Well spotted and thanks Donna. Maths needs contexts otherwise it is meaningless to learners. Kids should use maths in order to understand social problems but those who see maths as just 1+1= 2 are likely to turn out like Seymour. Sadly.
Anyone else think the free prescription subsidy was also a massive lifeline to local pharmacies struggling with the competition from the Chemist Warehouse?
The more I think about it, the more assinine Nicola Willis's kneejerk response to that bit of the budget was – locally owned small businesses feeling the pressure of an Aussie owned corporate ought to be the bread and butter of National's support base. It shows how far modern “cponservatism” has strayed toward culture war crony capitalism that she didn’t instinctively know how that comment might play in Ashburton.
For those who may be interested, this study in the journal Race and Class maps the incestuous nature of British 'anti-woke' ideologues, their think tanks, media vehicles and campaigns.
Finally, some real NZ data on reported assaults in public spaces like toilets, and in prisons by transgender women.
‘A recent long-form read by David Fisher in the NZ Herald (paywalled) talks in depth about “scaremongering” around bathrooms and changing rooms: “The arguments espoused most fervently come with the least evidence,” Fisher wrote.
Fisher cites police reporting, both here and overseas: 'Police here have no reported cases of women being assaulted in toilets or changing rooms by trans women. That matches with research done in the US after exclusionary bathroom laws were passed in some states. A 2018 study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found no evidence supporting fears of privacy and safety violations involving trans people.'
Similarly, there is no evidence of this risk in prisons: 'The Department of Corrections reports no sexual violence involving the 16 trans women who have served time since 2018. Violence, too, is low with two non-serious assaults recorded since July 2020 in which a trans woman was identified as the perpetrator. Over the same period, there were 324 assaults in total in women’s prisons.” ‘
The quote comes from a Spinoff article posted today.
Data – and quality data are not the same thing. Data regarding harm needs to be comprehensively and determinedly collected by objectively neutral researchers before you can come to conclusions. The statistics we do have that are robust relating to sexual assault – of all kinds, indicates a significant benefit to single-sex provisions.
As you appear to have absolutely no consideration for safeguarding, privacy dignity or consent in regards to women and girls in single-sex spaces, I make the following suggestion:
Leave those who see value in such spaces to them and join the men whom you want to share with in the men's provision.
The advantages of this are easily noted:
No continued conflation of sex and gender identity, which just confuses people.
Female facilities remain single-sex provisions, (albeit with the acknowledgement that females – such as you – who want to share with men, are doing so without everyone's consent and with no respect for male privacy and dignity)
This allows women – such as yourself – to practically and visibly show their support for men with gender identities – without imposing or assuming all other women and girls feel the same.
Men with gender identities – can now pee – which apparently was impossible without the presence of women – reducing the likelihood of urinary tract infections or bladder or bowel explosions.
One significant benefit – ANY discussion about transgression () over single-sex boundaries is redirected AWAY from the men with gender identities – whom you no doubt consider already persecuted – and towards yourself and all the other women who join you in the men's facilities. This allows you to protect them from further harm, by making you the transgressor.
(Note: This is a tongue-in-cheek suggestion… unless it solves the issue…)
The Spinoff article is the usual conflation of links and and confident assertions with poor quality basis for such.
Jennifer Shields has (fore)skin in the game, and the article shows this.
What is not apparent, is the demonstration of this wordsmith’s skills when making threats against women online. Now, I understand that without screenshots, you will be asked to make a choice on who is believable here, article writer – Jennifer Shields or Ani O'Brien – but that will depend on personal factors – so will just leave this here for you to consider:
And this happened in 2014-5, when Shields was 21, two years into hormonal transition, and perhaps a little vulnerable?; while O'Brien was a few years older. I wonder what O'Brien said or did that elicited Shield's insults? Just thinking of the context.
When you have a chance to put your "thinking" to paper, I'd be interested in hearing what "context" expressing the hope that someone is raped with a chainsaw is acceptable.
Also, in what "context" such an expression is labelled an insult, rather than a violent threat.
Toko Shane (Ashley) Winter is in Paremoremo prison where he belongs. However, "Pandora Electra" is in Springhill Women's prison, but as a person with convictions for violence (including a knife attack on his former partner and others) and what is described as "complex" needs, he will be under very close supervision.
"It shows that nearly 60% of trans-identified male prisoners in the UK are sex offenders, making them 3.5 times more likely to be sex offenders than men who don’t identify as women. It should surprise no one that they are also nearly 18 times more likely to be sex offenders than women in prison.
The first time this fact was brought to wider attention was with official United Kingdom Ministry of Justice statistics obtained in 2020. The data was submitted as evidence by Professor Rosa Freedman, Professor Kathleen Stock, and Professor Alice Sullivan to the Reform of the Gender Recognition Act inquiry."
And who asked why these men who have opened their mouths and uttered the magical incantation "I identify as" should have the "right" be imprisoned with some of the most vulnerable women in our society, many of whom (if not most of them), have suffered from male violence, and do not have the "right" to refuse to be housed with men.
Self ID means that any man – repeat any man, – who says he is a woman mysteriously becomes one. No diagnosis, no hormones, no surgery is required. He does not even have to shave off his beard.
This is a treadmill argument from you, Visubversa.
As I have discussed before, Stats NZ gives around 11,000 people identifying as transgender women in NZ. Ireland (similar population to ours), introduced a self-id law similar to ours in 2015. Around 100 transgender women a year actually use the self-id option, primarily for legal reasons like wills, etc. Many other countries round the world have self-id laws, like, eg. Brazil. I found this out from a 5 min internet search.
The transgender community already use most public spaces such as womens' toilets in NZ, and have been for decades. The article I cited gave at least a link to NZ data on transgender crimes associated with these spaces. The police do not identify a problem with self-id, or they would have made a submission when the self-id legislation came up. You cannot take away others' rights without hard facts.
Yes, the trans community did use public and private toilets that corresponded with their "gender identity" for decades, and still do. I I have been in the "Women's Rest Room" at the same time as Georgina Beyer at several Labour Party Conferences. We were both there to do the same thing, use the convenience, flush, wash our hands and depart. Trans people like Georgina are no problem to lesbians like me. Georgina and others of her generation were gay men at a time when sex between men was unlawful. They "transed away the Gay" but were still same sex attracted.
These days it is quite different. Even the term "same sex attracted" is called an "anti Trans dogwhistle". Many of the people claiming trans status of one sort or another are heterosexual.
Why assume the Department of Corrections is absolved from the responsibility of treating men with gender identities with humanity, dignity and respect while in the male prison estate? What right are you referring to?
In March 2018, Corrections introduced a policy for the management of transgender individuals, with a focus on being more responsive to them and their circumstances. Each transgender individual has a customised support plan and is able to choose the gender of staff who conduct searches. The provision of a support plan does not depend on whether the transgender individual has legal recognition of their gender identity, or whether they have undergone medical or surgical steps.
(Note: No mention of any assessments of the impact on the female prison estate or female prisoners.)
It reality comes down to throwing one's weight around.
Relatively recently, trans in NZ began to assert 'rights' as opposed to behaving in a manner that respected others.
As one youtuber commented:
"If a grown man wants to pretend to be a woman he has a perfect right. But if he wants someone else to pretend he's a woman, that person has a perfect right to refuse."
In pursuit of these non-existent rights they vilify and antagonize or assault anyone that dares to question their dodgy new orthodoxy.
I saw a man wearing a backpack and ordinary mens’ clothes assault a woman in video of that incident. A 20 year-old from Tauranga has been charged. Any evidence he was transgender?
He could have been upset for a family membe. Not an excuse, but don't forget Posie Parker has said some horrible things about trans people and their families.
Other people have been charged with assault in the same protest. Including an older man with neo-Nazi affiliation who repeated physically harassed a short woman marshall from the anti-PP counterprotest. The incidences of physical violence in the crowd were very few, and the police are prosecuting without bias, as they should.
This is difficult, because contemporary theories of gender identity sit poorly with little things like genetics. And, there are plenty of ordinary persons (especially journalists) that almost no-one respects anyway.
In time the matter may calm down, and result in accommodations akin to religious and single sex schools.
At present however, dissent is heretical – dangerous and forbidden.
Actually Stuart Munro, the violence happened because Posie Parker, a UK media personality, who has expressed violently anti-trans ideas, visited NZ to stage public events. Her funding came from CPAC, a right wing political group which with policies against LGB people, trans people and which is anti-abortion.
PParker has said trans women suffer from an abnormal sexual fixation that leads inevitably to pedophilia, thinks trans men should be forcibly sterilised, calls families who support their trans children 'groomers', and calls on US men with guns to use womens' toilets, in order to 'protect' womenfolk against a nonexistant threat from trans women (as validated by years of trans inclusionary toilet policies in 10 US states). All of these words of hers are documented, if not to be found on her website.
Violent words are not violent deeds, it is true, but they csn incite others to act. I don't think anyone in government was aware of the extent of Posie Parker's hate speech at the time she was allowed entry. As for the counter-protest, it was organised to be noisy but non-violent.
If some had heightened emotions in response to PParker at her event, well that's easy to understand given her anti-trans rhetoric. PParker was also seriously let down by the Mickey Mouse security firm she chose to hire at the last minute. Even more let down by that firm, and also let down by Posie, who appeared to abandon them, were the women who were to speak at her event.
PP's hate speech goes a long way beyond complaining, as you and others here do, that inclusionary language, increased social visibility and acceptance for the small group of trans NZers (around 24,000) somehow excludes or invalidates the other 5 million of us and our identities. Seems a disproportionate response to me.
I oppose PP's hate speech, and dislike the mush of disinformation around trans issues, which is why I post on this topic. Also, in examining the pros and cons of the trans debate recently, I have found that I value being part of an incusionary, not an exclusionary society.
Having week-on week-off custody of my child with their father from early on, I believe that parenting, not mothering or carrying a foetus, defines our relationship with our children in families. Not highly identifying with girlie-girl culture, I don't mind stretching the term 'woman' to include a few others. I know who I am, and am happy with my identity.
I don't perceive trans people as being more threatening than anyone else about their usual business on the street or in a public toilet. Neither do I believe that trans people should be saints – merely as human as the rest of us, with the usual numbers of bad apples and criminal offenders.
