That would look contrived. She is admired around the world, and has friends in many places. I would think they wanted a venue close to home for family in these times. The fact it is a private venue means no covid worries.
They are there for a fairly brief time. It is not their property.
Would you comment on the value of the venue and or the owners of it, for any other wedding Gezza?
If Luxon has 7 properties, any criticism is – of course – dismissed as "tall poppy syndrome".
But if Ardern has 1 day in a nice house … let's grab our scythes and cut her down!
And of course it's all totally not sexist, no sir, don't even suggest it, some of our best friends are ladies, love them all, flowers in the boardroom, adds a nice touch …
The woman could wrap herself in coffee sacks, trot off to the city mission with the Rt Revd Justin Duckworth officiating and one mob would piss and moan about how the fucking sacks reeked of expensive coffee, another that the sacks had once contained Cuban coffee, another that her choice of venue was virtue signaling and yet another that the Rt Rev's dreads were proof of her commitment to CRT.
Dog only knows what the assorted misery-guts and curtain twitching wowsers would have to say about the chateau de cardboard, Flame, smallies, savouries and asparagus rolls dished up at the after-match.
No it's got that "our wedding day is a special occasion, let's make it as memorable as possible " vibe about it.
Most couples make it as memorable as they choose, some jump out of planes, some have a beach ceremony without clothing, and no doubt some weirdos wear camouflage while clutching their firearms .
My guess is, the American owners of the property offered their beautiful setting after hearing about the unfortunate verbal stoush involving their previous venue.
Gosh, if that had been a much younger me I would have jumped at the chance. And I bet their wedding guests will be excited about it too.
since its not open to the public, its got the "none of your business" feel about it. and its none of our business how two people choose to conduct there wedding .
The wedding arrangements are a private matter and politics is a public matter. It is about having control over your personal space on your wedding day when you are the bride and the groom.
Politicians are entitled to draw the line between their private and public life.
Dude regaled me once with tales of one of the more execrable experiences his duties as a flight attendant entailed, swabbing out overflowing dunnies during a Pacific long-haul.
Most women could match that story… as they clean toilets every day, and nappies…though modern blokes like Clarke are real. Mr. Luxon only commented because it was not his usual gig, and it was part of the learning curve.
What a mean attitude. You are acting like she has done nothing about foodbanks and should be in sack cloth and ashes. Don't be so sour.
Yes, this will be presented to all with some formal photos of the day. Why not? Our PM has worked extremely long hours for two covid years and deserves her privacy for her function with their invited guests. Anything else would be surprising.
I’m just having a wee leg pull. If I really felt she should be getting married in sackcloth & ashes, I’d be posting on Kiwiblog, not here. Though I must admit I’m a bit surprised she’s gone for such a high end venue.
With such high end venues goes the ability to have high end security. With the anti vaxx & other nutters around including Trumpists, who have been making their presence felt at vaccination and testing centres, the Auckland Domain and at Parliament you cannot be too careful.
Hopefully she will be able to take up Peter Gordon on his offer to do the food, something the previous venue thought their 33 years as caterers could match, yeah right.
If it were the daughter of an ex-PM, it was a ritzy venue with an array of the rich and famous and a big time entertainer? Criticism would have been met with calls of "jealousy" and "tall poppy syndrome."
Some would have it that Ardern as a Labour MP should be in sackcloth, the do should be in a local RSA and the after match tucker should be sausage rolls.
The most fascinating thing will be to see the level of the "We're pissed of we were thrashed in the last election" sadsacks on the blogsites they gather on.
Oh, and the incidental stunts David Seymour comes up with to counter the attention.
A private wedding at a very private venue riddled with security guards courtesy of the owners. All we will get to see are a few chosen photographs after the event and maybe a brief video.
I want to see someone chunder because they had too much too quickly, a speech that goes wrong because they had too much too quickly and someone sitting off to the side crying and being consoled because (you guessed it) they had too much too quickly
I wonder if they finally paid that dude in Gisborne the 5 grand cancellation fees, after all the man had receipts. lol.
But yeah, totally a good look, look World, this is what you can buy in NZ and call it a 'billionaires homestead'. So nice and cozy.
But then the show must go on, and the television crews will lap it up, and womans weekly will spend a hefty sum for some pictures of a women in a bridal gown, and we can pretend that this is our royal couple. BlaBlaBla
btw, the advent of Delta has left my brother's catering business dead in the water. The Scots business jimmy in him made the decision to return deposits but most clients are saying keep it, and pay out your staff.
This is where it helps to have a basic media awareness. It's pretty depressing how many media-consumers seem to lack it.
There are 2 kinds of TV coverage – arranged, and not. (Or "wanted, and not").
I hope nobody thinks the PM should be in charge of censoring the press. They publish garbage about celebs every day, she can't stop them. It's what they do.
So the only issue here is the coverage that Ardern (her office) arranges. Repeat: she doesn't control the other stuff.
OK, then … what family photo-ops does Ardern put on? How much TV coverage have you seen of Neve? When has she ever been paraded in front of the cameras? She is the least photographed "celeb" child. How often do you see coverage of Ardern & Gayford strolling hand in hand, compared to other politicians?
You don't. Apologies for introducing facts to the fake narrative, but there it is.
Well done Alwyn Thanks for that. They care for each other and Neve, and many of those are photos during functions or activities, not posed, and some are repeats, but I actually enjoyed looking through them. You left some famous ones out though!
I'm sorry but that was the only google search I did, and I never actually looked at the photos. I was just responding to Observers seeming belief that they maintain private lives and avoid the cameras to a greater degree than other politicians. That is utter rubbish.
Womans weekly will spend a hefty sum for some pictures of a women in a bridal gown
Unless there is a special charity deal, this obviously will not happen.
It would be good if you could apologise when it doesn't. You may not like the PM much, but do you really think she is avaricious, and/or politically stupid?
No there was no firm booking made.. What receipts? No funds changed hands, and he would not agree to their requests for the day so negotiations fell over.
My sister got a shock when she & hubby returned from a seven-year overseas work stint, first in Oz & then in Brunei & she was looking foward to seeing decent tv news broadcasts. She calls 1ewes at 6 Woman’s Weekly News.
At home I watched broadcast TV once since late 2012 – that was in 2019 (I think). I even brought a free to air box to do it. This was because my partner wanted to see the ads for professional reasons. She watched and afternoon and an evening, and then we never turned it on again.
I eventually pout it into the cupboard where maybe possibly useful in the future electronics goes.
The funny part will be all the obsessive Ardern-haters with bulging veins on their foreheads, desperately searching for coverage of the wedding in the media, just so that they can complain there's coverage of the wedding in the media.
For those who need it explaining slowly … if it's a live TV event with hosts from the Project and exclusive deals on cake sponsorship, that's tacky and Trumpy.
If it's a private wedding and the media aren't invited, then it isn't.
How about a hotel venue owned by corporations and billionaires, or a church owned by billionaire clerical corporations?
What's the problem, Gezza? I got married 45 years and 1 day ago in a church valued at millions and had a reception in a probably similar costing private venue.
The church fell down in the ChCh earthquake, the reception venue is gone but our marriage continues. No-one commented on the appropriateness or otherwise of the venue.; except it was an Anglican church and I was raised. like you, a Catholic…..
So why are we climbing into the PM? None of our business.
What happened to Ten Guitars, really! NZ party classic with the 'gat and this, for all the venue and catering and security, will be a NZ party……least-ways I hope it will be fun for all.
What do mean you mean "we"? And I'm not really. I can see two points of view about this choice of venue, given that:
Ardern has pledged to end child povidy and that food banks have never been busier than under her administration, and
Ardern is engaged, has planned a wedding in a very upmarket location that one assumes will be quite easy to secure and ensure that unwanted folk are kept away from disrupting the nuptials, all very practical really.
I chose to express the viewpoint I thought would generate the most fun comments.
None of our business.
Wrong. It's going to be everybody's business. If it wasn't our business the nuptials would've been organised in secret. This is going to generate a LOT of good, free PR for the PM, and will be a big hit with female voters. No reason not to milk it for all it's worth, which will no doubt be done.
You then asked for other's opinions. You got mine.
Exactly.
Because I'm not invested politically I often view politicians and political issues from the different viewpoints of the various partisans.
When I do that, I can go either way when I express an opinion. I could go on to argue the case further why this is not a good look for our PM, but I am persuaded more by the arguments advanced in favour of Ardern choosing this venue that it's not now worth my doing that.
I often view issues like this with a humorous aspect; if some people take umbrage and are humourless about it, it's not my problem. One of the advantages of not being politically tribal. More things are funny.
No, it was a serious question, I added humour to the mix a little further down. It must've gone over your head. You probably thought I was being serious.
BTW, if you are not 'invested politically', what are you doing on a political blog, making political statements about politicians? More bullshit
I should clarify: by that I meant I'm not politically tribal. I've mostly voted Labour but it's not a guaranteed vote. I vote. So I take an interest in political & social & societal matters and that means I get to make political statements about politicians. It's not bullshit. It's just how it is.
"Gezza said, "Because I'm not invested politically I often view politicians and political issues from the different viewpoints of the various partisans.
When I do that, I can go either way when I express an opinion"
Fence-sitter.
Never wrong, because you didn't invest in a position.
So reminiscent of Pete George, the greyest fence-sitter in creation!
When I do that, I can go either way when I express an opinion" Fence-sitter. Never wrong, because you didn't invest in a position.
Never right either. So what? How really big & important an issue is where the PM has her wedding, in the overall scheme of things – you know, life the universe, the state of the country, and everything?
So reminiscent of Pete George, the greyest fence-sitter in creation!
I did used to chide him gently for coming over here and stirring up the hornets. Pete ran a non-partisan blog. Partisans like you can't cope with other political viewpoints or balancing out political pros and cons at all well. But that’s what many voters do.
Make a stand, Gezza! Put your stake in the ground! Stand up for something!!
I do. Often. When the issue’s important to me and/or others. You just don't notice.
"How really big & important an issue is where the PM has her wedding, in the overall scheme of things – you know, life the universe, the state of the country, and everything?"
Stop sniping at me" The next stage of passive -aggressive response is – after blaming and avoiding issues- to play the victim.
Gezza, you're the sniper, in deep cover, and claiming not to even be on the battlefield.
I too have pukeko on my river far edge. They squabble all the time. I'm beginning to feel familial. I'll return to being the visiting harrier, observing and comparing, or the scaup diving for food. The noisy spur-winged plover has gone with his boisterous and bullying ways and the black swans have gone to the lagoon.
Stop sniping at me” The next stage of passive -aggressive response is – after blaming and avoiding issues – to play the victim.
Nothing passive about me, dude – or dudette? You have an ill-considered or unwarranted go at me, I’m quite happy to smack you back. I haven’t avoided any issues.
Gezza, you’re the sniper, in deep cover, and claiming not to even be on the battlefield.
You appear to have a way over-active imagination. The fact that I don’t need to feel the emotional security of having the same opinion or viewpoint as the rest of the crowd, like you and Robert, doesn’t put me under cover, does it? I’m out in the open. And this isn’t a battlefield. It’s just a blog.
I don’t post on blogs under multiple usernames. Been using Gezza solely for several years now.
You've never posted "on blogs under multiple usernames", or just "for several years now"?
Dude or dudette just meant I have no idea what sex (or gender?) Mac1 is.
Why you might feel the urge to declare your ignorance of mac1's sex (or gender) in this way, and quite why chris T ["…dude? …. or dudette?"] was similarly curious about my sex (or gender) are mysteries, but nothing to fret about – everyone needs a 'hobby'.
As you can see, chris T's ( or Chris t's) hobby here was too 'critique' the government, with a special focus on PM Ardern. He was a particularly boorish bore, imho, either thick as two short planks or giving a fair performance of same, but your guess is as good as mine.
You’ve never posted “on blogs under multiple usernames”, or you haven’t “for several years now”?
Sigh. You are fixating on small stuff. I used a different username many years ago for maybe a year or so. I wasn’t all that happy with it. I changed to Gezza several years back & have stuck with that everywhere I’ve posted ever since.
Your #1. “Is this a good look for our PM? A billionaire’s rural luxury estate awaits Jacinda Ardern and partner Clarke Gayford on their wedding day……… I don’t think it is."
Then later, having been challenged you write it off as humour, when at 1.3.1.3.2 you say "I’m just having a wee leg pull."
Then, it becomes unimportant. You say "How really big & important an issue is where the PM has her wedding, in the overall scheme of things – you know, life the universe, the state of the country, and everything?"
Not avoiding the issue? As soon as you're challenged, you change your ground.
BTW, was your other username on The Standard and if so who were you?
I’m not responsible for your seeming inability to follow the discussion in that thread, mac1 & thus wrongly conflate several separate issues. But, hey, carry on if your obsession to continue ranting at me is too strong to resist.
Gezza, you're 'concerned' about whether this is "a good look for our PM", and very exercised about disparaging remarks directed at our latest leader of the opposition [anyone sensing a pattern – male pattern baldness perhaps?], but I'm fixating on the small stuff?
From that first comment at 6:28 am, imho your 'contributions' here today constitute a blight – quite predictable, as mac1 observed. Nite
My suggestion is you all give it a rest. It's been several hours in this subthread since the politics were discussed, might be good to go back to that rather than taking potshots at each other
As both the Prime Minister Hipkins and other guests have been subject to threats by some very anti people, I don't blame them choosing a venue that is away from drones buses 'planes or helicopter "fly overs/ drive bys'.
As for some comments here which pretend to be jokes… they say more about the person than Jacinda Ardern. I have only once heard her slip into "names" when she almost called Judith Collins "Karen" As JC's own were calling her worse names it quickly lost impact.
It is a lack of grace that simply wishing her well would choke some people. She has had to change her date because of covid, had to find a time where people could attend, so I hope it all goes well for her and Clarke and Neve.
That Herald article has been considerably updated since I first read it early this morning. There's more info and pics now that weren't in the first report I saw.
You make some good points there Patricia. And it's not as if they'll be hobnobbing with the billionaire class for long – it's just the venue for their actual wedding. (Well, who knows, maybe for a honeymoon too?)
One wonders what earlier Labour leaders – supposed champions of the poor & the working class – would have done? But then, Ardern worked for Tony Blair and he hobnobbed with the upper classes & the wealthy quite a lot.
I hope their wedding goes off well. Nobody decent wants to see anybody's wedding ruined. I imagine it's going to be a very closely controlled event. It will be interesting to see what publicity is given to it on the day, and post-event.
There will I expect be some capitalisation on it for PR purposes. I'll be interested to see how much – it will appeal to women voters particularly, so I expect some magazine spreads and controlled tv coverage.
I think I’ve covered everything by now. The Labour Party of today isn’t the Party it was in terms of how revolutionary & focussed on the poor & working class that it once was.
I can see why some pundits claim there’s not really much difference between the centre left & the centre right. I think neoliberalism, kicked off by the Lange/Douglas administration, has changed our society so much that now a Labour leader doesn’t go for a plain simple wedding at some simple venue.
And probably a lot of voters won’t care. Labour, imo, is still probably more likely to WANT to do more for the poor & working class than National will be. I was just curious to see what comments from Labour supporters came out of that original post of mine.
I mean it's her wedding she can do what she likes but the banquet hall or the old upper house room in parliament are regularly used for weddings and would make a gorgeous venue.
There's also government house .. it's a pretty damn nice building for a wedding.
These buildings are regularly used by foreign dignitaries, monarchs and heads of state as well as for weddings of parliament staff. I would have gone with that …
Reading it's a hedge fund managers property made me roll my eyes for a second.
But honestly, who cares.
It's their wedding have it wherever, and if it's private then it's none of our business and not political but if they sell women's day and the media pics of them basking in opulence as if they are some celebrity couple, it becomes political and it won't be the good pr story, they want and it is tacky when public servants are treated like stars.
I hope they have fun, but I expect them to be tacky and sell the pics to national and international tabloids because this is the same couple where the nations first man hosts a show about moving house while the prime ministers administration has utterly failed spectacularly on housing affordability, stability and supply, and anyone outside of the bubble would have said "na mate don't do a show on housing, it'll make ya partner look bad" and it became a meme for every millennial,gen z, working class , beneficiary etc struggling to get a rental they can afford or stay in, move out of their parents, get out of a motel, put together a loan etc because it's such an out of touch move during a housing apocalypse from the first man it deserved all the memes, mockery and insults and selling pictures of her in a billionaires mansion getting married will be met with the same mocking, insulting, memeing derision from the people labour is supposed to represent.
So I hope they have fun, congratulations, but don't sell those pictures to the tabloids if you don't want it to become political and a meme and don't do a second season of that damned moving house show!
I expect them to be tacky and sell the pics to national and international tabloids
They won't. Seriously, do you not see how easy it is to be captured by this irrational mindset? You lose touch with reality when you buy into that nonsense.
Whatever anyone thinks of her gov't policies, Ardern is not a fool. She is perfectly capable of weighing up the political risks and rewards. If we can, she certainly can.
As I commented elsewhere, the only possible deal would be for some charity. She is not going to seek personal financial gain. Why on earth would she throw away her support (= her job), and what, in her political career so far, would give anyone grounds to think she would?
I’ve been reflecting on my comments yesterday & I now realise that my reference to a stable & a manger & holding the reception in a food bank, while meant as humorous & tongue-in-cheek, were in poor taste (both to the PM & the people forced to visit them), so the negative reaction they caused I should have expected on a left-leaning, government-supporting blog like TS.
So I apologise for that unnecessarily provocative, poor taste remark.
I tend to be somewhat cynical about all politicians these days & thus probably too critical without acknowledging their successes often enuf.
Regarding Ardern, as PM I acknowledge that she has done a superb job to date of managing Kiwiland’s response to Covid & the relevant stats speak tellingly to how successful the govt has been.
There have been various shortfalls & screw ups, which have never been conceded by the govt as such, but in Ministers like Hipkins (& most recently, Little, re health workers being blocked from getting MIQ slots by MBIE staff cockups) have generally addressed them speedily & with much better outcomes than many other countries.
Ardern has had to face an unprecedented challenge with Covid & has met that challenge & is to be congratulated for not shrinking from making tuff decisions that make her liable to criticisms from opposition parties & affected sectors.
As regards her private life, the comparison between the Woman’s Weekly articles in her & Luxon seems quite stark to me. Ardern was being accused in advance by Rightie critics of being likely to “wheel Neve out for cutesy stories” at difficult times politically. She has never done that. Nor do I think she ever will. She has managed to successfully keep her private family life private – except for what glimpses people might get on Facebook, which is what one expects on Facebook.
I had to lol when the topic of her wedding being secret or public came up yesteday. Because, from what I can see, it IS being kept secret. The Herald article even notes that the couple wishes to keep it private for their families, & is based on 3rd party hearsay sources. All we know is that it is expected to occur “sometime in late January”.
I’ll be interested to see what publicity & photos are published after the event. Looking at how her family life has been managed to date, I realise today that it is most probably going to be quite low-key.
I’m human. That means I make mistakes. And I’m a bloke, so when I get attacked, I hit back. Yesterday I made a mistake. But it’s a new day today, so I’ve learned from it & am not going to repeat it.
Good on you Gezza – fwiw, chris T's comments often begin with "Sorry".
