Open mike 19/05/2025

24 comments on “Open mike 19/05/2025 ”

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1. William 1

   19 May 2025 at 10:33 am

   From the PSA:

   If you're in Wellington, join us on Budget Day to show the Government we don’t accept their Budget coming at the cost of fair pay for health, education, and community workers.

   When: 1-2pm, Thursday 22 May

   Where: Parliament Lawn, Wellington

   Reply
2. Drowsy M. Kram 2

   19 May 2025 at 11:01 am

   Pay equity taskforce disbanded, ‘no longer required‘ – Minister [3 May 2024]
   “I am shocked that Nicola Willis, who has benefitted from the courage and determination of women before her, is making a decision that will leave women worse off.

   “Her statement is gaslighting women. The recent extra funding was to build capacity for pay equity, not to shut it down. Her argument that the taskforce has been so successful that its work is no longer needed is farcical.”

   Axing the pay equity taskforce has impact on many workers – Kerry Davies
   [10 May 2024; paywalled]
   On Thursday last week, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis issued a press release headed ‘Government commits to pay equity’ but it contained cuts instead of a commitment, axing the pay equity taskforce, a small group of highly skilled public service workers who support the pay equity process.

   A year ago, our regressive CoC govt disestablished the NZ Pay Equity Taskforce [Australia has a Workplace Gender Equality Agency, created by their govt’s Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012], and now they've rammed their Pay Equity Amendment Bill through under urgency – it's all about keeping NZ on a NAct track, and widening the Aussie/Kiwi gap.

   

   Reply
3. SPC 3

   19 May 2025 at 11:44 am

   Borrowing debt or tax revenue, which is the way to finance social democratic government?

   https://archive.li/18srJ#selection-1003.1-1189.320

   Reply
4. Ad 4

   19 May 2025 at 11:52 am

   It's getting to the point where we need a stronger-mandated Supreme Court to stop fresh legislation being retrospectively applied. It degrades law as our basic mechanism of distributed justice.

   What has happened to the claims that are underway is totally unjust.

   Reply
   • weka 4.1

     19 May 2025 at 12:11 pm

     can they take legal action against the government?

     Reply
     • Res Publica 4.1.1

       19 May 2025 at 12:23 pm

       Unfortunately, no. In New Zealand, Parliament is sovereign. It can pass any law it likes, even if it's retrospective or extinguishes existing legal claims.

       The courts cannot overturn an Act of Parliament, even if it’s manifestly unjust. As there’s no higher law than the will of Parliament.

       As A.V. Dicey put it:

       “What Parliament doth, no authority on earth can undo but Parliament itself.”

       So once the legislation was passed, updating the law and extinguishing the existing pay equity claims, that was the end of the road legally.

       The best the courts can do now is issue a declaration of inconsistency under the Bill of Rights Act. But that has no binding effect.

       The only recourse left is political, not judicial.

       It's one of those pesky, unfortunate downside risks of not having a codified constitution.

       Reply
       • AB 4.1.1.1

         19 May 2025 at 1:18 pm

         The only recourse left is political, not judicial.

         Yes – and if there was more judicial power to block legislation, then that might lead to obvious politicisation of judicial appointments – so leading us back circuitously into the domain of the political again.

         I suppose this shows how important it is to keep the arteries of democracy unclogged. In particular (I think), purging it of the malevolent influence of money.

         Reply
         • Res Publica 4.1.1.1.1

           19 May 2025 at 1:28 pm

           Yes – and if there was more judicial power to block legislation, then that might lead to obvious politicisation of judicial appointments – so leading us back circuitously into the domain of the political again.

           Therein lies the nub. There's no such thing as a perfect government since there's no such thing as perfect person. It's a problem that philosophers from Plato to Popper have spent literally thousands of years trying to solve without ever getting close.

           Popper, at least, was wise to the danger: the very search for ideal governance courts authoritarianism. Better, he argued, to build systems that assume human imperfection, and are designed to self-correct.

           I agree, though: whatever the cure for the failures and foibles of messy democracy may be, it is definitely not allowing those with wealth and status to distort public policy in their favour.

           That path doesn't fix democracy: it replaces it.

