Open mike 22/11/2022

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 22nd, 2022 - 82 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:


Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

82 comments on “Open mike 22/11/2022 ”

  1. Anker 1

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11438917/The-genderbread-person-NHS-start-sticking-unscientific-posters-up.html

    An NHS trust in Wales, UK is considering posting the genderbread person poster up at the Trust. Experts decry it as “unscientific nonsense”.

    • Molly 1.1

      The institutional stupidity continues without checking it seems. Apart from the hypocritical dismantling of women to specific organs or functions from those who scream about others having "genital obsessions", we have the familiar "chestfeeding" inclusion:

      This distinction makes it very clear that language is being changed at the behest of people who dictate according to feelings. Both women and men have breasts. Babies are fed from the breast – not the chest.
      Don't even get me started on the throwaway advice regarding the effects of hormones on the baby.

      Let alone the supported use of drugs to create a form of discharge for men so they indulge their wants, instead of nourishing a newborn child.

      • Anker 1.1.1

        Where is it from Molly?

      • Sabine 1.1.2

        Anything about transwomen being fed a cocktail of chemicals to induce 'lactation' and chestfeeding?

        • Molly 1.1.2.1

          No, it appears they leave that up to the specialist breastfeeding services and organisations:

          https://lactationnetwork.com/blog/breastfeeding-faq-for-trans-and-non-binary-parents/

          Can I breastfeed if I was assigned male at birth?
          Yes, you can. You don’t have to have ovaries or a uterus to breastfeed. The hormones responsible for milk production (prolactin) and milk ejection (oxytocin) are released from the pituitary gland at the base of both the male and female brain. Some trans women and non-binary parents have a full milk supply. We recommend connecting with your healthcare provider about the best path forward considering your body and health. You can read a case study of induced lactation in a trans woman here.

          https://www.laleche.org.uk/support-transgender-non-binary-parents/

          Trans women can use a protocol similar to adoptive and other non-gestational mothers and stimulate their milk supply: it is called the Newman-Goldfarb protocol.

          Breastfeeding used to be promoted as an optimal choice for the baby.

          Now, it's a choice for any adult so inclined.

      • Sabine 1.1.3

        Scotland is currently introducing SPAth – inspired by Wpath and of course is trying to get 'non gendered healthcare ' to be a thing. Cause we are all the same and the only reason Men have never birthed anything is because they were to busy and occupied with other things, otherwise they would all have birthed their own children. Totally.

        • Molly 1.1.3.1

          Yes, it is only recently I became aware that due to indoctrination by social constructs, neither my partner nor I thought to share the role of gestator and child bearer.

          Such a stunning, brave new world.

  2. aj 2

    Woman says ED nurse handed her card with minister's details

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018868039/woman-says-ed-nurse-handed-her-card-with-minister-s-details

    A Wellington woman is speaking out about her shock at the state of the hospital's emergency department when she was there earlier this month.

    She says a nurse handed her the Health Minister's contacts so she could tell him what she'd seen.

    The woman took her teenage daughter to the ED with pneumonia and says she saw people taking up every available space.

    Many of them vulnerable and facing long waits. The woman has asked not to be identified to protect her daughter's privacy.

    About a minute into this report I was wondering who it was: Nicola Willis, Erica Stanford, Brooke van Velden, Louise Upston, or an offspring of Michelle Boag. Classic hit piece anyway.

    • Sabine 2.1

      Yeah, right because it is the first time that long waiting times are an issue because a person was fearful for their offspring.

      Never mind that we had a 4 year old die of tonsilitis gone wrong and the lack of medical care.
      That child did not even die 4 weeks ago, but i guess that is already ancient history.

      Healthcare in NZ currently is just fucked. Fucked beyond believe. And no, i don't give a fuck about John Key, no more then we allowed people to blame Helen Clark for the fuckery that was the John Key Government at the time. This mess is bipartisan, and people die.

  3. Anker 3

    "about a minute into this report I was wondering who it was: Nicola Willis, Erica Standford". et

    Have you not be following about the Health Workforce crisis aj? I post regularly about it here. And almost everyday the media are covering this.

    My own experience in ED in June and my relatives experience more recently was the same variation on a theme of the women in the article.

