From memory, this was just as we were seeing the coming wave of Omicron, and preparing for it. At that time, (and probably before and since) the priorities of the government were to 1. Slow down infections under Delta; 2. Delay the entry of Omicron, and 3. to ensure that as far as possible our hospitals were not overwhelmed, but at the time and until the pandemic is over.
Was this ''disclosure'' of only part of a story yet another ''dirty tricks'' half-story timed for when the PM is overseas?
Will the government respond with a fuller story? Have they been asked? Are they leaving damage control until a lot more people are convinced the half-story is all there is?
Do we know who requested the correspondence under the OIA?
Good questions Ed1. The timing is impeccable, the interviews with Chris Bishop were all lined up this morning.
It is time the fifth columnists in the Public service and Government Ministries were taken on–co-ordinated leaks not whistleblowing–has been the identifier of Natzo involvement in COVID matters from the start.
Pity that it is rubbish journalism though. But I suppose the antis will grab at anything whether justified or not. Typical attempt at gotcha journalism,
So NZ was supposed to open up wide so that all and sundry could come in for Christmas etc bearing such delights as Omicron etc. Omicron has been bad enough the way it has started and continued let alone it being started like an arson fire with multiple fire starters. Also lacks knowledge of the relationship between Govt and advisers.
For a better take see the latest thread by Mickysavage.
If you were in any doubt that this is poor journalism this word should convince you where the point of the article is…….that is ‘cruel’.
People’s lives are often/always being interrupted by being on the wrong side of laws/regs made by the Govt for the greater good. The changes to things like assets required to purchase a new home or to be eligible for Kainga Ora housing, customs duties etc etc…untold examples.
That you were on the other side is ascribed to luck rather than cruelty as the Govt/regulators were making the best decisions for the greatest number at the time.
Nov 24th was notable for the recognition of Omicron, and naturally, defenses were kept for a time to slow this to allow more vaccinations and understanding of how the new variant would affect the Health system.
Nah, just the endstages of capitalism where the body is now 'terra nova' to be exploited, mined and harvested. Eggs, babies on specs ordered and delivered, sperm, breast milk from the human lactater, spare parts, a bit of experimental surgery on how to rebuild genitals blown up by IEDs and such.
Frankenstein and his monster comes to mind. Who is the real monster?
have you seen this series?
this episode deals with a prison where sentences are paid of in ‘harvested and regrown organs’. https://killjoys.fandom.com/wiki/Debtor%27s_Colony
it will be a bright future, full of equity and freedom and peace and loverly lullabys.
Since the late 1990s, Russia has followed a system modelled on many European countries, whereby anyone wishing to change their gender identity must undergo a psychiatric evaluation before receiving the permit needed to change their documents and have surgery.
We have a financial system thats on the brink, housing and food prices unaffordable in most western nations (never mind the developing states) and distrust of the systems under which we live, yet we spend so much energy on 'gender identity'.
We have CC to contend with and the possibility of a nuclear holocaust – not to mention Pat's list – yet we have to put up with this nonstop diatribe about gender.
"Gender reassignment surgery"? I thought according to the current orthodoxy "gender" had nothing to do with physical bodies. How can something non-physical be "reassigned" by surgery?
Colin Wright; managing editor at Quillette (online space for the anti-feminist by the anti-feminist) makes a tweet about how it is really trans women who are eliminating women's rights? That's pretty unpersuasive to me.
Though the numbered list is a nice touch in making it seem like the sequence is a deliberate scheme, whilst ignoring context. But then I do dislike Twitter generally for its; all headlines, no body; style.
Colin Wright; managing editor at Quillette (online space for the anti-feminist by the anti-feminist)
Any yet feminists write there too 🤷♀️ I know this is challenging for some, but there are spaces online where a variety of people write who disagree with each other.
makes a tweet about how it is really trans women who are eliminating women's rights?
He's not saying that. Trans women didn't do this, gender ideologues and post modernists did, and then progressives adopted it uncritically. Plenty of trans women who don't agree with gender identity ideology.
Though the numbered list is a nice touch in making it seem like the sequence is a deliberate scheme, whilst ignoring context.
I disagree with #3 (it's women who point out the conflict of rights), but otherwise it seems on point (allowing for twitter brevity). In NZ there have been at least two government consultations on gender identity that explicitly didn't consult women.
But then I do dislike Twitter generally for its; all headlines, no body; style.
You should hear what people say about TS commenters.
Weka – we seem to have as different conceptions of feminism as we do of womenhood. Though admittedly I avoid Quillette, so may have missed the "feminists" writing there. But here's a description of how the site's founder started off:
On YouTube, there is a 2017 interview with Lehmann by Ezra Levant, an excitable Canadian who runs the right-wing website Rebel Media. As the two stand beside the steps of the Sydney Opera House, squinting into the sun, Lehmann says, “I particularly wanted to criticize feminism, and I couldn’t get published in the Australian media if I was critical of feminism. … I was blacklisted.”
Whether or not Lehmann was indeed blacklisted from what is arguably Australia’s most respected newspaper, which in turn led her to start her own publication, remains relevant. Cries of victimhood, or of being silenced for voicing unpopular viewpoints, are common grievances among her site’s contributors. Free-speech activists often depict themselves as embattled defenders of reason, even when they speak from positions of power. Lehmann mentioned to me that one editor in particular was determined to shut her out from the Herald and had even tried to ban her. But when I asked that editor, Sarah Oakes, who at the time led the women’s vertical Daily Life, she disputed Lehmann’s account
He is saying; it is really trans women who are eliminating women's rights, at point #4: "Only consult the male "women" for guidance on how to resolve this conflict". I don't agree with "gender identity ideology" as a term that has any consistent meaning except derision – on a par with "woke" or "cultural marxism". If "Plenty of trans women" (to completely ignore trans men and eNBys) are opposed to this hypothesized Ideology, perhaps you could link to some of them? The trans folk that I know are very a heterogenous cluster of vulnerable people that would be hard-pressed to agree on one particular sociopolitical philosophy worthy of the being referred to as an Ideology.