I also recognise that Posie Parker and anti-trans messaging comes from a well-funded international right-wing political movement, which is cunning in its use of social media.
Stop making excusing for the violence against women meeted out by the trans rights activists at Albert Park. This is frankly a disgusting thing to do.
I might have some little bit of respect if the tras and the likes of Marama Davidson who when asked failed to condemn the violence against women (when she is Minister of Violence Prevention) had outright condemned the violence metted out by the angry, threatening menacing mob.
We have fought for years to stop this bloody blame the victim of violence agaubst women. Shame on you.
The older man whoever he was should be investigated by the police and charged if found he has a crime to answer for.
The only older man I saw at Albert Park was an old geezer who was pushed and shoved. Not by the Let women Speak mob.
Other people have been charged with assault in the same protest. Including an older man with neo-Nazi affiliation who repeated physically harassed a short woman marshall from the anti-PP counterprotest.
Was this at the Auckland event? Or the Tasmanian one (I can't tell from the structure of your comment).
If it was the Auckland one, can you link – I've not seen this reported.
There is very little information over whether or not the 20-year old (apparently from Gisborne, not Tauranga) is or is not a man; or whether they self-ID as a woman, or as a man, or are an ally, or anything at all about their motivation.
The police statements, as far as I can see, appear to be gender neutral – and have shut down all further comment while the case is before the courts
Earlier, police said in a statement a 20-year-old had been charged over an "assault on an elderly female at the Albert Park protest" on March 25.
It's the press who have reported that this person is a man.
Actually Stuart Munro, the violence happened because Posie Parker, a UK media personality, who has expressed violently anti-trans ideas, visited NZ to stage public events.
Actually, the violence happened because a violent person chose to engage in violent actions against someone else.
For which, they have been arrested and charged in court.
There is no excuse.
It doesn't matter what PP might have said earlier (there was no chance that anyone heard what she might have said that day – so she can hardly have inflamed the crowd)
Anyone can choose to participate in a protest. Can chant slogans, and wave signs, and make their voice and perspective heard *without* feeling the need to haul off and hit someone.
Being at a protest is, by definition, an environment of heightened emotion. People don't go and protest because they feel mild disagreement with someone or something – they care passionately.
However, choosing to cross the line into violence is not something that most of our society finds an easily forgivably transgression.
If the counter-protest was designed to be non-violent, then the protest organizers failed miserably in their organization. And have continued the failure by choosing not to condemn the violence which occurred.
Personally, I disagree with much of what I've read from PP. I find some of her rhetoric distasteful, and …. unkind … to say the least.
However, I do *not* support the violent suppression of free speech.
If you disagree with something, by all means express your disagreement. Present your arguments. But do not try to silence your opposition.
The cancel culture has gone more than far enough.
Regardless of what you believe in this particular situation – it's a profoundly dangerous principle to be espousing.
There is plenty of evidence of the danger of trans women in women's spaces in both the UK and US. You must remember that a male bodied person being allowed into women's change rooms automatically makes two sexual offences legal: voyerism and exhibitionism.
But that is only part of the arguement. You people don't understand that most people don't support gender self ID (vote compass poll before the last election, link previously posted on her and I will re link if required).
You people miss a good part of the gender critical arguement. It is not only about a direct threat to women (i.e. our objection to male bodied people in our change room). We just don't want to have a male bodied person in our change room while we are in a state of undress (and we are certainly not wanting a male bodied person in a state of undress in our change room) End of story. And I certainly object to a male bodied person being in women's change room with girls and teen girls.
Any decent male bodied person would get this point of view and not try and insert themselves in women's spaces. It speaks volumes about the male bodied people (transwomen) who don't respect this.
How about those women who support transwomen (male bodied people) in women's change room start using the mens change room in support of trans women, thus turning the men's into unisex???? How would that work for you?
Gotta love those free trade rules! Sure, sure it's technically correct, but is UK and Oz honey what you think of when you think of Manuka? This is how France must feel seeing us produce brie and camembert.
But the Australian Manuka Honey Association has been appealing the effort in multiple markets – saying honey produced there can also be called mānuka.
and
In 2021 the UK rejected a bid by the Mānuka Honey Appellation Society to trademark the term 'manuka honey' in the UK.
Sorry Roy but when I think of Manuka honey I think of the bees having obtained their nectar from Manuka flowers and that is what happens in both Australia and New Zealand.
Provided you blood pressure is well under control I suggest you read this article. A warning though. It is not for the faint hearted. As it says
"The truth is, there are far more manuka trees in Australia than New Zealand. Australian manuka trees produce quality Australian Manuka Honey that is every bit as pure, natural, and beneficial to health."
You can’t equate it to Brie and Camembert as both are geographical locations in France. We might have had a case if we had named it “New Zealand Leptospermum Scoparium” honey or suchlike.
The alternative name to Manuka is Tea-tree, sometimes spelled Ti-tree.
Tea-tree oil is commonly used in soaps and cosmetics overseas and is one of the most effective natural remedies for head lice. Same here except we call it Manuka.
Splitting hairs here. But theoretically NZ producers can trademark the mācroned name, as, while there is a history of teetrees there being called manuka, the macron is local to Te Reo Māori and NZ.
Apparently, the NZ manuka honey producers association has successfully trademarked Unique Mānuka Factor UMF TM. Australian honey producers are free to market their own validated bioactive trademark. It just can't be UMF.
The reason why Aussie honey producers want in is because NZ honey exports increased from $97k to $480k from 2010 to 2021. Most of this increased value is due to NZ investment in bioactive quality validation and to brand marketing into the wellness food space.
You can't import Australian honey to NZ, so UMF is all you'll get. For disease reasons, imports of honey can only come into NZ from a few Pacific Islands.
That sounds like a very good idea. I'm not a lawyer though.
I guess the problem would be that no-one living outside New Zealand would realise there was a difference between the word with and without the macron. They would probably assume a bad printing job for the label.
At first glance the regional info is impressive…and the clear explanation of the various coalition formulae is useful..
And national are a political party in decline..
They have no idea of what to do to fix what we face..
Just the same old same old key era styling promises for big tax cuts for the richest..and chewing gum tax givebacks for the rest of us…
The words coming from them only demonstrate that bankruptcy of ideas..
Words/promises/imperatives from a byegone era…and it shows..!
And voters eyes then flick to the raving loons they would be in coalition with..
And aside from that small tranche of true believers who vote for them..the rest of us just shift uneasily in our seats at the very thought of it…
One valuable role that act plays is that they make the greens seem…to middle new zealanders…with an ill-defined but growing environmental awareness..like a safe pair of hands..
Whereas act froth at the mouth at the idea of cutting benefits..and the like..
Total bastards..basically..
(And if I could shoehorn in a prediction… should nact get over the line..the country will explode into direct action on matters environmental..and the like..)
But back to my original question..what is yr problem with horizon..?
I don't have a problem with Horizon – however, looking at the combined results of polls over the last 5 months – they have National weighted way lower than any of the rest. Every other poll since the last one they did in January (where they had National at 27%) – has had National between 32-35%. We then go back to their previous poll in October (National 26%) – but every other poll between October and January had National between 32-40%
Now that may be accurate – they may have a hotline to the 'truth' (who knows until we get to October) – but when there is an outlier result like that, I'm more inclined to view it with several grains of salt.
The only explanation in their methodology I can see is that they only poll people who are 100% likely to vote. So are likely to get higher representation from those who are party loyalists who have already made up their minds. The relatively high ACT total (in comparison to other polls) would support this interpretation.
FWIW – I think that the right and left are too close to call ATM – as they have been for the last year or so.
As the general election approaches, the Association of Former Members of the Parliament of New Zealand has organised an essay competition to to foster democracy. Secondary school students are being challenged to identify the important elements of a successful democracy, explain their value and consider whether they can be improved ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: For paying subscribers, here's my pick of the week’s top six news developments, quotes and charts of the week with my personal reflections, plus my suggestions for Sunday reading and listening. There’s also one fun thing. In summary this week, my six takeaways were:Christopher ...
With Open Arms: Is it at all reasonable to suppose that a colonial society in which whites traditionally occupied all the upper rungs of the ethnic hierarchy, and where the colonised were relegated to the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, will respond positively to a concerted indigenous push from below, ...
Hi,Just a quick online-only update that Webworm won “Best Team Investigation” last night at the Voyagers.This means a lot, especially considering we were up against giant newsrooms like Stuff and TVNZ:WINNER: David Farrier and Hayden Donnell | Webworm – The Downward Spiral of Arise ChurchJUDGES: Alan Sunderland and Ali Ikram“This ...
May 28, 2025.Ladies and gentlemen. It’s a beautiful clear morning here in Auckland City. We’re heading for a maximum temperature of 14 degrees, and the local time is now 10:30am. Please remain seated if you’d like to, or get up and walk around the plane if you prefer. New regulations ...
Somebody has made a new survey and it tells us this little waterlogged nation of ours is rocketing up the misery charts. Maybe they took it before the sun came back out.Or maybe they took it any time in the last two years. Because negativity is quite surely the new ...
The appointment of Elizabeth Longworth as Chair of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO was one of just two press statements on the government’s official website today. Perhaps that’s because ministers have been busy preparing speeches for the Labour Party faithful who have gathered in Wellington for the party’s ...
Alarm bells have been rung by the department after its Deputy Director-General for Operations warns, ‘the initial view shows that we do not have sufficient funding to cover our basic running costs’.Thomas Cranmer writes – Following last week’s budget, alarm bells have been rung by the Department ...
Luxon went after the NIMBY vote, declaring National’s 2021 bipartisan deal with Labour to make it much easier to put three townhouses on a regular section ‘wrong’. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: The week’s news in Aotearoa’s political economy I covered via The Kākā for subscribers included:The Labour ...
Hello! This is the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the week.Here’s what you may have missed.Last Sunday’s column was about the budget A big chunk of this year’s budget coverage was brought to us by the words crass, gauche and venal. The big questions ...
Hi,Usually Webworms are quite focussed — this one is the opposite. No rhyme or reason. A bit like my brain: sometimes ultra-focussed, other times utterly unable to settle on a goddamn thing. And as we head into the weekend, there are a bunch of things buzzing around in my head ...