           Reply
       • Chris 4.1.1.2

         19 May 2025 at 1:39 pm

         Yes, although there is the concept of 'constitutional bedrock' Lord Cooke of Thorndon talked about in relation to parliamentary sovereignty in democratic societies like NZ and the UK. I can't think of an example of when the courts have felt the need to intervene. The Treaty Principles Bill wasn't about murdering blue-eyed babies at birth, but it could've been our Supreme Court's first test?

         There's a lot of commentary about how the Regulatory Standards Bill proposes way more damage to Maori and the Treaty than the TPB. Perhaps this will be its first test instead?

         https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2021/11/25/ronan-cormacain-blue-eyed-babies-amnesties-sovereignty-of-parliament-and-the-rule-of-law-the-northern-ireland-legacy-proposals/

         Reply
         • Res Publica 4.1.1.2.1

           19 May 2025 at 2:38 pm

           There's a lot of commentary about how the Regulatory Standards Bill proposes way more damage to Maori and the Treaty than the TPB. Perhaps this will be its first test instead?

           It very well could be. But how many divisions has the Chief Justice?

           There’s no framework or precedent for the courts to override Parliament. Cooke’s theory of a “constitutional bedrock” is compelling: but it remains just that: a theory.

           And even then, Parliament holds the trump card of direct popular legitimacy.

           Testing Cooke’s idea would be a massive leap into the unknown and would almost certainly trigger a constitutional crisis. Especially in an era where backsliding democracies have used “the will of the people” to bulldoze proper checks and balances.

           Just look at the Coalition of Chaos’s constant complaints about “activist” judges. It doesn’t take much imagination to see where that rhetoric leads.

           Would the courts really take that risk: handing NZ First and ACT the perfect excuse to gut what little judicial review we have left?

           Hard to imagine. The judiciary knows exactly how to read the room. One bold move and the opportunists would waste no time crying “judicial activism” and coming after the courts with a scalpel. Or a chainsaw.

           Reply
       • Incognito 4.1.1.3

         19 May 2025 at 2:08 pm

         The only recourse left is political, not judicial.

         The verdict and outcome of the court of public opinion might be swifter and harsher than of any judicial one.

         Reply
5. Jilly Bee 5

   19 May 2025 at 12:55 pm

   I read this article and felt so disgusted by the comment from one of the patients at Middlemore Hospital who didn't want a Maori nurse with a Moko Kauae. It appears that this attitude is common in the older age group. Well, I'm 81 and would not carry on in a similar vein – I think Moko Kauae are beautiful and I often ask wearers to explain the 'story' behind the pattern to me. I vividely recall being in Middlemore Hospital in 1978 having an achilles tendon repaired after a game of tennis. I had my first encounter with a male nurse, which floored me momentarily, then I thought as long as he looks after me, I’m fine – he was a fabulous nurse and looked after me just fine.
   I was pretty helpless at the time and had to have everything done for me as my leg had to stay very quiet and not be moved. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/maori-nurse-mary-parkinson-peni-alleges-racism-from-patients-at-middlemore-hospital/TLX5NCS6DBD6DBE5JBIA3NBACI/

   Reply
6. Mac1 6

   19 May 2025 at 1:41 pm

   https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360693130/world-dumpster-fire-jacinda-ardern-tells-yale-graduates

   Report of Jacinda Ardern to Yale University at graduation ceremony. Worth a read.

   I especially liked this. "and crucially, that in this time of crisis and chaos leading with empathy is a strength.

   “Empathy has never started a war, never sought to take the dignity of others, and empathy teaches you that power is interchangeable with another word, responsibility.”

   Reply
   • weka 6.1

     19 May 2025 at 1:43 pm

     post up now: Jacinda Ardern’s speech to Yale graduates: leading with empathy is a strength

     https://thestandard.org.nz/jacinda-arderns-speech-to-yale-graduates-leading-with-empathy-is-a-strength/

     Reply
     • Mac1 6.1.1

       19 May 2025 at 3:20 pm

       Thanks, weka.

       "Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro nōnā te ngahere, ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōnā te ao."

       Literally translated, the whakataukī says ‘the forest belongs to the bird who feasts on the miro berry, the world belongs to the bird who feasts on education’.

       As I said to my training college lecturer near graduation, "Time to go and get educated". How we have changed in 55 years. At graduation then, our academic address was given by the local university professor of German who spoke about Māori as being a second class language and not worth learning because it was full of borrowed words……

       This was said to us in a language that has 80% of its vocabulary as 'loanwords'.