They're not "feminists", they're feminists. If you're not aware of them, then maybe find out 🤷♀️
Feminism isn't a subset of the left (or progressives or liberals) btw.
He is saying; it is really trans women who are eliminating women's rights, at point #4: "Only consult the male "women" for guidance on how to resolve this conflict".
Look at who is doing the consulting and then you will understand my point. And his. This is power politics 101.
I don't agree with "gender identity ideology" as a term that has any consistent meaning except derision – on a par with "woke" or "cultural marxism".
What term do you prefer people to use?
If "Plenty of trans women" (to completely ignore trans men and eNBys) are opposed to this hypothesized Ideology, perhaps you could link to some of them?
Sure, see my comment below this one.
GCFs generally don't have an issue with trans men, because the problem is trans women and women's rights conflicts. NBs can be an issue, where they are male and expecting to be accommodated into women's business instead of having their own politics (no-one has ever been able to explain to me why NB males should be allowed in women's space). But often NB males are in the trans women class or the gender ideology side when the politics are being argued.
The trans folk that I know are very a heterogenous cluster of vulnerable people that would be hard-pressed to agree on one particular sociopolitical philosophy worthy of the being referred to as an Ideology.
Exactly (and there are trans people who aren't particularly vulnerable in the way I think you mean). Trans people are a range of people with different beliefs. GCFs are talking about a specific ideology. It's the gender ideologists that are trying to make out that all trans people believe what they do.
Temp O Reilly the point about Colin's tweet that is true is that they e.g politicians in this country only listened to trans and their allies about the impact of self id on women. Women who were saying hold on a moment, this is going to impact us, ie any man being able to change his birth certificate to say he is a woman, were shunned and vilified. On yeah they even shut down meetings about this legislation that was going to be help in public libraries. The group who opposed this legislation went to the High Court and the judge overturned the councils cancellation. The judge also deemed SUFW are not a hate group.
Anker – my recollection of the SUFW being being barred from using libraries for their meetings was (at least in Dunedin) more due to concern for the wellbeing of other library users.
At the time, the council posted on Twitter that "We strive to ensure our libraries offer an environment where all members of our community can feel welcome and safe".
But this afternoon the council released a statement saying a rescheduled event will go ahead at the Dunedin Centre.
More than 1000 people gathered outside the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington this evening for a transgender rights rally.
The rally was in response to the controversial group Speak Up For Women holding a talk at the centre, which discussed their opposition to proposed amendments in a bill.
The amendments will enable people to self-identify their sex on their birth certificate without going to the Family Court.
Rally organiser Elle Kingsbury said they stood with one clear message.
"Anti transgender groups like Speak Up for Woman are trying to build support and connections.
"We are here to build our own social movement and group that counters that, and fights for transgender rights as human rights."
"Trans rights are human rights," was a chant that could be heard hundreds of metres away.
The rally was predominantly peaceful, apart from two men who verbally abused protesters, and a woman who smacked an organiser in the face.
No one was injured and they were immediately escorted from the area by security.
Damo, the organiser who was hit by the woman, said the atmosphere was tense.
"A lot of us are very angry and scared of the kind of people that are inside at the talk, and that's because of incidents in our past or having family members that are of similar thinking.
"There's definitely always that fear of being so publicly exposed as transgender but being so close to people that don't want us to exist."
Temp O'Rary what do you mean SUFW were banned from libaries more out of concern for the wellbeing of other library users" ? What does that mean?
The meetings were scheduled at the libararies to be held at nights held at night, SUFW took the Palmerston North Council to the High Court, because they said the meeting could only go ahead if there were representatives of the gender ideology community there. In the Palm North case, in terms of holding the SUFW meeting if doesn't look like there were concerns for safety, as they would never suggest the two groups get together if they were.
Christchurch library got the ball rolling by cancelling SUFW. Ironically an old working men's club in Christchurch stepped in and offered the venue. The meeting went very smoothly and some young gender activitists attended and werre welcomed and I understand there was lively debate. No violence.
The high court in Palmerston deemed that the council should allow the meetings to go ahead and that SUFW could not be deemed a hate group (as claimed by people eager to shut down these meetings.
By the way the majority of people in SUFW are Labour/Green voters and are left wing feminists who have been involved in activism over many years. The group is not an anti trans group. It was formed out of concern about a piece of legislation (gender self id), that would allow any man to change his birth certificate to say he was a women. SUFW believe that women have the right to safeguard their spaces such as change rooms, girls boarding school, women's prisons, hostels and sporting competitions. There is countless evidence from countries like the US and the UK where men who identify as women are creating many problems for women e.g Wi-spa incidenct, a rape and sodomy of a 14 year of girls in a US high school bathroom by a trans girl. Prisoners in women's prisons becoming pregnant in the US as trans women are housed in women's prison. This is just a very small collection of a vast body of stories about why gender self id is problematic for women.
Temp O'Rary what do you mean SUFW were banned from libaries more out of concern for the wellbeing of other library users" ? What does that mean?
That the conflict of rights is approaching violence and this will affect other people.
It's a nonsense when we consider the wider protest culture in NZ. If councils don't know how to run facilities with good security, they need to get their shit together.
Deves is an Australian conservative politician who’s been speaking out on gender issues. Yes, you should be concerned that the right is the one determining the narrative as ideologues have shut down the left via No Debate. But also, women will organise across political lines to protect their interests (this isn’t new). Most gender critical feminists are left or centre left, letting them speak will create a better outcome. Meanwhile,
This guy is now a self identified woman. With pig tails. Like grown woman do. Oh my the dear.
A man who hopes to go to prison where the born women are incarcerated. Cause clearly it beats the prison where men get locked up.
it must be the high worn pigtail that made that bloke into a woman. Or maybe the pig tail are the woman thing on that bloke. It is really hard to decide, the eyes say one thing, the brain also says that thing ,but surely we can all see his 'womanhood' that he gained a few weeks ago at the prospect of having to share a cell with a male rather then a woman.