The Mainstream Media, and especially the New Zealand Herald, regularly carry misinformed columns on the causes of the country’s low-grade economic performance over recent years. One old codger, John Gascoigne, who describes himself as “a Cambridge-based economic commentator” (not the university, alas!) correctly told us early this week that New ...
The Treasury released its budget economic forecasts. What do they say about the economy over the next four months?Let me begin me with an irritation. One post-budget headline was ‘Treasury optimistic over recession risk in Budget 2023'. Treasury being optimistic is almost an oxymoron. They fire down the centre.It is ...
1. Who most likely gave LOTO Luxon the idea to pull the rug on the urban density policy?a. A leading thinker on affordable housing b. A leading thinker on 15 minute cities c. A leading thinker on sustainable urban planning d. National-Party-supporting property developers2 . With what was this illustration made?a. Artificial inseminationb. ...
Buzz from the BeehivePoint of Order tallied $314.4 million of spending in the latest ministerial statements posted on the government’s official website. This includes a lump of money to – yes, really – help identify businesses in tourism and hospitality which treat their staffs well and to fund the ...
It’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour from midday (my apologies for the late start today), including:the Government’s payment of $130 million of Climate Emergency Fund money to NZ Steel to help it cut ...
National/ACT would have 62 seats in a 120 seat Parliament if the latest poll results were replicated in the October election, but micro-movements around the median and the size of Te Pāti Māori’s caucus will decide who governs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National/ACT could govern alone after October ...
Welcome to Friday – again! Hard to believe we’re almost in June. Here’s our latest roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. The Week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt covered the transport highlights from this year’s Budget. On Tuesday, Matt asked if the end is ...
What should one make of the Reserve Bank Governor’s extraordinary donation of a hostage to fortune in forecasting an end to interest rate hikes? Conspiracy theorists will be scratching their tinfoil hats and mumbling about positioning for a whacking great payoff on being forced out by a new government. ...
Shocking The Pakeha: An entirely forgivable impulse, some might say, given how easily so many Pakeha are shocked. Merely to suggest that Te Tiriti o Waitangi should be taken seriously is sufficient to set some Pakeha off. Others are shocked by the inclusion of more than a word or two ...
National will be buoyed, and Labour possibly slightly depressed after last night’s One News Kantar poll. National and ACT on 48 per cent with 62 seats between them, enough to form a Government. Meanwhile, Labour was down one per cent to 35, and the Greens dropped four per cent ...
It’s been an eventful week for the New Zealand economy. On one side, the Reserve Bank was seen as putting the brakes on the Official Cash Rate, with a 25 basis points increase heralded as good news for mortgage-holders. On another, NZ’s record current account deficit is seen as posing ...
Luxon told voters in Birkenhead yesterday that the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) that his deputy Nicola Willis shaped with Labour Housing Minister Megan Woods in 2021 were a mistake. File photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR:National Leader Christopher Luxon looks set to abandon within weeks the ...
I have already found four different reasons today to walk down into the village, enjoy the blue sky and belated Autumn sun and put off writing, again, about the leader of the opposition. But here it comes anyway, because this guy —this policy dimwit on issues ranging from universality to ...
Yesterday EECA launched its usual winter energy-saving campaign. Normally this is aimed at reducing energy usage, to reduce the risk of a blackout. If successful, it also reduces spot-market prices, so also reducing whining at the government from big corporate users. But this year, someone had the brilliant idea of ...
In the second episode of our podcast this year, Selwyn Manning and I discuss the stability and near-term future prospects for Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia. All is not well. ...
Yesterday marked the third anniversary of Sinead Boucher’s acquisition of Stuff but questions still remain unanswered about the media group’s governance structure and the identity of its backers.Thomas Cranmer writes – As the general election looms, the media will play an increasingly critical role in presenting ...
Buzz from the Beehive Budget 2023 continues to provide grist for the mills of ministerial spin doctors charged with drawing favourable attention to the government’s largesse. Goodies generated by Defence appropriations in budgets past are winning headlines today, too. Defence Minister Andrew Little has been enthusing about the arrival of ...
Yikes. If either Donald Trump or Florida governor Ron De Santis win next year’s presidential contest with Joe Biden, the commander-in-chief of the world’s greatest nuclear arsenal will be beholden to millions of voters who expect Armageddon to occur during their lifetimes. Unfortunately, the Republican Party is being led by ...
It’s been a hard season for New Zealand’s dairy farmers, on which the country’s export economy so heavily depends, but the big co-op Fonterra has delivered a cheering message to the cowsheds this week. The news on the payout for the season just ending may not be so cheerful, ...
This story by Katie Myers was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here. This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Spring fire season is a regular occurrence in the eastern U.S. It’s not nearly as dramatic as what’s seen ...
Back in March we learnt about the change in cost and timeline for the City Rail Link. An article in the Herald the other day brought the issue of the timeline back up again Auckland’s $5.5 billion City Rail Link (CRL) will not open until sometime in 2026 or later, ...
If I asked you what was likely to be on the news tonight what would you say?Something about the cost of living, could be. Or the war in the Ukraine, probably. A report of terrible weather on the way - yeah, that’s a good bet too. How about one on ...
Reserve Bank Governor and the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee yesterday ended up at odds with National’s Finance spokesperson, Nicola Willis, over whether the Budget was inflationary. Willis said it was. The exchange is looking like a significant test of Willis’s economic credibility. The MPS statement and the Governor’s media ...
A bit of googling was necessary to find out about Galatea School – Te Kura o Kuhawaea. Its website says it is a small rural school, opened in 1935 and nestled under the Te Urewera Ranges, opened in 1935, among lush green dairy farms and beside various forest plantations. It ...
On behalf of everyone at Zoo Miami, please accept our most sincere apology to the New Zealand National Party of New Zealand and the proud people of the LinkedIn tribe. It stunned us all to learn that Kiwi Chris the Robot Politician was in fact an actual person.This was not at ...
On behalf of everyone at Zoo Miami, please accept our most sincere apology to the New Zealand National Party of New Zealand and the proud people of the LinkedIn tribe. It stunned us all to learn that Kiwi Chris the Robot Politician was in fact an actual person.This was not at ...
Buzz from the Beehive Money was profusely flowing or generously being committed in a raft of ministerial announcements and speeches over the past 24 hours. If we tallied all the dollar signs in all the new press statements on the government’s official website, billions would be involved. But in some ...
A much better alternative than cash in consumers’ pockets would be emissions-reducing vouchers or spending that effectively ‘buys’ even more emissions reductions through, for example, bigger discounts on public transport and electric bikes, solar panel installation vouchers and discounted energy-efficient appliances and lights. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / T… ...
Hi all,I’ve been getting lots of nice feedback about my newsletter from yesterday, Laughing with Donkeys. Which is nice, but feels a bit sad considering most people can only read the first part of it. I was particularly keen to share the end of Jacinda’s WHO speech as it summed ...
Hi,I’ve been on the phone to Miami all morning. After a bunch of emails overnight, I called Miami Zoo’s media department first thing, who told me I needed to talk to the mayor of Miami. Apparently “big” zoo business was dealt with by the mayor. So I called the City ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
We attended a funeral last night in the comfort of our own lounge. It was for Logan Roy who is, when the eulogies are all said and done, only an imaginary character. But then again, aren’t we all to some extent imaginary characters?Such eulogies they were. Only the Succession subtitles ...
Paul Krugman's column today talks about the economics of increased working from home. The primary benefit? People don't have to waste a huge portion of their lives commuting. And while this is difficult to quantify, the impact is huge: it’s not hard to make the case that the overall ...
The Parliament Protests and the Posie Parker Rally have exposed the extent to which the Police frontline is under-resourced and under-funded.Thomas Cranmer writes – Soaring levels of crime and high profile protests at Parliament and the Posie Parker rally have made policing a political hot topic ...
Buzz from the Beehive It was tempting – for a moment – to suggest Rachel Brooking become an Associate Minister of Finance to keep Grant Robertson on the straight and narrow. The temptation was triggered by Brooking’s speech (as Associate Minister for the Environment) to the WasteMINZ conference in Hamilton, ...
If net migration keeps pounding along at a rate of over 100,000 per year the implications for the economy, residential land prices, interest rates and Government borrowing will be profound. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Stronger-than-forecast net migration and population growth looks set to make Labour’s last Budget before ...
Chris Hipkins is blazing his way through New Zealand’s foreign policy. The New Zealand Prime Minister’s fast-but-furious visit to Papua New Guinea this week – which saw Hipkins spend just 23 hours in Port Moresby, the PNG capital – was the PM’s fourth such rapid international trip since he took ...
It sometimes occurs to me. When I’m thinking what to write about. That I spend an awful lot of time reading about idiotic things that idiots have said.The radio, the news, social media. You look at the content coming out and it makes you remember not to swim at a ...
Thirty-six years ago, almost to the day, after he launched Fiji’s first military coup in 1987, the now-elected Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, yesterday awarded the Prime Minister of India Fiji’s highest honour. That 1987 coup was targeted against a Labour government which contained Indian Ministers and led to fears ...
It has been a while since I last did a write up of my D&D shenanigans. Part of it has been motivation, part of it has been that the more interesting stuff has been in the form of one-shots, rather than long campaigns. I actually DMed a three session ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). The Last of Us tells the story of a fungal zombie apocalypse... triggered by climate change. So could this kind of ...
‘No one cares’: 25-year-old with extensive family cancer history can’t access genetic testing That’s the headline on a Stuff report which alerted the public to the experiences of a woman who was pregnant with her first baby when she found out she was likely to be at higher risk of ...
A short list of some of the fastest things in the world:Cat versus snakeUsain BoltPeople who claim to support climate action, coming up with their objection to any goddam specific action whatsoeverYesterday was a good day — a very good day — in the short history of decarbonising ourselves.We were told ...
A few decades ago I wrote an essay about the impact of state terror on Argentine society. One of my points was that terrorism was used by the military dictatorship known as the “Proceso” not because it was particularly effective … Continue reading → ...
