”Comment: Whenever Māori try to assert any rights to water it’s treated by politicians as scandalous or a complete non-starter. There usually follows vague accusations of apartheid and special rights being granted to a minority. This reeks of hypocrisy because a racial minority has already grabbed property rights over water and they’ve been doing so for the past three decades. That minority is Pākehā farmers. ”
The ruling caste of older white men needs to be mitigated.
"But study after study after study has shown that the increased stocking rates and higher volumes of fertiliser, with higher water take by dairy farmers, has contributed to higher nitrate levels in the water that is left"
In a week it will be the one year memorial of the brutal, but perhaps not random, murder of Poli on Tatakamotonga beach:
Polikalepo Kefu, or Poli, was well recognised for his tireless devotion to a wide range of human rights causes.
The Red Cross described him as a shining star in the Pacific, and globally, who will be remembered and cherished for his dedication to equality for all…
The New Zealand Green Party Pacific spokesperson Teanau Tuiono said Poli was a kind and gentle soul.
"We worked together during the COP21 Paris Climate Treaty process, so that's where we met and I bumped into Poli at a couple of other meetings as well," said Tuiono.
"Poli's work was focusing on supporting LGBTQ+ communities, our trans whanau."
Poli helped negotiators understand that marginal communities, particularly in the Pacific, were more harshly struck by the impacts of the climate crisis, said Tuiono.
Transgenderism has traditionally found expression across Oceanic States (I use this term rather than Pacific Islands after reading Tongan essayist and poet Epeli Hau’ofa who suggests the former label reinforces colonial attitudes). Some of the terms I have found include:
…If there is this substantial and varied historical recognition, identifiable across this vast region, where is the division coming from?
Sadly, it seems, from the West.
In Tonga specifically the threat is two-fold: outmoded neocolonial-influenced (but unenforced, according to Amnesty International) laws on sodomy and transvestitism that can see leiti whipped and imprisoned for 10 years, and perhaps more insidiously, a recent rise in an evangelical form of Christianity from the United States.
The normalization of violence against trans Tongans is evident in this account beginning at the 28 minute mark on the Leitis in Waiting documentary film that the VeniVidiViti piece references. A trailer freely available on YouTube has snippets from around 1minute 20seconds, but it's only two and a half minutes in full and gives other examples of the evangelical gender essentialists in action, so well worth the watch:
Mataele (President of the Tonga Leitis Association before Kefu) “One of my eldest brothers was always hard on me to get me to speak like a man, walk like a man – you know talk like a man and all that. But I couldn't really do it.
“We got to the point that you put a rope on my neck, and throw the rope out of the sight of the hands, and pull it. To try and get me to speak in a man's voice, you know. And it went a bit too far that it almost choked me, you know. And I think I'm – that scar has always been with me.”
The court was told {Inoke Silongo F.}Tonga admitted to police he had killed Polikalepo Kefu, 47, after they went to buy a bottle of spirits, Matangi Tonga reported.
Kefu instead drove to the beach where he allegedly made sexual advances towards {ISF} Tonga, a claim the judge said were “impossible to accept” after he considered the scale of the attack and Kefu’s injuries.
“The defendant became angry and in a prolonged attack he twice attempted to strangle Poli, for about 12 minutes, before slamming him on the road, then strangled him for about 5 more minutes, before bashing him with a rock more than 30 times,” the paper said.
“The defendant then rested for a couple of minutes before dragging Poli’s body to the water line, hoping it would be washed out to sea. He admitted that he intended to beat Poli to death”.
{ISF}Tonga was a meth addict, brought up in a broken family and had been sniffing benzene, the court heard.
None of the evidence brought up in court was enough for {ISF} Tonga to get the toughest punishment allowed under Tonga law: the death penalty which is hanging by the neck.
It is a odd exercise in compassion to be glad that a killer escaped the death penalty that they were all too ready to lay on another without even a trial first. More for the benefit (or at least diminished detriment) of Tongan society than the person themselves. And anyway; Poli wouldn't have wanted it himself, the TLA being more about dialogue and advocacy than vengeance. The Gay Panic Defense attempt has the stench of USAn evangelicalism all over it though.
"A trailer freely available on YouTube has snippets from around 1minute 20seconds, but it's only two and a half minutes in full and gives other examples of the evangelical gender essentialists in action, so well worth the watch:"
I have watched the trailer, but not the documentary but will do if you post a link on here sometime in the future.
One point I will note about your comment, is that "gender essentialists" seems to be a derogatory term for those who retain an understanding of the effect of material body reality. In that way, I would fit that description, but would question the derogatory nature of it. "Evangelical" – given the Tongan context and the large part religion plays in the culture, may be an unnecessary descriptor, unless your point was that adherence to a strict religious doctrine harms those who don't follow expected expressions of male behaviour.
While I maintain the importance of the recognition of biology sex in society, and legislation, I also (and always have) supported the right of everyone to personal expression. Men may fit the stereotype of what these 'Evangelicals' consider manly – and there nothing instrinsically wrong with that, but they should also be able to break those stereotypes with full society acceptance. In the trailer, it is men in a very traditionalist religious culture who are unable to adjust their beliefs that are causing harm.
Make sure that you are clear in recognising that aspect of this particular documentary.
As regards the pageant, many women object to the objectification of the body in beauty pageants, and have often written or legally protested outside of venues over decades. This trailer shows a father getting on stage to shame a contestant. Not something I've been aware of happening in all the decades of protests at women's pageants. Once again, a result perhaps of the culture, and that individual's idea not only of acceptable masculinity but also of ego and misplaced pride. Familial abuse writ large and public.
On a side note, I was thinking of the promotion and acceptance of drag kids – like "Desmond is Amazing", (given that I believe that drag is an adult entertainment trope, that exaggerates and caricatures aspects associated with women in a demeaning way) with the justified (to my mind) criticism of child beauty pageants. Both objectify and sexualise children with the excuse of entertainment and self-expression.
In the trailer, 1:54 "We're known as chefs, decorators, do the dirty areas, clean up the house, help the mothers…".
What is the point being made here? If it is that they ask for more roles in society, then fair play to them, everyone should be able to participate fully, but this may be a societal and religious doctrine problem rather than an imported prejudice from the west. Alternatively, it could be read as they are considered of the same worth as those that usually do those tasks – women – and don't want to be relegated to that lowly status. The full documentary would probably expand.
The approach that men or women have to meet stereotypical expectations of personal expression is a problem.
The denial of the distinct and separate reality of living in biological sexed bodies creates another problem.
Don't conflate the two, because it is intellectually dishonest.
Adding the accusation of homophobia into this already conflated perspective, is also problematic.
Let me be clear, I do not condone the use of violence, threats, intimidation in any form.
Be clear with both your assessment of the situation, and your identification of the issues, and your suggestions for solutions, and I – like many other GC women – will engage in good faith.
But I will push back against vague implications that any who speak on this topic are violent, transphobic people who are responsible for murders committed by individuals in traditionalist societies who have little in common with me.
Buy the DVD, or find someplace that streams it online. I don't know anywhere you can watch it entirely for free. Poli is in it, but the focus is far more on Mataele.
While I do regard Gender Criticals as being essentially Gender Essentialists, was this ever Not About You!
It's more that your comment lacks clarity, and has vague suggestions, so is hard to follow, to see what your point is, or what is the information you wish to share.
The dramatisation of the comment is exampled by emotive language and sentences like: "!!Trigger Warnings from this point on!!".
"The normalization of violence against trans Tongans"…"but it's only two and a half minutes in full and gives other examples of the evangelical gender essentialists in action, so well worth the watch"
Implies that the act of violence you prefaced with, is an example of evangelical gender essentialists in action. Equating "gender essentialists" with that murder.
There is no evidence that you have provided that believing in the material reality of biological sex gave impetus to that murder.
"While I do regard Gender Criticals as being essentially Gender Essentialists, was this ever Not About You!"
Very sad that Poli was murdered as he sounds like a great guy who was well liked and must respected for his work.
I am a little confused about the point of your story though. It sounds like Poli was gay? Not Trans? His murder happened when a young guy from. a broken home, who was a meth addict and had been sniffing Benzene, violently attacked Poli. The murdered alleges that Poli made advances to him, which the judge did not believe. Whether or not it was the case, the situation never justifies a sustained attack that lead to murder., but it sounds to me like the murderer lost the plot due to substance abuse.
I understand your mixed feelings that the young man didn't get the death penalty. It sounds like this was because it was a first offence, his background and his family paying reparations. But shocking the injuries he inflicted on Poli.
My understanding is that the murder rate for trans gender people in NZ is lower than ci people. The last Trans person to be murdered was in 2010 in Upper Hutt. The victim was beated to death afterr a drug deal when wrong. Murder is shocking
How on earth could the judge determine advances were not made?
Perhaps the murderer lost the plot due to constant abuse by the victim.
"Very sad that Poli was murdered as he sounds like a great guy who was well liked and must respected for his work." This can be applied to many sexual abuses.
Perhaps the murderer lost the plot due to constant abuse by the victim.
I don't know anything; could be completely wrong, I appal violence in all its forms, including state sanctioned murder.
So much ew, from your comment! You freely state you don't know anything, yet leap to the conclusion that Poli was a serial abuser (because they were LGBTQ+ advocate?).
The judge dismissed that unsubstantiated notion because this was Poli! If there is one person in Tonga who could have had their pick of consensual lovers it was him. Angry meth-heads aren't as attractive as they think they are. Even if the voices in his head convinced the murderer that they were being hit on, this was a grotesquely disproportionate response!