Richard came up at the last patriarky meeting and we decided were more than happy for you to take responsibility for her from now on. Alternatively we are communicating with the Porschiarchy to see if they have a opening. Their only vacancy is for a Porsche owner people actually like.
It is hard to like Chris Luxon. He seems a very cold man. Now he complains the Government should stop spending. Perhaps he should stop spending on hired Mercedes for a short ride, and stop buying investment properties. Anything that gives the average person a small benefit or assistance in their daily life he seems determined to get rid of.
A very self-entitled man who is mainly interested in "benefiting" the well off.
Yes, Reality and Barfly, I will never forget the nasty grimaces and snarls about ICU beds he sent across the house directed at the PM. Gimlet eyes full of hate.
He is reinterpreting what the RBNZ ie inflation is constrained by both Monetary policy and targeted fiscal responsibility.
But Orr appeared to suggest a changed approach to government spending might also be helpful, saying the Reserve Bank would need “support” to achieve its goals.
“We are going to have to be very clear with our fiscal authorities around what we are doing and how they could assist with more targeted, effective fiscal policies,” he said.
Both the government and local government need to identify what new structural spending is needed,and what should be maintained at depreciation levels.
Construction in general is at around 110% of local capacity,adding cost due to delays alone.The additional costs will have to met by increased debt with higher servicing.
If I read Orr correctly he is advocating for increased support for the bottom quintiles AND increased taxation of those who can meet it…..politically dangerous but absolutely needed.
Having said such, I believe the call is about a decade late.
Yes and no.He wants policies that provide direct support,whilst constraining expansion spending.
Housing costs for example have increased 50% under labour.36% over covid.Housing costs are due to over extension of the available capacity,which needs to be constrained in a a high interest,high inflation regime.
Playing around with the RMA,or inner city zoning will not make housing any cheaper,reducing demand by constraining immigration will.
Japan with its low inflation economy was driven by little immigration and demographic changes.This allowed for little housing inflation ( 1.4% above 1992 level) and improvements to transportation and health care based on efficiency.
"Yes and no.He wants policies that provide direct support,whilst constraining expansion spending."
He wants a floor and time….the support is the floor and the tax increases provide the time.
Again ( why does everyone cite Japan, an economy that has a consistant trade surplus, that makes a mulitiude of essential items and continues to do so despite a falling population…the worlds leading robotics economy…..they are not NZ….or anywhere else…they are unique)…we are a one trick pony, in competition witjh many others….ag and hort products (forget tourism, its essentially a net zero game)….we are in trouble, but we are not alone.
So will the taxes go to paying off debt or to increase liquidity further fueling inflation,requiring more OCR rises infintitum.
Increasing immigration into NZ (increased work permits) when we have a rental housing shortage,high inflation, rising interest rates,(3 key parameters for recessions) suggests Government policy is BAU,when we need policy to dampen inflation expectations.
An unsustainable economy post Covid is not a future I like.
The problem that I see coming is going into an election with > 7% mortgage rates,a recession,rising unemployment,and an opposition that will be saying austerity is all we need,and try to sell off O/S the rest of our strategic assets.
Yes, the impending recession will cost Labour the election…it is always so…and the oppostion will fuck everything up (again) so we are destined to years of decline….it is so frustrating having lived through it once before.
The decline may be inevitable but it dosnt need to be as devisive as it was last time….the results of which we still pay for today.
BAU will only have one outcome,now is where the changes need to happen,not from big noting spectacular outcomes that may never happen,but a more distributed economy that will be more resilient to shocks.
When housing prices are some of the highest in the world,and we a re building beyond both production and financial capacity,there needs to be some better thinking.
CoreLogic chief economist Kelvin Davidson said the price increases were occurring as the demand for materials outstripped supply.
He said a record number of dwellings were consented in the year ended February at nearly 49,800, but there was now a sense emerging within the industry that it might only have the capacity to support 30,000 to 35,000 properties per year.
The shift towards building more townhouses, which accounted for nearly half of all consents and require fewer materials, offered no respite because of the sheer volume of new builds.
"Some key components are driving the increases in the prices of materials, including timber in general, structural products specifically, as well as metal price," CoreLogic chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said.
Didn't the country go through considerable reductions in immigration just recently? In fact it seems to have basically coincided with the most rapid house price rises.
And increased pressure from both NZ expats, and offshore buyers, who have an eye on NZ as a safe bolthole, for either low taxed land "investment" and/or future residency.
McFlock "funny how things increase as public acceptance of them expands". And then you provide a link about left handedness.
But actually the idea that we can account for the increase in young people (teen girls mostly) identifying as trans because of more acceptance doesn't stack up.
The increase can be attributed to ROGD (rapid onset gender dysphoria)….Teens going to chat rooms on the internet and starting to think they are Trans. We don't actually see older women in their 30s, 40's, 50's 60's or 70's coming out as Trans in increasing numbers.
Pukish put up an interesting interview with a young women about a week ago. This women was influenced to start thinking she was a trans man after visiting websites promoting this. She was too old to block puberty, but started on a large dose of testosterone. All the clinicians she saw only affirmed her new gender identity. She talks about how this process happened and how she was dragged down a rabbit hole. She has now detransitioned and was lucky that she didn't have surgery.
The link about left-handedness also showed the same phenomenon regarding age.
As for the rest, I've been skipping the threads I personally regard as the daily hate. Transphobia, tankies, PRC champions. All of that usual stuff. Skipping it has actually brightened my day and given me free mental space.
Yours was an orphan comment that caught my eye, had a simple point, and an equally simple explanation. Believe whatever you will.
Thanks for continuing to see trans people as people on this site McFlock. Scrolling past "the daily hate" wasn't really working for me, so I had to skip from the platform altogether for a while. Which has also brightened my days and given me free mental space.