    When I was there in June on a Monday morning, it was like a war zone. Patients two deep in the hall way. Paramedics having difficulty wheeling in sick patients as the wards were so full. Long, long wait (the wait times in ED are up) and we have a desperate shortage of nurses. I will find some links to confirm what I am saying and post

    • weka 3.1

      hey Anker, when you’re not using the Reply button, can you please put something at the start of your comment so show what you are responding to? eg aj at 9.22am, then the quote. Or aj at comment 2

      (likewise with your subsequent reply to your own comment).

      If people reply to aj using the reply button, your comment will drop down the page, sometimes quite a long way, and then it's hard to know what is about.

      If you need tech support with using the Reply on whatever device you are on, please ask.

      • Anker 3.1.1

        Sure will do. Once I had posted the first comment, I couldn't post the link when editing it didn't work for some reason

    • aj 3.2

      Yes I'm well aware of the crisis and have had grandchildren involved in the long waits. I'm not saying this is manufactured, I'm just saying it's another day with a very well constructed critical article that sounded like an opposition press ambush/release, with absolutely no background to why we are in this position. A little balance at the end from Little.

      • Anker 3.2.1

        I find Ian Powell the former head of Salaried and Medical Specialists a good balanced read on this stuff. He posts on The Daily Blog.

        He recounts how he told David Clark (former Min of Health) five years ago, that there were three problems with health. The healthwork force shortage, the health workforce shortage and the health work force shortage.

        Labour were warned

    • DB Brown 3.3

      Best I share my recent experience seeing as everyone else seems to think the trauma was the ED not the wound.

      I cut myself recently with a serrated saw – very nasty, light duties for a month. Within minutes arriving at ED a temp patch up had been done. Within a few hours I'd been processed, including initial exam, temp dressing, second opinion examination regarding if tendons were severed, then the stitches and dressing, paperwork for ACC, instructions for me, prescriptions, note for doctor… AMAZING.

      Amazing service. And everyone was lovely. Yes, a student nurse stitched me up, but only after getting the double check. Very Professional. Hugely grateful.

      • Anker 3.3.1

        Glad for you DB. How the health system should work and shows what excellent work our health workforce does.

        I take it you do not use your own outstanding experience to dismiss or minimize that there is a significant workforce shortage and staff feel burnt out and unappreciated?

        • aj 3.3.1.1

          From the patient's perspective the medical system looks ok if you don't turn up when everyone else has. ED is a nightmare once capacity is reached. Workforce shortages are highlighted by peak periods. How much of current shortages are exacerbated by staff sickness I wonder? (covid in particular).

          What capacity should ED's have to cope beyond historical peak periods? Should staff numbers be such to have the ability to cope with 'average' numbers over a weekend, or should they roster on enough people to cover say 50% more patients? Which would be a waste of resources on many days. I don't see any simple solution to this, and it's not possible to ramp up trained staff overnight. As Anker suggests this has been a long time in the making.

          I have nothing but respect for the people who have worked tirelessly in the health sector in the last few years.

        • DB Brown 3.3.1.2

          I've felt burnt out and unappreciated in a number of roles that's not something new or unique to health services. To fix said problems whining about Labour would do absolutely nothing. It's employers, union busters, unscrupulous bosses and shoddy laws that empower them.

          As for worker shortages, you want to put that on the government too? Lazy, petty politicking.

          • Anker 3.3.1.2.1

            DB @ 3.3..1.2. I don't understand what you mean by "its employers, union busters, unscrupulous bosses an shoddy laws that empower them"

            I have no power to fix such problems. You can call it whining if you like but that is a perojorative term. I post a lot of articles on T S about the health workforce crisis.

            The govt were told five years ago there was a health work force shortage, but I have yet to see a plan to address that (feel free to produce Labour's plan if you know of one).

            Labour are in Govt and Little is Minister. Given this they are responsible for the health system.

            "Lazy. (I am not sure how you think it is lazy of me to post frequently, usually from articles about Dr's nurses etc saying things are in crisis. What would be an example of covering this issue that isn't lazy.

            "petty" I don't think this issue is petty at all. People not getting timely access to health care, is about as serious as it gets).

            "Politicking " This is a political website, or am I missing something here.

            This is another example of someone not engaging with the arguemnt. If you think the health systems doing fine (and maybe you do after your recent experience) well and good.