[RL: I will need to see the reasoning that led to this remark about ‘Chris T’. As far as I’m aware you are addressing a commenter called ‘Gezza’ and introducing other pseudonyms skates on thin ice, unless you can show fair cause.]
Apologies for my over-active pattern recognition facility. Yesterday I observed a curious (to me) similarity between the way Gezza chose to pointlessly express his ignorance of mac1's sex (or gender):
I also observed here that there’s a similarity between chris T's tedious 'critiques' of our government, PM Ardern in particular, and Gezza's choice of comment @1.
I don't resile from my observations, but happy to admit that they are not proof of collusion between Gezza and any other identity on The Standard.
Re: chris T's comments often begin with "Sorry" – they really do (can't link to the many more examples without tripping the 'too many links' filter):
and that's no biggie – many have had occasion to apologise, e.g. Gezza, and me just now.
As an aside, it was once suggested here that I was sockpuppet for Morrissey – you know, another Professor Longhair. But it got sorted out amicably thanks to some deft moderating.
I also take a really dim view of commenters trying to break someone's pseudonym. If you have serious concerns that someone is using a sock puppet or breaking a ban, please quietly let a mod know and they will look at it. But don't start speculating on who people really are. We protect pseudonyms here for really good reasons.
I have a Mr & Mrs Blackbird who nest in a hedging plant right outside my kitchen window. Always a bit of a wow moment to show visitors as they just just fly straight into the hedge, no hopping onto a branch then making their way in…just zoooooooom like a jet plane into the centre where the nest is.
Henny & Blackie had a large, conical nest in a three-pronged fork in one of the three sheoaks behind my manuka tree 2 years back. I would go out & call to Henny while she was sitting on the eggs. Her little head would pop up over the edge of the nest, & she’d look at me, but she wouldn’t come down for bread chunks until Blackie arrived to relief-sit.
The nest was too high up for me to see how man eggs they were incubating, but they did successfully raise two blackbird fledglings.
🙂 With Women's Weekly and Forest and Bird magazine both now being delivered to the Standard …….. can we get Gezza back to politics, social commentary, current affairs?
Property investors supposedly spend their days buying huge numbers of properties through using tax advantages, outbidding homeowners and driving up house prices. What’s not to dislike about them?
The problem is that this is a common misconception, often repeated as fact.
Something for Blazer to chew over…
Small-scale rental providers are highly efficient and cost-effective. Higher standards have also made these homes healthier, which is a good thing. Housing low-income families in private rentals is considerably cheaper for the taxpayer than community or institutional housing.
We have a crisis-level shortage of rental property. Ask the tenants.
Rather than demonising the people who provide rental homes, we should be making it easier for them. At the very least, remove the hand brakes that have been applied over the last few years. Tenants and taxpayers would both be better off if we did.
I realise the article triggers cognitive dissonance in the minds of every good leftie – whose visceral instinct is to line all the bastard leaching landlords up against a wall at dawn – but I've read the article and I'm curious to know exactly what bullshit?
Demonising landlords has to be a conscious strategy to redirect attention away from the failure to effectively address the housing crisis.
Part of that failure includes allowing an environment to flourish where explotative and irresponsible landlords are some tenants only choice. That does not mean that all landlords fit that role.
Since 2010, house price increases averaged 8.2 percent annually, but average hourly earnings growth only averaged 2.9 per cent.
That average hourly earnings was swallowed up immediately by rents, which increased 3 per cent annually.
There are 487,000 people in New Zealand who own 1-5 rental properties: that's most of them. But let's not confuse the "mum and dads" with being amateurs. Most carefully watch their margins.
This government has made more progress regulating for quality rentals and on taxing rental property than any government I've yet seen. And I say that as a landlord who's been through a major upgrade this year.
But we will need a couple of years to see whether that major group have sold down enough to make a difference in the real estate market.
Until then I would treat apologists like the column's author with a pinch of salt.
The point is Ad that despite constant series of move against landlords, the main outcome is both property prices and rents have increased and there is now a real shortage of rentals.
That's the facts on the ground – but you want us to wait a few more years to see if things get better. Good luck with that.
Australia and UK are experiencing flight of capital to housing as well. Their prices are surging. Interest rates and inflation caused by the covid money. Our government has begun to wind down the pressure. Look at the latest auction figures Only 30% sold. Tide is turning.
'Treasury's latest economic and fiscal update, known as HYEFU, shows house prices are forecast to increase 10.4 percent next year, meaning the median house price – currently $925,000 – will rise to more than $1 million. '
I would like to have more details when it comes to the daily stats for NZ Covid infections. Separate figures for first dose, second dose, booster dose, unvaccinated, previous Covid infection, close contact, household contact and unknown.
I realise this would be problematic everyday so at least once a week covering the last 7 days.
I would include the Delta and Omicron strains in the above figures. Huge lab resources would be required.
And when you have all the details what would you do with them?
The Covid trend in NZ would then be known. I would expect the government to control the NZ border and prioritise who they allow in for the good of the country.
2022 is shaping up for Covid to become a bigger problem than it has ever been.
How to help the countries which are struggling comes down to money and health workers. A Covid international fund run by a new organisation is required.
I didn't mean the backroom boffins having more details when it comes to the daily stats for NZ Covid infections. I meant you. You said, "I would like to have more details…"
The officials would seek the details they need to suit their purposes and no doubt collect what they need for their purposes.
If not published and made available for the general public to get a better picture outside their immediate circumstance, its called repressing information. This is largely done in communist and dictatorial states. The question is: what is there to be afraid of? Admittingly, for some 30% of people this would be like the hieroglyphs of the ancient Egyptians but this is no reason to withheld information. There are enough NZ landers that are well educated to make up their own mind without having to rely on the "official" drip feed version. But then again, it might be expedient for those on the leaver of that information to have the dissemination "controlled" and with it the means of manipulating public reactions. Possible?
The stats would influence my decision making. Stay close to home, who I allow into my home. How often I go out. Do I have a medical procedure I can reschedule.
The most depressing statistics are in the Economist. This shows the figures for selected countries of the number of people who are protected against the Delta and Omicron variants of Covid 19.
For Delta they estimate we are at about the 40th percentile with about 70% of the population protected. For Omicron we would be at the 10th percentile with about 2% of the population protected. The graph is here.
Our low ranking is mostly due to the fact that we have had very few cases and have little yet in the way of booster doses.
Having had very cases seems to me to be something to cheer, except it seems ever more likely that we will get it in the future. It is like the laws of thermodynamics. The first law says you can't win. The second law says you can't even break even.
We can't even break even with our protection. It isn't fair!
Well I have had the belief from a long way back that sooner or later we are all going to get Covid 19. I am just glad that the vaccines seem to greatly reduce your chance of a severe dose and you are much more likely to survive the experience.
The question is how many can utilize alternatives, such as using a bike or heating by different means. Or do those poor, old and sick become collateral damage?
Windmills require substantial concrete blocks on the grounds that basically cover large stretches of ground and create an issue with oxygen and water exchange and thus the ground "dies". There is strong resistance in Europe as windmill farms are now encroaching on arable land, basically coving the same with concrete, reducing food production.
A large portion of older, sick and frail people will not be able to get their basic needs covered if only electric cars would be allowed and no public transport is available. Not everybody is living next to a supermarket in walking distance. Who can afford a 30K car on $ 340 a week? Also, has anybody read up on the enormous environmental issue with those batteries? Similar with those phones that are now throw away products. Look at the need for these due to the download of the covid scan. And it cannot be any phone.
To just throw the first idea around as it would be the philosophers stone and to ride a trendy wave is simply not good enough. Effort: D, Implementation and consideration of other factors involved : D. Research of consequences D.
Population growth is an issue. And to say that the poorer nations have to pay the price as the rich ones have "contracted" their cheap and nasty manufacturing to those nations is no solution either. And another "D".
Reducing consumption is a good concept and applaudable. However, if you would mathematically calculate renewable resources, speed of replacement or food harvest, increase of population and distribution; how many people would still die of hunger? Climate change based on deforestation and the seas fished up, used as dumping ground for chemicals, plastics etc.. Any answers? No, none. Another "D".
We pay politicians handsomely and the captain of industry bosses obscenely well only to come up with more of the same with another set of serious issues that these people do not think about or simply don's want to know. But this time, it will be their own grand kids that will have to cope with their laissez-faire approach to the resources of this planet.
There is desperation in the air but surely we don't need to cut the nose despite the face.
Not sure what you are trying to say there. TINA? That's bleak. We know runaway climate change will kill a very large number of people, as well as mass extinctions. Why would you advocate for that? It's an utter failure of imagination to assume that actions that prevent that would also kill many people.
We can do many things: upscale public transport, relocalise economies (yes, we can have banks, grocers, hairdressers, etc in our neighbourhoods again), grow food locally, stop flying so much, stop consuming so much, stop wasting food, resources, time, energy. On and on. We have all the solutions at our finger tips. The problem isn't that it's not possible, it's that people don't/won't act.
In under 24 months we've just had our entire ability to work, get around a city, communicate, respond to public policy, get groceries, and engage as a society utterly transformed.
We've had two massive areas of our export economy nearly killed off dead.
We've gone into more public debt than ever before, and on all counts are the most successfully managed developed economy in the entire world.
We can respond to climate change if we are given the political leadership to do so.
A million expected to attend omicron party in NYC:
“Times Square New Year’s Eve is moving forward with its plans for an outdoor celebration with fully vaccinated revelers,” a representative for the Times Square Alliance told Rolling Stone in an email on Friday. “We continue to work in close coordination with city officials and will make adjustments if necessary.”
Representatives for Mayor Bill de Blasio, who, per tradition, will be one of the guests of honor at the Times Square party, echoed the Times Square Alliance’s sentiment, directing Rolling Stone to comments the outgoing mayor made on CNN Thursday night.
The mayor went on to insist that event personnel will “literally” check each individual attendee’s vaccination status. “A million people?” CNN’s Michael Smerconish asked, incredulously. “Sure,” de Blasio said.
The event, which draws one million in-person spectators in a typical year, was canceled in 2020, and Times Square was closed to the public.
I hope that this planned super spreader event does not hatch a Delta/Omicron strain.
When it comes to having no capacity in the health system will those who attend scream about their human rights to health care, vaccinated or not vaccinated?
A study by Oregon researchers finds that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 who have a breakthrough infection end up with what the authors call "super immunity."
They caution the vaccinated should not seek COVID-19 infection, but the "hybrid immunity" offers some solace for those who catch one despite having been vaccinated.
"The bottom line of the study is that vaccine provides you with foundational immunity for whatever comes next," said Fikadu Tafesse, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine in Portland, Oregon.
[…]
Getting a booster is still safer than getting COVID-19, said Dr. Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, particularly for those at risk for severe disease, including those over 70, people with diabetes and those with weakened immune systems.
"Best is getting three doses of an mRNA vaccine and never getting infected. Complications, including long COVID and transmission to others, represent a risk even in that scenario," Poland said.
He offered a hierarchy of safety:
Best scenario: Fully vaccinated and boosted, no infection upon exposure
Next best: Fully vaccinated, boosted and asymptomatic or mild disease upon exposure/infection
Next best: Fully vaccinated, boosted, moderate disease and attendant complication risks upon infection
Worse: not fully vaccinated or boosted and risk severe disease/death and its risks upon infection
In understanding R values its important to understand they are also influenced a lot by behaviour. If a country goes into lockdown the R value (almost certainly) goes down and different countries policies, connectedness and behaviours are encoded in it. This means at minimum they are not really comparable between countries. Yes, there is an aspect of virus infectiousness in there, but many other factors going on too.
I know what biomimicry is, it’s very cool. Reductionists using biomimicry to sustain BAU is not going to get us out of this mess. Whole systems thinking and humility might.
Makes me think of Lawton's saying, you can solve all the world's problems in a garden (or forest). Most on the left would dismiss that as silly and superficial, but I think he is in part pointing to how humans are changed by immersion in gardening, the joy and gratitude that comes from that and how that then fractals out.
There’s a significant difference between choosing not to be vaccinated and actively campaigning to prevent access to healthcare that people will die or become disabled without.
That leaflet isn’t rabbit holing it’s ethical sink holes.
I reckon it's well past time to label Covid disinfo and attempts to disrupt Covid mitigation measures as attacks on the nation's citizen's physical, mental and socioeconomic well being.
There is already legislation preventing certain materials being distributed in letter-boxes provided the appropriate message is on the letter box.
Somebody could make a small fortune producing a sticky backed message banning Voice of Freedom literature in letter boxes. I've been bombarded with them in recent weeks and have had enough of it.
They're advocating against the vaccination programme. They want people's healthcare removed. I have no problem with people choosing to not vaccinate. But politically trying to remove that option for other people is fucked up.
They're also misleading and outright lying in that pamphlet, straight out of the right wing play book. This smells like dirty politics.
Healthy democracy would be helping people to make informed consent choices, not lying to them with propaganda.
The flyer is satire, and much like a good greek satire play reflects the absurdity of where we're at.
The irony of your last comment is that if you wanted better informed consent you would be supporting groups like theirs that provide something akin to a second opinion, not attacking them.
the problem with trying to be satire, is that it's also misleading the public. I can't see any way in which lying about vaccine efficacy is necessary for the goal of satire in that piece.
I do actually support informed consent and dissent from mainstream medical narratives. I have my whole adult life and I have a background in patient rights. This is not the way to go about it. They are either politically naive, or do in fact have the intention of fucking with the vaccination programme. I can't tell which, although looking at their website, taking it at face value, I'd guess the former. They may be getting bad advice. But this attempt at satire demonstrates poor judgement.
You can't be definition give informed consent when you are being lied to. They are not health practitioners, but if they're going to quote the HDC code then they themselves need to stop lying about medical treatments. It just doesn't work and completely undermines their objectives and integrity.
Not sure though that other manifestations of 'democracy' by the virulent anti vaxx such as picketing testing centres to such an extent, and so threateningly, that the workers feel threatened and have to shut up shop is the sign of anything now apart from anarchy, terror and bullying.
tbf, the group that put out the pamphlet might not have anything to do with the those protestors. They should of course distance themselves. I suspect they are on a similar learning curve re politics as Groundswell.
Don't know for certain in relation to the Richmond Covid19 station, but the Voices For Freedom clowns have been prominent (and their signs / teeshirts) at every protest in Nelson / Marlborough lately.
I’d rather not speak for them, but it seems clear to me that VFF is disseminating disinformation designed to discourage Kiwis from getting vaccinated against Covid-19. Have a look at some of the flyers available on their website and decide for yourself.
thanks DMK. I did look last night and hadn't seen that bit about the pin cushion, just them saying they're not anti-vax.
That level of dishonesty is going to harm them politically. Again the political inexperience is obvious. As is the inability to discern truth and be willing to misrepresent. I'm willing to give people some leeway, but so much of this is just stupid (and unnecessary).
Sociopathy having captured American culture in recent years, the spectre of political disintegration looms sufficiently to engage thinkers:
The country is not going to split into two hostile sections and fight a war of secession. No dictator will send his secret police to round up dissidents in the dead of night. Analogies like these bring the comfort of at least being familiar. Nothing has aided Donald Trump more than Americans’ failure of imagination. It’s essential to picture an unprecedented future so that what may seem impossible doesn’t become inevitable.
If the end comes, it will come through democracy itself. Here’s one way I imagine it could happen: In 2024, disputed election results in several states lead to tangled proceedings in courtrooms and legislatures. The Republican Party’s long campaign of undermining faith in elections leaves voters on both sides deeply skeptical of any outcome they don’t like. When the next president is finally chosen by the Supreme Court or Congress, half the country explodes in rage.
Protests soon turn violent, and the crowds are met with lethal force by the state, while instigators firebomb government buildings. Neighborhoods organize self-defense groups, and law-enforcement officers take sides or go home. Predominantly red or blue counties turn on political minorities… The new president takes power in a state of siege.
Seems feasible. Almost everyone's still in denial re democracy failure but this writer gets the message.
Michael Anton, a former Trump White House adviser, recently wrote:
If the Lone Star way of life is to survive, Texans must fight for it. Then we shall see whether California’s long experiment with postmodern deracination and anti-masculinity can stand up to Texas’s more robust embrace of the old virtues. I’m not a betting man, but were that conflict to erupt, my money would be on Texas.
Texas invading California would be a compelling reality tv show. However this scenario would likely be stymied by the politics of having to negotiate transit through New Mexico & Arizona.
Another, likelier scenario is widespread cynicism. Following the election crisis, protests burn out. Americans lapse into acquiescence, believing that all leaders lie, all voting is rigged, all media are bought, corruption is normal, and any appeal to higher values such as freedom and equality is either fraudulent or naive. The loss of democracy turns out not to matter all that much. The hollowed core of civic life brings a kind of relief.
Citizens indulge themselves in self-care and the metaverse, where politics turns into a private game and algorithms drive Americans into ever more extreme views that have little relation to reality or relevance to those in power. There’s enough wealth to keep the population content. America’s transformation into Russia is complete.
Perhaps they could hire Putin as consultant for the transition? Russiagate as more than mere mental portal…
Less Republicans than Democrats are vaccinated in the US. I heard this on Aljazeera TV yesterday. I dunno about new Covid strains affecting voting numbers.
As a side issue Boris Johnson's party lost a seat (which was held for 200 years) through a by election; also heard on Aljazeera TV yesterday.
Today in International Coming out Day for Gender Critical People. It’s two years to the day that JK Rowling first tweeted her support for Maya Forstator who lost her job for saying on her FB page that biological sex is real and there are only two sexes.
since supporting Maya and tweeting on this issue, JK Rowling has received death threats, rape threats, nail bomb threat and was recently doxed by trans activists.
…Indeed I myself only first became aware of the issue in 2020 when JK Rowling wrote a piece about why she was concerned about the Scottish government’s plans to introduce self identification as the primary vehicle to a legally sanctioned sex 'change' for social purposes rather than as previously via ratification from a gender clinic or specialised therapist and a contractual period under supervision living as one's desired gender, before attaining one’s gender recognition certificate. The piece was mild and empathic towards the struggles of people with gender dysphoria, in no way expressing hatred of anyone on account of their gender identity, but instead raising genuine concerns of the possible negative consequences of such legislation for women as individuals and as a political class in society.
Only now I see in retrospect what JKR obviously long before had calculated to be necessary. If the issues ever were to reach mainstream attention it would require someone of her stature and fame to stand up in opposition to what was happening, knowing full well the violently abusive reaction it would provoke, not because of her opinions and certainly not because she is in the least transphobic, but because she is famous and listened to by many, and it would therefore be necessary for the activists to attempt to silence her to prevent her setting an example other women might be tempted to follow if it seemed she could do so with impunity…
I would recommend this to anyone who cares about the environment and what can be achieved. Hopefully someone connected to the Green party will view this and see what an under achiever they have been in this field, especially James Shaw and what his trip to Glasgow was unable to achieve. Don't worry James we can always buy carbon credits offshore to compensate for our inaction.
This betrays a large misunderstanding of green politics, the NZ Green Party and their policy, and how parliament and government works. Probably misunderstanding of Shaw as well.
What’s more likely?
the Greens are secretly centrists who don’t understand how ecology works and really believe that current government actions are sufficient
the Greens have the most progressive green political agenda of any party in NZ and are severely restricted in what they can do because NZ voters won’t give them the political power in government to enact their policies.
it’s not the Greens holding NZ back, that would be Labour and previously NZF. Best way to retain that situation is to slag the Greens off so more people don’t vote for them.