However, TS is (or at least, once was) a taonga of the left dating way back to the bygone days of newsprint. It is a shame to see it provide sanctuary for the selfish in this second iteration. So I guess I might bash my head on this brick wall a few more times again, until the headaches become overwhelming. At least until the end of the school holidays, and I can have time in the day to go talk with other adults without constantly having to parent.
I'm ok with people keeping themselves out of the conversation by labelling it bigotry and scrolling on by, it makes the conversation easier. It's the people that are interested, or don't get it and want to understand that worth the time.
it's bizarre but also funny to see left wing (men) telling women how to do feminism and then calling us bigots because we know the politics better than them. Less funny is blokes telling us that other blokes' need trump ours, and that ours don't matter as much (or at all). This is a long pattern of lw male behaviour, predating the gender/sex wars. I must admit I am surprised to see some of the men adopting this position, but I guess it just reinforces that for some men, feminism is women's politics that they agree with. Would love to see them do that with Māori pol and see how they get on.
It is the same sexism, the difference lays in the ownership model. Private vs public ownership, and funnily enough that is the right/left divide in a nutshell.
A theory that can be tested to see that it accounts for the full increase in those who declare a gender identity. I have no doubts that social acceptance may be one factor.
But until tested for accuracy, the left-handedness comparison is just a theory.
Not evidence.
As Anker points out below, there are other factors that need to be tested in this regards too, before determining whether they have played a part or not.
Promising to scrap a public holiday is bad enough.
But for real political incompetence, you'd be promising to scrap the holiday that will be enjoyed by voters during the election campaign. And hoping nobody asks you about it?
At least he's made it easy for Ardern to pick a date in 2023.
Luxon wants to get rid of Labour Day. Does he think the number of workdays needs to be strictly rationed at [checks notes, 365-11=] 354 days a year? Or could he bought off with a holiday commemorating the ahem hard work and sacrifice of millionaires?
"…For Trevalyn, the relief programs of the previous years which had saved many lives weren't a success, but instead perversion of economic principles…"
A quote about the Irish famine of 160 years ago, but one completely relevant to the modern settler elite and their MSM mouthpieces in our country and their ideological stance on this government's covid response.
If you want to understand ideological drivers of the anti-covid response crowd from Hoskings the Mayor of Queenstown to a plethora of other fellow travellors what this video, I think it is a description of what ACT and may from the big end of town agree with and what Luxon and co really think, and most likely the view held of the Irish by the English is a widepread view amongst the setter class towards Maori and PI.
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It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Kiwis planning a swim or heading out on a boat this summer should remember to stop and think about water safety, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop and ACC and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand’s beaches, lakes and rivers are some of the most beautiful in the ...
The Government is urging Kiwis to drive safely this summer and reminding motorists that Police will be out in force to enforce the road rules, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This time of year can be stressful and result in poor decision-making on our roads. Whether you are travelling to see ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Summer reissue: Speed puzzling is like a marathon for the mind – intense, demanding, surprisingly exhausting. But does turning it into a sport destroy it as a relaxing pastime? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read ...
Summer reissue: In October, we counted down the top 100 New Zealand TV shows of the 21st century so far (read more about the process here). Here’s the list in full, for your holiday reading pleasure. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue ...
Summer reissue: Told in one crucial moment from every year, by The Spinoff’s founder Duncan Greive. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.2014: An ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 25 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed Mike Smith’s “ambitious” climate claim against Attorney-General Judith Collins.Smith, a Māori climate activist, and Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahu elder, appealed a High Court decision that found his claims against the Crown – that its action on climate change was inadequate – untenable.The Appeal Court’s ...
Trish McKelvey is listed 139 times in the index of the New Zealand women’s cricket tome The Warm Sun On My Face, authored by Trevor Auger and Adrienne Simpson.She wrote the foreword for the book and headlines two chapters addressing crucial events in the evolution of the sport.McKelvey’s appointment as New Zealand ...
Summer reissue: The New Zealand comedy legend takes us through her life in television, including the time she hugged Elton John and the unshakeable legacy of a girl named Lyn. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please ...
Summer reissue: You really won’t guess how it ends. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published October 4, 2024. Parliament’s Economic Development, Science ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary-Rose McLaren, Professor of Teaching and Learning and Head of Program, Early Childhood Education, Victoria University Collin Quinn Lomax/ Shutterstock Some years ago, my daughter was set a maths problem: how much does it cost to drive a family of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine E. Wood, Associate Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Swinburne University of Technology Asier Romero/ Shutterstock Christmas is coming, and with it many challenges for parents of young children. You likely have one festive event after another, late nights, party ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Nicole Driessen, Postdoctoral Researcher in Radio Astronomy, University of Sydney Tayla Walsh/Pexels With billions of children around the world anxiously waiting for their presents, Father Christmas (or Santa) and his reindeer must be travelling at breakneck speeds to deliver them ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Higgins, Professor & Director, Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University Feeling unsure about your child going to a sleepover is completely normal. You might be worried about how well you know the host family, how they manage supervision or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Risk & Resilience, UNSW Sydney Exactly 50 years ago, on Christmas Eve 1974, Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin and left a trail of devastation. It remains one of the most destructive natural events in Australia’s history. Wind ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Irmine Keta Rotimi, Doctoral Candidate, Marketing and International Business department, Auckland University of Technology Videos of children opening boxes of toys and playing with them have become a feature of online marketing – making stars out of children as young as two. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Nicholas, Lecturer in Dance and Performance Science, Edith Cowan University Tatyana Vyc/Shutterstock Once the end-of-year dance concert and term wrap up for the year it is important to take a break. Both physical and mental rest are important and taking ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kit MacFarlane, Lecturer, Creative Writing and Literature, University of South Australia Capitol Records For those looking to introduce some musical conflict into the holidays, Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart remains a great choice in its 15th anniversary – like it ...