Buzz from the BeehivePoint of Order looked again on the government’s official website for statements from Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods about two energy-related bills that were rushed into law last week. We can’t say she has been silent, because she had lots to say in parliament ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on the declaration of inconsistency on the voting age. Sadly, the recommendations won't surprise anybody: the Labour-majority committee recommended that Parliament immediately lower the voting age for local government, and that it "investigate" lowering it for general elections (while remembering to fix a bunch ...
A conversation between a minister and advisor.Brian Easton writes – Come in, Sit down. Thank you Minister. We have to deal with the current crisis. You know what a crisis is? No, actually I don’t, Minister. I looked it up in a dictionary. None of its ...
“Our sympathy for the poor and disadvantaged is this big.”At need, New Zealanders will use their vote as a shield. From preference, they will use it as a tool. But, increasingly, they are refusing to use it as a weapon. Labour grasps the need to “be kind”. Until National does ...
Goodness gracious: The National Party has come out against corporate welfare! Or at least it is dead against the government’s $140 million subsidy deal with New Zealand Steel. The deal will enable the installation of a new electric arc furnace, will reduce the company’s reliance on coal, and will mark ...
As predicted in 1967 by Manabe and Wetherald, the stratosphere has been cooling. A new paper by Ben Santer and colleagues has appeared in PNAS where they extend their previous work on the detection and attribution of anthropogenic climate change to include the upper stratosphere, using observations from the ...
After the PM donned NZ Steel-branded hi-vis and announced funding towards a new electric arc furnace, National has accused the Government of paying ‘corporate welfare’ to NZ Steel’s ASX-listed Australian owner, BlueScope Steel. But has Luxon just fallen (again) into a trap set by Labour? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
Last week the government released their latest budget. By in large it seems to have been fairly well received and one thing that strikes me about it is there was not one large headline grabbing initiative but lots of little ones that added up. It’s a shame the government can’t ...
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So Brexiteers who have been banging on about European over-regulation for years will be delighted at the Damascene call from France’s President Macron for a “European regulatory pause” – particularly it seems for green regulation. Sounding like someone else, he ...
The sheer arrogance of the assumptions that went flying out, the insolence of the ignorance of it all, it’s sometimes breathtaking, at other times so sadly, infuriatinglypredictable. Like the sun coming up, one can almost set your watch to it. But not only was the reaction from ...
The National Party has released another confused and rushed policy that will only further worsen the inequality that is driven by unaffordable housing. ...
Welcome to sunny and calm Wellington, which I know those of you who are visiting would of course expect to be the case. It’s been a busy week since we put forward the 2023 Budget. Labour MPs have been out across the motu giving the good oil on the Budget. ...
Kia orana, Talofa lava, Mālo e lelei, Taloha ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Noa’ia e mauri, Ni sa bula vinaka, Kia ora, Tena Koutou Katoa. Labour Party President Jill Day, Prime Minister Hipkins, Party faithful, delegates and comrades, whānau and friends, it’s a privilege to be here today. I begin my ...
One of my kaumātua up North stood before the Waitangi Tribunal and said: ‘He aha kē ahau, te tangata kore hara i mua i te Atua, e tu nei kia whakawaatia e koe, te tangata tāhae, te tangata hara, te tangata kore tikanga?Ko koe kē te tika, kia tū ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take responsibility for reducing inflation by taxing wealth instead of leaving RBNZ to continue hiking the Official Cash Rate. ...
The Green Party has released its list of candidates for the 2023 election. With a mix of familiar faces, fresh new talent, and strong tangata whenua voices, this exceptional group of candidates are ready to set the direction of the next Government. ...
Thank you for your invitation to be here, after yesterday's budget, and for the opportunity to talk with you. In the economic and social turmoil following the arrival of COVID 19 in New Zealand many concerns emerged. How would we keep our economy going and maintain our exports which are ...
At the heart of Budget 2023 is a cost of living package, designed to ease the pressure on New Zealanders in the face of global inflation and the challenges of rebuilding from extreme weather events. It provides practical cost of living relief across some of the core expenses facing Kiwis ...
A long standing Green Party policy has been extended yet again in this year’s Budget. This will deliver warmer homes for thousands of people, lower power bills, and cut climate pollution. ...
The Green Party is fully on board with free bus and train travel for under 12s and half price travel for under 25s - next stop, free travel for all under 18s, students, and apprentices. ...
The Green Party welcomes today’s release of the report of the Ministerial Inquiry into slash and sediment, and are clear that the forestry industry must foot more of the bill. ...
When Chris Hipkins appeared on the BBC’sSunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he described himself as a “technical republican”. At least it was clearer than when he stumbled over what a woman is. In theblue corner, the other “Chris” said, “New Zealand will become a republic, eventually.” Of course, they both supported ...
May is significant in the New Zealand parliamentary calendar, given the Minister of Finance delivers the Budget - a whopping $128 billion last year, over a third of our GDP. This year Grant Robertson is riding a unicycle on a tightrope. The sugar rush is over but will he still ...
‘Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive’ It’s now revealed that Meka Whaitiri consulted with the Speaker before her resignation announcement and sought guidance on the process. So the Speaker knew before Meka sent the letter to him of her intent to defect to ...
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor joined ministerial representatives at a meeting in Detroit, USA today to announce substantial conclusion of negotiations of a new regional supply chains agreement among 14 Indo-Pacific countries. The Supply Chains agreement is one of four pillars being negotiated within the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework ...
Our most spoken Pacific language is taking centre stage this week with Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa – Samoa Language Week kicking off around the country. “Understanding and using the Samoan language across our nation is vital to its survival,” Barbara Edmonds said. “The Samoan population in New Zealand are ...
Over 90 per cent of New Zealanders are expected to receive this year’s nationwide test of the Emergency Mobile Alert system tonight between 6-7pm. “Emergency Mobile Alert is a tool that can alert people when their life, health, or property, is in danger,” Kieran McAnulty said. “The annual nationwide test ...
ENGLISH: Whakatōhea and the Crown sign Deed of Settlement A Deed of Settlement has been signed between Whakatōhea and the Crown, 183 years to the day since Whakatōhea rangatira signed the Treaty of Waitangi, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little has announced. Whakatōhea is an iwi based in ...
Elizabeth Longworth has been appointed as the Chair of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Associate Minister of Education Jo Luxton announced today. UNESCO is the United Nations agency responsible for promoting cooperative action among member states in the areas of education, science, culture, social science (including peace and ...
Tourism and hospitality employer accreditation scheme to recognise quality employers Better education and career opportunities in tourism Cultural competency to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces Innovation and technology acceleration to drive satisfying, skilled jobs Strengthening our tourism workers and supporting them into good career pathways, pay and working conditions ...
Tourism and hospitality employer accreditation scheme to recognise quality employers Better education and career opportunities in tourism Cultural competency to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces Innovation and technology acceleration to drive satisfying, skilled jobs Strengthening our tourism workers and supporting them into good career pathways, pay and working conditions ...
Greater access to primary care, including 193 more front line clinical staff More hauora services and increased mental health support Boost for maternity and early years programmes Funding for cancers, HIV and longer term conditions Greater access to primary care, improved maternity care and mental health support are ...
Greater access to primary care, including 193 more front line clinical staff More hauora services and increased mental health support Boost for maternity and early years programmes Funding for cancers, HIV and longer term conditions Greater access to primary care, improved maternity care and mental health support are ...
The Government continues progress on the survivor-led independent redress system for historic abuse in care, with the announcement of the design and advisory group members today. “The main recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Abuse in Care interim redress report was for a survivor-led independent redress system, and the ...
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall has opened two new state-of-the-art mental health facilities at the Christchurch Hillmorton Hospital campus, as the Government ramps up its efforts to build a modern fit for purpose mental health system. The buildings, costing $81.8 million, are one of 16 capital projects the Government has funded ...
The Government is continuing to invest in our regional economies by announcing another $24 million worth of investment into ten diverse projects, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan says. “Our regions are the backbone of our economy and today’s announcement continues to build on the Government’s investment to boost regional economic ...
An $8 million boost to New Zealand Māori Tourism will help operators insulate themselves for the future. Spread over the next four years, the investment acknowledges the on-going challenges faced by the industry and the significant contribution Māori make to tourism in Aotearoa. It builds on the $15 million invested ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the first 18 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles for the New Zealand Army, alongside personnel at Trentham Military Camp today. “The arrival of the Bushmaster fleet represents a significant uplift in capability and protection for defence force personnel, and a milestone in ...
Aotearoa New Zealand is providing NZ$3.5 million to help meet urgent humanitarian needs in Sudan, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The severe fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has had devastating impacts for civilians. At least 705 people have been killed and 5,287 injured. ...
Repairing a Hawke’s Bay organic composting facility devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle is among the latest waste reduction projects getting Government backing, Associate Environment Minister Rachel Brooking announced today. “Helping communities get back on their feet after the devastating weather that hit the northern parts of the country this year is ...
About 6,100 more GP, community nurses and kaiāwhina will be eligible for pay rises of 8% on average to reduce pay disparities with nurses in hospitals, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. The top up comes from a $200 million fund established to remove pay disparities between nurses ...
New Jobs and Skills Hub to begin construction in Hawke’s Bay The Hub will support the building of $1.1billion worth of homes in the region and support Cyclone Gabrielle rebuild and recovery. Over 2,200 people have been supported into industry specific employment, apprenticeships and training, by these Hubs across NZ ...
Tēnā koutou e nga maata waka. Kia koutou te mana whenua tēnā koutou Ngā mate huhua o te waa, haere, haere, haere atu ra. Hoki mai kia tātou te kanohi ora e tau nei, Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. Tēnā koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te ...
The Government has launched a new tool to help small business owner-operators manage and improve their mental wellbeing, Small Business Minister Ginny Andersen announced today. The Brave in Business e-Learning series is another tool the Government has delivered to support small businesses with their mental health and wellbeing. “A pandemic, ...
Minister for Racing Kieran McAnulty has announced the approval of a 25-year partnership between TAB NZ and UK betting company Entain that delivers at least $900 million in guaranteed funding for the racing industry over the next five years. Entain, a UK based group that operates multiple sports betting providers ...
The Government has delivered the first of three significant water security projects in Northland, boosting regional business and climate resilience, with the opening of Matawii reservoir today, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan announced. A $68 million Government investment supported the construction of the reservoir, along with two other water storage ...