From reading David Attenborough "A life on Our Planet" I came across the term of "Shifting Baseline Syndrome" . And find it totally fitting regarding our response to the climate and the demise of wildlife. Remember this "This is my generation's nuclear-free moment, and I am determined that we will tackle it head on." NO leadership just empty rhetoric. And covid could kill a few and look at the worlds response? Demise of our planet, I wonder what the cost will be ?
Yeah, that was Ardern that said that, nothing to do with the Greens.
The Greens said climate change is the biggest challenge of our time, and developed an actual plan for how to respond to it. A plan that Labour, NZF and leftie voters have opposed. That is why we are in the situation we are in.
Compare the Green Party policies and Labour's and then please stop slagging off the Greens, they are one of the few ways forward if we would only give them enough power to act. We can't have them lead if we silo them under 10%
I am. This is a political debate. If someone says the Greens should do it differently but can't explain how in real terms, it's just a load of hot air and blather.
The Greens are the party for the environment as we are told, that is how they have positioned the party. It is for THEM to sell us their story and how they are to achieve that. Currently from my perspective they are not doing that.
"I just got sick of trying to explain to people who don't understand green politics, how it works." Perhaps either TG need to better sell green politics or perhaps change their methodology/strategy. I could read your comments a few ways: 1 would be its everyone else's fault as to why the GP are not achieving.
So, you have no ideas on how the Green Party could change things in parliament, but you are happy to slag them off as not being good enough. This translates into less people voting for them, which means we get left with Labour and National, and we know what their policies are like. In what way is this useful?
If you don't like the GP 'story', then at least come up with something better.
"I just got sick of trying to explain to people who don't understand green politics, how it works." Perhaps either TG need to better sell green politics or perhaps change their methodology/strategy. I could read your comments a few ways: 1 would be its everyone else's fault as to why the GP are not achieving.
Yes, yes, it's all their fault that people don't want action on climate, if only they had a magic wand and could make Labour adopt better policies.
I'm not saying it's everyone else's fault. I'm pointing to the fact that lots of NZers say they want better action on climate but won't actually do something as simple as voting Green once every three years.
I don't believe most people do want action. I think they want BAU and, ooops, fuck the planet and later generations, sorry but we had our lives to live.
You on the other hand are saying that you want action, but won't support the party that has the policies to make that happen. You also don't have any alternatives in mind. How is this going to work out do you think?
If you have not already, take a few minutes to view the program from my link above (and I hope others do as well), as it may then incite some to expect more and question what is being done, and put into context the "Shifting Baseline Syndrome". If parts of China can make a radical change to the landscape what about 100% pure, that trades on the image.
Mate, I've been deep green most of my adult life and have a really good understanding of ecology and the solutions available to us for the environmental crises.I'm also pretty good at whole systems thinking.
We're not short on ideas, we're short on the political and social will to enact them.
The problem here is that you are slagging off the Greens, who are one of the ways to getting change, including via our 100% pure image. Business people aren't going to shift that, nor are Labour MPs. So how do you see those political changes happening without a party that understands the issues and has policy to deal with them?
I'll also point out that the Green Party has people in it that understand all that too. Why are you undermining them? This isn't partisan politics on my part, I'm just really not getting why you would want things to change for the better and harm the ways that that might happen..
"The one party in control of government in China is obviously more intent on action than the one party in control of government here." ok then how about the portion that relates to Northern Norway. From my understanding Norway is not under the same political system as China, and they were able to close down entire fishing grounds. BUT then Norway is different from NZ …. for some other reason that is not applicable for the reason for inaction here !!!
The Green Party have two key portfolios, which they negotiated for.
They are polling about the same as in 2011, a decade ago.
Why aren't you holding them to account for achieving more than they are? They appear complacent next to Act who have this term consistently out performed them.
Apparently their two portfolio areas are the most pressing issues of our time.
It's up to you people inside the Green Party to stop being so foolish as to tell us about your values, and start holding your party for what they have and haven't actually achieved. From each election result:
1999: 5%
2002: 7%
2008: 6.7%
2011: 11%
2014.11%
2017: 6.3%
2020: 7.9%
Why, when the climate change story has been building for over a decade, are you static or worse when it comes to the crucial thing of changing how people vote?
If you don't do better than Act in 2024 you should just fold your tent up.
Why aren't you holding them to account for achieving more than they are?
Why aren't you? All I see from you is slagging them off and blaming them for things that are in Labour's control.
Besides,
They appear complacent next to Act who have this term consistently out performed them.
I just got sick of trying to explain to people who don't understand green politics, how it works. If you don't want to understand, that's on you.
Apparently their two portfolio areas are the most pressing issues of our time.
It's up to you people inside the Green Party to stop being so foolish as to tell us about your values, and start holding your party for what they have and haven't actually achieved. From each election result:
Fuck off, I'm not inside the Green Party. It's not rocket science to understand both why the GP poll the way they do, and why they can't change the things you blame them for this term. You’re not stupid so it’s hard not to assume you are good with undermining the Greens.
Macho politics is killing the planet, but apparently you and many other left voters want that. So why don't you tell me why the party who is governing alone isn't doing more on climate? Why are they not letting the Shaw do what is needed? What is stopping Labour from growing pair and doing something instead of resting on Ardern's nuclear free moment rhetoric?
The Greens failure to communicate their politics is on them.
Agree.
The Greens failure to persuade Labour – when obviously NZFirst could – is on them.
Bullshit. You've been saying this a long time and you've not once explained how this could work in real world terms. You also know damn well that NZF had more negotiating power because they're centrist.
The Greens failure to come up with the Carbon plan they were legislated to come up with this year is on them.
Whatever issues they are or aren't having with working with the shitty hand of cards they've got, that's a different issue on being able to implement actually useful policy. Maybe now I will assume you think the policy is good and it's just the Greens that have fucked it up. Actually that would make more sense of your position, you don't actually want the real action.
The Greens leadership failure to not deliver more on their portfolios is on them.
Hot air. Blah, blah, useless Greens, beat them with a stick until they get better at the jobs.
If people like you aren't going to hold them to account, they aren't going to improve.
There are plenty of people within and outside the party holding them to account in useful ways. The problem here is people who just slag them off with no real alternatives or solutions. 'Do Better' is such a lame meme now.
Here in the Labour Party we have no problem holding our Ministers and MPs to account.
Oh good, please explain why NZ is doing so badly on climate. Are you saying they've left it all up to Shaw? Any evidence for that?
NZF got more because they were superior to the Greens at one of the central tasks of politics: negotiation.
James Shaw set up the Climate Commission, James Shaw set up the reporting timetable, James Shaw is accountable as Minister for implementing it.
We have a poor climate plan because the Green Minister who holds the portfolio hasn't done a good job. It's central to the existence of the Green Party so they have to account for that themselves.
You should hold the Greens to account.
Why is it that the Greens on 10% support did so much worse than Act when they started 2020 on the same degree of public support?
Time Greens forced their MPs to perform. Labour regularly fires its leaders over less.
If you don't do better than Act in 2024 you should just fold your tent up.
Macho politics is killing the planet exhibit A.
Despite the Greens spending a long time dragging NZ and Labour greenwards and towards doing somethign useful on climate, it's better that they should quit because they're not the fucking world saving Heroes that the trad left say they want but won't actually make happen.
The Greens have had all the climate change media they could possibly want for years on end, all the Ministerial perks and policy command they could desire, and the two key portfolios, and yet Weka all you do is concentrate on what you impute is something about gender … where the Greens have offended you the most.
The reason you can't hold your own party to account for failing to deliver is your own and not anyone else's.
Lol, how terrible, a feminist writing about feminism. I'd point to the obvious connections between the gender/sex wars and climate, but your own ideologies make that a waste of time.
I notice that you still cannot say how the Greens could change Labour policies in this term. It's like you want them to fail. As I've just said above, most NZers don't want the action on climate change that the Greens represent, they want the action that Labour does. That's a death sentence, and it's on Labour voters.
Fucksake, everyone knows the current climate settings are a nonsense, including you. And here you are pretending that this is Shaw's fault, when Labour are governing alone, and Shaw sits outside of Caucus. This isn’t GP policy, it’s the bastard child of Labour policy that Shaw is trying to do his best with.
Adding the word fuck to your sentences doesn't make your argument any stronger. Just makes you sound macho, triggered and incoherent at the same time.
Shaw is the Minister. He gets the salary, has the staff, holds the portfolio, has all the MfE support he could want, and a smart and bright set of supporting Ministers with Parker and Mahuta.
The next ones are in the RMA replacements coming up.
Shaw clearly also has the freedom to say anything as strongly as he likes in the media … but James Shaw doesn't because he is simply a corporatised coward.
A really simple way that the Greens can change policy in a term is through the budget process. Their own Carbon plan is going through Budget 2022 at the moment. Hopefully you Greens have the courage to call him on that result in May 2022.
Another really simple thing they can do is work on Labour with legislation. They've done that several times this term. Hopefully even you know what those bills are. Some of them have even worked.
There is no tragedy of influence here other than the courage and skill of the Green Party MPs themselves.
Trying to solve the problem of global climate crisis with democracy is quite like trying to hammer a nail with a spanner.
You maybe haven't ever done so, but I can tell you from experience that gains are incremental and depend on how you wield the tool, and progress is always slow regardless.
Blaming the person wielding the tool can seem satisfactory – if one believes it is the right tool. So we get the slow incremental progress we expect from a personal relationship that goes back twenty years between two liberal mainstream party leaders…
I agree. The point of parliamentary politics is to advance the centrist progressive gains and hold back the regressive aspects, while the real change is being done from the edge. This is why the Greens have been so successful despite the slow incremental nature of the visible, ‘in government’ stuff. As Idiot Savant says, the Greens want change not power and most of the left still fail to understand that even while not having much institutional power there are other ways of effecting change.
They are not alone in that of course, the NZ peace movement in the 80s would be an example of Labour’s influence outside of parliament. But we still need MPs to enact the changes being drive or pulled from the edge, and 20 Green MPs would obviously have more influence than ten.
Are you familiar with Joanna Macy’s model of change? She posits three important things that need to happen. Holding patterns (lots of protest movements, progressive politics), creating new structures (in climate terms – regenag, transition towns, relocalising food and economies, doughnut economics), and shifting consciousness (ultimately we need a different set of values and I would say an ability to imagine a good future that isn’t BAU).
The Greens do all three, most people only see bits of that.
Ad-how dare you compare the Greens to the dangerous populist right wing rabble that is ACT?
Shaw's style is different to that of nasty bit of work Seymour, and long may it be so.
The Greens have little power in government at the moment-importantly this means that any failure to advance green policies is squarely at the feet of the Labour Party.
I am hoping for a result Labour 41 Greens 10 at the next election. This will force Labour to make genuine concessions to the Greens in coalition negotiations.
You don't seem to understand MMP Ad. The need to rely on another party to govern was the reason that Winston was able to to get some NZF policies enacted.
How dare he compare? he did only compare the fact that one part is rising in support (deserved or not is not the point) while the other party is stagnant.
I put it down to the people currently in the Green Party, whom i personally (again personally) find less then inspiring and useless. That does not mean that i would put my support behind Act. It just means that I will not vote for the Green Party. The 'Self identification' Bill and the resulting horrors are just one reason. Marama Davidson is on her own a reason why i will not vote for her, Mme KereKere is the next reason, Mr. Shaw another reason, Chloe is nice, but so beige it beggars believe. And the rest of the Green Party and its members are shit scared to say a thing, cause 'no debate'. Go figure. Why on earth would anyone other then hard core supporters who reflexively vote Green support this party. Because some rich people get a good discount on electric cars, and the poor people get fuck all?
So people like me who would either support Labour or the Greens end up voting for a different third Party – because we don't have to vote for Groups of People who have become so far removed from the problems that people on the ground face, we have choices. Now you might not approve of these choices, but this is MMP.
So how dare he? Well he dares, because a. he can, and b. it is still his right to have an opinion and voice it, unless we are now only allowed affirmative think/speak, as prescribed by the Green Party and the Labour Party. And please remember that the they need each other to actually survive and be able to form a coalition, and i for one do not believe that Labour will win an outright majority again.
How dare he.
How dare you to questions anyones right to their own opinion in the first place.
Nobody "ends up voting for a third party". They make a rational choice based on the policies and personnel on offer. You seem to be obsessed with personnel rather than policy.
If you are going to for Luxon's mob that is a choice you are making Sabine-don't blame Labour and the Greens for this.
Lol, if you are so scared of Luxon, that you will blame people not voting for him as being the reason that he won, you must be a supporter of a really useless and bad party.
We have third Parties, MMP is the game in town, and we can vote for whom we want. And I will vote for a Party that best reflects me and the issues that are dear to me, and it seems that not one of the Parties cares about the issues that I care.
When the Green Party discovers biological reality, and hte material reality of life as NON MALES ( saying women when talking about NON MALES is bigoted or so it seems, and will give men who 'identify' as women a sad) then I might consider them again.
But any women who votes for any of the Parties that let that travesti through Parliament is voting for a place in the kitchen, with her children, and church for a bit of comfort. She need not apply to sports, wanting single sex spaces, awards for NON MALES or even just to occupy a space in the Olympics that they right fully gained but that was given to a middle aged failing old sports dude who fancies himself a woman.
Go think about that.
You are scared of Luxon? ask the Party that you prefer to do better, cause at the moment they are as useless as tits on a bull.
From the article…surprised that its not self explanatory.
'But Shaw’s political opponents quickly worked out that this meant the Greens were effectively providing public money to support a private school, which was contra to the Greens’ education policy to phase out public funding for private schools.
It also attracted the ire of state schools and teacher unions, upset at the prioritisation of a school for children from well-off families over a public education system desperate for more funding.'
Not sure what your point is. Shaw did something stupid and naive under the immense pressure of the beginnings of the pandemic, and the right and the MSM lept on it with glee and did the usual bullshit politics to drag the Greens and Shaw down.
Doesn't matter if he apologised or explained any of that, hard man pol in NZ demands no mistakes and if you make a mistake you must not have any actual values. Oh dear, climate change can wait I guess, because let's tear down the silly old Greens. Which is precisely what NZ has been doing the whole time. Don't tell me people want to prevent climate catastrophe, they don't.
Most can't or won't voluntarily take the steps necessary to truly mitigate climate change. 'Shrink and share'; hyper-energisation – fuhgeddaboudit.
It's simply too tough for many (and certainly most of the 'golden billion') to even contemplate the changes needed to become carbon neutral. Humans aren't for turning in sufficient numbers to make a difference – they will ‘turn’ only when spaceship Earth makes them turn, and her current relatively mild warnings continue to fall on the largely deaf ears of politicians and populations alike.
Blazer-the media massively over-egged the Green school issue, making up lies about courses related to crystals and other bollocks.
Shaw, to his credit, fronted up and admitted that funding a private Green school in the manner proposed was a mistake. Oh that other pollies were as honest.
I dunno. Lots of pollies apologise for a mistake once it's pointed out for them in big letters and they can't wriggle out of it.
The point is that his immediate instinct was green and any red issues didn't show up on his radar. Fair call – he's co-leader of the Green party. But it's a problem for any redgreens or greenreds.
The police say the remains of up to three so far unidentified men have been found in the far western end of the mine, by a camera sent down a recently drilled borehole.
Pathologists said they could see two sets of “probable human remains” and and one set of “possible” remains.
I can understand Jacinda and Clarke's choice of venue for their wedding. It is privately owned so it would be more likely access can be secure from nosy media. They are able to have all the arrangements just as they want and why not for goodness sake. She deserves nothing less.
My guess is she will choose a NZ designer for her dress and will look gorgeous and little Neve will be the cutest flower girl. Clarke will look very dashing in a smart suit. Looking forward to a few photos in the women's mags at the end of January.
As for the whinging venue owner missing out on the wedding being held at his establishment, seems he is not a very pleasant business owner to deal with.
Not surprising but still weird, nearly two years into the pandemic how little discussion there is of long covid. As of death is the only negative outcome of contracting covid
Hell, when so such attention has needed to be spent on Jeanette's breakfast arriving late in MIQ, Frederick going on holiday to the Bahamas not being able to get a spot in MIQ, and Mita, Charlene and family who left here because NZ was a write-off they provided no future for anyone they escaped but now they want to return to a safe haven but can't?
When ABC vaccine is no good and XYZ was the one NZ should have chosen, and whatever vaccine has microchips in it, and we don't need vaccines anyway because none of them work? Or if they do work, it is only as far as disabling or killing recipients? And a consideration of long covid when short covid is nothing to be of significant concern, that it's a nothing?
Besides there are important issues to occupy our minds and discussion, I'm assured by the likes of Brian Tamaki and cretins driving vehicles in loops in cities at 50kph that there is stuff other than long covid to discuss. Freedom apparently.
Mind you I'm easily confused. I'm still trying to work out the angles of deliberating blocking traffic on a busy day on state highway 1 at Te Hana in a cretinous protest professing freedom and choice, and then complaining about vehicle checks on the same highway for the purposes of public health.
Two things popped up my Covid radar over the past 24 hours…in between frantically trying to tick "replace window and restore aesthetic order in the sleepout" off my To Do list.
1. Homegrown member of the WHO SAGE panel Prof. Peter McIntyre had a wee chat with Kim Hill yesterday morning.
"The important question now is where do we want to get to, he says.
Covid-19 is a severe illness that hits elderly people and those with health problems particularly hard.
"Our focus going forward needs to continue to be on those severe cases. If we over time end up with Covid circulating widely and causing, as the current coronaviruses [do], …they cause colds, about 20 percent of colds, it's just that we weren't testing for them…They've always been there, but they were mild and we didn't worry about them too much.
"So what our objective has to be is to tame Covid with vaccines into something that we are OK about because we know it's not going to send you to hospital or kill you."
It will take time for the country to move away from the pre-vaccine era where every case identified is treated as "a disaster".
There is still "an incredible intensity of testing" which has meant people going to hospital for other reasons have ending up being counted as Covid-19 positive cases.
"There is a need for a kind of shift. It's going to take a little while because people are understandably very nervous… But I think we do have to have a shift over time from focusing on every infection to saying: OK infection is here, we have to deal with it but what we really care about is ensuring we're protecting with anti-virals, boosters, with whatever we have got at our disposal, protecting people vulnerable still to severe illness."
And I'm pretty sure that towards the end of the interview (it was late last night and I'd done a few rounds with a recalcitrant roman blind) I heard him say that Long Covid has not turned out to be as prevalent as first feared.
2. There are some 25,000 sufferers of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in New Zealand and some of them desperately need an exemption from having to be fully vaccinated. Surprisingly Stuff has given them space...
Sounds like life has become pretty shit for the featured sufferer as she was severely impacted by the first Pfizer shot. …since getting the Covid jab, her CFS had become severe, with extreme mental and physical fatigue, migraines, nausea, and tremors. The first month after the jab, she could not get of bed for more than three hours a day or stand for more than five minutes at a time. She could not cook, do laundry, wash her face or walk up the stairs in her home.
Her limbs were so painful and heavy she could barely hold her hand up long enough to brush her teeth. She became confused, lost immediate memory and taste. She had vertigo to the point of having to hold onto the walls to walk. Her heartbeat became irregular, with palpitations and pain. Her brain felt like it was buzzing.