The gossip is that ISFT was at a party of a cousin of Poli's and was going to drive to get more booze, while already being intoxicated. Poli happening to be around, sober, and; being the socially conscious sort he was, offered to drive him there instead (more out of regard for road safety than any affection for ISFT who was reportedly every kind of asshole about it).
What happened after that is impossible to say for certain, but ISFT seemed to be a frequent watcher of Evangelical TV (when they could focus their eyes enough), with all the homophobia that brings. Poli would have to have a self destructive urge that was never observed by anyone previously to want to stick his dick in that amount of crazy!
"What happened after that is impossible to say for certain, but ISFT seemed to be a frequent watcher of Evangelical TV (when they could focus their eyes enough), with all the homophobia that brings. "
And a heavy drug user by all accounts, with high drug intoxication at the time of the murder.
How did you get from this account the information to add: "Gender Essentialists" – which is, as you say, your reframing of "Gender Critical" to Evangelists, instead of more accurately stating: "Drug-Abusing Evangelist"?
You’ve made “Gender Essentialists” the noun, and evangelical only an adjective. A surmise not supported by the information you have provided.
Were your other questions not genuine then Molly? Well at least that saves me the bother of addressing them when I could be spending time with whānau.
L for Lesbian
G for Gay
B for Bi
T for Trans
Q for Queer
+ for all the others omitted from this initialism, because it is already too long. Say; Intersex; NonBinary; Culturally embedded names that are difficult to render exactly into English eg; Leitis & Takatāpui.
I used to argue for Q+ as being briefer. And (already being a broad term) not giving primacy to the LGB&T people of this loosely aligned cluster of communities (some of) which act in solidarity with each other. But the thrice damned Qanon cult put an end to that notion.
(All my questions are genuine in that I ask in the hopes I get a well reasoned response, but that does not often occur. So, I use that phrase to indicate to others that I would like a genuine answer.
Which you gave, thank you. I’ll work on the wording.
Perhaps “If you are willing, will you give a genuine answer to this question?” but that sounds clunky. Genuine question – do you have a suggestion?)
What does Queer mean that isn't covered by L, G and B?
Why do you think a support movement for L, G and B would add to its acronym a term that has such negative connotations historically for them to represent a group that they are not part of?
Still no definition of Queer BTW.
As for the +, surely most of your examples fit under the ever expanding T. Isn't it a form of cultural segregation to make the T applicable to a particular culture and put all the others in a +?
Intersex is another example of appropriation that has real world impacts.
Might be briefer but a bit nonsensical in terms of providing support and assistance. Everyone has different challenges and needs.
LGB people are same-sex or both sex-attracted. It is their sexual orientation that categorises them.
TQ+ may or may not include LGB people, but are a a completely different category system. The changing focus of many original LGB organisations have actually eliminated LGB concerns or recognition from their work and activism. Many modern organisations don't even use the words same-sex attraction anymore. A very prominent one in the UK, has even likened same-sex attraction to sexual racism. So, to be honest the present LGBQT+ movement – for all intents and purposes just T activism, no matter how many letters and numbers are included. Latest iteration being 2SLGBTQ+.
Conflating all is like setting up a sporting organisation for rugby players, yachties, recreational knitters and calling it "Sportys".
Do you really think that the Mormons (not necessarily literal Church of LDS, more a common catch all term for Americanised Evangelists and their followers in te Moana Nui) care whether someone is gay or trans before judging them according to their own doctrine? Public whipping and 10years in prison is still the punishment (too rarely meted out for their preferences) for either crime. It was enough that Poli advocated for Leitis, it is irrelevant whether they were also; a trans man, eNBy, or had intimate relationships with Leitis, as well.
You quite evidently don't understand my mixed feelings, because I don't have them. I am unequivocally glad that the death penalty was not enacted. However some in the #justice forpoli circles are less sure of that, and I guess I have been accustomed to arguing against them in the past year to the extent that I do so preemptively nowadays.
It is actually quite hard to know the trans murder rate in Aotearoa. For one thing, until recently, most trans people have been misgendered on official documents and in court rooms. Often their families burn (or more rarely) bury them under names they have not used in years in spite of any wishes they may have expressed while yet living. I have been to too many memorials this past decade!
Take Zena Campbell for example – was she murdered in 2018? Not according to the courts, despite being strangled by her partner in an argument beforehand. But being a trans drug user with mental health issues the case didn't even reach trial.
Lots of trans people in NZ just disappear, but most weren't public figures so I am not going to mention any names here. Are they dead, overseas, starting over in another town – who can say? The police sure aren't (or haven't historically been) very interested in finding out.
But that is all ignoring all the far more common deaths by suicide. If your life is a constant stream of; abuse, abandonment, assault, and homelessness, then many make the arguably rational choice to end the misery. It is not for me, but I find it hard to condemn those who "take the easy way out".
Though they have taken their own lives, trans suicides have to my mind been murdered by a society that (even if it professes to not actually want them dead – because that might make them look bad, if nothing else) would really prefer that they didn't exist.
Fragility of mental health of people in the transgender community needs to be addressed. I believe it should be by professionals in the mental health and therapy professions that can explore the many different and diverse reasons an individual has for not being well.
An assumption that is is external society, is as harmful an assumption that it is not. Especially on an individual level, where many other factors come into play. Quality exploratory therapy would help here. Unfortunately, our Mental Health services are below par for all NZers in terms of access, and quality. Our high suicide rates are indicative of this failing.
Our high suicide rates are indicative of this failing.
According to the above article,
The Royal College of GPs says about a third of doctors' visits are now related to mental health, while the number of calls to police for mental health problems, attempted suicides and suicides has risen – to an average of more than 200 recorded nationally every day in the past three months.
That needs to be said again…an average of more than 200 attempted suicides every day for the past three months. What the actual fuck?
How's the Wellbeing thing going Jacinda?
I have scanned a couple of the Herald articles in this series and have not read if any of these terribly sad and distressed people are trans, and if so it is because society that (even if it professes to not actually want them dead – because that might make them look bad, if nothing else) would really prefer that they didn't exist…that drove them to absolute despair.
Temp ORary might see this failure to focus on the mental distress of trans people as yet another example of society's rejection of that particular community's needs.
I'd like Temp ORary to to step back a little from trans issues and acknowledge there are a shitload of truly miserable people out here in the world and a suicidal person's gender fucking identity is most likely not the root cause of their despair.
Thanks Temp. I wasn't able to open your 2 minute clip,so I was commenting on the link's about Poli's case you sent. If people in Tonga are being imprissoned for being Trans or gay, then that is 100% wrong and good for Poli for advocating about it. I hope they continue his work. Sad.
Zena Campbell was not the victim of murder, or so the judge thought having view the autopsy results. Her boyfriends case was dismissed.
Another reason why the Dept of Stats should be very careful about how it gathers it's imformation. We need good data around homicide and suicide. To date we don't have. The only research in NZ I trust is the Dunedin Multi disciplinary study. But I don't think they have released any info on this.
There have also been indications that the study referred to used the CTS (Conflict Tactics Scales). The Wikipedia page states that:
“CTS is one of the most widely criticized domestic violence measurement instruments due to its exclusion of context variables and motivational factors in understanding acts of violence. The National Institute of Justice cautions that the CTS may not be appropriate for IPV research “because it does not measure control, coercion, or the motives for conflict tactics.”
Temp Zena's boyfriend was arrested by the police and charged with her murder. The case got thrown out because of the findings of the autopsy as copied from the link I posted elsewhere on this thread.
Asphyxial signs were normally present after such a form of strangulation if it was prolonged enough to cause death, and Campbell did not show those signs, she said in her report.
Spark's post-mortem findings showed Campbell had methadone, oxazepam, Ritalin, alcohol and cannabis in her blood.
But you are free to disagree with the autopsy and the Judges decision to through this out of court.
This man needs to be extradited,otherwise it just signals NZ is a safe haven for people that do not want to defend themselves where alleged crimes are committed.
More like yet another example of our supreme court confirming our status as redneck backwater. Can you imagine the PC doing what our bunch of clowns at the SC have done? We're an international laughing stock.
I see there was a story on Stuff yesterday about a new bridge in the Manawatu. It was finished, ahead of schedule, early this year. However no one is allowed to use it because there is an agreement with the local Iwi to have a blessing, and an opening, in June. Meanwhile any vehicle that is larger than a small van has to take a long diversion that adds about 45 minutes to their trip.
Why can't we just let people use the bridge and have the official opening later. It certainly wouldn't be the first time that something sensible like that has been done. Then we could celebrate the fact that a piece of infrastructure was, miracle of miracles, finished ahead of the planned time.
Nope. You still don't appear to have read it. Some quotes from the story.
"Manawatū councillors have said the Rangitīkei council is responsible for the bridge remaining unused because it entered an agreement with local iwi that an opening ceremony would be held in June, and no traffic could pass until then."
"But Rangitīkei mayor Andy Watson said the Manawatū council managed the contract and had advised it was working to a June opening date."
""The June date was always part of the agreement that they entered into with Rangitīkei District Council with regard to iwi."
Whether it was Manawatu or Rangitikei or both Councils who are responsible appears to be in dispute but nobody is blaming NZTA.
I wonder if there is any central government agency which could possibly settle the dispute about who is the lead iwi negotiator out of the Manawatu and Rangitikei councils. Probably will have an NZ in the name, its a bridge so probably a Transport in there now if only we had that last letter.
Its a conundrum, NZT_.
Now of course if this agreement could be found it would have to be one of the parties to this agreement. Oh well, too bad nobody could possibly find such a document. I guess it will just have to wait for the agreed date.
I'm really wary of taking this story as the full picture.
For example, here in Auckland we had local board members blaming the delay of a community facility on the lack of local iwi approval for the park. This was said without any qualification, and received the usual grumbling and muttering in the attendees.