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor will travel to Detroit tomorrow to represent New Zealand at the annual APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting from 24 – 29 May. Whilst in Detroit, Damien O’Connor will also host a meeting of Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Ministers ...
I want to start by thanking Ngāi Tahu and the Murihiku Regeneration Collective for hosting us here today. Back at the Science and Innovation Wananga in 2021, I said that a just transition in New Zealand must ensure Iwi are at the table. This is just as true now as ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced the appointment of diplomat Dr James Waite as Aotearoa New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Mongolia. He is currently the Deputy Head of Mission at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing, a role he will continue to hold. “New Zealand and Mongolia share a warm and ...
Biggest-ever investment in property with more money for new sites and modernisation Roll-out of learning support coordination in kaupapa Māori and Māori Medium Schooling Boost in funding for iwi and schools to work together on Local Histories content Substantial support for Māori Education has continued in Budget 2023, including ...
Applications for the next round of Creatives in Schools will open on Friday 16 June 2023, Minister of Education Jan Tinetti and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni announced today during a visit at Te Wharekura o Mauao in Tauranga. “The Creatives in Schools programme funds schools and ...
Tena koutou katoa and thank you all for being here and welcoming me to your annual conference. I want to acknowledge being here in Tainui’s rohe, and the mana of Kingi Tuheitia. I hate waste. So much so that when we built our home in Dunedin, I banned the use ...
Southland’s Just Transition is getting a further boost to help future-proof the region and build its economic resilience, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods announced today. “This Government is committed to supporting Southland’s just transition and reducing the region’s reliance on the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter at Tiwai Point,” Megan ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has concluded a series of successful international meetings with Pacific region leaders in Papua New Guinea. Prime Minister Hipkins secured constructive bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, PNG Prime Minister James Marape, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and United States Secretary of ...
On Friday 19th May, Minister Tinetti facilitated a meeting between NZEI and PPTA with the Ministry of Education to discuss options for finding a way forward in the current stalled collective bargaining. The meeting was constructive, and the parties shared a willingness to work towards a solution. The following was ...
Eighty-nine households will soon benefit from secure, renewable, and more affordable energy as five community-level energy projects are about to get underway, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods announced today. Five solar projects – in Whangārei, Tauranga, Palmerston North and Christchurch – are the first to receive funding from the ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed New Zealand will provide NZ$15 million in emergency budget support for Cook Islands in its ongoing recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. New Zealand’s support was confirmed during a meeting with the Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown in Papua New Guinea today. “New ...
The Government’s continued recognition of and support for the important place Kapa Haka has in Aotearoa was evident today at a celebration at Te Wharekura o Kirikiriroa Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Willow-Jean Prime said. “Our investment of $34 million over two years ensures that this kaupapa is ...
The Government is partnering with New Zealand Steel to deliver New Zealand’s largest emissions reduction project to date, with half of the coal being used at Glenbrook steel to be replaced with electricity to recycle scrap steel. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins made the announcement alongside Energy and Resources Minister Megan ...
The Government has welcomed the Stage One Waitangi Tribunal Wai 2750 – Housing and Housing Services Kaupapa Inquiry report into homelessness released today. Minister of Housing Hon Megan Woods and Associate Minister of Housing (Māori) Hon Willie Jackson as Co-Leads for the government, with Associate Minister of Housing (homelessness) Hon ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed his upcoming visit to Papua New Guinea. The Prime Minister travels to Port Moresby on Sunday May 21, and will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown. He has also been invited ...
A Bill requiring facts about the fairness and efficiency of New Zealand’s tax system to be reported and published annually has been tabled in Parliament today. Revenue Minister David Parker said the Taxation Principles Reporting Bill would ensure that tax information is reported against a set of fundamental tax principles. ...
NZ joins global effort to ensure multinationals pay a minimum rate of tax Tax on ACC, MSD lump sum payments changed to reduce amounts owing for some KiwiSaver topups for child carers taking paid parental leave Implementing changes to trustee tax and tax relief for flood-hit businesses Several measures ...
Successful ‘circuit breaker’ pilot targeting repeat child offenders to be expanded to Hamilton, Christchurch and Auckland City Funding to maintain Police to population ratio achieved after 1800 extra Police officers added Creation of NZ’s first comprehensive digital Firearms Registry Modernising frontline police processes to free up time for officers Budget ...
His cafe Tom’s is one of the small gems of Ōtautahi’s breakfast scene. Now owner-operator Tom Worthington has a second cafe – just a few doors down from the first. He talks to Charlotte Muru-Lanning about opening Estelle, and the overwhelming importance of a good bun. This is an excerpt ...
As New Zealand Music months comes to an end, we look back at some of the most memorable collaborations between (or involving) local artists. Aotearoa has a long and proud tradition of mucking in, lending a hand and sharing the bloody load. Given that the theme for NZ Music Month ...
Auckland Council's proposed budget cuts might look okay on paper, but when the weeds start taking over and the council fails to meet its own emissions targets, we’ll be left with an even bigger – and costlier – mess to clean up. Carl Morgan explains why the council and volunteers need to ...
Poets Ruby Solly (Kāi Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe) and Arihia Latham (Kāi Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe) talk about their new collections of poetry, and the many resonances between them. ‘Hineahuone’ from Birdspeak by Arihia LathamMy legs are swamp mairesodden weightship sockets wide like the pae maungaon ...
Teenage memories so often populate one place. For Sharon Lam, it was the original bus exchange on the corner of Colombo and Lichfield Street.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by MK Templer. Once upon a time, before earthquakes and ...
Asia Pacific Report Free Papua Organisation (OPM) leader Jeffrey Bomanak has appealed for Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape to become a “neutral intermediary” to negotiate between the Indonesian government and the West Papuan rebels holding a New Zealand pilot hostage for his release. He has called in a ...
The annual awards for news journalism see Newsroom win three titles and the NZ Herald win website of the year for the fourth time in a row Newsroom has won another three national media awards at the annual Voyager dinner in Auckland – including best crime and justice reporting for ...
By Rayssa Almeida, RNZ News reporter New Zealand’s Māori Party co-leader says the opposition National Party should go back to school if it thinks including te reo Māori on road signs is confusing. In a transport meeting yesterday in Bay of Plenty, National’s spokesperson Simeon Brown said introducing the language ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author-poet and advocate for West Papuan independence has condemned a reported threat against the life of a New Zealand hostage pilot, Philip Mehrtens, held by Papuan liberation fighters and appealed to them to “keep Philip safe”. Jim Aubrey, a human rights activist who has campaigned ...
Hapu of Te Whakatohea opposed to the New Zealand government's Treaty of Waitangi settlement deal for their Raupatu - invasion and land confiscation - claims and the cutting off of their historic Treaty of Waitangi claims in the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Labour kept up its attacks on the Opposition's proposed tax cuts but fumbled its own number-crunching at a party congress, Marc Daalder reportsAnalysis: Going on the attack is a new strategy for a Labour Party with fresh leadership. Jacinda Ardern promised "relentless positivity" after her election victory in 2020 and ...
Welcome to sunny and calm Wellington, which I know those of you who are visiting would of course expect to be the case. It’s been a busy week since we put forward the 2023 Budget. Labour MPs have been out across the motu giving the good oil on ...
Introduction Kia orana, Talofa lava, Mālo e lelei, Taloha ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Noa’ia e mauri, Ni sa bula vinaka, Kia ora, Tena Koutou Katoa. Labour Party President Jill Day, Prime Minister Hipkins, Party faithful, delegates and comrades, whānau ...
One of my kaumātua up North stood before the Waitangi Tribunal and said: ‘He aha kē ahau, te tangata kore hara i mua i te Atua, e tu nei kia whakawaatia e koe, te tangata tāhae, te tangata hara, te tangata kore tikanga? Ko koe kē te tika, ...
Cathy Fan started baking to heal herself. Now, her designer cheesecakes and cookies are in demand all over Auckland – and beyond. On a recent Wednesday, Cathy Fan caused a bit of a scene. The part-time baker was setting up her stall at Britomart’s regular food truck lunch event when ...
Cathy Fan started baking to heal herself. Now, her designer cheesecakes and cookies are in demand all over Auckland – and beyond. On a recent Wednesday, Cathy Fan caused a bit of a scene. The part-time baker was setting up her stall at Britomart’s regular food truck lunch event when ...
Beyond that bland bag of supermarket bhuja, an exciting new snacking world awaits. In 2002 when we moved to Auckland, my mum’s favourite shop was the lonely old Moshim’s Indian store near Pakuranga Plaza out east. It was the only place that sold the spices and ingredients she needed to ...
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is rubbing shoulders this weekend with mayors from cities like New Orleans, Santiago and Mombasa at the World Climate Industry Expo in Busan Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has touched down in Busan, South Korea on an independently-funded trip to participate in the World Climate Industry Expo. ...
Today we start the Pinnacle Series. A weekly showcase of future leaders and inspirational young New Zealanders from the Hyundai Pinnacle Programme who are forging ahead in their chosen fields. First up, Kirsten Fisher-Marsters has her sights set on championing the next generation of promising young athletes. July 23, 2021, is ...
He helped get them fit enough to be world champions, now Craig Twentyman is relishing the next phase for rugby's Black Ferns The Black Ferns World Cup win last year was as much a rugby miracle as it was a fitness miracle. Meet Craig Twentyman - the Kiwi strength and ...
The kitchen has become associated with routine and ritual, of domestic practices and gendered activities, but it is also the site of a gradual shift toward the ‘democratisation’ of domesticityOpinion: Looking back over the past few years, the pandemic called into question many things about the way we live. ...
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we looked at why we've never nailed down a free trade agreement with India, the looming threat of another "twindemic" of winter illness, what "greedflation" is and whether it can be blamed for the soaring cost of living, the ...
SXMPRA and Lilbubblegum aren’t household names yet – but their streaming numbers prove they’re already in the big leagues. Kalem Tarrant is feeling a little dusty. He’s sitting outside a Symonds Street burger joint at a Monday lunchtime with Luke Winther, whose dark sunglasses indicate he’s feeling the same way. ...
The first AI-generated political attack ads arrived this week. Duncan Greive assesses the disturbing contents.The first political scandal of the generative AI era in New Zealand politics could not have fit our country’s bumpkin brand better. 1News’ Justin Hu had the terrific scoop earlier this week, heading to the ...