Her GP reported her adverse reaction and advised her not to get the second shot. When she applied for an exemption she was told she needed to see a specialist.
An exemption will not be given unless she meets one of the strict criteria.
Another sufferer spent a year in bed after having a severe reaction to a half dose flu jab in 2016.
"It’s unethical to expect ME/CFS people with previous vaccine worsening to risk a medical experiment on themselves,” Robinson said.
“We are not against the vaccine. It’s our immune system that’s the problem. Anti-vaxxers actually make it worse for us.”
Robinson lives in fear of catching Covid-19. He is living in his caravan to be isolated from boarders in his house, and avoids going out. He wants the Government to prioritise CFS patients for access to Covid-19 treatment."
Prof. Warren Tate, an expert in CFS/ME, says up to a quarter of sufferers could have a severe reaction to the shots.
A Health Ministry spokesperson said CFS patients concerned about getting the vaccine should talk to their doctor. The Covid-19 Vaccination Technical Advisory Group would consider this matter, he said.
Those who did not meet the current criteria would not be granted an exemption, he said.
The criteria clearly state that CFS sufferers who had a reaction to the first shot should wait until symptoms have resolved before having the second. Beggars belief that they should have to even consider risking another serious setback in their condition to satisfy some petty MOH bureaucrat with a '% fully vaxxed' quota fetish.
"Won't somebody think of the children?" is not just an internet meme, it is a basic responsibility of all. Most fundamentally those who care, or have authority or supervision over children. When we make this phrase only a derogratory smear, we are throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
As everyone here will not doubt be aware the passing of the BDMMR bill allows for the guardian of a child under the age of 16 to register a change in their nominated sex Clause 22(c).
As I posted earlier, perhaps many readers are unaware we here in NZ are already prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. This treatment protocol is currently under review at the GIDs clinic in the UK – the Tavistock. Despite what some might think, the overturn of the verdict in the Keira Bell vs Tavistock case related to jurisdiction limitations not primarily the validity of the original verdict.
Conclusions
91. We allow Tavistock’s appeal and set aside the declaration. In addition, we hold that it was inappropriate for the Divisional Court to provide the guidance. The Divisional Court concluded that Tavistock’s policies and practices (as expressed in the service specification and the SOP) were not unlawful and rejected the legal criticism of its materials. In those circumstances, the claim for judicial review is dismissed.
…
The Dutch protocol which has been used, (and apparently still is here in NZ) didn't require practitioners to follow up on patients long-term or have any form of assessment for adverse side effects. The Karolinski service in Sweden has removed this as a therapeutic protocol since May 2021 and other countries are reviewing their approach. There is still considerable pushback, even though these medications long-term effects are unknown and detrimental expected effects are known.
Here is a NZ FTMTF detransitioner talking about her experience, and another in a 2017 Herald article. (H/T Rosemary).
In the US, the basic principles of child safeguarding are being ignored as inclusion practices are promoted without oversight and due diligence.
Here is a thread from a conservative twitter account. (Conservative because they apparently only the only ones documenting this trend, but included because of the many links to other sources throughout). The thread starts off with a specific case of a school transitioning a 12 year old girl without the parent's knowledge, but looks into the wider culture where this is considered best practice. The parents of the girl are understandably emotive, but there is a good point made by one of the parents further down the thread about safeguarding.
1. How many in NZ in 2021 have been prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones? For what reason? By whom?
2. Have parents of any school district in the US changed the names and pronouns for teachers in a school, coached their children into that and not informed the schools?
If the system itself is facilitating, supporting and encouraging teachers in such a way , the problem is not solved by simply dealing with individuals.
The complete thread contains links and articles, and includes Californian state issued materials and information shared and disseminated at teacher conferences. That's not to say those teachers are not acting badly, but they are within existing guidelines.
I am not sure how many children in NZ are being prescribed puberty blockers. There was a Listener article in late June with some case studies and reports of a young women who was prescribed them at 14, then a double masectomy at 16 and then a hysterectomy at 18. At 23 she regreted it and has irreversible changes. Facial and body hair, adams apple and male sounding voice.
Women diagnosed with breast cancer that requires a breast mastectomy do not get offered a double mastectomy with no clinical reason. They have two years to persuade the breast surgeon that further surgery would be beneficial.
Try getting a hysterectomy if you are still of "breeding" age and only want the three kids you have, or worse even you have no children. lol.
I watched an account of a young women with health issues who could not get a hysterectomy – cause her future husband might 'expect' children from her. She talked to a friend of hers who said, go pretend to be 'alienated' from your body, in essence pretend to be trans, he got her hysterectomy.
"I watched an account of a young women with health issues who could not get a hysterectomy – cause her future husband might 'expect' children from her. "
I've heard accounts of that too.
Been beside my friend for over a decade as her pain from mesh implants was dismissed by medical practitioners. After battling ACC for years, they accepted the claim on Friday afternoon, when the court case was scheduled for Monday morning. She would have been the first mesh case against ACC to make it to court. That was taken off the table as soon as they accepted the claim – as they well know. They are more comfortable paying consultants and lawyers than providing treatment.
Women also have to insist to go flat after a mastectomy. The protected default is leaving a flap for implants even if you don't want any.
the history of misogyny and sexism in medicine is long and wide. It's inconceiveble to me that this isn't part of the picture in trans surgery and hormones on young women.
This is highlighted by the double standard in which women get which surgery. At base there are strong commercial pressures at play, but that's in addition to the frankly weird attitudes towards women.
Sterilizing Non Males who are 'mentally ill' is a very old tactic and has been done for a long time now.
Not sterilizing healthy Non Males who dare not want children, or Non Males who have had enough children, or Non Males who are ill is also an age old tacticts. Dear Non Males are you sure you ain't gonna catch baby fever again?
This is a near enough transcript of the de-transitioner……….
"I started seeing a counsellor, when I was 13 and told her I was bi (sexual) and then she asked me do you think you were born in the wrong body…..I had heard of trans people back then….when my therapist asked me that, I said no……so when she said that to me, I thought maybe I could be"………"she was a trainee and she taped the session for her university and they shouldn't have put me in this position"
This is heartbreaking. This is was keeps me in this fight.
Conversion practice is poorly defined in this law. NZAC counsellors won't be covered by it. Activists quote something like 17% of trans people believe a health practitioner has used a converstion practice with them. From complaints to H and D and Human rights there has only be one complaint in the last 10 15 years. It was an infomal complaint. i.e. it meant no investigation.
Strongly believe that gender activist would see not using someone correct pro nouns as a conversion practice. IMO in a climate of cancel culture, expect lots of complaints to the police. But who knows, maybe I will be wrong.
bTW seriously challenge you to watch the video Molly posted of the young de-transitioner. Maybe gender ideology won’t seem so progressive now
Article (like the proposed legislation) conflates sexual orientation with gender identity.
What is the prevalence of gay conversion therapy in NZ?
What is the prevalence of gender identity conversion therapy in NZ? How is this distinguished from appropriate exploratory therapy?
However, in a 2019 survey of 1178 trans and non-binary people, 17 per cent of respondents said a health professional had tried to change their gender identity.
Self-assessed diagnosis under non-automatic affirmative approach could be assessed in such a way by survey respondents.
In the case of children, any practice would be illegal; but when directed at adults, it would have to be established that the practice caused serious harm.
OK. Any practice? I can foresee problems here, – you can't?
Could it be that transparency and open discussion is avoided by this conflation of sexual orientation and gender identity? (After all, constant conflation of biological sex and gender identity did much to derail discussions regarding self-id)
Thanks, Thomas Reuters Foundation for providing the playbook, for a game none of us signed up to play:
In Ireland, Denmark and Norway, changes to the law on legal gender recognition were put through at the same time as other more popular reforms such as marriage equality legislation. This provided a veil of protection, particularly in Ireland, where marriage equality was strongly supported, but gender identity remained a more difficult issue to win public support for.
The rest of the document advice is similar, and familiar to those following the activism and institutional capture here.
Parents 90 & 91 yo, both with comorbidities … refused booster before early next year because they're only at the 5 ½ mark since 2nd jab. Their 60-something neighbours across the road just got their booster.
Given the 4-year Nightmare situation with their violent anti-social neighbour … & my mother waiting 2 years for a cataract operation while her sight continued to significantly deteriorate, only to now be told that the sight's unrecoverable … I have to say that this is no Country for Elderly people existing solely on a pension.
My mother was in hospital last year during the Election … she was suffering all the symptoms you’d expect from prolonged extreme stress & sleep deprivation at the hands of the violent out-of-control prick next door … she almost died the day after the Election … & yet on Election Day, despite her worsening condition, she was emphatic about me casting her vote for a Labour Govt who’s tacit No Eviction policy put her there … a Party her family (like my father’s family in Australia) had been active in for much of their lives.
My Parents haven’t realised that Labour’s been transformed into a Vanity Project by an affluent bloated self-interested Professional Middle Class … determined to scapegoat the lower/low-middle income & make them do all the sacrificing & suffering.
swordfish, I sympathise with your family situation and agree:
this is no Country for Elderly people existing solely on a pension.
One aspect that makes the situation able to be ignored, is the inconsistency of access and service. As you mention, your parents' neighbours got boosters.
Different personal experiences allow some to say 'I've had that, and it was great', and thus subtly rebuke those going through the same where the service was abysmal.
I hope there is some progress soon for your parents.
Swordfish-you have to be basically blind before you can get cataract surgery in NZ. My understanding, from friends, is that this is not the case in the UK. I was gobsmacked when my GP said that my sub-standard vision didn't qualify for an operation so immediately funded it myself privately for $5,200.
Dentistry is one (of many) other health issues badly underfunded by the government.
The Births, Deaths and Marriages bill (sex self-ID) passed unanimously in the House today.
Our goal has always been the protection of women’s rights in law.
Although this new law represents an erosion to those rights, we’re glad that our advocacy led to the inclusion of clause 80 which allows that – regardless of what is stated on a BC – service providers can still offer single sex spaces and services on the basis of biological sex. Regardless of what parliament decides to record on birth certificates, biological sex will go on exisiting and mattering.
(1) A certificate issued under this Act is admissible as evidence in any legal proceedings and is presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to be an accurate record of the information recorded in the registry as at the date of issue.
(2) Any individual, private sector agency, or public sector agency authorised or required to ascertain an individual’s sex or gender for a particular purpose may take into account either or both of the following:
(a) the information contained in a certificate issued under this Act:
I'm not on twitter so cannot join the party there responding to an American politician.
She's telling us about the crap leadership in NZ. She's probably euphoric that through her leadership Arizona has cracked the 56% vaccination rate. And restricting covid deaths in her state will be a source of huge pride for her. They've had only 23,500 deaths and the average for the last week is only 78 deaths a day. Granted they have a massive population – well 7.2 million.
Necklaces and accessories claiming to "protect" people from 5G mobile networks have been found to be radioactive.
The Dutch authority for nuclear safety and radiation protection (ANVS) issued a warning about ten products it found gave off harmful ionising radiation.
It urged people not to use the products, which could cause harm with long-term wear.
[…]
The products identified included an “Energy Armor” sleeping mask, bracelet and necklace.
A bracelet for children, branded Magnetix Wellness, was also found to be emitting radiation.
Big ups to the Stuff writer who has found a truth in advertising name for the party soon to be formerly known as National. Once Luxon has added 'former leader of the opposition' to his CV and returned to the strawberry fields of CEOness, the party will be known as Simon Bridges' Terrifying Cupcakes.
The legacy of an Invercargill man is expected to bring laughter, laps and a few scrapes with a new pump track installed in his former suburb.
Otatara man Derek Gostelow left $90,000 to the Invercargill City Council in his will, to help fund community projects.
After consultation, an asphalt pump track, park benches and informal play area were mooted for the site on the corner of Oreti Rd and Dunns Rd in Otatara.
The track and park were officially opened on Friday with a blessing, and local school children and the Southland Mountain Bike Club breaking it in.
The council voted to name the reserve land Gostelow Park in the donor's honour.
Thank you Derek Gostelow, Otatara residents for driving it, I've been past it and although landscaping hasn't been completed there are kids there until dark each night.
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Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, 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 ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. 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 ...
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Is this a good look for our PM?
A billionaire’s rural luxury estate awaits Jacinda Ardern and partner Clarke Gayford on their wedding day.
And global chart-topper and Grammy Award-winner Lorde is also understood to be on hand to entertain the couple’s loved ones and friends.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/jacinda-ardern-and-clarke-gayford-wedding-billionaires-homestead-venue-lorde-to-sing/XO7UULPBUQTNWQOH54VDD5ET7M/
I don’t think it is. But what about others?
its perfect man
I would've thought, a stable, with a manger?
Reception to be held in a food bank, tarted up for the day?
the people will be joyous to see their fairytale princess marrying her prince in a castle.. no doubt..
That would look contrived. She is admired around the world, and has friends in many places. I would think they wanted a venue close to home for family in these times. The fact it is a private venue means no covid worries.
They are there for a fairly brief time. It is not their property.
Would you comment on the value of the venue and or the owners of it, for any other wedding Gezza?
That is beneath you really.
If Luxon has 7 properties, any criticism is – of course – dismissed as "tall poppy syndrome".
But if Ardern has 1 day in a nice house … let's grab our scythes and cut her down!
And of course it's all totally not sexist, no sir, don't even suggest it, some of our best friends are ladies, love them all, flowers in the boardroom, adds a nice touch …
The woman could wrap herself in coffee sacks, trot off to the city mission with the Rt Revd Justin Duckworth officiating and one mob would piss and moan about how the fucking sacks reeked of expensive coffee, another that the sacks had once contained Cuban coffee, another that her choice of venue was virtue signaling and yet another that the Rt Rev's dreads were proof of her commitment to CRT.
Dog only knows what the assorted misery-guts and curtain twitching wowsers would have to say about the chateau de cardboard, Flame, smallies, savouries and asparagus rolls dished up at the after-match.
//
Jo90 Got it lol.
It's good.
It's got that "woman of the people", down to earth feel about it.
The every day vibe we can all relate to.
No it's got that "our wedding day is a special occasion, let's make it as memorable as possible " vibe about it.
Most couples make it as memorable as they choose, some jump out of planes, some have a beach ceremony without clothing, and no doubt some weirdos wear camouflage while clutching their firearms .
Well, at least they're not doing it Balkans style…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OGOV6T_z_M8
My guess is, the American owners of the property offered their beautiful setting after hearing about the unfortunate verbal stoush involving their previous venue.
Gosh, if that had been a much younger me I would have jumped at the chance. And I bet their wedding guests will be excited about it too.
The guest list would be intriguing. Wonder if Stephen Colbert is on it?
(As a comedian, that guy’s about as funny as rabies.)
since its not open to the public, its got the "none of your business" feel about it. and its none of our business how two people choose to conduct there wedding .
The wedding arrangements are a private matter and politics is a public matter. It is about having control over your personal space on your wedding day when you are the bride and the groom.
Politicians are entitled to draw the line between their private and public life.
Uh huh.
Do you think the national and international media won't be covering this event, and the lead up to it?
I imagine this will receive lots of media attention, with Ardern’s & her media minders’ blessing.
Don't be cynical, it's a private matter.
There'll be no stories in the media, no photoshoots, no interviews
Away with you and your negativity
There certainly won't be anything as cringe-worthy as this …
Luxon goes full creepy in the Women's Weekly
OMG at first glance at the first picture I wondered why Luxon had his arm around Nicola Willis.
Dude regaled me once with tales of one of the more execrable experiences his duties as a flight attendant entailed, swabbing out overflowing dunnies during a Pacific long-haul.
Master Luxon wins in the real person stakes.
Most women could match that story… as they clean toilets every day, and nappies…though modern blokes like Clarke are real. Mr. Luxon only commented because it was not his usual gig, and it was part of the learning curve.
I'm sure that this is one event that the Women's Weekly will not be covering. There budget won't run to it I would say.
I wonder who will get to provide the exclusive coverage?
Why do you hate facts?
Explain "budget" comment. You can't, because you made it up, but it will be fun to see you try.
That is terrible. I'm sure our Prime Minister would never deign to appearing in such a rag.
Whoops. I was wrong
https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/search/jacinda%20ardern
For the sake of your sanity don't read this one.
https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/celebrity/celeb-news/real-kiwi-bodies-michele-acourt-and-jacinda-ardern-2838
I have read it. You had to go back 8 years to score your point. And it wasn't even a good point.
Most people have a wedding photographer so they can have a visual memory of their big day.
I think that any media need to be restrained unless authorised to release private information.
What a mean attitude. You are acting like she has done nothing about foodbanks and should be in sack cloth and ashes. Don't be so sour.
Yes, this will be presented to all with some formal photos of the day. Why not? Our PM has worked extremely long hours for two covid years and deserves her privacy for her function with their invited guests. Anything else would be surprising.
My intention about the food bank comment was that the money would do the greatest good at this time of year at a food bank.
My comment @1.4.2 was agreeing with Peter @1.4 Some would have it that Ardern as a Labour MP should be in sack cloth, …
Treetop that was to Gezza.
Some sort of chart with numbering is required for me to avoid sticking my nose in.
sometimes my comments don't attach.
I’m just having a wee leg pull. If I really felt she should be getting married in sackcloth & ashes, I’d be posting on Kiwiblog, not here. Though I must admit I’m a bit surprised she’s gone for such a high end venue.
Im sure jacinda is a bit surprised that its any of your business, but no doubt she is thinking of you.
Hmm. Somehow I doubt that. I don't imagine she pays any attention to the chattering classes on blogs.
With such high end venues goes the ability to have high end security. With the anti vaxx & other nutters around including Trumpists, who have been making their presence felt at vaccination and testing centres, the Auckland Domain and at Parliament you cannot be too careful.
Hopefully she will be able to take up Peter Gordon on his offer to do the food, something the previous venue thought their 33 years as caterers could match, yeah right.
If it were the daughter of an ex-PM, it was a ritzy venue with an array of the rich and famous and a big time entertainer? Criticism would have been met with calls of "jealousy" and "tall poppy syndrome."
Some would have it that Ardern as a Labour MP should be in sackcloth, the do should be in a local RSA and the after match tucker should be sausage rolls.
The most fascinating thing will be to see the level of the "We're pissed of we were thrashed in the last election" sadsacks on the blogsites they gather on.
Oh, and the incidental stunts David Seymour comes up with to counter the attention.
I agree.
If an American billionaire hedge fund manager had a venue for me to use I'd be in on that
I mean who wants to deal with the hoi-polloi on their special day and it's not like theirs any kiwi owned venues out there
Not sure about using Lorde but each to their own
aye to that Pucky, let then eat cake
It won't be Arderns wedding, it'll be NZs wedding.
An experience we can all be part of and I'm very excited about it
you are such glitterari. 🙂
Well they are our betters
Imo, it will be the opposite PR 🙂
A private wedding at a very private venue riddled with security guards courtesy of the owners. All we will get to see are a few chosen photographs after the event and maybe a brief video.
I want to see someone chunder because they had too much too quickly, a speech that goes wrong because they had too much too quickly and someone sitting off to the side crying and being consoled because (you guessed it) they had too much too quickly
But then I've always been a fan of the classics
You are incorrigible.
