/hycraft/sites/default/files/wool_for_interior_textiles.pdf
* had the lowest propensity for flame spread (as measured by the critical radiant fluxCRF), and,
* produced much lower levels of smoke.
BRANZ report from 2007 – I haven't read it but good that they have got a report done and there may be something else since then.
https://d39d3mj7qio96p.cloudfront.net/media/documents/SR181_Fire_properties_of_floor_coverings_-_new_fire_test_methods_and_acceptabl.pdf
The revitalisation of the wool industry is a great idea. I just want some decent woolies to wear for winter, y'know. Instead the stores are loaded with synthetic or synthetic/natural gloves hats and scarves, and they're not nearly so warm, or durable. And they create plastic rubbish.
Everything is plastic we need to reverse it as fast as we can.
Yeah wool doesn't burn well at all. I think that's because it smells so bad it puts itself out.
WTB Great to see your comments FTTT. Yes keep your woolly hat on so warm and keep your brain bright and fast-moving and write lots.
Deathshead Dutton in Australia. In backward-land he might be top of the pops.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/440789/australian-defence-minister-overturns-decision-to-strip-veterans-of-military-decorations
…Last year the Chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) General Angus Campbell recommended the meritorious unit citation be revoked for the Special Operations Task Group, in the wake of the Inspector-General of the ADF's Inquiry report into war crimes.
The group served in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013, and included around 3000 personnel.
General Campbell announced the move while handing down the explosive report which found Australian special forces murdered at least 39 prisoners and civilians during the Afghanistan war.
The decision was met with significant criticism within defence and veterans circles, as well as the government.
This is a laugh.
https://www.facebook.com/InsidersABC/videos/2988196971467141
BG
You don't take your rellies words for gospel. At the start of Covid19 my b-in-law who is a practical bloke and not one to get fussed, said why worry it is just another flu. I said yes but – it seems a lot more infectious, and if too many get sick at the same time the hospitals will be overwhelmed and the medical system might break down. I felt the need for caution on that point and it seems now it was a realistic understanding of something that has gone on to pose more and more problems for the recovered. Why can't people think for themselves? Sit down together and go through what they know, and what the stats are, and look at what other countries are trying, and how that is going.
Just ringing up and doing an emotional doesn't show an adult approach to a problem. And most of the anti-vaxxers I've seen are adults.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/440761/why-should-maori-trust-the-covid-19-vaccine
A worried Maori man is concerned at the fast-moving flim-flam filling people's minds.
A recent post from a cousin falsely claims China is refusing to inoculate any of its citizens for safety reasons. It encourages people to cure themselves of the virus through 'heat therapy', by inhaling steam from a boiled kettle, gargling hot water and drinking cups of hot tea four times each a day. On the fifth day, it says, 'you are Corona negative'.
Rarere laughs – he can't help himself sometimes. But the truth is he's afraid. He knows of two kaumātua who are also sharing misinformation online, and he's deeply worried they won't take the vaccine. He says the thought of them contracting the virus, and suffering, is inconceivable.
Ahhh the joys of patriotic England in a Brexit world: the best of them join the EU and stuff the English altogether:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/56795811
Good job to the fool proletariat who voted for separation.
I can't believe they left Burnley out of the mix.
Bit hard to see the brexit link here as 9 European clubs are doing the same and the UK clubs european participation was hardly effected by brexit anyway.