Opinion: It was February 2024 when my friends started getting in touch with me to suggest I run for the Tauranga City Council mayoralty. At the time, the council was governed by four Government-appointed commissioners, who had been in their roles since 2021. Their terms were coming to an end ...
Opinion: As the year winds down and we pause for some reflection, I find myself, as chair of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, contemplating the unprecedented hatred aimed at Jewish New Zealanders. Antisemitism – the prejudice, discrimination or hostility directed at Jews – has snowballed to record levels, so much ...
Summer reissue: Joy Cowley reveals her enthralling life story, from a difficult childhood, to getting drunk with Roald Dahl, to encountering an Arctic polar bear. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...
Summer reissue: Alex Casey chats to Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie about the challenges of life on a 1,200-acre farm in Central Otago, and why they continue to share it with the nation in Nadia’s Farm. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue ...
Summer reissue: Dominion Road has made a name for itself as a destination for authentic, regionally-specific Chinese food. How did it get here?The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign ...
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This will piss off a lot of people that had family stuck overseas for Xmas. Not a lot of kindness there.
Government was advised in November there was no longer 'any' justification for MIQ (msn.com)
I came across this link this morning – in reply to something from Judith Collins:
https://twitter.com/drdeanknight/status/1516345300062928896
From memory, this was just as we were seeing the coming wave of Omicron, and preparing for it. At that time, (and probably before and since) the priorities of the government were to 1. Slow down infections under Delta; 2. Delay the entry of Omicron, and 3. to ensure that as far as possible our hospitals were not overwhelmed, but at the time and until the pandemic is over.
Was this ''disclosure'' of only part of a story yet another ''dirty tricks'' half-story timed for when the PM is overseas?
Will the government respond with a fuller story? Have they been asked? Are they leaving damage control until a lot more people are convinced the half-story is all there is?
Do we know who requested the correspondence under the OIA?
Good questions Ed1. The timing is impeccable, the interviews with Chris Bishop were all lined up this morning.
It is time the fifth columnists in the Public service and Government Ministries were taken on–co-ordinated leaks not whistleblowing–has been the identifier of Natzo involvement in COVID matters from the start.
Pity that it is rubbish journalism though. But I suppose the antis will grab at anything whether justified or not. Typical attempt at gotcha journalism,
So NZ was supposed to open up wide so that all and sundry could come in for Christmas etc bearing such delights as Omicron etc. Omicron has been bad enough the way it has started and continued let alone it being started like an arson fire with multiple fire starters. Also lacks knowledge of the relationship between Govt and advisers.
For a better take see the latest thread by Mickysavage.
If you were in any doubt that this is poor journalism this word should convince you where the point of the article is…….that is ‘cruel’.
People’s lives are often/always being interrupted by being on the wrong side of laws/regs made by the Govt for the greater good. The changes to things like assets required to purchase a new home or to be eligible for Kainga Ora housing, customs duties etc etc…untold examples.
That you were on the other side is ascribed to luck rather than cruelty as the Govt/regulators were making the best decisions for the greatest number at the time.
https://thestandard.org.nz/rnzs-weird-take-on-miq/
Jester, only the self interested or stupid.
Nov 24th was notable for the recognition of Omicron, and naturally, defenses were kept for a time to slow this to allow more vaccinations and understanding of how the new variant would affect the Health system.
Another selection from my gender critical twitter today.
https://twitter.com/SwipeWright/status/1515545338165219328
Looking for an investment, I've got a tip for you…
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/03/31/2009112/0/en/Sex-Reassignment-Surgery-Market-to-hit-USD-1-5-Bn-by-2026-Global-Market-Insights-Inc.html
https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/gender-reassignment-surgery-market-share-2022-global-industry-size-growth-opportunities-with-leading-regions-trend-demand-top-players-future-business-prospects-forthcoming-developments-and-future-investments-2022-02-15
Makes me think that Putin has something of a point when he says the West has become degenerate.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-cern/cern-scientists-eye-parallel-universe-breakthrough-idUSTRE69J35X20101020
I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was discovered we're living in an alternative reality
Nah, just the endstages of capitalism where the body is now 'terra nova' to be exploited, mined and harvested. Eggs, babies on specs ordered and delivered, sperm, breast milk from the human lactater, spare parts, a bit of experimental surgery on how to rebuild genitals blown up by IEDs and such.
Frankenstein and his monster comes to mind. Who is the real monster?
have you seen this series?
this episode deals with a prison where sentences are paid of in ‘harvested and regrown organs’. https://killjoys.fandom.com/wiki/Debtor%27s_Colony
it will be a bright future, full of equity and freedom and peace and loverly lullabys.
Maybe he just hasn't got round to it yet
(the contrarian in me rising up again )
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/01/russian-doctor-defies-intimidation-to-authorise-gender-reassignment-surgery
I think its the advertising around trans thats forbidden
“Putin has something of a point when he says the West has become degenerate”
I won't link to this directly but this is from a short (3:29min) clip, search on YouTube for
"With the absence of values, society begins to decay"
Hmmm..dosnt it.
We have a financial system thats on the brink, housing and food prices unaffordable in most western nations (never mind the developing states) and distrust of the systems under which we live, yet we spend so much energy on 'gender identity'.
say no more.
We have CC to contend with and the possibility of a nuclear holocaust – not to mention Pat's list – yet we have to put up with this nonstop diatribe about gender.
Say no more indeed.
Who would have thunk PR. An interesting statistic of of growth of 4 x seeking surgical intervention.
And of course there will be all the surgeries that go wrong e.g Jazz Jennings who had her neo vagina operation on 4 times.
"Gender reassignment surgery"? I thought according to the current orthodoxy "gender" had nothing to do with physical bodies. How can something non-physical be "reassigned" by surgery?
Utter bullshit peddled by utter charlatans.
Colin Wright; managing editor at Quillette (online space for the anti-feminist by the anti-feminist) makes a tweet about how it is really trans women who are eliminating women's rights? That's pretty unpersuasive to me.