I spoke to the local iwi representatives, a couple of weeks later. At that time, they had received no request from council or any of their representatives about the aforementioned park.
While the local board member was accurate in stating that approval had not been given – he was also deliberately omitting that fact that approval had not yet been sought.
Council agreed with iwi that pou would be erected before the bridge opened.
There's a few questions that arise from that article:
When they decided to speed up the construction, did they inform Ngāti Hauiti, given that the construction of a pou, often relies on a limited pool of artisans and has a limit to how fast it can be delivered? If they did, what discussion happened then, and what was the result?
How long ago did the Manawatū council contact Ngāti Hauiti to see about opening the bridge for traffic and their intention not to meet the agreement they had with them?
Rangitikei council seems to think that they will have a resolution within a couple of weeks. Is their relationship with local iwi better than Manawatu?
There's a few more, including allowing Ngāti Hauiti to have time to arrange huis, and discuss the change. We wouldn't approach a councillor on a new development and expect a decision before it has been discussed at council meetings, why expect a statement from Ngāti Hauiti unless we know that huis have been held, and a decision made.
Iwi are often consulted when it suits and accommodated when their perspective fits into the proposal without too much bother. It is when agreements are publicly brushed aside in such a way that you see how much power they actually hold.
Good on Putin. He has followed the advice that Republican Senator George Aiken once gave to Lyndon Johnson about the Vietnam War. Just say that you have won!
“Declare the United States the winner and begin de-escalation.”—Senator George Aiken (R-VT) offering advice to President Lyndon Johnson on October 19, 1966 on how to handle the politics of reducing the U.S. commitment in Vietnam.
I see the Putin is, very sensibly in my view, doing exactly that with respect to Mariupol.
I wish Lyndon had tried it though. It would have saved me a lot of time getting involved in protests, and more importantly a hell of a lot of lives of the people involved on both sides of the war.
Putin (and Zelensky) clearly need to be given the Nobel Peace prize. That's the shortest way out as on awarding the Nobel Peace prize to Henry Kissinger (and Le Duc Tho) for a ceasefire in 1973 the Vietnam war ended in 1975.
I wonder which of them would play the Le Duc Tho role and decline the award?
Be a great idea though if it would persuade Putin to pull out of Ukraine wouldn't it? Surely we can find a New Zealand MP to nominate them. Or perhaps we could talk Lloyd Geering into doing it. He's apparently eligible to do so and at 104 ought to be the oldest nominator.
Here's a young Russian POW in Ukraine talking about how he got there. There's proof of who he is in his own you tube channel (linked in the link).
An enormous clusterfuck, that's all the attempt on Kiev was. There's no 4D chess going on, no special move going to surface. No mastermind, no master strategy. Putin's a fucking idiot and so is his fan club.
What happens when the truth starts to dawn on these Russian people. Will they apologise for their stupidity or hang on to their brainwashed beliefs? The latter I suspect. They are no different to our own stupid people who disappear down rabbit -holes and refuse to accept reality.
I mourn just as much for those young Russian soldiers as I do the Ukrainians who are being needlessly killed to satisfy the desires of a bunch of power hungry psychopaths in the Kremlin.
Trucks rolling up on and loading up from appliance stores.
Had never even fired his weapon.
Training consisted of a long walk with body armor on.
Rounding up citizens and putting them in basements.
Looting personal apartments.
Poorly supplied (implies Ru thought it would simply take Kiev and resupply there).
No idea where he was, or why, or what he was doing.
Tank gets hit. Lays off to the side in shock listening to commanders screams till they stopped.
Asks for help. Is surprised he is not murdered, tortured, or his balls roast on a tanks grill. Gets fed, gets to phone mother. Was (unwitting, and seemingly witless) part of Bucha massacre.
These two simultaneous sabotages are directly related – The Tver military facility was being used to develop anti-air & ballistic missiles. The Dmitrievsky chemical plant was a major supplier of propellants for such missiles. 310 miles (510km) away. https://t.co/5QuZwE5h4X
Tamati Coffey introduced The Rotorua District Council Representative Arrangements Bill. Restructuring RDC into non-proportional Maori wards (resulting in more Maori councillors than is proportionate to the general population).
National and Act have made hay, of course. However, there have been very significant left politicians and ex-politicians who have come out strongly against it (in the submissions process). And a public storm has been ignited (tens of thousands of submissions, I understand)
And, now David Parker, with his Attorney General's hat on – has said it's discriminatory under the Bill of Rights.
Regardless of the pros and cons – Labour really needed to have resolved this in-house, before the legislation was introduced. [Yes, I know that's what select committees are for – but for politically sensitive bills – they need to be run by the lawyers first….]
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Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Prof Michael Baker, Dr Jennifer Summers, Dr Lucy Telfar Barnard, Dr Andrew Dickson, Dr Julie Bennett, Carmen Timu-Parata, Prof Nick Wilson Kvalsvig A, Baker M, Summers J, Telfar Barnard L, Dickson A, Bennett J, Timu-Parata C, Wilson N. The urgent need for a Covid-19 Action Plan for ...
In this week’s “A View from Afar” podcast Selwyn Manning and I speculate on how the Ruso-Ukrainian War will shape future regional security dynamics. We start with NATO and work our way East to the Northern Pacific. It is not comprehensive but we outline some potential ramifications with regard to ...
At base, the political biffo back and forth on the merits of Budget 2022 comes down to only one thing. Who is the better manager of the economy and better steward of social wellbeing – National or Labour? In its own quiet way, the Treasury has buried a fascinating answer ...
by Don Franks Poverty in New Zealand today has new ugly features. Adequate housing is beyond the reach of thousands. More and more people full time workers must beg food parcels from charities. Having no attainable prospects, young people lash out and steal. A response to poverty from The Daily ...
Drought: the past is no longer prologue Drought management in the United States (and elsewhere) is highly informed by events of the past, employing records extending 60 years or longer in order to plan for and cope with newly emerging meterorological water deficits. Water resource managers and agricultural concerns use ...
The government announced its budget today, with Finance Minister Grant Robertson giving the usual long speech about how much money they're spending. The big stuff was climate change and health, with the former being pre-announced, and most of the latter being writing off DHB's entirely fictional "debt" to the the ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has delivered a Budget that will many asking “Is that all there is?” There is a myriad of initiatives and there is increased spending, but strangely it doesn’t really add up to much at all for those hoping for a more traditional Labour-style Budget. The headline ...
Last year, Cook Islands Deputy Prime Minister Robert Tapaitau stood down as a minister after being charged with conspiracy to defraud after an investigation into corruption in Infrastructure Cook Islands and the National Environment Service. He hasn't been tried yet, but this week he has been reinstated: The seven-month ...
A ballot for three member's bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Repeal of Good Friday and Easter Sunday as Restricted Trading Days (Shop Trading and Sale of Alcohol) Amendment Bill (Chris Baillie) Electoral (Strengthening Democracy) Amendment Bill (Golriz Ghahraman) Increased Penalties for ...
No Jesus Here.She rises, unrested, and stepsOnto the narrow balconyTo find the day. To greetThe Sunday God she sings to.But this morning His face is clouded.Grey and wet as a corpseWashed by tears.Behind her, in the tangled bedding,the children bicker and whine.Worrying the cheap furnitureLike hungry puppies.They clutch at her ...
After two years of Corona-induced online meetings in 2020 and 2021, this year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) will take place as a hybrid conference in both Vienna and online from May 23 to 27. To take hybrid and necessary hygiene restrictions into account, there (unfortunately) will be no ...
“Māori star lore was, and still remains, a blending together of both astronomy and astrology, and while there is undoubtedly robust science within the Māori study of the night sky, the spiritual component has always been of equal importance” writes Professor Rangi Matamua in his book Matariki – Te whetū tapu ...
The foibles of the Aussie electoral system are pretty well-known. The Lucky Country doesn’t have proportional representation. Voting for everyone over 18 is compulsory, but within a preferential system. This means that in the relatively few key seats that decide the final result, it can be the voters’ second, third ...
Julia Steinberger is an ecological economist at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. She first posted this piece at Medium.com, and it was reposted on Yale Climate Connections with her permission. Today I went to give a climate talk at my old high school in Geneva – and was given a ...
A/Prof Ben Gray* Gray B. Government funding of interpreters in Primary Care is needed to ensure quality care. Public Health Expert Blog.17 May 2022. The pandemic has highlighted many problems in the NZ health system. This blog will address the question of availability of interpreters for people with limited English ...
I have suggested previously that sometimes Tolkien’s writer-instincts get the better of him. Sometimes he departs from his own cherished metaphysics, in favour of the demands of story – and I dare say, that is a good thing. Laws and Customs of the Eldar might be an interesting insight ...
One of the key planks of yesterday's Emissions Reduction Plan is a $650 million fund to help decarbonise industry by subsidising replacement of dirty technologies with clean ones. But National leader Chris Luxon derides this as "corporate welfare". Which probably sounds great to the business ideologues in the Koru club. ...
Poisonous! From a very early age New Zealanders are warned to give small black spiders with a red blotch on their abdomens a wide berth. The Katipo, we are told, is venomous: and while its bite may not kill you, it can make you very unwell. That said, isn’t the ...
“The truth prevails, but it’s a chore.” – Jan Masaryk: The intensification of ideological pressures is bearable for only so-long before ordinary men and women reassert the virtues of tolerance and common sense.ON 10 MARCH 1948, Jan Masaryk, the Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia, was found dead below his bathroom window. ...
Clearly, the attempt to take the politics out of climate change has itself been a political decision, and one meant to remove much of the heat from the global warming issue before next year’s election. What we got from yesterday’s $2.9 billion Emissions Reduction Plan was a largely aspirational multi-party ...