This is The Detail's Long Read - one in-depth story read by us every weekend. This week, it's Talofa and Ni Hao by Ollie Neas, published in North & South's February issue. You can read the full article, with accompanying photos, here. In Samoa, there are mixed feelings about Chinese influence and the nation’s ...
A scorched Earth, and an Ivan Rogers photo essay The sand, the colour of a sun tan, caused a cancer called thirst. Curable by water – if you could lay hands and mouths on the wet stuff over which the human race was to enter a ferocious war in ...
Cheaper Childcare: 20 hours free ECE expanded to include two-year-olds Helping with Health Costs : $5 prescription co-payment scrapped Targeting Transport: Free public transport for under-13s, half priced for under-25s Reducing Power Bills: 100,000 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Changlong Wang, Research fellow, Monash University Shutterstock The race to net zero is accelerating. Just last week, United States President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled a climate pact to boost cooperation. The move signifies Australia is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter McNeil, Distinguished Professor of Design History, UTS, University of Technology Sydney Top Dog factory for men’s hats, Surry Hills, 1941State Library of New South Wales Sydney has awoken to the smouldering ruins of its largest city fire in 55 years. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis B. Desmond, Lecturer, Cyberintelligence and Cybercrime Investigations, University of the Sunshine Coast Dennis Desmond, Author provided This week the Five Eyes alliance – an intelligence alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and the United States – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Lullfitz, Research Associate, The University of Western Australia Alison Lullfitz, Author provided Noongar Country of southwestern Australia is home to the world’s largest parasitic plant, a mighty mistletoe that blooms every December. That’s why it’s commonly known as WA’s ...
Analysis - The Reserve Bank's surprisingly benign response to the Budget robs National of a strong attack line and the NZ Steel deal is hailed as a win for the climate, but opposition parties say its "corporate welfare". ...
I’m gradually becoming more and more convinced this year’s Barbie film from Greta Gerwig is going to be the best movie of 2023. Or the worst, but in a way that it is still great. For now, you should absolutely watch this new trailer which also serves as a promo ...
As the general election approaches, secondary school students are being challenged to the ‘run the ruler’ over New Zealand’s democracy. An essay competition launched today calls on secondary school students to identify the important elements of a ...
By Rachael Nath, RNZ Pacific journalist In a significant step toward preserving and commemorating Fiji’s rich history, efforts are underway to establish the country’s first living museum. This unique institution will focus on capturing the era of the British colonial government’s indentured system in Fiji, shedding light on the arrival ...
Guy Montgomery, Maria Williams, Guy Williams and more shows from the second half of the festival, reviewed.Abby Howells: La SoupcoOh the joy of seeing someone as weird as you just be happily weird in public. Off the top: I loved La Soupco. Having known little about Howells beyond ...
Guy Montgomery, Maria Williams, Guy Williams and more shows from the second half of the festival, reviewed.Abby Howells: La SoupcoOh the joy of seeing someone as weird as you just be happily weird in public. Off the top: I loved La Soupco. Having known little about Howells beyond ...
Auckland’s Sky Tower will soon have a new bar – situated on the 50th floor. That’s just below the observation deck and the Orbit restaurant. A press release revealed the new Skybar, which will be the country’s “highest bar”, will be launching on June 23, in partnership with champagne producers Moët ...
Auckland’s Sky Tower will soon have a new bar – situated on the 50th floor. That’s just below the observation deck and the Orbit restaurant. A press release revealed the new Skybar will be launching on June 23, in partnership with champagne producers Moët and Chandon. “We’ve been looking for the ...
The troubled Gore council looks to call in a legal-political-media troubleshooter to restore order, Vaneesa Bellew reports Lawyer and former political journalist Linda Clark is expected to head an independent review tasked with restoring confidence in Gore District Council. Councillors at an extraordinary council meeting on Tuesday will consider several recommendations ...
By Todagia Kelola in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea’s Governor-General, Sir Bob Dadae, has formally dismissed former cabinet minister Brian Kramer as a Member of Parliament representing the people of Madang. On Wednesday, the Governor-General, who was out on duty travel when the Leadership Tribunal made its recommendation of dismissal ...
There’s remarkable variety and depth to be found in a spoonful of fermented bean paste. Oh, miso paste! Salty, sweet, mellow, earthy, fruity, deeply umami and wonderfully aromatic. A tub of miso paste is a flavour essential, always stashed in my fridge, ready to be dug into with a spoon ...
There’s remarkable variety and depth to be found in a spoonful of fermented bean paste. Oh, miso paste! Salty, sweet, mellow, earthy, fruity, deeply umami and wonderfully aromatic. A tub of miso paste is a flavour essential, always stashed in my fridge, ready to be dug into with a spoon ...
A new poem by Wellington poet Danny Bultitude. Schoolboy Reunion Saw him at Wellington Train Station after I Saw him on the Police Ten-7 Facebook page Last summer, obsidian, he worked in this gym Underpaid, mistreated, he set the place aflame Never realised that was how you spelt his name ...
A new poem by Wellington poet Danny Bultitude. Schoolboy Reunion Saw him at Wellington Train Station after I Saw him on the Police Ten-7 Facebook page Last summer, obsidian, he worked in this gym Underpaid, mistreated, he set the place aflame Never realised that was how you spelt his name ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)The winner of ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)The winner of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Blackwell, Research Fellow (Indigenous Diplomacy), Australian National University Today marks the sixth anniversary of the Uluru Statement From the Heart, and National Sorry Day. The statement is a powerful document that speaks of the opportunity for true and meaningful change ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Blackwell, Research Fellow (Indigenous Diplomacy), Australian National University Today marks the sixth anniversary of the Uluru Statement From the Heart, and National Sorry Day. The statement is a powerful document that speaks of the opportunity for true and meaningful change ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arjun Burlakoti, Senior Lecturer in Anatomy and Neuroanatomy, University of South Australia ShutterstockHow does your brain know how to move your body? – Ivy, age 8, Victoria Hi Ivy, thanks for asking such an interesting question! To answer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arjun Burlakoti, Senior Lecturer in Anatomy and Neuroanatomy, University of South Australia ShutterstockHow does your brain know how to move your body? – Ivy, age 8, Victoria Hi Ivy, thanks for asking such an interesting question! To answer ...
Platonic is the week’s biggest new release, a rom-com series starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne that critics say is “one of the strongest new shows of the year,” (Collider), and, “strikes a nice balance between lighthearted and serious storylines” (Decider). “It’s fun simply to spend time in the company ...
Platonic is the week’s biggest new release, a rom-com series starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne that critics say is “one of the strongest new shows of the year,” (Collider), and, “strikes a nice balance between lighthearted and serious storylines” (Decider). “It’s fun simply to spend time in the company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ivan Maksymov, Principal Research Fellow, Charles Sturt University Shutterstock Can a computer learn from the past and anticipate what will happen next, like a human? You might not be surprised to hear that some cutting-edge AI models could achieve this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ivan Maksymov, Principal Research Fellow, Charles Sturt University Shutterstock Can a computer learn from the past and anticipate what will happen next, like a human? You might not be surprised to hear that some cutting-edge AI models could achieve this ...
The government insists it just saved the TAB by handing over operations to an overseas gambling company. But the deal is shortsighted and potentially dangerous, writes Terry Leisman. So what just happened?Racing minister Kieran McAnulty has just approved a 25-year deal transferring our own TAB NZ betting operations to ...
Today, The Opportunities Party (TOP) announces its 2023 climate policy ‘Climate Opportunities’. The policy suite includes three ‘system-level’ policies for emissions reduction and several areas of focus for climate adaptation. The policy ...
A group calling for action to stop sexual violence against women and children has welcomed the lifting of name suppression for the predatory Christchurch-based brothers, Daniel Jaz (40) and Roberto Jaz (38). However, it says a spotlight also needs to ...
This is a story from a little earlier in the week that I missed, but given The Spinoff’s ongoing reporting on the wider goings on at Stadium Southland in Invercargill I thought it was worth flagging for you all. The Southland Tribune has reported that long-serving Stadium Southland board member, ...
The use of artificial intelligence in political campaigning needs stronger regulation to help prevent voter manipulation, an Auckland law lecturer is warning. ...
The Green Party is concerned a policy that imposes sanctions on beneficiaries with outstanding arrest warrants is further widening the inequality gap. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Dare, Professor of Philosophy, University of Auckland Getty Images When Jason Paris, head of the company that sponsors the New Zealand Warriors NRL team, complained recently about Australian referee bias, more than a few heads will have nodded in ...
Aotearoa has been penny-wise and pound-foolish with its investments in maintaining and building public infrastructure and services. This week Bernard Hickey talks with wellbeing economist Katherine Trebeck about how the machinery of government, politicians and voters can think and plan differently to avoid that same pound-foolishness again. Listen below or ...
It could hardly be closer with 20 weeks to go. Last night’s 1News/Kantar poll delivered a result that, were it to be translated into the ballot box, would see National and Act able to form a government. But not by much. We’re getting used to it. While psephologists rightly warn ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union extends its congratulations to its Co-founder and Executive Director, Jordan Williams, who was elected Chair and President of World Taxpayers Associations (WTA) at this week's WTA General Meeting in Prague, Czech ...
Former Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere has spoken to TVNZ’s Breakfast about the aftermath of the “crybaby” saga and her decision to split from her party. Kerekere opted to resign from the Greens earlier in the month, staying on as an independent until the election when she will retire. It followed ...
Question??
Is the funding for Glenbrook mills new electric burner being funded by carbon credits, if not why not??
Sorry in a hurry so no links etc
I just love it when a sharp mind with excellent critical skills destroys manipulative populism from David Seymour and ACT.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/132087865/why-critical-maths-adds-up
Well done, Donna Miles!
Well spotted and thanks Donna. Maths needs contexts otherwise it is meaningless to learners. Kids should use maths in order to understand social problems but those who see maths as just 1+1= 2 are likely to turn out like Seymour. Sadly.
Anyone else think the free prescription subsidy was also a massive lifeline to local pharmacies struggling with the competition from the Chemist Warehouse?