Though the numbered list is a nice touch in making it seem like the sequence is a deliberate scheme, whilst ignoring context. But then I do dislike Twitter generally for its; all headlines, no body; style.
Any yet feminists write there too 🤷♀️ I know this is challenging for some, but there are spaces online where a variety of people write who disagree with each other.
He's not saying that. Trans women didn't do this, gender ideologues and post modernists did, and then progressives adopted it uncritically. Plenty of trans women who don't agree with gender identity ideology.
I disagree with #3 (it's women who point out the conflict of rights), but otherwise it seems on point (allowing for twitter brevity). In NZ there have been at least two government consultations on gender identity that explicitly didn't consult women.
You should hear what people say about TS commenters.
Weka – we seem to have as different conceptions of feminism as we do of womenhood. Though admittedly I avoid Quillette, so may have missed the "feminists" writing there. But here's a description of how the site's founder started off:
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/11/11/intellectual-dark-web-quillette-claire-lehmann-221917/
He is saying; it is really trans women who are eliminating women's rights, at point #4: "Only consult the male "women" for guidance on how to resolve this conflict". I don't agree with "gender identity ideology" as a term that has any consistent meaning except derision – on a par with "woke" or "cultural marxism". If "Plenty of trans women" (to completely ignore trans men and eNBys) are opposed to this hypothesized Ideology, perhaps you could link to some of them? The trans folk that I know are very a heterogenous cluster of vulnerable people that would be hard-pressed to agree on one particular sociopolitical philosophy worthy of the being referred to as an Ideology.
They're not "feminists", they're feminists. If you're not aware of them, then maybe find out 🤷♀️
Feminism isn't a subset of the left (or progressives or liberals) btw.
Look at who is doing the consulting and then you will understand my point. And his. This is power politics 101.
What term do you prefer people to use?
Sure, see my comment below this one.
GCFs generally don't have an issue with trans men, because the problem is trans women and women's rights conflicts. NBs can be an issue, where they are male and expecting to be accommodated into women's business instead of having their own politics (no-one has ever been able to explain to me why NB males should be allowed in women's space). But often NB males are in the trans women class or the gender ideology side when the politics are being argued.
Exactly (and there are trans people who aren't particularly vulnerable in the way I think you mean). Trans people are a range of people with different beliefs. GCFs are talking about a specific ideology. It's the gender ideologists that are trying to make out that all trans people believe what they do.
GC trans women
https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/12/gender-critical-trans-women-the-apostates-of-the-trans-rights-movement.html
https://mirandayardley.com/en/
Debbie Hayton https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/16319/pdf/
https://twitter.com/KatGotYourTong
GC trans men
https://twitter.com/BuckAngel
https://twitter.com/Jayme_Speaking
https://twitter.com/jrod_speaks
Detrans women
https://twitter.com/search?q=detrans&src=typed_query
https://twitter.com/hashtag/DetransAwarenessDay?src=hashtag_click
https://twitter.com/FtMdetransed
https://twitter.com/KLBfax
https://twitter.com/ImWatson91
Temp O Reilly the point about Colin's tweet that is true is that they e.g politicians in this country only listened to trans and their allies about the impact of self id on women. Women who were saying hold on a moment, this is going to impact us, ie any man being able to change his birth certificate to say he is a woman, were shunned and vilified. On yeah they even shut down meetings about this legislation that was going to be help in public libraries. The group who opposed this legislation went to the High Court and the judge overturned the councils cancellation. The judge also deemed SUFW are not a hate group.
Anker – my recollection of the SUFW being being barred from using libraries for their meetings was (at least in Dunedin) more due to concern for the wellbeing of other library users.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/dcc/speak-women-get-dcc-venue-event
And why were there such concerns?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/more-than-1000-gather-at-wellingtons-transgender-rights-rally/AVOBAGIKQJ2P6QYTD2TWG7FDP4/
Temp O'Rary what do you mean SUFW were banned from libaries more out of concern for the wellbeing of other library users" ? What does that mean?
The meetings were scheduled at the libararies to be held at nights held at night, SUFW took the Palmerston North Council to the High Court, because they said the meeting could only go ahead if there were representatives of the gender ideology community there. In the Palm North case, in terms of holding the SUFW meeting if doesn't look like there were concerns for safety, as they would never suggest the two groups get together if they were.
Christchurch library got the ball rolling by cancelling SUFW. Ironically an old working men's club in Christchurch stepped in and offered the venue. The meeting went very smoothly and some young gender activitists attended and werre welcomed and I understand there was lively debate. No violence.
The high court in Palmerston deemed that the council should allow the meetings to go ahead and that SUFW could not be deemed a hate group (as claimed by people eager to shut down these meetings.
By the way the majority of people in SUFW are Labour/Green voters and are left wing feminists who have been involved in activism over many years. The group is not an anti trans group. It was formed out of concern about a piece of legislation (gender self id), that would allow any man to change his birth certificate to say he was a women. SUFW believe that women have the right to safeguard their spaces such as change rooms, girls boarding school, women's prisons, hostels and sporting competitions. There is countless evidence from countries like the US and the UK where men who identify as women are creating many problems for women e.g Wi-spa incidenct, a rape and sodomy of a 14 year of girls in a US high school bathroom by a trans girl. Prisoners in women's prisons becoming pregnant in the US as trans women are housed in women's prison. This is just a very small collection of a vast body of stories about why gender self id is problematic for women.
That the conflict of rights is approaching violence and this will affect other people.
It's a nonsense when we consider the wider protest culture in NZ. If councils don't know how to run facilities with good security, they need to get their shit together.
Deves is an Australian conservative politician who’s been speaking out on gender issues. Yes, you should be concerned that the right is the one determining the narrative as ideologues have shut down the left via No Debate. But also, women will organise across political lines to protect their interests (this isn’t new). Most gender critical feminists are left or centre left, letting them speak will create a better outcome. Meanwhile,
https://twitter.com/hitchhadapoint/status/1516381272956088328?s=21
Biological sec differences are real and matter.
https://twitter.com/queserasera2222/status/1516535097071378434?s=21
brilliant posts Weka. Yes who else demands to be in a category that they are not part of?
so good, eh. One of those lightbulb arguments.