You know you'd like to see it as well
The second paragraph was funny. I would chuck in a live stream of the nuptials to make sure the traffic light system was not being breached.
I wonder if they finally paid that dude in Gisborne the 5 grand cancellation fees, after all the man had receipts. lol.
But yeah, totally a good look, look World, this is what you can buy in NZ and call it a 'billionaires homestead'. So nice and cozy.
But then the show must go on, and the television crews will lap it up, and womans weekly will spend a hefty sum for some pictures of a women in a bridal gown, and we can pretend that this is our royal couple. BlaBlaBla
that dude in Gisborne, and the media might be interested in knowing what the menu is and who did the catering.
Were money to be paid for wedding photos I would donate the money to a foodbank in Gisborne.
That's what deposits are for.
btw, the advent of Delta has left my brother's catering business dead in the water. The Scots business jimmy in him made the decision to return deposits but most clients are saying keep it, and pay out your staff.
and the television crews will lap it up
This is where it helps to have a basic media awareness. It's pretty depressing how many media-consumers seem to lack it.
There are 2 kinds of TV coverage – arranged, and not. (Or "wanted, and not").
I hope nobody thinks the PM should be in charge of censoring the press. They publish garbage about celebs every day, she can't stop them. It's what they do.
So the only issue here is the coverage that Ardern (her office) arranges. Repeat: she doesn't control the other stuff.
OK, then … what family photo-ops does Ardern put on? How much TV coverage have you seen of Neve? When has she ever been paraded in front of the cameras? She is the least photographed "celeb" child. How often do you see coverage of Ardern & Gayford strolling hand in hand, compared to other politicians?
You don't. Apologies for introducing facts to the fake narrative, but there it is.
In charge of censoring the press ?
Of course not that would be daft, far cleverer to dole out the cash and favours to them instead, much more politically savvy.
But not as clever as misrepresenting the Public Interest Journalism Fund administered by NZonAir.
Why are RWNJ's so untruthful? Do they lie intentionally or are they just too stupid or lazy to learn the facts?
You are quite right. They are never photographed in public as they keep their life totally private. I checked and they are never seen together
https://www.google.com/search?q=photos+of+jacinda+ardern+and+clarke+gayford&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiPjcbYrO70AhVpoOkKHaF-BqAQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=photos+of+jacinda+ardern+and+clarke+gayford&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoHCCMQ7wMQJzoICAAQgAQQsQM6BQgAEIAEOggIABCxAxCDAToECAAQQzoHCAAQsQMQQ1DGJ1iFzgFgsOsBaAFwAHgAgAHuAYgBykGSAQYwLjM5LjaYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=Jlq-YY_iDOnApgeh_ZmACg
Oh well, hardly ever.
Don't play dumb, Alwyn.
You've ignored what I said. Obviously your other Google searches didn't work for you.
Alwyn doesnt play at being dumb….
Well done Alwyn Thanks for that. They care for each other and Neve, and many of those are photos during functions or activities, not posed, and some are repeats, but I actually enjoyed looking through them. You left some famous ones out though!
For both Observer and Patricia.
I'm sorry but that was the only google search I did, and I never actually looked at the photos. I was just responding to Observers seeming belief that they maintain private lives and avoid the cameras to a greater degree than other politicians. That is utter rubbish.
Oh, and this:
Womans weekly will spend a hefty sum for some pictures of a women in a bridal gown
Unless there is a special charity deal, this obviously will not happen.
It would be good if you could apologise when it doesn't. You may not like the PM much, but do you really think she is avaricious, and/or politically stupid?
"a special charity deal".
You have heard the phrase "Charity begins at home" I assume?
Alwyn,I say Alwyn….what is that supposed to mean exactly in this…context?
No there was no firm booking made.. What receipts? No funds changed hands, and he would not agree to their requests for the day so negotiations fell over.
apparentley they were going to offer chocolates from a rotovegas choc shop, but couldnt choose between nastiness, sarcasm or bitterness as flavours.
Im guessing the decision was made with full consideration….
Totally and utterly a perfect look. Nothing else would do.
I was looking for The Standard, but landed here on The New Zealand Woman's Weekly page!
No worries. Easy enuf mistake to make during the msm Silly Season. 🌺 🍰 🍷
I have the same feeling when I watch 1ewes at 6.
You do what?
Why, in God's name?
Habit, I reckon.
My sister got a shock when she & hubby returned from a seven-year overseas work stint, first in Oz & then in Brunei & she was looking foward to seeing decent tv news broadcasts. She calls 1ewes at 6 Woman’s Weekly News.
At home I watched broadcast TV once since late 2012 – that was in 2019 (I think). I even brought a free to air box to do it. This was because my partner wanted to see the ads for professional reasons. She watched and afternoon and an evening, and then we never turned it on again.
I eventually pout it into the cupboard where maybe possibly useful in the future electronics goes.
Why pay for a copy when you do not need to.
Are you any good at drawing wedding couples?
I see Gezza has had a go at flowers, cake and wine.
The funny part will be all the obsessive Ardern-haters with bulging veins on their foreheads, desperately searching for coverage of the wedding in the media, just so that they can complain there's coverage of the wedding in the media.
For those who need it explaining slowly … if it's a live TV event with hosts from the Project and exclusive deals on cake sponsorship, that's tacky and Trumpy.
If it's a private wedding and the media aren't invited, then it isn't.
The choice of venue is the only way for Ardern to have privacy on her wedding day.
How about a hotel venue owned by corporations and billionaires, or a church owned by billionaire clerical corporations?
What's the problem, Gezza? I got married 45 years and 1 day ago in a church valued at millions and had a reception in a probably similar costing private venue.
The church fell down in the ChCh earthquake, the reception venue is gone but our marriage continues. No-one commented on the appropriateness or otherwise of the venue.; except it was an Anglican church and I was raised. like you, a Catholic…..
So why are we climbing into the PM? None of our business.
Damn strait it's no one's business when you do a deal with an American billionaire hedge fund manager
I absolutely refute any suggestion the billionaire will ask a favour sometime down the line 😉
Disingenuous and dishonest implication, Pucky.
Suppose you're just fomenting happy mischief though, so, whatever…Mac1 has pinged Gezza for his churlishness, quite rightly.
Eh? Far out. What a Sad Sack, Guyton.
What happened to your so-called "sense of humour"?
Watch out for that strait, PR, it might be deeper than you think….
As for the billionaires, they can defend themselves.
I thought it might be a nice wedding dance song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Fbcmsp-5s
What happened to Ten Guitars, really! NZ party classic with the 'gat and this, for all the venue and catering and security, will be a NZ party……least-ways I hope it will be fun for all.
@ Mac1
What do mean you mean "we"? And I'm not really. I can see two points of view about this choice of venue, given that:
I chose to express the viewpoint I thought would generate the most fun comments.
Wrong. It's going to be everybody's business. If it wasn't our business the nuptials would've been organised in secret. This is going to generate a LOT of good, free PR for the PM, and will be a big hit with female voters. No reason not to milk it for all it's worth, which will no doubt be done.
I just moseyed on over to Kiwiblog and had a quick scroll thru a few entries down the page on today’s General Debate.
Man, are some of them getting absolutely poisonous about it – as expected!
Thanks for letting us know!!
No worries.
Been a while since I dared to venture there. Not a happy place.
Particularly the women's weakly – readers will be salivating already. And be devastated if the weakly fail to get their paparazzi thro the door.
If it wasn't our business the nuptials would've been organised in secret.
How would that happen?
Media: "PM, can you confirm that there are wedding plans under way?"
PM: "I am not at liberty to say".
Media: "But we have heard reports of work being done on the East Coast, locals saw a delivery van coming and going".
PM: "That is classified".
Media: "So will you rule out a wedding next year?"
PM: "I will not take any more questions on that."
(headline, half an hour later, all media … "PM refuses to rule out wedding rumours, shuts down media questions)
(Open Mike, an hour later … "What is she hiding? Where is the transparency?")
Come on. It isn't a secret because it can't be. Simple as that.
Lol.
You write, "And I'm not really."
Oh yes you are. Your first comment said, "Is this a good look for our PM? ……….I don’t think it is." So, how can you deny you said it, really?
You then asked for other's opinions. You got mine.
You then hide behind the old passive aggressive stand-by. "It was just a joke!""I was just stirring the pot for humour's sake".
When are you going to tell me to lighten up, and get a life?
PS you’re right about the ‘we”. It was just you. I was being wrongfully inclusive.
Exactly.
Because I'm not invested politically I often view politicians and political issues from the different viewpoints of the various partisans.
When I do that, I can go either way when I express an opinion. I could go on to argue the case further why this is not a good look for our PM, but I am persuaded more by the arguments advanced in favour of Ardern choosing this venue that it's not now worth my doing that.
I often view issues like this with a humorous aspect; if some people take umbrage and are humourless about it, it's not my problem. One of the advantages of not being politically tribal. More things are funny.
Gezza, you are denying that you started off this whole Open Mike with an opinion that was not humorous.
You are now blaming me because I take your statement seriously?
You have a problem- owning up to bullshit.
BTW, if you are not 'invested politically', what are you doing on a political blog, making political statements about politicians? More bullshit.
No, it was a serious question, I added humour to the mix a little further down. It must've gone over your head. You probably thought I was being serious.
I should clarify: by that I meant I'm not politically tribal. I've mostly voted Labour but it's not a guaranteed vote. I vote. So I take an interest in political & social & societal matters and that means I get to make political statements about politicians. It's not bullshit. It's just how it is.
That you don't get that isn't my problem.
'Politician'- Cream. IIRC
"My politics are Left, though I'm leaning, leaning to the Right x2
But I'm just not there, when it comes to, comes to a fight."
Just so, Mac1.
As transparent as the last transparent thing, with better visual aids.
Imho.
Clever wee thread there; a stream of consciousness with an underlying hint of concern……
Concern trolling!
.
🙄
The gang’s all here now. 😎
"Gezza said, "Because I'm not invested politically I often view politicians and political issues from the different viewpoints of the various partisans.
When I do that, I can go either way when I express an opinion"
Fence-sitter.
Never wrong, because you didn't invest in a position.
So reminiscent of Pete George, the greyest fence-sitter in creation!
Make a stand, Gezza!
Put your stake in the ground!
Stand up for something!!
Never right either. So what? How really big & important an issue is where the PM has her wedding, in the overall scheme of things – you know, life the universe, the state of the country, and everything?
I did used to chide him gently for coming over here and stirring up the hornets. Pete ran a non-partisan blog. Partisans like you can't cope with other political viewpoints or balancing out political pros and cons at all well. But that’s what many voters do.
I do. Often. When the issue’s important to me and/or others. You just don't notice.
Well, in all fairness Gezza, theres a lot of Labour Party turd polishers here so you will always run into flack at times.
Flack from Robert is just a smoke puff.
"How really big & important an issue is where the PM has her wedding, in the overall scheme of things – you know, life the universe, the state of the country, and everything?"
You
brought
it
up.
I brought up whether the Labour leader's choice of venue was a good look or not.
It's generated quite a few comments with some good points made.
But in terms of me "putting a stake in the ground on something" this isn't something that's so important it requires an absolute position from me.
Stop sniping at me and go back to sleep, Robert.
https://i.imgur.com/ZCJklT8.gif
Sure,
PeteGezza.Pfft. No wonder Bill told you to stop trolling him the other day.
Stop sniping at me" The next stage of passive -aggressive response is – after blaming and avoiding issues- to play the victim.
Gezza, you're the sniper, in deep cover, and claiming not to even be on the battlefield.
I too have pukeko on my river far edge. They squabble all the time. I'm beginning to feel familial. I'll return to being the visiting harrier, observing and comparing, or the scaup diving for food. The noisy spur-winged plover has gone with his boisterous and bullying ways and the black swans have gone to the lagoon.
@ Mac1
Stop sniping at me” The next stage of passive -aggressive response is – after blaming and avoiding issues – to play the victim.
Nothing passive about me, dude – or dudette? You have an ill-considered or unwarranted go at me, I’m quite happy to smack you back. I haven’t avoided any issues.
Gezza, you’re the sniper, in deep cover, and claiming not to even be on the battlefield.
You appear to have a way over-active imagination. The fact that I don’t need to feel the emotional security of having the same opinion or viewpoint as the rest of the crowd, like you and Robert, doesn’t put me under cover, does it? I’m out in the open. And this isn’t a battlefield. It’s just a blog.
Sounding increasingly desperate, imho.
Down with this sort of (transparent) thing.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/christopher-and-amanda-luxon-on-life-as-leader-what-lies-ahead-and-luxons-bad-habits/C76445J3SIME7FDV5RWE7RIM4Q/
Sorry, Gezza, when you mentioned 'sniping at me', I, silly dude, took the military meaning.
You, of course, had this in mind.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipe
@ Drowsy
No idea who Chris T is. Or was. I don’t post on blogs under multiple usernames. Been using Gezza solely for several years now.
Dude or dudette just meant I have no idea what sex (or gender?) Mac1 is.
@ mac1
in deep cover, and claiming not to even be on the battlefield.
Delusional.
You've never posted "on blogs under multiple usernames", or just "for several years now"?
Why you might feel the urge to declare your ignorance of mac1's sex (or gender) in this way, and quite why chris T ["…dude? …. or dudette?"] was similarly curious about my sex (or gender) are mysteries, but nothing to fret about – everyone needs a 'hobby'.
As you can see, chris T's ( or Chris t's) hobby here was too 'critique' the government, with a special focus on PM Ardern. He was a particularly boorish bore, imho, either thick as two short planks or giving a fair performance of same, but your guess is as good as mine.
Delusional? Allusional, rather.
@ Drowsy
You’ve never posted “on blogs under multiple usernames”, or you haven’t “for several years now”?
Sigh. You are fixating on small stuff. I used a different username many years ago for maybe a year or so. I wasn’t all that happy with it. I changed to Gezza several years back & have stuck with that everywhere I’ve posted ever since.
Gezza, "I haven’t avoided any issues, " you say.
Your #1. “Is this a good look for our PM? A billionaire’s rural luxury estate awaits Jacinda Ardern and partner Clarke Gayford on their wedding day……… I don’t think it is."
Then later, having been challenged you write it off as humour, when at 1.3.1.3.2 you say "I’m just having a wee leg pull."
Then, it becomes unimportant. You say "How really big & important an issue is where the PM has her wedding, in the overall scheme of things – you know, life the universe, the state of the country, and everything?"
Not avoiding the issue? As soon as you're challenged, you change your ground.
BTW, was your other username on The Standard and if so who were you?
I’m not responsible for your seeming inability to follow the discussion in that thread, mac1 & thus wrongly conflate several separate issues. But, hey, carry on if your obsession to continue ranting at me is too strong to resist.
Nite mac1 👋🏼
Gezza, you're 'concerned' about whether this is "a good look for our PM", and very exercised about disparaging remarks directed at our latest leader of the opposition [anyone sensing a pattern – male pattern baldness perhaps?], but I'm fixating on the small stuff?
From that first comment at 6:28 am, imho your 'contributions' here today constitute a blight – quite predictable, as mac1 observed. Nite
My suggestion is you all give it a rest. It's been several hours in this subthread since the politics were discussed, might be good to go back to that rather than taking potshots at each other
As both the Prime Minister Hipkins and other guests have been subject to threats by some very anti people, I don't blame them choosing a venue that is away from drones buses 'planes or helicopter "fly overs/ drive bys'.
As for some comments here which pretend to be jokes… they say more about the person than Jacinda Ardern. I have only once heard her slip into "names" when she almost called Judith Collins "Karen" As JC's own were calling her worse names it quickly lost impact.
It is a lack of grace that simply wishing her well would choke some people. She has had to change her date because of covid, had to find a time where people could attend, so I hope it all goes well for her and Clarke and Neve.
That Herald article has been considerably updated since I first read it early this morning. There's more info and pics now that weren't in the first report I saw.
You make some good points there Patricia. And it's not as if they'll be hobnobbing with the billionaire class for long – it's just the venue for their actual wedding. (Well, who knows, maybe for a honeymoon too?)
One wonders what earlier Labour leaders – supposed champions of the poor & the working class – would have done? But then, Ardern worked for Tony Blair and he hobnobbed with the upper classes & the wealthy quite a lot.
I hope their wedding goes off well. Nobody decent wants to see anybody's wedding ruined. I imagine it's going to be a very closely controlled event. It will be interesting to see what publicity is given to it on the day, and post-event.
There will I expect be some capitalisation on it for PR purposes. I'll be interested to see how much – it will appeal to women voters particularly, so I expect some magazine spreads and controlled tv coverage.
So let me get this …." hobnobbing' "Tony Blair" "publicity" "PR purposes"
Oh, you don't think she is just getting married? You think it is political?
I think I’ve covered everything by now. The Labour Party of today isn’t the Party it was in terms of how revolutionary & focussed on the poor & working class that it once was.
I can see why some pundits claim there’s not really much difference between the centre left & the centre right. I think neoliberalism, kicked off by the Lange/Douglas administration, has changed our society so much that now a Labour leader doesn’t go for a plain simple wedding at some simple venue.
And probably a lot of voters won’t care. Labour, imo, is still probably more likely to WANT to do more for the poor & working class than National will be. I was just curious to see what comments from Labour supporters came out of that original post of mine.
I don't work for free
Too far up for me to want to scroll.
'This is going to generate a LOT of good, free PR for the PM, and will be a big hit with female voters.'
I don't work for free.
Cash, Gas, Grass or Ass everybody pays for PR.
I mean it's her wedding she can do what she likes but the banquet hall or the old upper house room in parliament are regularly used for weddings and would make a gorgeous venue.
There's also government house .. it's a pretty damn nice building for a wedding.
These buildings are regularly used by foreign dignitaries, monarchs and heads of state as well as for weddings of parliament staff. I would have gone with that …
Reading it's a hedge fund managers property made me roll my eyes for a second.
But honestly, who cares.
It's their wedding have it wherever, and if it's private then it's none of our business and not political but if they sell women's day and the media pics of them basking in opulence as if they are some celebrity couple, it becomes political and it won't be the good pr story, they want and it is tacky when public servants are treated like stars.
I hope they have fun, but I expect them to be tacky and sell the pics to national and international tabloids because this is the same couple where the nations first man hosts a show about moving house while the prime ministers administration has utterly failed spectacularly on housing affordability, stability and supply, and anyone outside of the bubble would have said "na mate don't do a show on housing, it'll make ya partner look bad" and it became a meme for every millennial,gen z, working class , beneficiary etc struggling to get a rental they can afford or stay in, move out of their parents, get out of a motel, put together a loan etc because it's such an out of touch move during a housing apocalypse from the first man it deserved all the memes, mockery and insults and selling pictures of her in a billionaires mansion getting married will be met with the same mocking, insulting, memeing derision from the people labour is supposed to represent.
So I hope they have fun, congratulations, but don't sell those pictures to the tabloids if you don't want it to become political and a meme and don't do a second season of that damned moving house show!
I expect them to be tacky and sell the pics to national and international tabloids
They won't. Seriously, do you not see how easy it is to be captured by this irrational mindset? You lose touch with reality when you buy into that nonsense.
Whatever anyone thinks of her gov't policies, Ardern is not a fool. She is perfectly capable of weighing up the political risks and rewards. If we can, she certainly can.