          • Shanreagh 3.3.1.2.2

            The ED problems still have the influx of people seeking care for items that could be dealt with by a GP.

            You have to enrol, and depending on your financial status or the age of the people wanting treatment you may have to pay. Far easier to front up at the ED.

            I often wonder if they had a GP clinic running in parallel, ie in the same building as the ED if this would make a difference. The cost is nothing if you arrive at the ED prepared to wait and happy to clog up the works for relatively simple GP related aspects. I am so appreciative that our ED workers do, in the majority of cases, get it right.

            The triage of blood and breathing seem to get attended to.

            To ease the pressure on our EDs what can we suggest?

            I think people who have jobs with unsympathetic bosses who don't let them have time off to see a GP during the day are part of the problem, with the only other time being after work and the only free place being the ED. .

            Hence the idea of having a GP practice actually at the hospital. Wgtn has an after hours clinic but it still requires paying an amount for the consultation. It is a couple of blocks away from the hospital.

            • joe90 3.3.1.2.2.1

              I often wonder if they had a GP clinic running in parallel, ie in the same building as the ED if this would make a difference

              A private walk-up GP clinic shares a waiting area with the Whanganui ED.

              Triage refers anything other than an emergency to the GP clinic so people turn up after hours at the ED to avoid the fee.

              https://www.wrhn.org.nz/whanganui-accident-and-medical

              http://203.167.250.179/content/treatment-and-cost

              • Shanreagh

                Yes fees and not able to access time off are the things needing to be looked at. Fees especially to stop the clogging up of EDs. GP clinics need to be 24 hour set-ups. Good if they are co-located.

                • joe90

                  To paraphrase my sister the nurse manager after a few wines – “people live dog-awful lifestyles, do doing nothing to look after themselves, make multiple visits to EDs, are no-shows at out-patient clinics and then, when they're very, very ill, are admitted to the unit and they expect us to fix them”

                  • psych nurse

                    Exactly, they also take too many illicit drugs, end up in my institution with a drug induced psychosis, assault staff, end up secluded for days, require restraint and intramuscular medication, slowly recover only to repeat the experience two weeks later, that's why your depressed Grand Mother can't access good timely appropriate care. Half the people in ED don't need to be there, the ingrown toenail can wait.

          • gsays 3.3.1.2.3

            Ok, you have felt burnt out and under appreciated in the past. In no way do I wish to denigrate or minimise your experience.

            You may or may not know of a moral injury. Akin to burn out, where there is a perceived or actual lack or short-coming in the individual, only with a moral injury the lack or short-coming is with the system. Usually due to a lack of resources (staff, facilities, drugs), time or will.

            Time and time again, through a shift, health staff have to make shitty priority decisions. Tell that elderly diabetic couple that she will have to wait 12 hours to be seen to get the very low sodium addressed (coeliac).

            To do this day in and day out, with no change in sight.

            UK nurses are entering strike action, and as Frankie Boyle observes, during Covid, when lots of folk would applaud the health professionals he didn't realise he should have done it sarcastically.
            In the first couple of mins * some salty language*
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2LRp4anKXE

            As Anker says, the health shortages ain't new. It is the profound lack of creativity and imagination in Nats and Labour (particularly the 2nd choice Health Minister Dr Doolottle) that is making a dire situation worse.

            Pay the tuition fees for all nurse and G.P. students and if they happen to be Maori or P.I. a $300 a week payment that is forgiven three years after graduation if they are still working in Aotearoa.

  4. Poission 6

    NZ trade deficit blows out to an annual 12.9 b$, from last years 4.9b$.

    Dairy export values saving it from being worse.The blowout on the national credit card is going to be expensive going forward in a high debt,high interest rate world.

    https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/overseas-merchandise-trade-october-2022/

  5. weston 7

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4IdyQ6h2AU

    George Galloway interviews an interesting guest Johnny Mills who's reporting from Donesk they discuss such things as Ukraine's kill list , the lack of any mainstream reportage from the area because of the ' unpalatable ' nature of the truth and the fairly vicious sanctions applied by both Germany and the UK to reporters who are in eastern parts of Ukraine and reporting truthfully the situation there .