The more I think about it, the more assinine Nicola Willis's kneejerk response to that bit of the budget was – locally owned small businesses feeling the pressure of an Aussie owned corporate ought to be the bread and butter of National's support base. It shows how far modern “cponservatism” has strayed toward culture war crony capitalism that she didn’t instinctively know how that comment might play in Ashburton.
Yup, levelling the playing field, somewhat.
Yes I thought so Sanctuary, as there are hardly any independent Chemists on Gold Coast, as they found Chemist Warehouse impossible to compete with.
That could happen here, so a great move by the Government to favour our own by covering charges.
CW has been offering "free" postage (over a certain buy) and free script charges on click and collect.
Chemists do far more since the pandemic, and we need them to remain viable.
Talking of culture wars..
For those who may be interested, this study in the journal Race and Class maps the incestuous nature of British 'anti-woke' ideologues, their think tanks, media vehicles and campaigns.
An anatomy of the British war on woke
Cited in a Guardian article on the UK National Conservatives, a recent political face of the movement.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/21/tories-opposition-danger-national-conservatism-conference-rightwing
Finally, some real NZ data on reported assaults in public spaces like toilets, and in prisons by transgender women.
‘A recent long-form read by David Fisher in the NZ Herald (paywalled) talks in depth about “scaremongering” around bathrooms and changing rooms: “The arguments espoused most fervently come with the least evidence,” Fisher wrote.
Fisher cites police reporting, both here and overseas: 'Police here have no reported cases of women being assaulted in toilets or changing rooms by trans women. That matches with research done in the US after exclusionary bathroom laws were passed in some states. A 2018 study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found no evidence supporting fears of privacy and safety violations involving trans people.'
Similarly, there is no evidence of this risk in prisons: 'The Department of Corrections reports no sexual violence involving the 16 trans women who have served time since 2018. Violence, too, is low with two non-serious assaults recorded since July 2020 in which a trans woman was identified as the perpetrator. Over the same period, there were 324 assaults in total in women’s prisons.” ‘
The quote comes from a Spinoff article posted today.
What is the media’s responsibility when reporting trans disinformation?
Data – and quality data are not the same thing. Data regarding harm needs to be comprehensively and determinedly collected by objectively neutral researchers before you can come to conclusions. The statistics we do have that are robust relating to sexual assault – of all kinds, indicates a significant benefit to single-sex provisions.
As you appear to have absolutely no consideration for safeguarding, privacy dignity or consent in regards to women and girls in single-sex spaces, I make the following suggestion:
Leave those who see value in such spaces to them and join the men whom you want to share with in the men's provision.
The advantages of this are easily noted:
(Note: This is a tongue-in-cheek suggestion… unless it solves the issue…)
The Spinoff article is the usual conflation of links and and confident assertions with poor quality basis for such.
Jennifer Shields has (fore)skin in the game, and the article shows this.
What is not apparent, is the demonstration of this wordsmith’s skills when making threats against women online. Now, I understand that without screenshots, you will be asked to make a choice on who is believable here, article writer – Jennifer Shields or Ani O'Brien – but that will depend on personal factors – so will just leave this here for you to consider:
https://twitter.com/aniobrien/status/1660384773876101120?s=20
https://twitter.com/jennifilm/status/1660390420818563072?s=20
Ani O'Brien who works for The Platform and Sean Plunkett?
Yes. What of it?
It's called smearing, a common tactic when the smearer's argument is weak.
100% gsays
And this happened in 2014-5, when Shields was 21, two years into hormonal transition, and perhaps a little vulnerable?; while O'Brien was a few years older. I wonder what O'Brien said or did that elicited Shield's insults? Just thinking of the context.
Article confirming Shield's age
" Just thinking of the context."
When you have a chance to put your "thinking" to paper, I'd be interested in hearing what "context" expressing the hope that someone is raped with a chainsaw is acceptable.
Also, in what "context" such an expression is labelled an insult, rather than a violent threat.
Toko Shane (Ashley) Winter is in Paremoremo prison where he belongs. However, "Pandora Electra" is in Springhill Women's prison, but as a person with convictions for violence (including a knife attack on his former partner and others) and what is described as "complex" needs, he will be under very close supervision.
Ireland, of course has the infamous "Barbie Kardashian" in Limerick Women's prison. https://thecountess.ie/limerick-prison-the-rights-of-female-prisoners/
And there are gatherings of evidence on the international stage. https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/rights-and-wrongs-how-gender-self-identification-policy-places-women-at-risk-in-prison/?mc_cid=fc75df3a16&mc_eid=602ecaffca&fbclid=IwAR3A_NnfBrP0XG4C6L30NpkYG6nYaL5SskrjBmT0yGms1SXyejH8bS89GZo
There are a lot of other reasons why men who claim special identities should not be imprisoned with women.
https://www.thedistancemag.com/p/male-prisoners-who-claim-to-be-women?fbclid=IwAR0h2QnLv35yY_6S3_UV8r1zvf41MUS1OYFKzZoq3ddUPtkmGrcQ1JuuQLc
"It shows that nearly 60% of trans-identified male prisoners in the UK are sex offenders, making them 3.5 times more likely to be sex offenders than men who don’t identify as women. It should surprise no one that they are also nearly 18 times more likely to be sex offenders than women in prison.
The first time this fact was brought to wider attention was with official United Kingdom Ministry of Justice statistics obtained in 2020. The data was submitted as evidence by Professor Rosa Freedman, Professor Kathleen Stock, and Professor Alice Sullivan to the Reform of the Gender Recognition Act inquiry."
And that is why entry into NZ's womens' prisons is not a right in NZ, but is evaluated for each case, according to Corrections.
…a right for transgender women..
And who asked why these men who have opened their mouths and uttered the magical incantation "I identify as" should have the "right" be imprisoned with some of the most vulnerable women in our society, many of whom (if not most of them), have suffered from male violence, and do not have the "right" to refuse to be housed with men.
Self ID means that any man – repeat any man, – who says he is a woman mysteriously becomes one. No diagnosis, no hormones, no surgery is required. He does not even have to shave off his beard.
This is a treadmill argument from you, Visubversa.
As I have discussed before, Stats NZ gives around 11,000 people identifying as transgender women in NZ. Ireland (similar population to ours), introduced a self-id law similar to ours in 2015. Around 100 transgender women a year actually use the self-id option, primarily for legal reasons like wills, etc. Many other countries round the world have self-id laws, like, eg. Brazil. I found this out from a 5 min internet search.
The transgender community already use most public spaces such as womens' toilets in NZ, and have been for decades. The article I cited gave at least a link to NZ data on transgender crimes associated with these spaces. The police do not identify a problem with self-id, or they would have made a submission when the self-id legislation came up. You cannot take away others' rights without hard facts.
Yes, the trans community did use public and private toilets that corresponded with their "gender identity" for decades, and still do. I I have been in the "Women's Rest Room" at the same time as Georgina Beyer at several Labour Party Conferences. We were both there to do the same thing, use the convenience, flush, wash our hands and depart. Trans people like Georgina are no problem to lesbians like me. Georgina and others of her generation were gay men at a time when sex between men was unlawful. They "transed away the Gay" but were still same sex attracted.
These days it is quite different. Even the term "same sex attracted" is called an "anti Trans dogwhistle". Many of the people claiming trans status of one sort or another are heterosexual.
And there is always this sort of problem.
https://transcrimeuk.com/2019/02/02/katie-dolatowski/?fbclid=IwAR0EFtiQ8R6shurVxfq8kaggKJcxg3B1-5A5y5AWkTHq4P2qUTWHENxmy18
Why assume the Department of Corrections is absolved from the responsibility of treating men with gender identities with humanity, dignity and respect while in the male prison estate? What right are you referring to?
https://www.corrections.govt.nz/resources/policy_and_legislation/human_rights_in_new_zealand_prisons
Prison policy was changed without public knowledge or discussion in 2018:
https://www.corrections.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/42324/C124483_Information_on_transgender_and_gender_diverse_individuals_in_custody.pdf
(Note: No mention of any assessments of the impact on the female prison estate or female prisoners.)
I.10 Management of transgender prisoners
https://www.corrections.govt.nz/resources/policy_and_legislation/Prison-Operations-Manual/Induction/I.10-Management-of-transgender-prisoners
And where is the issue again?
It reality comes down to throwing one's weight around.
Relatively recently, trans in NZ began to assert 'rights' as opposed to behaving in a manner that respected others.
As one youtuber commented:
"If a grown man wants to pretend to be a woman he has a perfect right. But if he wants someone else to pretend he's a woman, that person has a perfect right to refuse."
In pursuit of these non-existent rights they vilify and antagonize or assault anyone that dares to question their dodgy new orthodoxy.
I saw a man wearing a backpack and ordinary mens’ clothes assault a woman in video of that incident. A 20 year-old from Tauranga has been charged. Any evidence he was transgender?
He could have been upset for a family membe. Not an excuse, but don't forget Posie Parker has said some horrible things about trans people and their families.
Tasmanian senator denounces Posie Parker for her words in Hobart
Other people have been charged with assault in the same protest. Including an older man with neo-Nazi affiliation who repeated physically harassed a short woman marshall from the anti-PP counterprotest. The incidences of physical violence in the crowd were very few, and the police are prosecuting without bias, as they should.
And all of this violence stems from asserting rights that impose upon others.
It is not enough to live quietly in new gendered identities – the demand is that they be respected. So much for not doing it in the streets and frightening the horses.
This is difficult, because contemporary theories of gender identity sit poorly with little things like genetics. And, there are plenty of ordinary persons (especially journalists) that almost no-one respects anyway.
In time the matter may calm down, and result in accommodations akin to religious and single sex schools.
At present however, dissent is heretical – dangerous and forbidden.
Actually Stuart Munro, the violence happened because Posie Parker, a UK media personality, who has expressed violently anti-trans ideas, visited NZ to stage public events. Her funding came from CPAC, a right wing political group which with policies against LGB people, trans people and which is anti-abortion.
PParker has said trans women suffer from an abnormal sexual fixation that leads inevitably to pedophilia, thinks trans men should be forcibly sterilised, calls families who support their trans children 'groomers', and calls on US men with guns to use womens' toilets, in order to 'protect' womenfolk against a nonexistant threat from trans women (as validated by years of trans inclusionary toilet policies in 10 US states). All of these words of hers are documented, if not to be found on her website.