Michelle Uriarau (Mana Wāhine Kōrero) talks to Dane Giraud of the Free Speech Union LISTEN HERE Michelle Uriarau is a founding member of Mana Wāhine Kōrero – an advocacy group of and for Māori women who took strong positions against the ‘Self ID’ and ‘Conversion Practises Bills’. One of the ...
If we needed any confirmation, we have it in spades in today’s edition of the Herald; our supposedly leading daily newspaper is determined to do what it can to decide the outcome of the next election – to act, that is, not as a newspaper but as the mouthpiece for ...
Sean Plunkett, founding editor of the new media outlet, The Platform, was interviewed on RNZ's highly regarded flagship programme "Mediawatch".Mr Plunkett has made much about "cancel culture" and "de-platforming". On his website promoting The Platform, he outlines his mission statement thusly:The Platform is for everyone; we’re not into cancelling or ...
“That’s a C- for History, Kelvin!”While it is certainly understandable that Māori-Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis was not anxious to castigate every Pakeha member of the House of Representatives for the crimes committed against his people by their ancestors; crimes from which his Labour colleagues continue to draw enormous benefits; the ...
The Government promised a major reform of New Zealand’s immigration system, but when it was announced this week, many asked “is that it?” Over the last two years Covid has turned the immigration tap off, and the Government argued this produced the perfect opportunity to reassess decades of “unbalanced immigration”. ...
While the new fiscal rules may not be contentious, what they mean for macroeconomic management is not explained.In a pre-budget speech on 3 May 2022, the Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson, made some policy announcements which will frame both this budget and future ones. (The Treasury advice underpinning them is ...
Under MMP, Parliament was meant to look like New Zealand. And, in a lot of ways, it does now, with better representation for Māori, tangata moana, women, and the rainbow community replacing the old dictatorship of dead white males. But there's one area where "our" parliament remains completely unrepresentative: housing: ...
Justice Denied: At the heart of the “Pro-Life” cause was something much darker than conservative religious dogma, or even the oppressive designs of “The Patriarchy”. The enduring motivation – which dares not declare itself openly – is the paranoid conviction of male white supremacists that if “their” women are given ...
In case of emergency break glass— but glass can cut Fire extinguishers, safety belts, first aid kits, insurance policies, geoengineering: we never enjoy using them. But given our demonstrated, deep empirical record of proclivity for creating hazards and risk we'd obviously be foolish not to include emergency responses in our inventory. ...
After a brief hiatus, the “A View from Afar” podcast is back on air with Selwyn Manning leading the Q&A with me. This week is a grab bag of topics: Russian V-Day celebrations, Asian and European elections, and the impact of the PRC-Solomon Islands on the regional strategic balance. Plus ...
Last year, Vanuatu passed a "cyber-libel" law. And predictably, its first targets are those trying to hold the government to account: A police crackdown in Vanuatu that has seen people arrested for allegedly posting comments on social media speculating politicians were responsible for the country’s current Covid outbreak has ...
Could it be a case of not appreciating what you’ve got until it’s gone? The National Party lost Simon Bridges last week, which has reinforced the notion that the party still has some serious deficits of talent and diversity. The major factor in Bridges’ decision to leave was his failed ...
Who’s Missing From This Picture? The re-birth of the co-governance concept cannot be attributed to the institutions of Pakeha rule, at least, not in the sense that the massive constitutional revisions it entails have been presented to and endorsed by the House of Representatives, and then ratified by the citizens of New ...
Fiji signed onto China’s Belt and Road initiative in 2018, along with a separate agreement on economic co-operation and aid. Yet it took the recent security deal between China and the Solomon Islands to get the belated attention of the US and its helpmates in Canberra and Wellington, and the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Lexi Smith and Bud Ward “CRA” It’s one of those acronyms even many-a-veteran environmental policy geek may not recognize. Amidst the scores and scores of acronyms in the field – CERCLA, IPCC, SARA, LUST, NPDES, NDCs, FIFRA, NEPA and scores more – ...
In a nice bit of news in a World Gone Mad, I can report that Of Tin and Tintagel, my 5,800-word story about tin (and political scheming), is now out as part of the Spring 2022 edition of New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). As noted previously, this one owes a ...
Dr Jennifer Summers, Professor Michael Baker, Professor Nick Wilson* Summers J, Baker M, Wilson N. Covid-19 Case-Fatality Risk & Infection-Fatality Risk: important measures to help guide the pandemic response. Public Health Expert Blog. 11 May 2022. In this blog we explore two useful mortality indicators: Case-Fatality Risk (CFR) and Infection-Fatality ...
In the depths of winter, most people from southern New Zealand head to warmer climes for a much-needed dose of Vitamin D. Yet during the height of the last Ice Age, one species of moa did just the opposite. I’m reminded of Bill Bailey’s En Route to Normal tour that visited ...
In the lead-up to the Budget, the Government has been on an offensive to promote the efficiency and quality of its $74 billion Covid Response and Recovery Fund -especially the Wage Subsidy Scheme component. This comes after criticisms and concerns from across the political spectrum over poor-quality spending, and suggestions ...
Elizabeth Elliot Noe, Lincoln University, New Zealand; Andrew D. Barnes, University of Waikato; Bruce Clarkson, University of Waikato, and John Innes, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare ResearchUrbanisation, and the destruction of habitat it entails, is a major threat to native bird populations. But as our new research shows, restored ...
Unfinished: Always, gnawing away at this government’s confidence and empathy, is the dictum that seriously challenging the economic and social status-quo is the surest route to electoral death. Labour’s colouring-in book, and National’s, have to look the same. All that matters is which party is better at staying inside the lines.DOES ...
Radical As: Māori healers recall a time when “words had power”. The words that give substance to ideas, no matter how radical, still do. If our representatives rediscover the courage to speak them out loud.THERE ARE RULES for radicalism. Or, at least, there are rules for the presentation of radical ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters A brutal, record-intensity heat wave that has engulfed much of India and Pakistan since March eased somewhat this week, but is poised to roar back in the coming week with inferno-like temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius (122°F). The ...
The good people at the Reading Tolkien podcast have put out a new piece, which spends some time comparing the underlying moral positions of George R.R. Martin and J.R.R. Tolkien: (The relevant discussion starts about twenty-seven minutes in. It’s a long podcast). In the interests of fairness, ...
Crime is becoming a key debate between Labour and National. This week they are both keen to show that they are tough on law and order. It’s an issue that National has a traditional advantage on, and is one that they’re currently getting good traction from. In response, Labour is ...
So far, the excited media response to the spike in “ram-raid” incidents is being countered by evidence that in reality, youth crime is steeply in decline, and has been so for much of the past decade. Who knew? Perhaps that’s the real issue here. Why on earth wasn’t the latest ...
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s latest step toward electoral reform, which begins to fulfil an important part of the Co-operation Agreement between the two parties. ...
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Mr Speaker, It has taken four-and-a-half years to even start to turn the legacy of inaction and neglect from the last time they were in Government together. And we have a long journey in front of us! ...
Today Greens Te Mātāwaka Chair and Health Spokesperson, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere, said “The Greens have long campaigned for an independent Māori Health Authority and pathways for Takatāpui and Rainbow healthcare. “We welcome the substantial funding going into the new health system, Pae Ora, particularly for the Māori Health Authority, Iwi-Partnership ...
Budget 2022 shows progress on conservation commitments in the Green Party’s cooperation agreement Green Party achievements in the last Government continue to drive investment in nature protection Urgent action needed on nature-based solutions to climate change Future budget decisions must reflect the role nature plays in helping reduce emissions ...
Landmark week for climate action concludes with climate budget Largest ever investment in climate action one of many Green Party wins throughout Budget 2022 Budget 2022 delivers progress on every part of the cooperation agreement with Labour Budget 2022 is a climate budget that caps a landmark week ...
Green Party welcomes extension to half price fares Permanent half price fares for Community Services Card holders includes many students, which helps implement a Green Party policy Work to reduce public transport fares for Community Services Card holders started by Greens in the last Government Budget 2022 should be ...
New cost of living payment closely aligned to Green Party policy to expand the Winter Energy Payment Extension and improvement of Warmer Kiwi Homes builds on Green Party progress in Government Community energy fund welcomed The Green Party welcomes the investment in Budget 2022 to expand Warmer Kiwi ...
Budget 2022 support to reduce homelessness delivers on the Green Party’s cooperation agreement Bespoke support for rangatahi with higher, more complex needs The Green Party welcomes the additional investment in Budget 2022 for kaupapa Māori support services, homelessness outreach services, the expansion of transitional housing, and a new ...
Green Party reaffirms call for liveable incomes and wealth tax Calls on Government to cancel debt owed to MSD for hardship assistance such as benefit advances, and for over-payments The Green Party welcomes the support for people on low incomes Budget 2022 but says more must be done ...
Our Government has just released this year’s Budget, which sets out the next steps in our plan to build a high wage, low carbon economy that gives economic security in good times and in bad. It’s full of initiatives that speed up our economic recovery and ease cost pressures for ...
A stronger democracy is on the horizon, as Golriz Ghahraman’s Electoral (Strengthening Democracy) Amendment Bill was pulled from the biscuit tin today. ...
Tomorrow, the Government will release this year’s Budget, setting out the next steps in our plan to build a high wage, low carbon economy that gives economic security in good times and in bad. While the full details will be kept under wraps until Thursday afternoon, we’ve announced a few ...
As a Government, we made it clear to New Zealanders that we’d take meaningful action on climate change, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Earlier today, we released our next steps with our Emissions Reduction Plan – which will meet the Climate Commission’s independent science-based emissions reduction targets, and new ...