  6. Molly 8

    Posting with little commentary, but with reference to proposed hate crime legislation:

    on tiktok

    This loose application of perceived hate is an example of good intentions going awry.

    https://youtu.be/SC905EneF0s

    • weka 8.1

      replaced the tiktok embed with YT, just because it displays better on TS.

    • weka 8.2

      I was nearly finished with some long commentary 😉

      If people want to understand why there is concern about how hate crime legislation is being developed, here's one of the reasons why.

      Kellie Jay Keen (in the above 4m video) is a British gender critical activist who believes that women are adult human females. She runs rallies in public outdoor spaces where women are free to step up to the mike and talk about the issues as they see them. She's right wing, allies with conservatives including in the US, and doesn't call herself a feminist (I think because of the parts of liberal feminism which insist in including trans women in feminism). If any of that bothers you, know that No Debate has ensured that the narrative is often controlled by the right, so you can't really complain if you support No Debate.

      KJK is charismatic, clever, strategic, and her motto is is that she always wins. She may also be transphobic (in the sense that she dislikes trans people for who they are), but I find it hard to tell because her rhetoric is blunt and no holds barred.

      In this 4m video she records a phone conversation with the Brighton police who are asking her to attend a voluntary interview in Brighton (not where she lives) because they are investigating "an allegation against you about a hate crime".

      When asked what hate crime, the police woman says "use of words or behaviour that stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation". She also says they have looked at the evidence (noting this because UK police have had to back track on actions like this). And later clarifies that they have substantial evidence that KJK has committed a hate crime.

      The voluntary bit is she can go to Brighton and if she doesn't her local police may come and arrest her and do the interview that way. In other words, it’s voluntary unless you don’t do it and then we will arrest you.

      KJK says under her YT vid that she has no intention of attending the interview, and I will guess that she already has a good legal and media strategy planned if they do arrest her. It’s extremely unlikely that she did said anything to stir up hatred about LBG people, but socially there has been a significant shift in what sexual orientation means eg lesbians can be biological males. So saying something like lesbians don’t have dicks may now be considered incitement. Certainly gender activists are pushing hard for this kind of interpretation.

      Helen Joyce (author of Trans) and Maya Forstater (the woman who successfully won an employment case that established that gender critical views are protected under UK law ie you cannot fire someone for those views) were both at the rally.

      Joyce said this on twitter,

      I was there at the rally in Brighton, as was @MForstater – and as were a large number of lesbians and a decent showing of gay men. The idea that PP committed a hate crime based on horrible words about sexual orientation is simply absurd. This is using the police for harassment

      Context here is that there are indeed an increasing number of complaints to UK police about gender critical views. People have been arrested for tweets that may be rude and even offensive but sit well within the cultural norms of what we are allowed to say.

      Complaints are obviously being used as a political tactic to try and take out prominent GC activists. There will be lefties who think good, but the problem here is that the bar is incredibly low for what is being considered a hate crime. People have been arrested with no notice, at home in front of their kids. For tweeting. Often once it all plays out, it turns out that the statements made weren’t in fact a hate crime, but there is still a record of the incident.

      UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has intervened a number of times, and it appears there is now some change in how some police forces interpret and act and record. But obviously this shit is still going on today.

      So when progressives in NZ push for hate crime legislation, and MPs cannot clearly state where the boundaries will be and how the legislation will be used, many of us are looking at what has already happened in the UK and failing to see how this is a good idea.

      Myself, I'm agnostic on hate crime legislation per se (and don't know if it can be handled by existing legislation better applied). My objection here is the way it is being done and that it comes at a time when there is intentional activism to stop women speaking about women's rights.

      • weka 8.2.1

        that should have been a post of course, but No Debate 🤷‍♀️

      • Visubversa 8.2.2

        You would think the UK Police might have learned a bit after this – but no.

        Harry Miller (Fair Cop) v College of Policing.

        https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-59727118

      • Sabine 8.2.3

        I watched her 'speakers corners' live from Brighton, and there was nothing transphobic – unless we consider the noting wanting men in female prisons and female single sex spaces and such as transphobic – nor was there hate speech on grounds of sexual orientation. The interesting bit is that the whole 'speakers corner ' was live streamed and is still accessible.

        Which is funny as sexual orientation under the transumbrella is a no no – genital preferences are transphobic by default as they are based on sex and thus exclusionary and if one wants to be gay or a lesbian then that is same gender orientated. Thus two transwomen can be lesbians, two transmen can be gay, a transwomen and a 'woman' can be lesbians, a transwoman and a man can be gay.