Biological realities inform our experience of growing up female.
The academia pushing "gender identities" in the social "sciences" are job creation at best and trojan horses at worst.
Great tweet Weka, says it perfectly.
but but the opportunities for getting out of jail cards is endless……
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/31/richard-pusey-judge-suggests-porsche-driver-most-hated-man-in-australia-for-filming-dying-police?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_b-gdnnews&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1617174023
This guy is now a self identified woman. With pig tails. Like grown woman do. Oh my the dear.
A man who hopes to go to prison where the born women are incarcerated. Cause clearly it beats the prison where men get locked up.
it must be the high worn pigtail that made that bloke into a woman. Or maybe the pig tail are the woman thing on that bloke. It is really hard to decide, the eyes say one thing, the brain also says that thing ,but surely we can all see his 'womanhood' that he gained a few weeks ago at the prospect of having to share a cell with a male rather then a woman.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/melbourne/article-10730077/Notorious-Porsche-driver-Richard-Pusey-appears-court-wearing-pigtails.html
it appears that this guy filmed and mocked 4 cops while they were laying dying after a car crash.
It needs to be stated, of course it does: These are not our crimes. signed, Women, born not worn.
Richard came up at the last patriarky meeting and we decided were more than happy for you to take responsibility for her from now on. Alternatively we are communicating with the Porschiarchy to see if they have a opening. Their only vacancy is for a Porsche owner people actually like.
But Richard is a man my dear Nic the NZder! What's the old saying "Women are not your rehab
lol.
Dear patriarchs, we considered your request. Nope, fuck off.
kindly,
women.
It is hard to like Chris Luxon. He seems a very cold man. Now he complains the Government should stop spending. Perhaps he should stop spending on hired Mercedes for a short ride, and stop buying investment properties. Anything that gives the average person a small benefit or assistance in their daily life he seems determined to get rid of.
A very self-entitled man who is mainly interested in "benefiting" the well off.
"
mainlyonly interested in "benefiting" the well off." FIFYToo true. Also wants the "girl" in her place.
Yes, Reality and Barfly, I will never forget the nasty grimaces and snarls about ICU beds he sent across the house directed at the PM. Gimlet eyes full of hate.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/128394695/reserve-bank-not-in-a-great-place-with-inflation
Both the government and local government need to identify what new structural spending is needed,and what should be maintained at depreciation levels.
Construction in general is at around 110% of local capacity,adding cost due to delays alone.The additional costs will have to met by increased debt with higher servicing.
If I read Orr correctly he is advocating for increased support for the bottom quintiles AND increased taxation of those who can meet it…..politically dangerous but absolutely needed.
Having said such, I believe the call is about a decade late.
Yes and no.He wants policies that provide direct support,whilst constraining expansion spending.
Housing costs for example have increased 50% under labour.36% over covid.Housing costs are due to over extension of the available capacity,which needs to be constrained in a a high interest,high inflation regime.
Playing around with the RMA,or inner city zoning will not make housing any cheaper,reducing demand by constraining immigration will.
Japan with its low inflation economy was driven by little immigration and demographic changes.This allowed for little housing inflation ( 1.4% above 1992 level) and improvements to transportation and health care based on efficiency.
"Yes and no.He wants policies that provide direct support,whilst constraining expansion spending."
He wants a floor and time….the support is the floor and the tax increases provide the time.
Again ( why does everyone cite Japan, an economy that has a consistant trade surplus, that makes a mulitiude of essential items and continues to do so despite a falling population…the worlds leading robotics economy…..they are not NZ….or anywhere else…they are unique)…we are a one trick pony, in competition witjh many others….ag and hort products (forget tourism, its essentially a net zero game)….we are in trouble, but we are not alone.
So will the taxes go to paying off debt or to increase liquidity further fueling inflation,requiring more OCR rises infintitum.
Increasing immigration into NZ (increased work permits) when we have a rental housing shortage,high inflation, rising interest rates,(3 key parameters for recessions) suggests Government policy is BAU,when we need policy to dampen inflation expectations.
An unsustainable economy post Covid is not a future I like.
The increased tax take could go either way….but without it Orr is stuffed.
And yes it looks like we are going to revert to the previous model quick smart…and we will reap the benefit(?).
Sadly neolibs (for thats what this gov is) trust nothing else…and Im not even sure its trust, it is more likely fear.
The problem that I see coming is going into an election with > 7% mortgage rates,a recession,rising unemployment,and an opposition that will be saying austerity is all we need,and try to sell off O/S the rest of our strategic assets.
Yes, the impending recession will cost Labour the election…it is always so…and the oppostion will fuck everything up (again) so we are destined to years of decline….it is so frustrating having lived through it once before.
The decline may be inevitable but it dosnt need to be as devisive as it was last time….the results of which we still pay for today.
BAU will only have one outcome,now is where the changes need to happen,not from big noting spectacular outcomes that may never happen,but a more distributed economy that will be more resilient to shocks.
When housing prices are some of the highest in the world,and we a re building beyond both production and financial capacity,there needs to be some better thinking.
CoreLogic chief economist Kelvin Davidson said the price increases were occurring as the demand for materials outstripped supply.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/465565/demand-for-materials-driving-record-hike-in-building-costs
Didn't the country go through considerable reductions in immigration just recently? In fact it seems to have basically coincided with the most rapid house price rises.
250000 since Q4 2017.
And increased pressure from both NZ expats, and offshore buyers, who have an eye on NZ as a safe bolthole, for either low taxed land "investment" and/or future residency.
Government spending has gone up in a pandemic…….d'oh!
Who would have thunk PR. An interesting statistic of of growth of 4 x seeking surgical intervention.