Emissions Reduction Plan prepares New Zealand for the future, ensuring country is on track to meet first emissions budget, securing jobs, and unlocking new investment ...
The Greens are calling for the Government to reconsider the immigration reset so that it better reflects our relationship with our Pacific neighbours. ...
Hamilton City Council and Whanganui District Council have both joined a growing list of Local Authorities to pass a motion in support of Green Party Drug Reform Spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick’s Members’ bill to minimise alcohol harm. ...
Today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a major package of reforms to address the immediate skill shortages in New Zealand and speed up our economic growth. These include an early reopening to the world, a major milestone for international education, and a simplification of immigration settings to ensure New Zealand ...
Proposed immigration changes by the Government fail to guarantee pathways to residency to workers in the types of jobs deemed essential throughout the pandemic, by prioritising high income earners - instead of focusing on the wellbeing of workers and enabling migrants to put down roots. ...
Ehara taku toa i te toa takatahi, engari taku toa he toa takimano – my strength is not mine alone but the strength of many (working together to ensure safe, caring respectful responses). We are striving for change. We want all people in Aotearoa New Zealand thriving; their wellbeing enhanced ...
The Green Party is throwing its support behind the 10,000 allied health workers taking work-to-rule industrial action today because of unfair pay and working conditions. ...
Since the day we came into Government, we’ve worked hard to lift wages and reduce cost pressures facing New Zealanders. But we know the rising cost of living, driven by worldwide inflation and the war in Ukraine, is making things particularly tough right now. That’s why we’ve stepped up our ...
New Zealand is a step closer to a more resilient, competitive, and sustainable coastal shipping sector following the selection of preferred suppliers for new and enhanced coastal shipping services, Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced today. “Coastal shipping is a small but important part of the New Zealand freight system, ...
Tēnā koutou katoa It’s a pleasure to speak to you today on how we are tracking with the resource management reforms. It is timely, given that in last week’s Budget the Government announced significant funding to ensure an efficient transition to the future resource management system. There is broad consensus ...
Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis have welcomed the release of a paper from independent advisory group, Taumata Aronui, outlining the group’s vision for Māori success in the tertiary education system. “Manu Kōkiri – Māori Success and Tertiary Education: Towards a Comprehensive Vision – is the ...
The best way to have economic security in New Zealand is by investing in wāhine and our rangatahi says Minister for Māori Development. Budget 2022, is allocating $28.5 million over the next two years to strengthen whānau resilience through developing leadership within key cohorts of whānau leaders, wāhine and rangatahi ...
Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies will receive $166.5 million over four years to help whānau maintain and build their resilience as Aotearoa moves forward from COVID-19, Minister for Whānau Ora Peeni Henare announced today. “Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies and partners will remain a key feature of the Government’s support for whānau ...
The development of sustainable, plant-based foods and meat alternatives is getting new government backing, with investment from a dedicated regional economic development fund. “The investment in Sustainable Foods Ltd is part of a wider government strategy to develop a low-emissions, highly-skilled economy that responds to global demands,” said Stuart Nash. ...
With New Zealand expecting to see Omicron cases rise during the winter, the Orange setting remains appropriate for managing this stage of the outbreak, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “While daily cases numbers have flattened nationally, they are again beginning to increase in the Northern region and hospitalisation ...
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi today announced appointments to the independent panel that will lead a review of New Zealand’s electoral law. “This panel, appointed by an independent panel of experts, aim to make election rules clearer and fairer, to build more trust in the system and better support people to ...
Honourable Dame Fran Wilde will lead the board overseeing the design and construction of Auckland’s largest, most transformational project of a generation – Auckland Light Rail, which will connect hundreds of thousands of people across the city, Minister of Transport Michael Wood announced today. “Auckland Light Rail is New Zealand’s ...
Boost to Māori Medium property that will improve and redevelop kura, purchase land and build new facilities Scholarships and mentoring to grow and expand the Māori teaching workforce Funding to continue to grow the Māori language The Government’s commitment to the growth and development of te reo Māori has ...
On the eve of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s trade mission to the United States, New Zealand has joined with partner governments from across the Indo-Pacific region to begin the next phase of discussions towards an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). The Framework, initially proposed by US President Biden in ...
As part of New Zealand’s ongoing response to the war in Ukraine, New Zealand is providing further support and personnel to assist Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “We have been clear throughout Russia’s assault on Ukraine, that such a ...
Budget 2022 is providing investment to crackdown on tobacco smuggling into New Zealand. “Customs has seen a significant increase in the smuggling of tobacco products into New Zealand over recent years,” Minister of Customs Meka Whaitiri says. This trend is also showing that tobacco smuggling operations are now often very ...
Prime Minister to lead trade mission to the United States this week to support export growth and the return of tourists post COVID-19. Business delegation to promote trade and tourism opportunities in New Zealand’s third largest export and visitor market Deliver Harvard University commencement address Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Party on winning the Australian Federal election, and has acknowledged outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison. "I spoke to Anthony Albanese early this morning as he was preparing to address his supporters. It was a warm conversation and I’m ...
Tiwhatiwha te pō, tiwhatiwha te ao. Tiwhatiwha te pō, tiwhatiwha te ao. Matariki Tapuapua, He roimata ua, he roimata tangata. He roimata e wairurutu nei, e wairurutu nei. Te Māreikura mārohirohi o Ihoa o ngā Mano, takoto Te ringa mākohakoha o Rongo, takoto. Te mātauranga o Tūāhuriri o Ngai Tahu ...
Three core networks within the tourism sector are receiving new investment to gear up for the return of international tourists and business travellers, as the country fully reconnects to the world. “Our wider tourism sector is on the way to recovery. As visitor numbers scale up, our established tourism networks ...
The Minister of Customs has welcomed legislation being passed which will prevent millions of dollars in potential tax evasion on water-pipe tobacco products. The Customs and Excise (Tobacco Products) Amendment Act 2022 changes the way excise and excise-equivalent duty is calculated on these tobacco products. Water-pipe tobacco is also known ...
The Government is contributing $100,000 to a Mayoral Relief Fund to help the Levin community following this morning’s tornado, Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan says. “My thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted by severe weather events in Levin and across the country. “I know the tornado has ...
The Quintet of Attorneys General have issued the following statement of support for the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and investigations and prosecutions for crimes committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine: “The Attorneys General of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand join in ...
Morena tatou katoa. Kua tae mai i runga i te kaupapa o te rā. Thank you all for being here today. Yesterday my colleague, the Minister of Finance Grant Robertson, delivered the Wellbeing Budget 2022 – for a secure future for New Zealand. I’m the Minister of Health, and this was ...
Urgent Budget night legislation to stop major supermarkets blocking competitors from accessing land for new stores has been introduced today, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Dr David Clark said. The Commerce (Grocery Sector Covenants) Amendment Bill amends the Commerce Act 1986, banning restrictive covenants on land, and exclusive covenants ...
It is a pleasure to speak to this Budget. The 5th we have had the privilege of delivering, and in no less extraordinary circumstances. Mr Speaker, the business and cycle of Government is, in some ways, no different to life itself. Navigating difficult times, while also making necessary progress. Dealing ...
Budget 2022 provides funding to implement the new resource management system, building on progress made since the reform was announced just over a year ago. The inadequate funding for the implementation of the Resource Management Act in 1992 almost guaranteed its failure. There was a lack of national direction about ...
The Government is substantially increasing the amount of funding for public media to ensure New Zealanders can continue to access quality local content and trusted news. “Our decision to create a new independent and future-focused public media entity is about achieving this objective, and we will support it with a ...
$662.5 million to maintain existing defence capabilities NZDF lower-paid staff will receive a salary increase to help meet cost-of living pressures. Budget 2022 sees significant resources made available for the Defence Force to maintain existing defence capabilities as it looks to the future delivery of these new investments. “Since ...
More than $185 million to help build a resilient cultural sector as it continues to adapt to the challenges coming out of COVID-19. Support cultural sector agencies to continue to offer their important services to New Zealanders. Strengthen support for Māori arts, culture and heritage. The Government is investing in a ...
It is my great pleasure to present New Zealand’s fourth Wellbeing Budget. In each of this Government’s three previous Wellbeing Budgets we have not only considered the performance of our economy and finances, but also the wellbeing of our people, the health of our environment and the strength of our communities. In Budget ...
It is my great pleasure to present New Zealand’s fourth Wellbeing Budget. In each of this Government’s three previous Wellbeing Budgets we have not only considered the performance of our economy and finances, but also the wellbeing of our people, the health of our environment and the strength of our communities. In Budget ...
Four new permanent Coroners to be appointed Seven Coronial Registrar roles and four Clinical Advisor roles are planned to ease workload pressures Budget 2022 delivers a package of investment to improve the coronial system and reduce delays for grieving families and whānau. “Operating funding of $28.5 million over four ...
Establishment of Ministry for Disabled People Progressing the rollout of the Enabling Good Lives approach to Disability Support Services to provide self-determination for disabled people Extra funding for disability support services “Budget 2022 demonstrates the Government’s commitment to deliver change for the disability community with the establishment of a ...
Fairer Equity Funding system to replace school deciles The largest step yet towards Pay Parity in early learning Local support for schools to improve teaching and learning A unified funding system to underpin the Reform of Vocational Education Boost for schools and early learning centres to help with cost ...
$118.4 million for advisory services to support farmers, foresters, growers and whenua Māori owners to accelerate sustainable land use changes and lift productivity $40 million to help transformation in the forestry, wood processing, food and beverage and fisheries sectors $31.6 million to help maintain and lift animal welfare practices across Aotearoa New Zealand A total food and ...