As I commented elsewhere, the only possible deal would be for some charity. She is not going to seek personal financial gain. Why on earth would she throw away her support (= her job), and what, in her political career so far, would give anyone grounds to think she would?
The wedding – meh. But the bile ir's eliciting from Ardern naysayers – priceless
Yes someone's bound to be along soon here or holding up a sign outside saying 'pretty little communist in a wedding dress' or some such idiocy.
Since it is absolutely none of your business, who cares what you think!
You appear to.
But that was yesterday. Today’s a new day.
I’ve been reflecting on my comments yesterday & I now realise that my reference to a stable & a manger & holding the reception in a food bank, while meant as humorous & tongue-in-cheek, were in poor taste (both to the PM & the people forced to visit them), so the negative reaction they caused I should have expected on a left-leaning, government-supporting blog like TS.
So I apologise for that unnecessarily provocative, poor taste remark.
I tend to be somewhat cynical about all politicians these days & thus probably too critical without acknowledging their successes often enuf.
Regarding Ardern, as PM I acknowledge that she has done a superb job to date of managing Kiwiland’s response to Covid & the relevant stats speak tellingly to how successful the govt has been.
There have been various shortfalls & screw ups, which have never been conceded by the govt as such, but in Ministers like Hipkins (& most recently, Little, re health workers being blocked from getting MIQ slots by MBIE staff cockups) have generally addressed them speedily & with much better outcomes than many other countries.
Ardern has had to face an unprecedented challenge with Covid & has met that challenge & is to be congratulated for not shrinking from making tuff decisions that make her liable to criticisms from opposition parties & affected sectors.
As regards her private life, the comparison between the Woman’s Weekly articles in her & Luxon seems quite stark to me. Ardern was being accused in advance by Rightie critics of being likely to “wheel Neve out for cutesy stories” at difficult times politically. She has never done that. Nor do I think she ever will. She has managed to successfully keep her private family life private – except for what glimpses people might get on Facebook, which is what one expects on Facebook.
I had to lol when the topic of her wedding being secret or public came up yesteday. Because, from what I can see, it IS being kept secret. The Herald article even notes that the couple wishes to keep it private for their families, & is based on 3rd party hearsay sources. All we know is that it is expected to occur “sometime in late January”.
I’ll be interested to see what publicity & photos are published after the event. Looking at how her family life has been managed to date, I realise today that it is most probably going to be quite low-key.
I’m human. That means I make mistakes. And I’m a bloke, so when I get attacked, I hit back. Yesterday I made a mistake. But it’s a new day today, so I’ve learned from it & am not going to repeat it.
Good on you Gezza – fwiw, chris T's comments often begin with "Sorry".
[RL: I will need to see the reasoning that led to this remark about ‘Chris T’. As far as I’m aware you are addressing a commenter called ‘Gezza’ and introducing other pseudonyms skates on thin ice, unless you can show fair cause.]
Mod note for you
Apologies for my over-active pattern recognition facility. Yesterday I observed a curious (to me) similarity between the way Gezza chose to pointlessly express his ignorance of mac1's sex (or gender):
and chris T's style of wondering about my sex (or gender):
I also observed here that there’s a similarity between chris T's tedious 'critiques' of our government, PM Ardern in particular, and Gezza's choice of comment @1.
I don't resile from my observations, but happy to admit that they are not proof of collusion between Gezza and any other identity on The Standard.
Re: chris T's comments often begin with "Sorry" – they really do (can't link to the many more examples without tripping the 'too many links' filter):
and that's no biggie – many have had occasion to apologise, e.g. Gezza, and me just now.
As an aside, it was once suggested here that I was sockpuppet for Morrissey – you know, another Professor Longhair. But it got sorted out amicably thanks to some deft moderating.
I also take a really dim view of commenters trying to break someone's pseudonym. If you have serious concerns that someone is using a sock puppet or breaking a ban, please quietly let a mod know and they will look at it. But don't start speculating on who people really are. We protect pseudonyms here for really good reasons.
A Russian court published details about a corruption trial involving catering to Russian forces in Ukraine's Donbas region.
Unpossible, said Poots spokesperson, there are no Russian forces the in the region.
https://www.interfax.ru/russia/809774
google translation
Poots asks Boris "what is your favourite lie?"
Boris replies "oh I never tell a lie"
Poots: "That's my favorite one too!"
https://i.imgur.com/io9VkZF.gif
@ Patricia
https://i.imgur.com/86rDM3E.gifv
I have a Mr & Mrs Blackbird who nest in a hedging plant right outside my kitchen window. Always a bit of a wow moment to show visitors as they just just fly straight into the hedge, no hopping onto a branch then making their way in…just zoooooooom like a jet plane into the centre where the nest is.
Cool, Shanreigh.
Henny & Blackie had a large, conical nest in a three-pronged fork in one of the three sheoaks behind my manuka tree 2 years back. I would go out & call to Henny while she was sitting on the eggs. Her little head would pop up over the edge of the nest, & she’d look at me, but she wouldn’t come down for bread chunks until Blackie arrived to relief-sit.
The nest was too high up for me to see how man eggs they were incubating, but they did successfully raise two blackbird fledglings.
Sorry, *Shanreagh
Hi Gezza, guess we stay away from Ardern huh?
🙂 With Women's Weekly and Forest and Bird magazine both now being delivered to the Standard …….. can we get Gezza back to politics, social commentary, current affairs?
What do your bird politicos think of the article on Christopher Luxon in the latest Womens' Weekly?
Man, they've really gone to town on that story:
https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/news/latest-news/family-man-christopher-luxon-on-his-greatest-achievement-45295
Compared to this:
https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/news/current-affairs/jacinda-ardern-christmas-2020-44858
But, I do wonder whether Little and Ardern are these days embarrassed by this?:
https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/news/current-affairs/jacinda-and-andrew-31576
Something for Blazer to chew over…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300481161/instead-of-demonising-property-investors-we-should-be-making-it-easier-for-them
"Andrew King is president of the New Zealand Property Investors Federation, a nationwide lobby group."
No vested interest to see here….lol
Shhh … Blazer mightn't notice…
I notice these altruistic landlords invariably buy existing housing stock…not new builds.
I also notice these efficient rental providers receive over $2000,000,000 in Govt accomodation subsidies.
Andrew King is a master shill-always appears to sound reasonable and empathetic to renters.
so much bullshit in that
I realise the article triggers cognitive dissonance in the minds of every good leftie – whose visceral instinct is to line all the bastard leaching landlords up against a wall at dawn – but I've read the article and I'm curious to know exactly what bullshit?
Demonising landlords has to be a conscious strategy to redirect attention away from the failure to effectively address the housing crisis.
Part of that failure includes allowing an environment to flourish where explotative and irresponsible landlords are some tenants only choice. That does not mean that all landlords fit that role.
Totally agree with all of this. The shortage of rentals forces people into accepting poor choices all round.
The first thing the writer should have done is admit to the increasing power that landlords hold in society.
Mega Landlords: Over 22,100 homes owned by small group of very large investors | Stuff.co.nz
Since 2010, house price increases averaged 8.2 percent annually, but average hourly earnings growth only averaged 2.9 per cent.
That average hourly earnings was swallowed up immediately by rents, which increased 3 per cent annually.
There are 487,000 people in New Zealand who own 1-5 rental properties: that's most of them. But let's not confuse the "mum and dads" with being amateurs. Most carefully watch their margins.
This government has made more progress regulating for quality rentals and on taxing rental property than any government I've yet seen. And I say that as a landlord who's been through a major upgrade this year.
But we will need a couple of years to see whether that major group have sold down enough to make a difference in the real estate market.
Until then I would treat apologists like the column's author with a pinch of salt.
The point is Ad that despite constant series of move against landlords, the main outcome is both property prices and rents have increased and there is now a real shortage of rentals.
That's the facts on the ground – but you want us to wait a few more years to see if things get better. Good luck with that.
Australia and UK are experiencing flight of capital to housing as well. Their prices are surging. Interest rates and inflation caused by the covid money. Our government has begun to wind down the pressure. Look at the latest auction figures Only 30% sold. Tide is turning.
believe it ..or not!
'Treasury's latest economic and fiscal update, known as HYEFU, shows house prices are forecast to increase 10.4 percent next year, meaning the median house price – currently $925,000 – will rise to more than $1 million. '
I would like to have more details when it comes to the daily stats for NZ Covid infections. Separate figures for first dose, second dose, booster dose, unvaccinated, previous Covid infection, close contact, household contact and unknown.
I realise this would be problematic everyday so at least once a week covering the last 7 days.
I would include the Delta and Omicron strains in the above figures. Huge lab resources would be required.
Huge lab resources are already being used.
And when you have all the details what would you do with them?
And when you have all the details what would you do with them?
The Covid trend in NZ would then be known. I would expect the government to control the NZ border and prioritise who they allow in for the good of the country.
2022 is shaping up for Covid to become a bigger problem than it has ever been.
How to help the countries which are struggling comes down to money and health workers. A Covid international fund run by a new organisation is required.
I didn't mean the backroom boffins having more details when it comes to the daily stats for NZ Covid infections. I meant you. You said, "I would like to have more details…"
The officials would seek the details they need to suit their purposes and no doubt collect what they need for their purposes.
If not published and made available for the general public to get a better picture outside their immediate circumstance, its called repressing information. This is largely done in communist and dictatorial states. The question is: what is there to be afraid of? Admittingly, for some 30% of people this would be like the hieroglyphs of the ancient Egyptians but this is no reason to withheld information. There are enough NZ landers that are well educated to make up their own mind without having to rely on the "official" drip feed version. But then again, it might be expedient for those on the leaver of that information to have the dissemination "controlled" and with it the means of manipulating public reactions. Possible?
The stats would influence my decision making. Stay close to home, who I allow into my home. How often I go out. Do I have a medical procedure I can reschedule.
There are lots of figures and info on this MOH demographics page.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-case-demographics
The most depressing statistics are in the Economist. This shows the figures for selected countries of the number of people who are protected against the Delta and Omicron variants of Covid 19.
For Delta they estimate we are at about the 40th percentile with about 70% of the population protected. For Omicron we would be at the 10th percentile with about 2% of the population protected. The graph is here.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/12/15/which-countries-are-best-protected-against-omicron
Our low ranking is mostly due to the fact that we have had very few cases and have little yet in the way of booster doses.
Having had very cases seems to me to be something to cheer, except it seems ever more likely that we will get it in the future. It is like the laws of thermodynamics. The first law says you can't win. The second law says you can't even break even.
We can't even break even with our protection. It isn't fair!
Well I have had the belief from a long way back that sooner or later we are all going to get Covid 19. I am just glad that the vaccines seem to greatly reduce your chance of a severe dose and you are much more likely to survive the experience.
https://twitter.com/wekatweets/status/1472281414049562624?s=21
but it lets them pretend that they are 'green'.
https://twitter.com/anarkaytie/status/1472303166288924677?s=21
The question is how many can utilize alternatives, such as using a bike or heating by different means. Or do those poor, old and sick become collateral damage?
Windmills require substantial concrete blocks on the grounds that basically cover large stretches of ground and create an issue with oxygen and water exchange and thus the ground "dies". There is strong resistance in Europe as windmill farms are now encroaching on arable land, basically coving the same with concrete, reducing food production.
A large portion of older, sick and frail people will not be able to get their basic needs covered if only electric cars would be allowed and no public transport is available. Not everybody is living next to a supermarket in walking distance. Who can afford a 30K car on $ 340 a week? Also, has anybody read up on the enormous environmental issue with those batteries? Similar with those phones that are now throw away products. Look at the need for these due to the download of the covid scan. And it cannot be any phone.
To just throw the first idea around as it would be the philosophers stone and to ride a trendy wave is simply not good enough. Effort: D, Implementation and consideration of other factors involved : D. Research of consequences D.
Population growth is an issue. And to say that the poorer nations have to pay the price as the rich ones have "contracted" their cheap and nasty manufacturing to those nations is no solution either. And another "D".
Reducing consumption is a good concept and applaudable. However, if you would mathematically calculate renewable resources, speed of replacement or food harvest, increase of population and distribution; how many people would still die of hunger? Climate change based on deforestation and the seas fished up, used as dumping ground for chemicals, plastics etc.. Any answers? No, none. Another "D".
We pay politicians handsomely and the captain of industry bosses obscenely well only to come up with more of the same with another set of serious issues that these people do not think about or simply don's want to know. But this time, it will be their own grand kids that will have to cope with their laissez-faire approach to the resources of this planet.
There is desperation in the air but surely we don't need to cut the nose despite the face.
Not sure what you are trying to say there. TINA? That's bleak. We know runaway climate change will kill a very large number of people, as well as mass extinctions. Why would you advocate for that? It's an utter failure of imagination to assume that actions that prevent that would also kill many people.
We can do many things: upscale public transport, relocalise economies (yes, we can have banks, grocers, hairdressers, etc in our neighbourhoods again), grow food locally, stop flying so much, stop consuming so much, stop wasting food, resources, time, energy. On and on. We have all the solutions at our finger tips. The problem isn't that it's not possible, it's that people don't/won't act.
In under 24 months we've just had our entire ability to work, get around a city, communicate, respond to public policy, get groceries, and engage as a society utterly transformed.
We've had two massive areas of our export economy nearly killed off dead.
We've gone into more public debt than ever before, and on all counts are the most successfully managed developed economy in the entire world.
We can respond to climate change if we are given the political leadership to do so.
A million expected to attend omicron party in NYC:
National's back-to-normal spokesperson will be watching closely to see how to copy.
I hope that this planned super spreader event does not hatch a Delta/Omicron strain.
When it comes to having no capacity in the health system will those who attend scream about their human rights to health care, vaccinated or not vaccinated?
icymi
A study by Oregon researchers finds that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 who have a breakthrough infection end up with what the authors call "super immunity."
They caution the vaccinated should not seek COVID-19 infection, but the "hybrid immunity" offers some solace for those who catch one despite having been vaccinated.
"The bottom line of the study is that vaccine provides you with foundational immunity for whatever comes next," said Fikadu Tafesse, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine in Portland, Oregon.
[…]
Getting a booster is still safer than getting COVID-19, said Dr. Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, particularly for those at risk for severe disease, including those over 70, people with diabetes and those with weakened immune systems.
"Best is getting three doses of an mRNA vaccine and never getting infected. Complications, including long COVID and transmission to others, represent a risk even in that scenario," Poland said.
He offered a hierarchy of safety:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/full-vaccination-against-covid-19-and-a-breakthrough-infection-builds-super-immunity-study-finds/ar-AARUvHA
It is still early days when it comes to applying vaccination to the Omicron strain. I do not think that the actual R value of Omicron is yet known.
The study gives some reassurance to the earlier strains including the Delta strain. What matters, is avoiding serious illness.
In understanding R values its important to understand they are also influenced a lot by behaviour. If a country goes into lockdown the R value (almost certainly) goes down and different countries policies, connectedness and behaviours are encoded in it. This means at minimum they are not really comparable between countries. Yes, there is an aspect of virus infectiousness in there, but many other factors going on too.
I have not thought much about the R value variation. Something I will read up on.
Heard 3.7 attributed this morning on RNZ
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018825122/prof-gary-mclean-on-rise-and-eventual-fall-of-omicron
I listened to Eric Topol an American cardiologist on the bottom line on Aljazeera TV at 2.30 pm NZ time on the management of Covid.
Clued up and wise.
https://twitter.com/wekatweets/status/1472289049620615169?s=21
There is an entire emerging field of engineering called biomimicry.
I know what biomimicry is, it’s very cool. Reductionists using biomimicry to sustain BAU is not going to get us out of this mess. Whole systems thinking and humility might.
If you and Nature were enjoying dialogue, She'd use language you could understand.
When you see faces in the clouds, are you projecting, or receiving?
Enjoyment is a currently underrated aspect of communication.
If nature and I were in dialogue I’d learn our mother tongue.
Yes, joy and gratitude are the Mother tongue.
Makes me think of Lawton's saying, you can solve all the world's problems in a garden (or forest). Most on the left would dismiss that as silly and superficial, but I think he is in part pointing to how humans are changed by immersion in gardening, the joy and gratitude that comes from that and how that then fractals out.
This human hates gardening but likes the results of it.
You hate gardening, Gezza?
All of my presumptions are confirmed.
That says more about you than me. You don't even know me.
Your presumptions are your biases & you are simply projecting.
You did say you hate gardening – I took you at your word.
I love gardening 🙂
Long thread on a barking book about Peterson.
Hooboy…
https://twitter.com/nathanoseroff/status/1366762722017349633
I am sure a fellow Standardista is waiting for me to repeat my view of Jordan Petersen ie that he is a twit. I place him him with such others as Katie Hopkins, Stephan Molyneux https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/stefan-molyneux
and Lauren Southern (though she has apparently rebranded herself as a centrist from hard or alt right……hmmmmmn.
Serious level fucked up
https://twitter.com/petra_ioi/status/1472138260625256451?s=21
I like your definition of Serious level…
There’s a significant difference between choosing not to be vaccinated and actively campaigning to prevent access to healthcare that people will die or become disabled without.
That leaflet isn’t rabbit holing it’s ethical sink holes.
I reckon it's well past time to label Covid disinfo and attempts to disrupt Covid mitigation measures as attacks on the nation's citizen's physical, mental and socioeconomic well being.
Deliberately causing damage through misinformation by invading a letter box needs it's own legislation. There are laws against false advertising.
There is already legislation preventing certain materials being distributed in letter-boxes provided the appropriate message is on the letter box.
Somebody could make a small fortune producing a sticky backed message banning Voice of Freedom literature in letter boxes. I've been bombarded with them in recent weeks and have had enough of it.
not sure what you are meaning Treetop, are you being sarcastic?
Not being sarcastic.
actively campaigning to prevent access to health care that people will die or become disabled without is a serious matter.
😎👍
Who made you the satire police? I thought the flyer was fucking hilarious.
God forbid that someone provides a political analysis of political satire. Shocking.
How are they preventing anything?? It's a leaflet with an alternate point of view.
In another time, it might be a called a healthy sign of a functioning democracy?
They're advocating against the vaccination programme. They want people's healthcare removed. I have no problem with people choosing to not vaccinate. But politically trying to remove that option for other people is fucked up.
They're also misleading and outright lying in that pamphlet, straight out of the right wing play book. This smells like dirty politics.
Healthy democracy would be helping people to make informed consent choices, not lying to them with propaganda.
The flyer is satire, and much like a good greek satire play reflects the absurdity of where we're at.
The irony of your last comment is that if you wanted better informed consent you would be supporting groups like theirs that provide something akin to a second opinion, not attacking them.
the problem with trying to be satire, is that it's also misleading the public. I can't see any way in which lying about vaccine efficacy is necessary for the goal of satire in that piece.
I do actually support informed consent and dissent from mainstream medical narratives. I have my whole adult life and I have a background in patient rights. This is not the way to go about it. They are either politically naive, or do in fact have the intention of fucking with the vaccination programme. I can't tell which, although looking at their website, taking it at face value, I'd guess the former. They may be getting bad advice. But this attempt at satire demonstrates poor judgement.
You can't be definition give informed consent when you are being lied to. They are not health practitioners, but if they're going to quote the HDC code then they themselves need to stop lying about medical treatments. It just doesn't work and completely undermines their objectives and integrity.
https://voicesforfreedom.co.nz/informed-consent
The leaflet openly states that it is satire. (Know this, coz seen one)
I just explained why it still fails.