Violent words are not violent deeds, it is true, but they csn incite others to act. I don't think anyone in government was aware of the extent of Posie Parker's hate speech at the time she was allowed entry. As for the counter-protest, it was organised to be noisy but non-violent.
If some had heightened emotions in response to PParker at her event, well that's easy to understand given her anti-trans rhetoric. PParker was also seriously let down by the Mickey Mouse security firm she chose to hire at the last minute. Even more let down by that firm, and also let down by Posie, who appeared to abandon them, were the women who were to speak at her event.
PP's hate speech goes a long way beyond complaining, as you and others here do, that inclusionary language, increased social visibility and acceptance for the small group of trans NZers (around 24,000) somehow excludes or invalidates the other 5 million of us and our identities. Seems a disproportionate response to me.
I oppose PP's hate speech, and dislike the mush of disinformation around trans issues, which is why I post on this topic. Also, in examining the pros and cons of the trans debate recently, I have found that I value being part of an incusionary, not an exclusionary society.
Having week-on week-off custody of my child with their father from early on, I believe that parenting, not mothering or carrying a foetus, defines our relationship with our children in families. Not highly identifying with girlie-girl culture, I don't mind stretching the term 'woman' to include a few others. I know who I am, and am happy with my identity.
I don't perceive trans people as being more threatening than anyone else about their usual business on the street or in a public toilet. Neither do I believe that trans people should be saints – merely as human as the rest of us, with the usual numbers of bad apples and criminal offenders.
I also recognise that Posie Parker and anti-trans messaging comes from a well-funded international right-wing political movement, which is cunning in its use of social media.
Stop making excusing for the violence against women meeted out by the trans rights activists at Albert Park. This is frankly a disgusting thing to do.
I might have some little bit of respect if the tras and the likes of Marama Davidson who when asked failed to condemn the violence against women (when she is Minister of Violence Prevention) had outright condemned the violence metted out by the angry, threatening menacing mob.
We have fought for years to stop this bloody blame the victim of violence agaubst women. Shame on you.
The older man whoever he was should be investigated by the police and charged if found he has a crime to answer for.
The only older man I saw at Albert Park was an old geezer who was pushed and shoved. Not by the Let women Speak mob.
Was this at the Auckland event? Or the Tasmanian one (I can't tell from the structure of your comment).
If it was the Auckland one, can you link – I've not seen this reported.
There is very little information over whether or not the 20-year old (apparently from Gisborne, not Tauranga) is or is not a man; or whether they self-ID as a woman, or as a man, or are an ally, or anything at all about their motivation.
The police statements, as far as I can see, appear to be gender neutral – and have shut down all further comment while the case is before the courts
It's the press who have reported that this person is a man.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/04/20/man-appears-in-court-accused-of-punching-woman-at-parker-rally/
There is, however, no doubt about the trans-woman who poured tomato juice over Parker. Her transition history is given in the linked article.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300848339/protester-pleads-not-guilty-to-assault-after-throwing-juice-on-posie-parker
By their works shall ye know them.
And the trans activists' work is an elderly woman with a fractured skull.
If you think you can justify that, you'd better think again.
Actually, the violence happened because a violent person chose to engage in violent actions against someone else.
For which, they have been arrested and charged in court.
There is no excuse.
It doesn't matter what PP might have said earlier (there was no chance that anyone heard what she might have said that day – so she can hardly have inflamed the crowd)
Anyone can choose to participate in a protest. Can chant slogans, and wave signs, and make their voice and perspective heard *without* feeling the need to haul off and hit someone.
Being at a protest is, by definition, an environment of heightened emotion. People don't go and protest because they feel mild disagreement with someone or something – they care passionately.
However, choosing to cross the line into violence is not something that most of our society finds an easily forgivably transgression.
If the counter-protest was designed to be non-violent, then the protest organizers failed miserably in their organization. And have continued the failure by choosing not to condemn the violence which occurred.
Personally, I disagree with much of what I've read from PP. I find some of her rhetoric distasteful, and …. unkind … to say the least.
However, I do *not* support the violent suppression of free speech.
If you disagree with something, by all means express your disagreement. Present your arguments. But do not try to silence your opposition.
The cancel culture has gone more than far enough.
Regardless of what you believe in this particular situation – it's a profoundly dangerous principle to be espousing.
There is plenty of evidence of the danger of trans women in women's spaces in both the UK and US. You must remember that a male bodied person being allowed into women's change rooms automatically makes two sexual offences legal: voyerism and exhibitionism.
But that is only part of the arguement. You people don't understand that most people don't support gender self ID (vote compass poll before the last election, link previously posted on her and I will re link if required).
You people miss a good part of the gender critical arguement. It is not only about a direct threat to women (i.e. our objection to male bodied people in our change room). We just don't want to have a male bodied person in our change room while we are in a state of undress (and we are certainly not wanting a male bodied person in a state of undress in our change room) End of story. And I certainly object to a male bodied person being in women's change room with girls and teen girls.
Any decent male bodied person would get this point of view and not try and insert themselves in women's spaces. It speaks volumes about the male bodied people (transwomen) who don't respect this.
How about those women who support transwomen (male bodied people) in women's change room start using the mens change room in support of trans women, thus turning the men's into unisex???? How would that work for you?
David Fisher is a man and can present all the data he likes. He has no business arguing for transwomen in women's spaces. He is a man
Gotta love those free trade rules! Sure, sure it's technically correct, but is UK and Oz honey what you think of when you think of Manuka? This is how France must feel seeing us produce brie and camembert.
and
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/490383/new-zealand-manuka-honey-producers-lose-trademark-bid
Sorry Roy but when I think of Manuka honey I think of the bees having obtained their nectar from Manuka flowers and that is what happens in both Australia and New Zealand.
Provided you blood pressure is well under control I suggest you read this article. A warning though. It is not for the faint hearted. As it says
"The truth is, there are far more manuka trees in Australia than New Zealand. Australian manuka trees produce quality Australian Manuka Honey that is every bit as pure, natural, and beneficial to health."
https://simplyhoney.com.au/what-is-australian-manuka-honey/#:~:text=The%20truth%20is%2C%20there%20are,natural%2C%20and%20beneficial%20to%20health.
You can’t equate it to Brie and Camembert as both are geographical locations in France. We might have had a case if we had named it “New Zealand Leptospermum Scoparium” honey or suchlike.
Yes – so called 'branding' is an exercise in fetishism.
It's all in a name isn't it?
The alternative name to Manuka is Tea-tree, sometimes spelled Ti-tree.
Tea-tree oil is commonly used in soaps and cosmetics overseas and is one of the most effective natural remedies for head lice. Same here except we call it Manuka.
Splitting hairs here. But theoretically NZ producers can trademark the mācroned name, as, while there is a history of teetrees there being called manuka, the macron is local to Te Reo Māori and NZ.
A map of NZ with our NZ product label would differentiate our honey.
Apparently, the NZ manuka honey producers association has successfully trademarked Unique Mānuka Factor UMF TM. Australian honey producers are free to market their own validated bioactive trademark. It just can't be UMF.
The reason why Aussie honey producers want in is because NZ honey exports increased from $97k to $480k from 2010 to 2021. Most of this increased value is due to NZ investment in bioactive quality validation and to brand marketing into the wellness food space.
You can't import Australian honey to NZ, so UMF is all you'll get. For disease reasons, imports of honey can only come into NZ from a few Pacific Islands.
That sounds like a very good idea. I'm not a lawyer though.
I guess the problem would be that no-one living outside New Zealand would realise there was a difference between the word with and without the macron. They would probably assume a bad printing job for the label.
Map of NZ it is, then.
I'd have thought that going down the route that the EU uses in AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlée) might well pay dividends on the trade side.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appellation_d%27origine_contr%C3%B4l%C3%A9e
The latest Horizon poll – Labour and the Greens on 61 seats and able to form a government.
National on 23% support – which must be close to their historic low! Thanks, Christopher!
https://www.horizonpoll.co.nz/page/668/labour-and-
oh no!
and Horizon is so accurate!
What is your case for [email protected]…?
At first glance the regional info is impressive…and the clear explanation of the various coalition formulae is useful..
And national are a political party in decline..
They have no idea of what to do to fix what we face..
Just the same old same old key era styling promises for big tax cuts for the richest..and chewing gum tax givebacks for the rest of us…
The words coming from them only demonstrate that bankruptcy of ideas..
Words/promises/imperatives from a byegone era…and it shows..!
And voters eyes then flick to the raving loons they would be in coalition with..
And aside from that small tranche of true believers who vote for them..the rest of us just shift uneasily in our seats at the very thought of it…
One valuable role that act plays is that they make the greens seem…to middle new zealanders…with an ill-defined but growing environmental awareness..like a safe pair of hands..
Whereas act froth at the mouth at the idea of cutting benefits..and the like..
Total bastards..basically..
(And if I could shoehorn in a prediction… should nact get over the line..the country will explode into direct action on matters environmental..and the like..)
But back to my original question..what is yr problem with horizon..?
Absolutely! And the poll shows the right-wingers are turning to Act and NZ First (both in despair, I suspect!)
I don't have a problem with Horizon – however, looking at the combined results of polls over the last 5 months – they have National weighted way lower than any of the rest. Every other poll since the last one they did in January (where they had National at 27%) – has had National between 32-35%. We then go back to their previous poll in October (National 26%) – but every other poll between October and January had National between 32-40%
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2023_New_Zealand_general_election
Now that may be accurate – they may have a hotline to the 'truth' (who knows until we get to October) – but when there is an outlier result like that, I'm more inclined to view it with several grains of salt.
The only explanation in their methodology I can see is that they only poll people who are 100% likely to vote. So are likely to get higher representation from those who are party loyalists who have already made up their minds. The relatively high ACT total (in comparison to other polls) would support this interpretation.
FWIW – I think that the right and left are too close to call ATM – as they have been for the last year or so.
As accurate as any other poll at this stage of the game!
The average home in the UK is now – 300,000 pounds.
Our's now $900,000 – at 50p, 450,000 pounds.
Our homes were value c$700,000 at the end of 2019, 350,000 pounds.