House price caps for First Home Grants increased in many parts of the country House price caps for First Home Loans removed entirely Kāinga Whenua Loan cap will also be increased from $200,000 to $500,000 The Affordable Housing Fund to initially provide support for not-for-profit rental providers Significant additional ...
Child Support rules to be reformed lifting an estimated 6,000 to 14,000 children out of poverty Support for immediate and essential dental care lifted from $300 to $1,000 per year Increased income levels for hardship assistance to extend eligibility Budget 2022 takes further action to reduce child poverty and ...
More support for RNA research through to pilot manufacturing RNA technology platform to be created to facilitate engagement between research and industry partners Researchers and businesses working in the rapidly developing field of RNA technology will benefit from a new research and development platform, funded in Budget 2022. “RNA ...
A new Business Growth Fund to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to grow Fully funding the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund to unleash regional economic development opportunities Tourism Innovation Programme to promote sustainable recovery Eight Industry Transformation Plans progressed to work with industries, workers and iwi to transition ...
Budget 2022 further strengthens the economic foundations and wellbeing outcomes for Pacific peoples in Aotearoa, as the recovery from COVID-19 continues. “The priorities we set for Budget 2022 will support the continued delivery of our commitments for Pacific peoples through the Pacific Wellbeing Strategy, a 2020 manifesto commitment for Pacific ...
Boost for Māori economic and employment initiatives. More funding for Māori health and wellbeing initiatives Further support towards growing language, culture and identity initiatives to deliver on our commitment to Te Reo Māori in Education Funding for natural environment and climate change initiatives to help farmers, growers and whenua ...
New hospital funding for Whangārei, Nelson and Hillmorton 280 more classrooms over 40 schools, and money for new kura $349 million for more rolling stock and rail network investment The completion of feasibility studies for a Northland dry dock and a new port in the Manukau Harbour Increased infrastructure ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. In this podcast Michelle and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Clark, Deputy Engagement Editor, The Conversation Politics can be slow-moving, until all of a sudden it isn’t. As political scientist Simon Jackman says in today’s episode of Below the Line, “politics is very non-linear. You get these steady, secular ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye, Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology On Sunday, popular American singer songwriter Halsey shared a video on TikTok with tinny music in the background, the on-screen text reading: Basically I have a song that I love that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Crowley, Adjunct Associate Professor, Public and Environmental Policy, University of Tasmania During Saturday’s election, 31.5% of the voters deserted the major parties, with a swag of female teal independents tipping Liberal MPs out of their heartland urban seats. By contrast, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rita Matulionyte, Senior Lecturer in Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock Mastercard’s “smile to pay” system, announced last week, is supposed to save time for customers at checkouts. It is being trialled in Brazil, with future pilots planned for the Middle East ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Stand by for something “reckless and dangerous”. That’s what former prime minister Scott Morrison said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be if he asked the Fair Work Commission ...
Just in case the affected voters and constituencies haven’t bothered to check how much funding they are being given in Budget 2022 (or how much they have lost in some cases), ministers have been letting them know in post-Budget press statements. At least, they have been letting them know when ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has called the way a New Zealand mother of two died in custody awaiting deportation from Australia was a disgrace and further evidence that the system is not just broken but responsible ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University Shutterstock You showered this morning, are wearing fresh clothes and having an otherwise normal day, when suddenly you notice that stench. Why do our armpits smell, and why more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucinda McKnight, Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy and Curriculum, Deakin University Pixabay The war in Ukraine is being described as the first social media war, even as “the TikTok war”. Memes, tweets, videos and blog posts communicate both vital information and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Stewart, John Bray Professor of Law, University of Adelaide Industrial relations issues were front and centre when federal Labor last won office from opposition in 2007. The backlash against John Howard’s “Work Choices” reforms cost both his government and his own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Soutphommasane, Acting Director, Sydney Policy Lab & Professor of Practice (Sociology and Political Theory), University of Sydney The message from Saturday’s election result was clear: Australians want a political reset. And not just about issues such as government integrity and climate ...
The Education and Workforce Committee is calling for submissions on the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill. This bill would extend the period of time available to raise a personal grievance ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Menzel, Assistant Professor – First Nations Health, Bond University GettyImages Workplaces can be hostile, overwhelming and unwelcoming places for many First Nations Peoples. My research has explored how this is the case in many organisations, including universities. White organisations ...
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Another case for Three Waters reform.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/act-argues-for-continued-minority-rule?utm_source=Friends+of+the+Newsroom&utm_campaign=3651342188-Daily+Briefing+22.04.2022&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-3651342188-47886425
”Comment: Whenever Māori try to assert any rights to water it’s treated by politicians as scandalous or a complete non-starter. There usually follows vague accusations of apartheid and special rights being granted to a minority. This reeks of hypocrisy because a racial minority has already grabbed property rights over water and they’ve been doing so for the past three decades. That minority is Pākehā farmers. ”
The ruling caste of older white men needs to be mitigated.
Question….how does 3 Waters impact irrigation takes?
Answer….. it doesn't. Nor does it have any impact on rivers either.
Thats my reading of it….and yet dairy is cited.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
"Nor does it have any impact on rivers either."
Did you read the article?
"But study after study after study has shown that the increased stocking rates and higher volumes of fertiliser, with higher water take by dairy farmers, has contributed to higher nitrate levels in the water that is left"
Yes, but Three Waters only applies to reticulated supply, waste water and storm water. It's influence beyond population centres is minimal.
In a week it will be the one year memorial of the brutal, but perhaps not random, murder of Poli on Tatakamotonga beach:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/441799/killing-of-humanitarian-in-tonga-shocks-wider-community
https://venividiviti.wordpress.com/2020/05/28/waiting-in-vain-changing-attitudes-to-transgender-women-in-tonga/
!!Trigger Warnings from this point on!!
The normalization of violence against trans Tongans is evident in this account beginning at the 28 minute mark on the Leitis in Waiting documentary film that the VeniVidiViti piece references. A trailer freely available on YouTube has snippets from around 1minute 20seconds, but it's only two and a half minutes in full and gives other examples of the evangelical gender essentialists in action, so well worth the watch:
Mataele (President of the Tonga Leitis Association before Kefu) “One of my eldest brothers was always hard on me to get me to speak like a man, walk like a man – you know talk like a man and all that. But I couldn't really do it.
“We got to the point that you put a rope on my neck, and throw the rope out of the sight of the hands, and pull it. To try and get me to speak in a man's voice, you know. And it went a bit too far that it almost choked me, you know. And I think I'm – that scar has always been with me.”
https://www.kanivatonga.nz/2021/10/polikalepo-kefus-killer-avoids-death-penalty/
It is a odd exercise in compassion to be glad that a killer escaped the death penalty that they were all too ready to lay on another without even a trial first. More for the benefit (or at least diminished detriment) of Tongan society than the person themselves. And anyway; Poli wouldn't have wanted it himself, the TLA being more about dialogue and advocacy than vengeance. The Gay Panic Defense attempt has the stench of USAn evangelicalism all over it though.
"A trailer freely available on YouTube has snippets from around 1minute 20seconds, but it's only two and a half minutes in full and gives other examples of the evangelical gender essentialists in action, so well worth the watch:"
I have watched the trailer, but not the documentary but will do if you post a link on here sometime in the future.
One point I will note about your comment, is that "gender essentialists" seems to be a derogatory term for those who retain an understanding of the effect of material body reality. In that way, I would fit that description, but would question the derogatory nature of it. "Evangelical" – given the Tongan context and the large part religion plays in the culture, may be an unnecessary descriptor, unless your point was that adherence to a strict religious doctrine harms those who don't follow expected expressions of male behaviour.
While I maintain the importance of the recognition of biology sex in society, and legislation, I also (and always have) supported the right of everyone to personal expression. Men may fit the stereotype of what these 'Evangelicals' consider manly – and there nothing instrinsically wrong with that, but they should also be able to break those stereotypes with full society acceptance. In the trailer, it is men in a very traditionalist religious culture who are unable to adjust their beliefs that are causing harm.
Make sure that you are clear in recognising that aspect of this particular documentary.
As regards the pageant, many women object to the objectification of the body in beauty pageants, and have often written or legally protested outside of venues over decades. This trailer shows a father getting on stage to shame a contestant. Not something I've been aware of happening in all the decades of protests at women's pageants. Once again, a result perhaps of the culture, and that individual's idea not only of acceptable masculinity but also of ego and misplaced pride. Familial abuse writ large and public.
On a side note, I was thinking of the promotion and acceptance of drag kids – like "Desmond is Amazing", (given that I believe that drag is an adult entertainment trope, that exaggerates and caricatures aspects associated with women in a demeaning way) with the justified (to my mind) criticism of child beauty pageants. Both objectify and sexualise children with the excuse of entertainment and self-expression.
In the trailer, 1:54 "We're known as chefs, decorators, do the dirty areas, clean up the house, help the mothers…".
What is the point being made here? If it is that they ask for more roles in society, then fair play to them, everyone should be able to participate fully, but this may be a societal and religious doctrine problem rather than an imported prejudice from the west. Alternatively, it could be read as they are considered of the same worth as those that usually do those tasks – women – and don't want to be relegated to that lowly status. The full documentary would probably expand.
The approach that men or women have to meet stereotypical expectations of personal expression is a problem.
The denial of the distinct and separate reality of living in biological sexed bodies creates another problem.
Don't conflate the two, because it is intellectually dishonest.
Adding the accusation of homophobia into this already conflated perspective, is also problematic.
Let me be clear, I do not condone the use of violence, threats, intimidation in any form.