So that explains why the pic only show part of the flyer. OK.
I think it makes it's point very well and is an excellent piece of subversive politics.
"So that explains…" It does.
"I think it makes it's point very well…" I laughed. Bad me.
You might appreciate….
https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeMomma/videos/434418588082682/
Not sure though that other manifestations of 'democracy' by the virulent anti vaxx such as picketing testing centres to such an extent, and so threateningly, that the workers feel threatened and have to shut up shop is the sign of anything now apart from anarchy, terror and bullying.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127290738/covid19-testing-station-closed-after-threats-to-staff-escalate
tbf, the group that put out the pamphlet might not have anything to do with the those protestors. They should of course distance themselves. I suspect they are on a similar learning curve re politics as Groundswell.
Don't know for certain in relation to the Richmond Covid19 station, but the Voices For Freedom clowns have been prominent (and their signs / teeshirts) at every protest in Nelson / Marlborough lately.
are they organising or attending?
In addition to organising anti-lockdown protests, Voices for Freedom does seem to be opposed to some Covid-19 vaccines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_anti-lockdown_protests_in_New_Zealand#Voices_for_Freedom
Don't know if they contributed to organising protests in Nelson /Marlborough, but at best VFF should be considered misguided, imho.
opposed in what way?
I’d rather not speak for them, but it seems clear to me that VFF is disseminating disinformation designed to discourage Kiwis from getting vaccinated against Covid-19. Have a look at some of the flyers available on their website and decide for yourself.
thanks DMK. I did look last night and hadn't seen that bit about the pin cushion, just them saying they're not anti-vax.
That level of dishonesty is going to harm them politically. Again the political inexperience is obvious. As is the inability to discern truth and be willing to misrepresent. I'm willing to give people some leeway, but so much of this is just stupid (and unnecessary).
Have they got a return address?
Funded by CIA drug sales are they?
Sociopathy having captured American culture in recent years, the spectre of political disintegration looms sufficiently to engage thinkers:
Seems feasible. Almost everyone's still in denial re democracy failure but this writer gets the message.
Texas invading California would be a compelling reality tv show. However this scenario would likely be stymied by the politics of having to negotiate transit through New Mexico & Arizona.
Perhaps they could hire Putin as consultant for the transition? Russiagate as more than mere mental portal…
Less Republicans than Democrats are vaccinated in the US. I heard this on Aljazeera TV yesterday. I dunno about new Covid strains affecting voting numbers.
As a side issue Boris Johnson's party lost a seat (which was held for 200 years) through a by election; also heard on Aljazeera TV yesterday.
The base ain't doing too well.
https://twitter.com/mercedesschlapp/status/1471963656078376963
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FG3iv4tXIAMpmOc?format=jpg&name=large
Covid politics in the US is going to become more divisive than I could have ever thought it would. Probably will surpass any protest movement to date.
People in the US could protest about no access to health care.
Today in International Coming out Day for Gender Critical People. It’s two years to the day that JK Rowling first tweeted her support for Maya Forstator who lost her job for saying on her FB page that biological sex is real and there are only two sexes.
since supporting Maya and tweeting on this issue, JK Rowling has received death threats, rape threats, nail bomb threat and was recently doxed by trans activists.
Thanks, Anker.
Biological sex is real and is binary.
Recognition of this fact in legislation, services, research, medical treatment, policy and other arenas of life matters.
Saying so, does not harm anyone unless 'harm' includes confronting reality.
Thoughtful article written on Substack by Cataleptic Onion:
GC 'Coming out . . .'
Burn the witch,
and the people screamed in delight as the witch burned for they feared the witch,
The people did however not fear the people that ordered the burning of the women – a daughter, a mother, a wife, a grandmother, they feared the witch.
Never mind, no witch was ever burned.
Go figure.
I can see the results of this cropping up in the long conversations on The Standard.
https://twitter.com/Samfr/status/1472145803766636545
And I could not resist this. Only in America? probably not…..
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1472016822639677450
I would recommend this to anyone who cares about the environment and what can be achieved. Hopefully someone connected to the Green party will view this and see what an under achiever they have been in this field, especially James Shaw and what his trip to Glasgow was unable to achieve. Don't worry James we can always buy carbon credits offshore to compensate for our inaction.
https://hdclump.com/restoring-the-earth-the-age-of-nature-episode-1/
One of my go-to websites for gardening videos and UK content, herodotus.
Will check out programme tonight.
This betrays a large misunderstanding of green politics, the NZ Green Party and their policy, and how parliament and government works. Probably misunderstanding of Shaw as well.
What’s more likely?
it’s not the Greens holding NZ back, that would be Labour and previously NZF. Best way to retain that situation is to slag the Greens off so more people don’t vote for them.
From reading David Attenborough "A life on Our Planet" I came across the term of "Shifting Baseline Syndrome" . And find it totally fitting regarding our response to the climate and the demise of wildlife. Remember this "This is my generation's nuclear-free moment, and I am determined that we will tackle it head on." NO leadership just empty rhetoric. And covid could kill a few and look at the worlds response? Demise of our planet, I wonder what the cost will be ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifting_baseline
Yeah, that was Ardern that said that, nothing to do with the Greens.
The Greens said climate change is the biggest challenge of our time, and developed an actual plan for how to respond to it. A plan that Labour, NZF and leftie voters have opposed. That is why we are in the situation we are in.
Compare the Green Party policies and Labour's and then please stop slagging off the Greens, they are one of the few ways forward if we would only give them enough power to act. We can't have them lead if we silo them under 10%
Perhaps some actions seen from the Greens warrant comment ? Well, from Shaw
Kevin Hague said it perfectly "Forest and Bird’s chief executive
Mr Shaw, that is really taking responsibility, another rat to swallow for the price of power and the $$'s that come with it ?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/01/new-zealand-plan-to-halve-greenhouse-gases-criticised-as-an-accounting-trick
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/127308971/public-sectors-carbon-footprint-remains-a-mystery-despite-2025-target
tell me how you think the Greens and Shaw specifically could get GP policy through government at this time. I'm all ears.
Do your own work.
I am. This is a political debate. If someone says the Greens should do it differently but can't explain how in real terms, it's just a load of hot air and blather.
The Greens are the party for the environment as we are told, that is how they have positioned the party. It is for THEM to sell us their story and how they are to achieve that. Currently from my perspective they are not doing that.
"I just got sick of trying to explain to people who don't understand green politics, how it works." Perhaps either TG need to better sell green politics or perhaps change their methodology/strategy. I could read your comments a few ways: 1 would be its everyone else's fault as to why the GP are not achieving.
So, you have no ideas on how the Green Party could change things in parliament, but you are happy to slag them off as not being good enough. This translates into less people voting for them, which means we get left with Labour and National, and we know what their policies are like. In what way is this useful?
If you don't like the GP 'story', then at least come up with something better.
Yes, yes, it's all their fault that people don't want action on climate, if only they had a magic wand and could make Labour adopt better policies.
I'm not saying it's everyone else's fault. I'm pointing to the fact that lots of NZers say they want better action on climate but won't actually do something as simple as voting Green once every three years.
I don't believe most people do want action. I think they want BAU and, ooops, fuck the planet and later generations, sorry but we had our lives to live.
You on the other hand are saying that you want action, but won't support the party that has the policies to make that happen. You also don't have any alternatives in mind. How is this going to work out do you think?
If you have not already, take a few minutes to view the program from my link above (and I hope others do as well), as it may then incite some to expect more and question what is being done, and put into context the "Shifting Baseline Syndrome". If parts of China can make a radical change to the landscape what about 100% pure, that trades on the image.
The one party in control of government in China is obviously more intent on action than the one party in control of government here.
Must be James Shaw and the Greens fault though /s
Mate, I've been deep green most of my adult life and have a really good understanding of ecology and the solutions available to us for the environmental crises.I'm also pretty good at whole systems thinking.
We're not short on ideas, we're short on the political and social will to enact them.
The problem here is that you are slagging off the Greens, who are one of the ways to getting change, including via our 100% pure image. Business people aren't going to shift that, nor are Labour MPs. So how do you see those political changes happening without a party that understands the issues and has policy to deal with them?
I'll also point out that the Green Party has people in it that understand all that too. Why are you undermining them? This isn't partisan politics on my part, I'm just really not getting why you would want things to change for the better and harm the ways that that might happen..
that's spot on arkie, and so succinct, lol, could have saved my dozen comments.
"The one party in control of government in China is obviously more intent on action than the one party in control of government here." ok then how about the portion that relates to Northern Norway. From my understanding Norway is not under the same political system as China, and they were able to close down entire fishing grounds. BUT then Norway is different from NZ …. for some other reason that is not applicable for the reason for inaction here !!!
The Green Party have two key portfolios, which they negotiated for.
They are polling about the same as in 2011, a decade ago.
Why aren't you holding them to account for achieving more than they are? They appear complacent next to Act who have this term consistently out performed them.
Apparently their two portfolio areas are the most pressing issues of our time.
It's up to you people inside the Green Party to stop being so foolish as to tell us about your values, and start holding your party for what they have and haven't actually achieved. From each election result:
1999: 5%
2002: 7%
2008: 6.7%
2011: 11%
2014.11%
2017: 6.3%
2020: 7.9%
Why, when the climate change story has been building for over a decade, are you static or worse when it comes to the crucial thing of changing how people vote?
If you don't do better than Act in 2024 you should just fold your tent up.
Why aren't you? All I see from you is slagging them off and blaming them for things that are in Labour's control.
Besides,
I just got sick of trying to explain to people who don't understand green politics, how it works. If you don't want to understand, that's on you.
Fuck off, I'm not inside the Green Party. It's not rocket science to understand both why the GP poll the way they do, and why they can't change the things you blame them for this term. You’re not stupid so it’s hard not to assume you are good with undermining the Greens.
Macho politics is killing the planet, but apparently you and many other left voters want that. So why don't you tell me why the party who is governing alone isn't doing more on climate? Why are they not letting the Shaw do what is needed? What is stopping Labour from growing pair and doing something instead of resting on Ardern's nuclear free moment rhetoric?
The Greens failure to communicate their politics is on them.
The Greens failure to persuade Labour – when obviously NZFirst could – is on them.
The Greens failure to come up with the Carbon plan they were legislated to come up with this year is on them.
The Greens leadership failure to not deliver more on their portfolios is on them.
If people like you aren't going to hold them to account, they aren't going to improve.
Here in the Labour Party we have no problem holding our Ministers and MPs to account.
It's time you did.
Agree.
Bullshit. You've been saying this a long time and you've not once explained how this could work in real world terms. You also know damn well that NZF had more negotiating power because they're centrist.
Whatever issues they are or aren't having with working with the shitty hand of cards they've got, that's a different issue on being able to implement actually useful policy. Maybe now I will assume you think the policy is good and it's just the Greens that have fucked it up. Actually that would make more sense of your position, you don't actually want the real action.
Hot air. Blah, blah, useless Greens, beat them with a stick until they get better at the jobs.
There are plenty of people within and outside the party holding them to account in useful ways. The problem here is people who just slag them off with no real alternatives or solutions. 'Do Better' is such a lame meme now.
Oh good, please explain why NZ is doing so badly on climate. Are you saying they've left it all up to Shaw? Any evidence for that?
NZF got more because they were superior to the Greens at one of the central tasks of politics: negotiation.
James Shaw set up the Climate Commission, James Shaw set up the reporting timetable, James Shaw is accountable as Minister for implementing it.
We have a poor climate plan because the Green Minister who holds the portfolio hasn't done a good job. It's central to the existence of the Green Party so they have to account for that themselves.
You should hold the Greens to account.
Why is it that the Greens on 10% support did so much worse than Act when they started 2020 on the same degree of public support?
Time Greens forced their MPs to perform. Labour regularly fires its leaders over less.
"NZF got more because they were superior to the Greens at one of the central tasks of politics: negotiation."
So?
Do you expect that The Greens would be better at negotiation/levering/bullying/standing-over, than Winston?
Really??
Macho politics is killing the planet exhibit A.
Despite the Greens spending a long time dragging NZ and Labour greenwards and towards doing somethign useful on climate, it's better that they should quit because they're not the fucking world saving Heroes that the trad left say they want but won't actually make happen.
Have they really dragged anything anywhere?
The Greens have had all the climate change media they could possibly want for years on end, all the Ministerial perks and policy command they could desire, and the two key portfolios, and yet Weka all you do is concentrate on what you impute is something about gender … where the Greens have offended you the most.
The reason you can't hold your own party to account for failing to deliver is your own and not anyone else's.
Lol, how terrible, a feminist writing about feminism. I'd point to the obvious connections between the gender/sex wars and climate, but your own ideologies make that a waste of time.
I notice that you still cannot say how the Greens could change Labour policies in this term. It's like you want them to fail. As I've just said above, most NZers don't want the action on climate change that the Greens represent, they want the action that Labour does. That's a death sentence, and it's on Labour voters.
Fucksake, everyone knows the current climate settings are a nonsense, including you. And here you are pretending that this is Shaw's fault, when Labour are governing alone, and Shaw sits outside of Caucus. This isn’t GP policy, it’s the bastard child of Labour policy that Shaw is trying to do his best with.
Adding the word fuck to your sentences doesn't make your argument any stronger. Just makes you sound macho, triggered and incoherent at the same time.
Shaw is the Minister. He gets the salary, has the staff, holds the portfolio, has all the MfE support he could want, and a smart and bright set of supporting Ministers with Parker and Mahuta.
The next ones are in the RMA replacements coming up.
Shaw clearly also has the freedom to say anything as strongly as he likes in the media … but James Shaw doesn't because he is simply a corporatised coward.
A really simple way that the Greens can change policy in a term is through the budget process. Their own Carbon plan is going through Budget 2022 at the moment. Hopefully you Greens have the courage to call him on that result in May 2022.
Another really simple thing they can do is work on Labour with legislation. They've done that several times this term. Hopefully even you know what those bills are. Some of them have even worked.
There is no tragedy of influence here other than the courage and skill of the Green Party MPs themselves.
Trying to solve the problem of global climate crisis with democracy is quite like trying to hammer a nail with a spanner.
You maybe haven't ever done so, but I can tell you from experience that gains are incremental and depend on how you wield the tool, and progress is always slow regardless.
Blaming the person wielding the tool can seem satisfactory – if one believes it is the right tool. So we get the slow incremental progress we expect from a personal relationship that goes back twenty years between two liberal mainstream party leaders…
I agree. The point of parliamentary politics is to advance the centrist progressive gains and hold back the regressive aspects, while the real change is being done from the edge. This is why the Greens have been so successful despite the slow incremental nature of the visible, ‘in government’ stuff. As Idiot Savant says, the Greens want change not power and most of the left still fail to understand that even while not having much institutional power there are other ways of effecting change.
They are not alone in that of course, the NZ peace movement in the 80s would be an example of Labour’s influence outside of parliament. But we still need MPs to enact the changes being drive or pulled from the edge, and 20 Green MPs would obviously have more influence than ten.
Are you familiar with Joanna Macy’s model of change? She posits three important things that need to happen. Holding patterns (lots of protest movements, progressive politics), creating new structures (in climate terms – regenag, transition towns, relocalising food and economies, doughnut economics), and shifting consciousness (ultimately we need a different set of values and I would say an ability to imagine a good future that isn’t BAU).
The Greens do all three, most people only see bits of that.
Ad-how dare you compare the Greens to the dangerous populist right wing rabble that is ACT?
Shaw's style is different to that of nasty bit of work Seymour, and long may it be so.
The Greens have little power in government at the moment-importantly this means that any failure to advance green policies is squarely at the feet of the Labour Party.
I am hoping for a result Labour 41 Greens 10 at the next election. This will force Labour to make genuine concessions to the Greens in coalition negotiations.
You don't seem to understand MMP Ad. The need to rely on another party to govern was the reason that Winston was able to to get some NZF policies enacted.
How dare he compare? he did only compare the fact that one part is rising in support (deserved or not is not the point) while the other party is stagnant.
I put it down to the people currently in the Green Party, whom i personally (again personally) find less then inspiring and useless. That does not mean that i would put my support behind Act. It just means that I will not vote for the Green Party. The 'Self identification' Bill and the resulting horrors are just one reason. Marama Davidson is on her own a reason why i will not vote for her, Mme KereKere is the next reason, Mr. Shaw another reason, Chloe is nice, but so beige it beggars believe. And the rest of the Green Party and its members are shit scared to say a thing, cause 'no debate'. Go figure. Why on earth would anyone other then hard core supporters who reflexively vote Green support this party. Because some rich people get a good discount on electric cars, and the poor people get fuck all?
So people like me who would either support Labour or the Greens end up voting for a different third Party – because we don't have to vote for Groups of People who have become so far removed from the problems that people on the ground face, we have choices. Now you might not approve of these choices, but this is MMP.
So how dare he? Well he dares, because a. he can, and b. it is still his right to have an opinion and voice it, unless we are now only allowed affirmative think/speak, as prescribed by the Green Party and the Labour Party. And please remember that the they need each other to actually survive and be able to form a coalition, and i for one do not believe that Labour will win an outright majority again.
How dare he.
How dare you to questions anyones right to their own opinion in the first place.
Nobody "ends up voting for a third party". They make a rational choice based on the policies and personnel on offer. You seem to be obsessed with personnel rather than policy.
If you are going to for Luxon's mob that is a choice you are making Sabine-don't blame Labour and the Greens for this.
Lol, if you are so scared of Luxon, that you will blame people not voting for him as being the reason that he won, you must be a supporter of a really useless and bad party.
We have third Parties, MMP is the game in town, and we can vote for whom we want. And I will vote for a Party that best reflects me and the issues that are dear to me, and it seems that not one of the Parties cares about the issues that I care.
When the Green Party discovers biological reality, and hte material reality of life as NON MALES ( saying women when talking about NON MALES is bigoted or so it seems, and will give men who 'identify' as women a sad) then I might consider them again.
But any women who votes for any of the Parties that let that travesti through Parliament is voting for a place in the kitchen, with her children, and church for a bit of comfort. She need not apply to sports, wanting single sex spaces, awards for NON MALES or even just to occupy a space in the Olympics that they right fully gained but that was given to a middle aged failing old sports dude who fancies himself a woman.
Go think about that.
You are scared of Luxon? ask the Party that you prefer to do better, cause at the moment they are as useless as tits on a bull.
Shaws funding for the 'green' School….made some people a bit skeptical about their real…values.
how so?
Surprised you were unaware…
James Shaw's mea culpa on Green School funding exposed his lack of political nous | Claire Robinson | The Guardian
I'm aware of the issue, I'm asking you how that made some people sceptical. You have some ideas, please explain them.
From the article…surprised that its not self explanatory.
'But Shaw’s political opponents quickly worked out that this meant the Greens were effectively providing public money to support a private school, which was contra to the Greens’ education policy to phase out public funding for private schools.
It also attracted the ire of state schools and teacher unions, upset at the prioritisation of a school for children from well-off families over a public education system desperate for more funding.'
Not sure what your point is. Shaw did something stupid and naive under the immense pressure of the beginnings of the pandemic, and the right and the MSM lept on it with glee and did the usual bullshit politics to drag the Greens and Shaw down.