And of course there will be all the surgeries that go wrong e.g Jazz Jennings who had her neo vagina operation on 4 times.
Funny how things increase as public acceptance of them expands.
It's almost as if a bunch of folks feel a need to conceal something innate about themselves in order to avoid public discrimination and abuse.
McFlock "funny how things increase as public acceptance of them expands". And then you provide a link about left handedness.
But actually the idea that we can account for the increase in young people (teen girls mostly) identifying as trans because of more acceptance doesn't stack up.
The increase can be attributed to ROGD (rapid onset gender dysphoria)….Teens going to chat rooms on the internet and starting to think they are Trans. We don't actually see older women in their 30s, 40's, 50's 60's or 70's coming out as Trans in increasing numbers.
Pukish put up an interesting interview with a young women about a week ago. This women was influenced to start thinking she was a trans man after visiting websites promoting this. She was too old to block puberty, but started on a large dose of testosterone. All the clinicians she saw only affirmed her new gender identity. She talks about how this process happened and how she was dragged down a rabbit hole. She has now detransitioned and was lucky that she didn't have surgery.
The link about left-handedness also showed the same phenomenon regarding age.
As for the rest, I've been skipping the threads I personally regard as the daily hate. Transphobia, tankies, PRC champions. All of that usual stuff. Skipping it has actually brightened my day and given me free mental space.
Yours was an orphan comment that caught my eye, had a simple point, and an equally simple explanation. Believe whatever you will.
Thanks for continuing to see trans people as people on this site McFlock. Scrolling past "the daily hate" wasn't really working for me, so I had to skip from the platform altogether for a while. Which has also brightened my days and given me free mental space.
However, TS is (or at least, once was) a taonga of the left dating way back to the bygone days of newsprint. It is a shame to see it provide sanctuary for the selfish in this second iteration. So I guess I might bash my head on this brick wall a few more times again, until the headaches become overwhelming. At least until the end of the school holidays, and I can have time in the day to go talk with other adults without constantly having to parent.
👍 McFlock & Temp ORary.
I don't have much time for this site these days. I think it is a shame that it has become a daily outlet for bigotry.
Yes. Accusations of bigotry, have also reduced my perspective of the quality of discourse as well.
I skim the anti trans hate threads as well, & appreciate positive comments from McFlock & Temp ORary.
I've obviously been offline a lot, but missed those 'anti-trans' threads.
(Post a couple of links, and I'll have a belated run at those 'anti-trans' commenters.)
I'm ok with people keeping themselves out of the conversation by labelling it bigotry and scrolling on by, it makes the conversation easier. It's the people that are interested, or don't get it and want to understand that worth the time.
it's bizarre but also funny to see left wing (men) telling women how to do feminism and then calling us bigots because we know the politics better than them. Less funny is blokes telling us that other blokes' need trump ours, and that ours don't matter as much (or at all). This is a long pattern of lw male behaviour, predating the gender/sex wars. I must admit I am surprised to see some of the men adopting this position, but I guess it just reinforces that for some men, feminism is women's politics that they agree with. Would love to see them do that with Māori pol and see how they get on.
It is the same sexism, the difference lays in the ownership model. Private vs public ownership, and funnily enough that is the right/left divide in a nutshell.
Fair enough.
I scroll past quite a lot myself, but refrain from making comments solely comprised of accusations. As you say, others have a different approach.
The link about left-handedness is a theory.
A theory that can be tested to see that it accounts for the full increase in those who declare a gender identity. I have no doubts that social acceptance may be one factor.
But until tested for accuracy, the left-handedness comparison is just a theory.
Not evidence.
As Anker points out below, there are other factors that need to be tested in this regards too, before determining whether they have played a part or not.
I hope this plonker keeps coming out with shite like this. Fantastic stuff, Mr Luxatron. We need more of it and we know you're the spoon for the job.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300569869/national-leader-chris-luxon-loves-labour-day-but-also-wants-to-get-rid-of-it
Promising to scrap a public holiday is bad enough.
But for real political incompetence, you'd be promising to scrap the holiday that will be enjoyed by voters during the election campaign. And hoping nobody asks you about it?
At least he's made it easy for Ardern to pick a date in 2023.
The Polished Egg ?
Luxon now championing "give a holiday, take a holiday" jars for hospo and retail workers lol
Luxon wants to get rid of Labour Day. Does he think the number of workdays needs to be strictly rationed at [checks notes, 365-11=] 354 days a year? Or could he bought off with a holiday commemorating the ahem hard work and sacrifice of millionaires?
edit lolsnap Chris
Next thing we know is that he’ll propose making Leap Day a Public Holiday for those who leap through hoops every day.
Call it Bureaucracy Day
His pathetic sidekick Goldsmith reckons we don't need Labor day because we don't have a National or Act day!
Where do they find/clone these idiots, there's some wasteful spending right there.
We could have a spit on peons day to make the members of national and act happy.
He figured out it's the ultimate vote loosing decision. So flip-flopping:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/christopher-luxon-will-not-axe-labour-day/WXEB4R6BFWR3STYBAEYSSQOFDQ/
Flip Chris Flop Luxon,
Sheesh the opposition can really dig up stupidity of late.
Yes, but the question is are most voters even stupider?
So is Charlotte Bellis safely here in NZ? If not here why did she make such a fuss?
"…For Trevalyn, the relief programs of the previous years which had saved many lives weren't a success, but instead perversion of economic principles…"
A quote about the Irish famine of 160 years ago, but one completely relevant to the modern settler elite and their MSM mouthpieces in our country and their ideological stance on this government's covid response.
If you want to understand ideological drivers of the anti-covid response crowd from Hoskings the Mayor of Queenstown to a plethora of other fellow travellors what this video, I think it is a description of what ACT and may from the big end of town agree with and what Luxon and co really think, and most likely the view held of the Irish by the English is a widepread view amongst the setter class towards Maori and PI.