        So the only thing that could have been a hate crime against 'sexual orientation' would be the assertion of women who don't want to date female dick or men who don't want to date male pussy.

        There was however a women who works for the local Labour doodah of Brighton who yelled at a father that he raises his toddler to be a fascist for standing around listening to the speeches a whole raft of women gave. And the dude that was arrested with a bag full of knives.

        I would also not consider KJK 'right wing' but rather old fashioned conservative. Work until pregnancy, stay at home Mum, swing voter, user of contraception, atheist, drinker of alcohol, haver of fun etc.

        But then anyone who who goes against the “left” must be by default a right winger. Just another number of words that have become meaningless and are applied willy – nilly not to state a truth but to paint someone with a brush of disapproval. And maybe some on the left should really think about using these brushes as the left in England is losing women voters for precisely the reasons KJK and her supporters raise ever time they hold a speakers corner.

        I for one will watch this with much interest. If she will put up a Go fund me I will throw some moolah at her and her lawyers.

        • weka 8.2.3.1

          do you know where the Brighton video is? Had a look on her YT and FB and can't see it.

          I don't consider naming someone RW to be a brush of disapproval, it's more just an acknowledgement of where she sits on the political spectrum. Joyce is centre right as well. Stock is left wing but not radfem and so on. For me it's not a big deal, but it is helpful within gender critical thinking given how far of the political spectrum gender identity criticism stretches.

          I think Keen would be comfortable with the Tory government in the UK assuming they keep pushing back against GI.

          • Molly 8.2.3.1.1

            The #LetWomenSpeak events are posted under LIVE, not VIDEOS.

            Part 1, below:

            https://youtu.be/ZXLyRpKiwqk

          • Sabine 8.2.3.1.2

            part one

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXLyRpKiwqk

            part two

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WV_KWnH5hU&t=2s

            some more here

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFR-BovzTuY

            some more

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UldMrr2YmlY

            plus there are a whole raft of videos on twitter that were posted on the day itself.

          • Sabine 8.2.3.1.3

            again, we don't know where she sits on the political spectrum. She is on record for having voted for Labour. She now maybe votes conservative – who knows. The Tories by all means are not right wing, in fact they are not even conservative, very much like National here.

            She is on record for being unapologetically pro-female human of all ages. And no, in this case i don't give a fuck abut spectrum. If the left wants to shut down the debate because they have decided that men are women and those that used to to be called woman are no longer that or are now a sub category below men, than that is an issue the left can take up with the official political left, but so far the left has valiantly refused to do, in fact the left is the one wielding the brush of disapproval and shame for the non consenters. She uses conservative media, very much like Kara Dansky does as this is the media that will actually listen. Again, that is the fault of the left leaning media. They can invite either of these women and a whole bunch more if they wanted to have that debate but they won’t, they actually can’t.

            Kellie Jay Keen aka Posie Parker would be comfortable with any government that would keep transgenderism out of womens toilets, refuges, rape crisis centers, hospital wards, school girls sports and changing rooms, female sport, female awards, female jobs in general. She would vote for any government that would put a stop to the mutliation and castration/sterilization of children. Sadly, like all of us we are between a rock and a hard place as the right gives no more care to us then does the left.

            This right now for women is the issue:
            The left would look us up in a prison cell with a fully intact rapist and offer us one abortion after the other, while the right would force us to carry that rapists child and co-parent. Neither parties are in any form or shape good for people like us, neither has any care for us, other then every few years they are reminded that we are good for vote harvesting and fwiw, the left still depends on that vote. See the US were birthing bodies voted for access to abortion, something the left government – any and all of them actually – refuses to codify in law, as they know full well that without abortion those birthing bodies might be voting differently and for other reasons.

            And i am really keeping it with the suffragettes here…..On the grounds of my sex………

            • weka 8.2.3.1.3.1

              If you don't care about the political spectrum why are you talking about it?

              As I said, imo she is right wing (even if she has voted Labour in the past, plenty of RW swing voters). It's not a slur to say that, there's no defence needed.

              • Sabine

                Because you raised it and think it is important. I did not raise her political allegiance as i don't think it actually matters. Our issues stem from our sex, not our political affiliations.