Doesn't matter if he apologised or explained any of that, hard man pol in NZ demands no mistakes and if you make a mistake you must not have any actual values. Oh dear, climate change can wait I guess, because let's tear down the silly old Greens. Which is precisely what NZ has been doing the whole time. Don't tell me people want to prevent climate catastrophe, they don't.
I think I explained myself quite adequately.
I do understand you support the GP.
Most can't or won't voluntarily take the steps necessary to truly mitigate climate change. 'Shrink and share'; hyper-energisation – fuhgeddaboudit.
It's simply too tough for many (and certainly most of the 'golden billion') to even contemplate the changes needed to become carbon neutral. Humans aren't for turning in sufficient numbers to make a difference – they will ‘turn’ only when spaceship Earth makes them turn, and her current relatively mild warnings continue to fall on the largely deaf ears of politicians and populations alike.
Keep calm and carry… Omicron? TINA to BAU.
We don't know how lucky we are, and were.
Blazer-the media massively over-egged the Green school issue, making up lies about courses related to crystals and other bollocks.
Shaw, to his credit, fronted up and admitted that funding a private Green school in the manner proposed was a mistake. Oh that other pollies were as honest.
I dunno. Lots of pollies apologise for a mistake once it's pointed out for them in big letters and they can't wriggle out of it.
The point is that his immediate instinct was green and any red issues didn't show up on his radar. Fair call – he's co-leader of the Green party. But it's a problem for any redgreens or greenreds.
Just heard on RNZ:
The police say the remains of up to three so far unidentified men have been found in the far western end of the mine, by a camera sent down a recently drilled borehole.
Pathologists said they could see two sets of “probable human remains” and and one set of “possible” remains.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/458226/remains-of-up-to-three-more-men-have-been-located-within-pike-river-mine-police-say
This seems to be a consistent way to reply comment from the desktop version of TS on my iPhone.
No matter what I do, I cannot reply to any posts on my iPad. Phones fine. Weird eh!
I can understand Jacinda and Clarke's choice of venue for their wedding. It is privately owned so it would be more likely access can be secure from nosy media. They are able to have all the arrangements just as they want and why not for goodness sake. She deserves nothing less.
My guess is she will choose a NZ designer for her dress and will look gorgeous and little Neve will be the cutest flower girl. Clarke will look very dashing in a smart suit. Looking forward to a few photos in the women's mags at the end of January.
As for the whinging venue owner missing out on the wedding being held at his establishment, seems he is not a very pleasant business owner to deal with.
Reality.
Not surprising but still weird, nearly two years into the pandemic how little discussion there is of long covid. As of death is the only negative outcome of contracting covid
https://twitter.com/babyrelentless/status/1471919157809541123?s=21
How little discussion there is of long covid?
Hell, when so such attention has needed to be spent on Jeanette's breakfast arriving late in MIQ, Frederick going on holiday to the Bahamas not being able to get a spot in MIQ, and Mita, Charlene and family who left here because NZ was a write-off they provided no future for anyone they escaped but now they want to return to a safe haven but can't?
When ABC vaccine is no good and XYZ was the one NZ should have chosen, and whatever vaccine has microchips in it, and we don't need vaccines anyway because none of them work? Or if they do work, it is only as far as disabling or killing recipients? And a consideration of long covid when short covid is nothing to be of significant concern, that it's a nothing?
Besides there are important issues to occupy our minds and discussion, I'm assured by the likes of Brian Tamaki and cretins driving vehicles in loops in cities at 50kph that there is stuff other than long covid to discuss. Freedom apparently.
Mind you I'm easily confused. I'm still trying to work out the angles of deliberating blocking traffic on a busy day on state highway 1 at Te Hana in a cretinous protest professing freedom and choice, and then complaining about vehicle checks on the same highway for the purposes of public health.
Great post Pete.
so true Pete.
Well said, Pete. Whiners and anti-vaxxwes profoundly piss me off!
Spot on.
NHS doctor
https://twitter.com/fearnley_k/status/1472273233554640904
Two things popped up my Covid radar over the past 24 hours…in between frantically trying to tick "replace window and restore aesthetic order in the sleepout" off my To Do list.
1. Homegrown member of the WHO SAGE panel Prof. Peter McIntyre had a wee chat with Kim Hill yesterday morning.
"The important question now is where do we want to get to, he says.
Covid-19 is a severe illness that hits elderly people and those with health problems particularly hard.
"Our focus going forward needs to continue to be on those severe cases. If we over time end up with Covid circulating widely and causing, as the current coronaviruses [do], …they cause colds, about 20 percent of colds, it's just that we weren't testing for them…They've always been there, but they were mild and we didn't worry about them too much.
"So what our objective has to be is to tame Covid with vaccines into something that we are OK about because we know it's not going to send you to hospital or kill you."
It will take time for the country to move away from the pre-vaccine era where every case identified is treated as "a disaster".
There is still "an incredible intensity of testing" which has meant people going to hospital for other reasons have ending up being counted as Covid-19 positive cases.
"There is a need for a kind of shift. It's going to take a little while because people are understandably very nervous… But I think we do have to have a shift over time from focusing on every infection to saying: OK infection is here, we have to deal with it but what we really care about is ensuring we're protecting with anti-virals, boosters, with whatever we have got at our disposal, protecting people vulnerable still to severe illness."
And I'm pretty sure that towards the end of the interview (it was late last night and I'd done a few rounds with a recalcitrant roman blind) I heard him say that Long Covid has not turned out to be as prevalent as first feared.
2. There are some 25,000 sufferers of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in New Zealand and some of them desperately need an exemption from having to be fully vaccinated. Surprisingly Stuff has given them space...
Sounds like life has become pretty shit for the featured sufferer as she was severely impacted by the first Pfizer shot.
…since getting the Covid jab, her CFS had become severe, with extreme mental and physical fatigue, migraines, nausea, and tremors. The first month after the jab, she could not get of bed for more than three hours a day or stand for more than five minutes at a time. She could not cook, do laundry, wash her face or walk up the stairs in her home.
Her limbs were so painful and heavy she could barely hold her hand up long enough to brush her teeth. She became confused, lost immediate memory and taste. She had vertigo to the point of having to hold onto the walls to walk. Her heartbeat became irregular, with palpitations and pain. Her brain felt like it was buzzing.
Her GP reported her adverse reaction and advised her not to get the second shot. When she applied for an exemption she was told she needed to see a specialist.
An exemption will not be given unless she meets one of the strict criteria.
Another sufferer spent a year in bed after having a severe reaction to a half dose flu jab in 2016.
"It’s unethical to expect ME/CFS people with previous vaccine worsening to risk a medical experiment on themselves,” Robinson said.
“We are not against the vaccine. It’s our immune system that’s the problem. Anti-vaxxers actually make it worse for us.”
Robinson lives in fear of catching Covid-19. He is living in his caravan to be isolated from boarders in his house, and avoids going out. He wants the Government to prioritise CFS patients for access to Covid-19 treatment."
Prof. Warren Tate, an expert in CFS/ME, says up to a quarter of sufferers could have a severe reaction to the shots.
A Health Ministry spokesperson said CFS patients concerned about getting the vaccine should talk to their doctor. The Covid-19 Vaccination Technical Advisory Group would consider this matter, he said.
Those who did not meet the current criteria would not be granted an exemption, he said.
The criteria clearly state that CFS sufferers who had a reaction to the first shot should wait until symptoms have resolved before having the second. Beggars belief that they should have to even consider risking another serious setback in their condition to satisfy some petty MOH bureaucrat with a '% fully vaxxed' quota fetish.
"Won't somebody think of the children?" is not just an internet meme, it is a basic responsibility of all. Most fundamentally those who care, or have authority or supervision over children. When we make this phrase only a derogratory smear, we are throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
As everyone here will not doubt be aware the passing of the BDMMR bill allows for the guardian of a child under the age of 16 to register a change in their nominated sex Clause 22(c).
As I posted earlier, perhaps many readers are unaware we here in NZ are already prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. This treatment protocol is currently under review at the GIDs clinic in the UK – the Tavistock. Despite what some might think, the overturn of the verdict in the Keira Bell vs Tavistock case related to jurisdiction limitations not primarily the validity of the original verdict.
The Dutch protocol which has been used, (and apparently still is here in NZ) didn't require practitioners to follow up on patients long-term or have any form of assessment for adverse side effects. The Karolinski service in Sweden has removed this as a therapeutic protocol since May 2021 and other countries are reviewing their approach. There is still considerable pushback, even though these medications long-term effects are unknown and detrimental expected effects are known.
Here is a NZ FTMTF detransitioner talking about her experience, and another in a 2017 Herald article. (H/T Rosemary).
https://youtu.be/KmEao1QHiPI
Scotland's Education department has issued guidance on how to socially transition children as young as four years old at school, without the need to notify parents.
How is this approach beneficial to the child?
In the US, the basic principles of child safeguarding are being ignored as inclusion practices are promoted without oversight and due diligence.
Here is a thread from a conservative twitter account. (Conservative because they apparently only the only ones documenting this trend, but included because of the many links to other sources throughout). The thread starts off with a specific case of a school transitioning a 12 year old girl without the parent's knowledge, but looks into the wider culture where this is considered best practice. The parents of the girl are understandably emotive, but there is a good point made by one of the parents further down the thread about safeguarding.
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1471359238811254796
Things to wonder about on a Sunday:
1. How many in NZ in 2021 have been prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones? For what reason? By whom?
2. Have parents of any school district in the US changed the names and pronouns for teachers in a school, coached their children into that and not informed the schools?
Great, put in an OIA request for 1.
2? I didn't understand your question.
If teachers can 'redesignate' the children of parents surely the parents can redesignate teachers.
If the system itself is facilitating, supporting and encouraging teachers in such a way , the problem is not solved by simply dealing with individuals.
The complete thread contains links and articles, and includes Californian state issued materials and information shared and disseminated at teacher conferences. That's not to say those teachers are not acting badly, but they are within existing guidelines.
This is more than sobering.
I am not sure how many children in NZ are being prescribed puberty blockers. There was a Listener article in late June with some case studies and reports of a young women who was prescribed them at 14, then a double masectomy at 16 and then a hysterectomy at 18. At 23 she regreted it and has irreversible changes. Facial and body hair, adams apple and male sounding voice.
" …then a double masectomy at 16…"
Women diagnosed with breast cancer that requires a breast mastectomy do not get offered a double mastectomy with no clinical reason. They have two years to persuade the breast surgeon that further surgery would be beneficial.
Try getting a hysterectomy if you are still of "breeding" age and only want the three kids you have, or worse even you have no children. lol.
I watched an account of a young women with health issues who could not get a hysterectomy – cause her future husband might 'expect' children from her. She talked to a friend of hers who said, go pretend to be 'alienated' from your body, in essence pretend to be trans, he got her hysterectomy.
"I watched an account of a young women with health issues who could not get a hysterectomy – cause her future husband might 'expect' children from her. "
I've heard accounts of that too.
Been beside my friend for over a decade as her pain from mesh implants was dismissed by medical practitioners. After battling ACC for years, they accepted the claim on Friday afternoon, when the court case was scheduled for Monday morning. She would have been the first mesh case against ACC to make it to court. That was taken off the table as soon as they accepted the claim – as they well know. They are more comfortable paying consultants and lawyers than providing treatment.
Women also have to insist to go flat after a mastectomy. The protected default is leaving a flap for implants even if you don't want any.
Woman's troubles…
the history of misogyny and sexism in medicine is long and wide. It's inconceiveble to me that this isn't part of the picture in trans surgery and hormones on young women.
This is highlighted by the double standard in which women get which surgery. At base there are strong commercial pressures at play, but that's in addition to the frankly weird attitudes towards women.
Sterilizing Non Males who are 'mentally ill' is a very old tactic and has been done for a long time now.
Not sterilizing healthy Non Males who dare not want children, or Non Males who have had enough children, or Non Males who are ill is also an age old tacticts. Dear Non Males are you sure you ain't gonna catch baby fever again?
This is a near enough transcript of the de-transitioner……….
"I started seeing a counsellor, when I was 13 and told her I was bi (sexual) and then she asked me do you think you were born in the wrong body…..I had heard of trans people back then….when my therapist asked me that, I said no……so when she said that to me, I thought maybe I could be"………"she was a trainee and she taped the session for her university and they shouldn't have put me in this position"
This is heartbreaking. This is was keeps me in this fight.
It's set in how the BDSM and Conversion Therapy Acts work together.
The Detail: How the proposed conversion therapy ban will work | Stuff.co.nz
Thanks Ad. Listened to that a while back.
Conversion practice is poorly defined in this law. NZAC counsellors won't be covered by it. Activists quote something like 17% of trans people believe a health practitioner has used a converstion practice with them. From complaints to H and D and Human rights there has only be one complaint in the last 10 15 years. It was an infomal complaint. i.e. it meant no investigation.
Strongly believe that gender activist would see not using someone correct pro nouns as a conversion practice. IMO in a climate of cancel culture, expect lots of complaints to the police. But who knows, maybe I will be wrong.
bTW seriously challenge you to watch the video Molly posted of the young de-transitioner. Maybe gender ideology won’t seem so progressive now
BDSM?
Article (like the proposed legislation) conflates sexual orientation with gender identity.
What is the prevalence of gay conversion therapy in NZ?
What is the prevalence of gender identity conversion therapy in NZ? How is this distinguished from appropriate exploratory therapy?
Self-assessed diagnosis under non-automatic affirmative approach could be assessed in such a way by survey respondents.
In the case of children, any practice would be illegal; but when directed at adults, it would have to be established that the practice caused serious harm.
OK. Any practice? I can foresee problems here, – you can't?
Could it be that transparency and open discussion is avoided by this conflation of sexual orientation and gender identity? (After all, constant conflation of biological sex and gender identity did much to derail discussions regarding self-id)
Thanks, Thomas Reuters Foundation for providing the playbook, for a game none of us signed up to play:
'Only adults? Good practices in legal gender recognition for youth'.
The rest of the document advice is similar, and familiar to those following the activism and institutional capture here.
Spectator article on the document:
The document that reveals the remarkable tactics of trans lobbyists
People posting on TS on this topic are searching deeper than some lightweight article on Stuff that reads like a press release.
.
Parents 90 & 91 yo, both with comorbidities … refused booster before early next year because they're only at the 5 ½ mark since 2nd jab. Their 60-something neighbours across the road just got their booster.
Given the 4-year Nightmare situation with their violent anti-social neighbour … & my mother waiting 2 years for a cataract operation while her sight continued to significantly deteriorate, only to now be told that the sight's unrecoverable … I have to say that this is no Country for Elderly people existing solely on a pension.
My mother was in hospital last year during the Election … she was suffering all the symptoms you’d expect from prolonged extreme stress & sleep deprivation at the hands of the violent out-of-control prick next door … she almost died the day after the Election … & yet on Election Day, despite her worsening condition, she was emphatic about me casting her vote for a Labour Govt who’s tacit No Eviction policy put her there … a Party her family (like my father’s family in Australia) had been active in for much of their lives.
My Parents haven’t realised that Labour’s been transformed into a Vanity Project by an affluent bloated self-interested Professional Middle Class … determined to scapegoat the lower/low-middle income & make them do all the sacrificing & suffering.
The betrayal is jaw-dropping.
swordfish, I sympathise with your family situation and agree:
One aspect that makes the situation able to be ignored, is the inconsistency of access and service. As you mention, your parents' neighbours got boosters.
Different personal experiences allow some to say 'I've had that, and it was great', and thus subtly rebuke those going through the same where the service was abysmal.
I hope there is some progress soon for your parents.
Swordfish-you have to be basically blind before you can get cataract surgery in NZ. My understanding, from friends, is that this is not the case in the UK. I was gobsmacked when my GP said that my sub-standard vision didn't qualify for an operation so immediately funded it myself privately for $5,200.
Dentistry is one (of many) other health issues badly underfunded by the government.
"that Labour's been transformed into a Vanity Project by an affluent bloated self-interested Professional Middle Class"
I think you are bang on there Sword Fish……..
For those unaware Speak Up for Women claimed some victory in the passing of the BDMRR bill by the inclusion of Clause 80 which protects single-sex spaces and services.
If you can discern the explicit nature of that protection in this clause, you are a better policy wonk than I am:
Hmm…..I see what you mean Molly re Section 80
I'm not on twitter so cannot join the party there responding to an American politician.
She's telling us about the crap leadership in NZ. She's probably euphoric that through her leadership Arizona has cracked the 56% vaccination rate. And restricting covid deaths in her state will be a source of huge pride for her. They've had only 23,500 deaths and the average for the last week is only 78 deaths a day. Granted they have a massive population – well 7.2 million.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/republican-arizona-senator-wendy-rogers-trolled-after-saying-kiwis-are-emailing-her-about-jacinda-ardern-and-covid-camps/ZAWEIFMIAME5LDZUZ52FT73SUY/
It makes me wonder what outcome those NZers are expecting from a US Senator.
Or is it just venting without intent? Or are 'they' really a singular or non-existent event?
The twitter responses are one of the main reasons I try to avoid it.
They're taking the piss, and having fun. What else does such ignorant nonsense deserve?
It's not a universal philosophy, just a personal choice based on my own brand of humour.
Apologies if it came across as patronising.
It didn't, no need to apologise.
Twitter can be awful at times, which is why I'm not on it. But sometimes there are fun threads to read, among the rubbish.
Brilliant Twitter thread.
Our commie PM just got NZ 90.6% fully vaxxed 94.5% have had first jab.
10 DHB's are over 90% double jabbed now; the other 10 are well over 80%.
Artists/creatives – it may not stop people stealing it but do watermark your stuff.
https://twitter.com/LiamRSharp/status/1471940531554959360
“I did my own research”
/
Necklaces and accessories claiming to "protect" people from 5G mobile networks have been found to be radioactive.
The Dutch authority for nuclear safety and radiation protection (ANVS) issued a warning about ten products it found gave off harmful ionising radiation.
It urged people not to use the products, which could cause harm with long-term wear.
[…]
The products identified included an “Energy Armor” sleeping mask, bracelet and necklace.
A bracelet for children, branded Magnetix Wellness, was also found to be emitting radiation.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59703523
Nail meets hammer.
https://www.tiktok.com/@thecormacmoore/video/7041960548732374277?is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6982305755752711682
Big ups to the Stuff writer who has found a truth in advertising name for the party soon to be formerly known as National. Once Luxon has added 'former leader of the opposition' to his CV and returned to the strawberry fields of CEOness, the party will be known as Simon Bridges' Terrifying Cupcakes.
TBH…Bridges is the only 'contestant' that I have heard of.
The big mystery is, where is the ACT stuntman See more David!
Well done Invercargill council, well done. I am sure the Gentleman is delighted.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/mans-90000-left-to-council-will-fund-bike-park-in-invercargill/XHAHB4BXDEUWANK4LURR4ZEGFQ/
Thank you Derek Gostelow, Otatara residents for driving it, I've been past it and although landscaping hasn't been completed there are kids there until dark each night.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/127316202/new-gostelow-park-track-at-otatara-gets-kids-tick-of-approval
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/southland/pump-track-opens-after-council-petitioned
Mark Blyth wise with hindsight……Michal Kalecki prescient
https://vimeo.com/247596824