Be clear with both your assessment of the situation, and your identification of the issues, and your suggestions for solutions, and I – like many other GC women – will engage in good faith.
But I will push back against vague implications that any who speak on this topic are violent, transphobic people who are responsible for murders committed by individuals in traditionalist societies who have little in common with me.
Molly
Buy the DVD, or find someplace that streams it online. I don't know anywhere you can watch it entirely for free. Poli is in it, but the focus is far more on Mataele.
While I do regard Gender Criticals as being essentially Gender Essentialists, was this ever Not About You!
It's more that your comment lacks clarity, and has vague suggestions, so is hard to follow, to see what your point is, or what is the information you wish to share.
The dramatisation of the comment is exampled by emotive language and sentences like: "!!Trigger Warnings from this point on!!".
"The normalization of violence against trans Tongans"…"but it's only two and a half minutes in full and gives other examples of the evangelical gender essentialists in action, so well worth the watch"
Implies that the act of violence you prefaced with, is an example of evangelical gender essentialists in action. Equating "gender essentialists" with that murder.
There is no evidence that you have provided that believing in the material reality of biological sex gave impetus to that murder.
"While I do regard Gender Criticals as being essentially Gender Essentialists, was this ever Not About You!"
Which was my point.
Very sad that Poli was murdered as he sounds like a great guy who was well liked and must respected for his work.
I am a little confused about the point of your story though. It sounds like Poli was gay? Not Trans? His murder happened when a young guy from. a broken home, who was a meth addict and had been sniffing Benzene, violently attacked Poli. The murdered alleges that Poli made advances to him, which the judge did not believe. Whether or not it was the case, the situation never justifies a sustained attack that lead to murder., but it sounds to me like the murderer lost the plot due to substance abuse.
I understand your mixed feelings that the young man didn't get the death penalty. It sounds like this was because it was a first offence, his background and his family paying reparations. But shocking the injuries he inflicted on Poli.
My understanding is that the murder rate for trans gender people in NZ is lower than ci people. The last Trans person to be murdered was in 2010 in Upper Hutt. The victim was beated to death afterr a drug deal when wrong. Murder is shocking
I don't wish violence on anyone.
How on earth could the judge determine advances were not made?
Perhaps the murderer lost the plot due to constant abuse by the victim.
"Very sad that Poli was murdered as he sounds like a great guy who was well liked and must respected for his work." This can be applied to many sexual abuses.
Perhaps the murderer lost the plot due to constant abuse by the victim.
I don't know anything; could be completely wrong, I appal violence in all its forms, including state sanctioned murder.
The dude spent over a quarter of an hour beating someone to death.
Brigid
So much ew, from your comment! You freely state you don't know anything, yet leap to the conclusion that Poli was a serial abuser (because they were LGBTQ+ advocate?).
The judge dismissed that unsubstantiated notion because this was Poli! If there is one person in Tonga who could have had their pick of consensual lovers it was him. Angry meth-heads aren't as attractive as they think they are. Even if the voices in his head convinced the murderer that they were being hit on, this was a grotesquely disproportionate response!
The gossip is that ISFT was at a party of a cousin of Poli's and was going to drive to get more booze, while already being intoxicated. Poli happening to be around, sober, and; being the socially conscious sort he was, offered to drive him there instead (more out of regard for road safety than any affection for ISFT who was reportedly every kind of asshole about it).
What happened after that is impossible to say for certain, but ISFT seemed to be a frequent watcher of Evangelical TV (when they could focus their eyes enough), with all the homophobia that brings. Poli would have to have a self destructive urge that was never observed by anyone previously to want to stick his dick in that amount of crazy!
"What happened after that is impossible to say for certain, but ISFT seemed to be a frequent watcher of Evangelical TV (when they could focus their eyes enough), with all the homophobia that brings. "
And a heavy drug user by all accounts, with high drug intoxication at the time of the murder.
How did you get from this account the information to add: "Gender Essentialists" – which is, as you say, your reframing of "Gender Critical" to Evangelists, instead of more accurately stating: "Drug-Abusing Evangelist"?
You’ve made “Gender Essentialists” the noun, and evangelical only an adjective. A surmise not supported by the information you have provided.
Genuine question, as have so far been unable to get a coherent answer, what does the Q and + stand for?
Were your other questions not genuine then Molly? Well at least that saves me the bother of addressing them when I could be spending time with whānau.
L for Lesbian
G for Gay
B for Bi
T for Trans
Q for Queer
+ for all the others omitted from this initialism, because it is already too long. Say; Intersex; NonBinary; Culturally embedded names that are difficult to render exactly into English eg; Leitis & Takatāpui.
I used to argue for Q+ as being briefer. And (already being a broad term) not giving primacy to the LGB&T people of this loosely aligned cluster of communities (some of) which act in solidarity with each other. But the thrice damned Qanon cult put an end to that notion.
(All my questions are genuine in that I ask in the hopes I get a well reasoned response, but that does not often occur. So, I use that phrase to indicate to others that I would like a genuine answer.
Which you gave, thank you. I’ll work on the wording.
Perhaps “If you are willing, will you give a genuine answer to this question?” but that sounds clunky. Genuine question – do you have a suggestion?)
What does Queer mean that isn't covered by L, G and B?
Why do you think a support movement for L, G and B would add to its acronym a term that has such negative connotations historically for them to represent a group that they are not part of?
Still no definition of Queer BTW.
As for the +, surely most of your examples fit under the ever expanding T. Isn't it a form of cultural segregation to make the T applicable to a particular culture and put all the others in a +?
Intersex is another example of appropriation that has real world impacts.
https://differently-normal.com/2021/10/25/the-invention-of-intersex/
"I used to argue for Q+ as being briefer. "
Might be briefer but a bit nonsensical in terms of providing support and assistance. Everyone has different challenges and needs.
LGB people are same-sex or both sex-attracted. It is their sexual orientation that categorises them.
TQ+ may or may not include LGB people, but are a a completely different category system. The changing focus of many original LGB organisations have actually eliminated LGB concerns or recognition from their work and activism. Many modern organisations don't even use the words same-sex attraction anymore. A very prominent one in the UK, has even likened same-sex attraction to sexual racism. So, to be honest the present LGBQT+ movement – for all intents and purposes just T activism, no matter how many letters and numbers are included. Latest iteration being 2SLGBTQ+.
Conflating all is like setting up a sporting organisation for rugby players, yachties, recreational knitters and calling it "Sportys".
Anker
Do you really think that the Mormons (not necessarily literal Church of LDS, more a common catch all term for Americanised Evangelists and their followers in te Moana Nui) care whether someone is gay or trans before judging them according to their own doctrine? Public whipping and 10years in prison is still the punishment (too rarely meted out for their preferences) for either crime. It was enough that Poli advocated for Leitis, it is irrelevant whether they were also; a trans man, eNBy, or had intimate relationships with Leitis, as well.
You quite evidently don't understand my mixed feelings, because I don't have them. I am unequivocally glad that the death penalty was not enacted. However some in the #justice forpoli circles are less sure of that, and I guess I have been accustomed to arguing against them in the past year to the extent that I do so preemptively nowadays.
It is actually quite hard to know the trans murder rate in Aotearoa. For one thing, until recently, most trans people have been misgendered on official documents and in court rooms. Often their families burn (or more rarely) bury them under names they have not used in years in spite of any wishes they may have expressed while yet living. I have been to too many memorials this past decade!
Take Zena Campbell for example – was she murdered in 2018? Not according to the courts, despite being strangled by her partner in an argument beforehand. But being a trans drug user with mental health issues the case didn't even reach trial.
Lots of trans people in NZ just disappear, but most weren't public figures so I am not going to mention any names here. Are they dead, overseas, starting over in another town – who can say? The police sure aren't (or haven't historically been) very interested in finding out.
But that is all ignoring all the far more common deaths by suicide. If your life is a constant stream of; abuse, abandonment, assault, and homelessness, then many make the arguably rational choice to end the misery. It is not for me, but I find it hard to condemn those who "take the easy way out".
Though they have taken their own lives, trans suicides have to my mind been murdered by a society that (even if it professes to not actually want them dead – because that might make them look bad, if nothing else) would really prefer that they didn't exist.
Fragility of mental health of people in the transgender community needs to be addressed. I believe it should be by professionals in the mental health and therapy professions that can explore the many different and diverse reasons an individual has for not being well.
An assumption that is is external society, is as harmful an assumption that it is not. Especially on an individual level, where many other factors come into play. Quality exploratory therapy would help here. Unfortunately, our Mental Health services are below par for all NZers in terms of access, and quality. Our high suicide rates are indicative of this failing.
Unfortunately, our Mental Health services are below par for all NZers in terms of access, and quality.
And the Herald, bless them, are on a mission to bring this to the fore…as if we needed to be told there was a crisis.
Our high suicide rates are indicative of this failing.
According to the above article,
The Royal College of GPs says about a third of doctors' visits are now related to mental health, while the number of calls to police for mental health problems, attempted suicides and suicides has risen – to an average of more than 200 recorded nationally every day in the past three months.
That needs to be said again…an average of more than 200 attempted suicides every day for the past three months. What the actual fuck?
How's the Wellbeing thing going Jacinda?
I have scanned a couple of the Herald articles in this series and have not read if any of these terribly sad and distressed people are trans, and if so it is because society that (even if it professes to not actually want them dead – because that might make them look bad, if nothing else) would really prefer that they didn't exist…that drove them to absolute despair.
Temp ORary might see this failure to focus on the mental distress of trans people as yet another example of society's rejection of that particular community's needs.
I'd like Temp ORary to to step back a little from trans issues and acknowledge there are a shitload of truly miserable people out here in the world and a suicidal person's gender fucking identity is most likely not the root cause of their despair.