       Now, a recent Prime Minister of ours refers to Aotearoa/New Zealand, starts her speech to Yale graduates with a Māori greeting and quotes the whakataukī above at the commencement.

       Reply
   • Drowsy M. Kram 6.2

     19 May 2025 at 2:07 pm

     Alas, some of our CoC MPs lack empathy – we don't know how lucky we were.

     Govt's disservice to women and NZ [10 May 2025]
     But something has gone wrong with our leadership. Our politics and our politicians appear to be losing their way in expounding messages and policies which are progressive, empathetic, inclusive and just. In other words, doing what they can to make sure things are essentially right for as many people as possible. This week's punch to the stomach over barely signalled changes to pay equity law reveals a government that has clearly either misplaced, or lost, its moral fibre.
     …
     Pushed along by Act New Zealand’s Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden, the law change was deliberately kept from the public’s eye, and from a place where the public might be able to have any input or rail against it.

     The way is was handled, and heard under urgency in Parliament, was sneaky. it also smacks of a guilty conscience.
     …
     As others have pointed out, this is a coalition which thinks nothing of upsetting much of the country and wasting millions of dollars and many months on a Treaty Principles Bill which it said it was ultimately going to vote down anyway.

     Reply
7. Incognito 7

   19 May 2025 at 2:50 pm

   The PM on the possibility of filibuster fall-out tomorrow and following (?) days:

   […] but from my point of view, you know, we've got a country to run, you know, and MP's talking about themselves isn’t helpful when actually the New Zealand public want us to be focused on them and that's what I'm focused on. [transcribed from audio]

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018987719/pm-luxon-on-suspension-for-te-pati-maori-mps-over-haka [HT to Newsroom Newsletter]

   Luxon, our current PM, has a warped view of Parliament and parliamentary debate, it seems. No wonder this/his government doesn’t engage, explain, justify, let alone excuse things, least of all to the public unless it suits their narrative and their agenda. At the end of the day, he sounds like someone who doesn’t want to be held up and held accountable because he’s got a plane to catch.

   Reply
   • Obtrectator 7.1

     19 May 2025 at 11:40 pm

     the New Zealand public want us to be focused on them and that's what I'm focused on

     Only plain old basic focus this time, instead of his habitual laser focus? NZ public, you're being short-changed here!

     Reply
     • Drowsy M. Kram 7.1.1

       20 May 2025 at 12:27 am

       NZ public, you're being short-changed here!

       Look, you know, let me be clear – what I would just say to you is I'm laser focused on being absolutely sorted, and not in the least shonky.

       Reply
8. Drowsy M. Kram 8

   19 May 2025 at 2:51 pm

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon_Murdoch

   Congratulations to Sharon Murdoch, the News Publishers' Association Cartoonist/Animator of the Year for 2025.

   https://npa.co.nz/voyager-media-awards/2025-winners/

   Here's a sample of Murdoch's work, from the NPA link.

   

   Reply
9. weka 9

   19 May 2025 at 3:12 pm

   when's the next political poll due out?

   Reply
10. Ad 10

    19 May 2025 at 3:19 pm

    Crikey the fast retirement of the Aratere ferry across Cook Strait is going to be a real resilience risk to New Zealand's interisland travel infrastructure.

    BlueBridge is going to be rubbing their hands.

    Reply
    • Graeme 10.1

      19 May 2025 at 7:24 pm

      Is Bluebridge any better? They run 2nd /3rd hand boats and seem to replace them frequently, recipe for things breaking when the service is put under a bit of pressure.

      Going to be some interesting questions for Nicola when the trucks are queued to Nauranga and crossing rates double.

      Reply
11. SPC 11

    19 May 2025 at 5:33 pm

    The under-funding of primary health care is placing pressure on hospitals and after hours care (where people without a GP and or an appointment can go).

    This is making an effort to provide public health services.

    https://assets.nationbuilder.com/beachheroes/pages/40021/attachments/original/1747170885/Hauora-PolicyDoc-WEBVERSION.pdf?1747170885

    A somewhat more limited approach.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/561409/budget-2025-new-funding-for-after-hours-care-not-going-to-go-very-far-gp-and-urgent-care-doctor

    After hours clinics charge extra to patients not from clinics supporting them.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/561468/patients-paying-over-200-to-visit-after-hours-in-palmerston-north

    Reply

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