Keep up the good work. 😉
Hey Rosemary. You too.
Thanks Temp. I wasn't able to open your 2 minute clip,so I was commenting on the link's about Poli's case you sent. If people in Tonga are being imprissoned for being Trans or gay, then that is 100% wrong and good for Poli for advocating about it. I hope they continue his work. Sad.
Zena Campbell was not the victim of murder, or so the judge thought having view the autopsy results. Her boyfriends case was dismissed.
Another reason why the Dept of Stats should be very careful about how it gathers it's imformation. We need good data around homicide and suicide. To date we don't have. The only research in NZ I trust is the Dunedin Multi disciplinary study. But I don't think they have released any info on this.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/crime/murder-charge-against-paddy-woods-dismissed/
The Dundedin multi-disiplinary study has some critiques worth looking at. Particularly on how they recorded their violence statistics.
Link to study findings – US Department of Justice pdf:
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/170018.pdf
Link to what I consider some valid criticisms:
https://fair.org/extra/not-all-domestic-violence-studies-are-created-equal/
Particularly in regards to the use of CTS. I'm repasting part of a comment I made on this in 2018:
Thanks Molly. Appreciate you posting
Temp Zena's boyfriend was arrested by the police and charged with her murder. The case got thrown out because of the findings of the autopsy as copied from the link I posted elsewhere on this thread.
Asphyxial signs were normally present after such a form of strangulation if it was prolonged enough to cause death, and Campbell did not show those signs, she said in her report.
Spark's post-mortem findings showed Campbell had methadone, oxazepam, Ritalin, alcohol and cannabis in her blood.
But you are free to disagree with the autopsy and the Judges decision to through this out of court.
A dangerous precedent alright!
This man needs to be extradited,otherwise it just signals NZ is a safe haven for people that do not want to defend themselves where alleged crimes are committed.
'Dangerous precedent': Kris Faafoi faces pressure from European, Australian politicians to stop extradition | Stuff.co.nz
Australia HUH
So they are going to stop 501s
Yeah right.
More like yet another example of our supreme court confirming our status as redneck backwater. Can you imagine the PC doing what our bunch of clowns at the SC have done? We're an international laughing stock.
I see there was a story on Stuff yesterday about a new bridge in the Manawatu. It was finished, ahead of schedule, early this year. However no one is allowed to use it because there is an agreement with the local Iwi to have a blessing, and an opening, in June. Meanwhile any vehicle that is larger than a small van has to take a long diversion that adds about 45 minutes to their trip.
Why can't we just let people use the bridge and have the official opening later. It certainly wouldn't be the first time that something sensible like that has been done. Then we could celebrate the fact that a piece of infrastructure was, miracle of miracles, finished ahead of the planned time.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/rnz/300570304/frustration-building-over-11m-new-bridge-sitting-idle
Your saying NZTA should break their agreement?
It isn't NZTA. Try reading the story.
Sorry, my bad.
Your saying Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency should break their agreement?
Nope. You still don't appear to have read it. Some quotes from the story.
"Manawatū councillors have said the Rangitīkei council is responsible for the bridge remaining unused because it entered an agreement with local iwi that an opening ceremony would be held in June, and no traffic could pass until then."
"But Rangitīkei mayor Andy Watson said the Manawatū council managed the contract and had advised it was working to a June opening date."
""The June date was always part of the agreement that they entered into with Rangitīkei District Council with regard to iwi."
Whether it was Manawatu or Rangitikei or both Councils who are responsible appears to be in dispute but nobody is blaming NZTA.
I wonder if there is any central government agency which could possibly settle the dispute about who is the lead iwi negotiator out of the Manawatu and Rangitikei councils. Probably will have an NZ in the name, its a bridge so probably a Transport in there now if only we had that last letter.
Its a conundrum, NZT_.
Now of course if this agreement could be found it would have to be one of the parties to this agreement. Oh well, too bad nobody could possibly find such a document. I guess it will just have to wait for the agreed date.
I'm really wary of taking this story as the full picture.
For example, here in Auckland we had local board members blaming the delay of a community facility on the lack of local iwi approval for the park. This was said without any qualification, and received the usual grumbling and muttering in the attendees.
I spoke to the local iwi representatives, a couple of weeks later. At that time, they had received no request from council or any of their representatives about the aforementioned park.
While the local board member was accurate in stating that approval had not been given – he was also deliberately omitting that fact that approval had not yet been sought.
Council agreed with iwi that pou would be erected before the bridge opened.
There's a few questions that arise from that article:
There's a few more, including allowing Ngāti Hauiti to have time to arrange huis, and discuss the change. We wouldn't approach a councillor on a new development and expect a decision before it has been discussed at council meetings, why expect a statement from Ngāti Hauiti unless we know that huis have been held, and a decision made.
Iwi are often consulted when it suits and accommodated when their perspective fits into the proposal without too much bother. It is when agreements are publicly brushed aside in such a way that you see how much power they actually hold.
Lets just settle this, shall we? Those who pay have first say. The end.
Sorry, what is getting settled?
Good on Putin. He has followed the advice that Republican Senator George Aiken once gave to Lyndon Johnson about the Vietnam War. Just say that you have won!
“Declare the United States the winner and begin de-escalation.”—Senator George Aiken (R-VT) offering advice to President Lyndon Johnson on October 19, 1966 on how to handle the politics of reducing the U.S. commitment in Vietnam.
I see the Putin is, very sensibly in my view, doing exactly that with respect to Mariupol.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/300570823/putin-claims-victory-in-battle-for-mariupol-wont-storm-steel-plant
Just a pity that Lyndon hadn't done the same thing. The war in Vietnam could have been about 9 years shorter.
Mission Accomplished
I'd forgotten that one by George W.
I wish Lyndon had tried it though. It would have saved me a lot of time getting involved in protests, and more importantly a hell of a lot of lives of the people involved on both sides of the war.
Putin (and Zelensky) clearly need to be given the Nobel Peace prize. That's the shortest way out as on awarding the Nobel Peace prize to Henry Kissinger (and Le Duc Tho) for a ceasefire in 1973 the Vietnam war ended in 1975.
I wonder which of them would play the Le Duc Tho role and decline the award?
Be a great idea though if it would persuade Putin to pull out of Ukraine wouldn't it? Surely we can find a New Zealand MP to nominate them. Or perhaps we could talk Lloyd Geering into doing it. He's apparently eligible to do so and at 104 ought to be the oldest nominator.
Here's a young Russian POW in Ukraine talking about how he got there. There's proof of who he is in his own you tube channel (linked in the link).
An enormous clusterfuck, that's all the attempt on Kiev was. There's no 4D chess going on, no special move going to surface. No mastermind, no master strategy. Putin's a fucking idiot and so is his fan club.
Certainly a costly CF.
What happens when the truth starts to dawn on these Russian people. Will they apologise for their stupidity or hang on to their brainwashed beliefs? The latter I suspect. They are no different to our own stupid people who disappear down rabbit -holes and refuse to accept reality.
I mourn just as much for those young Russian soldiers as I do the Ukrainians who are being needlessly killed to satisfy the desires of a bunch of power hungry psychopaths in the Kremlin.
And the power hungry psychopaths in the whitehouse dont you think
/
Who would believe these fantasys any more than we would believe russia's 'estimates ??
Thanks DB. All so sad for everyone, even the Mom.
Trucks rolling up on and loading up from appliance stores.
Had never even fired his weapon.
Training consisted of a long walk with body armor on.
Rounding up citizens and putting them in basements.
Looting personal apartments.
Poorly supplied (implies Ru thought it would simply take Kiev and resupply there).
No idea where he was, or why, or what he was doing.
Tank gets hit. Lays off to the side in shock listening to commanders screams till they stopped.
Asks for help. Is surprised he is not murdered, tortured, or his balls roast on a tanks grill. Gets fed, gets to phone mother. Was (unwitting, and seemingly witless) part of Bucha massacre.
Mother a blathering indoctrinated idiot.
They should get his DNA, he's also holding back.
I'm glad I wrote some of the content out before youtube blocked it.
Some legality around POW's? Social media, it's the algorithms dunnit, not us!
He also witnessed a commander saying he’d taught a wounded Ukrainian ‘to fly’ (tossed him out an eight story window).
In case we’re feeling sentimental for Pootie pie.
Does Poots have a fifth column problem?
Also five Russian enlistment offices have been set on fire (so far).
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/22/5-russian-enlistment-offices-hit-by-arson-attacks-reports-a77454
Have to say this looks like a massive own goal by the Government.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/04/attorney-general-david-parker-deems-rotorua-council-s-proposed-m-ori-ward-restructure-discriminatory.html
Tamati Coffey introduced The Rotorua District Council Representative Arrangements Bill. Restructuring RDC into non-proportional Maori wards (resulting in more Maori councillors than is proportionate to the general population).
National and Act have made hay, of course. However, there have been very significant left politicians and ex-politicians who have come out strongly against it (in the submissions process). And a public storm has been ignited (tens of thousands of submissions, I understand)
And, now David Parker, with his Attorney General's hat on – has said it's discriminatory under the Bill of Rights.
Regardless of the pros and cons – Labour really needed to have resolved this in-house, before the legislation was introduced. [Yes, I know that's what select committees are for – but for politically sensitive bills – they need to be run by the lawyers first….]
Finally, after 200+ years of colonisation, we hear these words. Long may it continue.
Given it's been effectively depth-charged by Parker – it's not likely to continue at all.
Today is Earth Day.
https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2022/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/300569445/earth-day-what-you-can-do-to-help-the-environment
Would be great if everyone, treated every day, as Earth Day.
I do.