                In the end it matters not one bit if the women is apolitical, left, or right, their oppression is on the grounds of their sex and child bearing abilities. See Afhganistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and even the US and UK etc.

                And even if all of the females turned into males it will then be 'males' who will be oppressed on the grounds of their sex and child bearing abilites.

                There are many of us who oppose transgendersim – the cult – who are of different back grounds, religions, class/caste, educational background, race, and yet we all have one thing in common. Our sex.

                And it is getting tedious that anyone who does not tow the official line will get called a right winger, or a phobe, or a bigot, or a fascist on one side or a nazi on the other.

                What really is important is that an officer of the police is harrasing someone for the audacity to have an opinion which may or may not have hurt the feelz of a penis having person who considers themselves a lesbian and who demands access and validation from said lesbians.

                • Molly

                  I now fully understand why some choose not to declare themselves a feminist. The word has so many different understandings, from within the self-declared as well as amongst the critics, that it is of very little use in indicating what view is held by a feminist. I have a personal definition, but there is no doubt in my mind it is unlikely to be the one shared by the person I engage with, so it is of no worth to refer to myself as a feminist. It leads to the possibility for misinterpretation right from the start of a conversation.

                  The same appears to be true in regards to referring to anyone as left or right. The meanings of left and right in terms of political views are so subjective, they are now useless.

                  • Sabine

                    Because we are not feminists. We are simply female. I don't even think that the suffragettes thought themselves as feminists. They were females who wanted to have the right to vote. ditto for everything else. Academia coined the term and wrote many books that few females read because tedious most of them, and that use that status to some extend even to shut down women whom they consider not enough or not the right kind of feminist.

                    One can be an ultra conservative women and still believe in the rights to abortion, self fulfilment, work and earning a pay to keep, education and so on and to fight for these rights. The issue was never the hijab, the issue is the forced wearing of said garment. In Trekkie universe i consider the people that would want us to shut up to the Ferengi. Women have no other rights then to negotiate their womb rental / occupancy, other then that they are to be naked (no clothes for females) and at home. And i personally fear that this is were we are headed.

                    I read this yesterday and i guess it uses better words then i do.

                    https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2022-11-21/ty-article-opinion/.highlight/how-feminists-are-failing-haredi-women/00000184-91c8-d53f-a5fe-bbca33510000

            • Shanreagh 8.2.3.1.3.2

              Good points Sabine.

              This is my unchanging bottom line

              Kellie Jay Keen aka Posie Parker would be comfortable with any government that would keep transgenderism out of womens toilets, refuges, rape crisis centers, hospital wards, school girls sports and changing rooms, female sport, female awards, female jobs in general.

              I do not feel as strongly on this aspect

              She would vote for any government that would put a stop to the mutliation and castration/sterilization of children

              So long as children below the age of consent are not able, through sleight of hand, to access physical changing (hormones/surgery) but can be counselled.

              • Sabine

                i believe her sincere enough. Would she vote labour if they said they would stop it? I would think so. Would she trust Labour to uphold to do it? That is another thing altogether. Ditto for the Tories. In fact ditto for any Party, not a single women – the born ones at least – should trust any party in regards to these issues. For them we don't exist.

              • Molly

                Social transition for children is not benign. So the removal of access to hormones and surgery is only dealing with part of the harm.

                The indoctrination occurring via our education system and other funded community promotions and materials has a psychological impact on all children who come in contact with it.

                Patient centred care based on evidence would take a watchful waiting approach for minors, instead we have legislation that would put anyone advising or promoting this approach at risk of prosecution. People will avoid that approach as a pre-cautionary measure to maintain their professional status and livelihoods.

                • Shanreagh

                  Yes I know what you are saying…..I pointed out that my first priority as a woman was to seek to preserve our hard-won gains, while others would focus on the why are they allowing this to happen to our children. They are not mutually exclusive.

                  • Molly

                    I didn't say they were mutually exclusive.

                    Just added social transition to the hormones/surgery harms you identified for children.

          • Anker 8.2.3.1.4

            https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2022/11/21/british-tories-are-raging-socialists-compared-to-our-labour-party-government/

            On a related note John Minto on the Daily Blog says the conversative party in the UK under Sunak is more to the left (raging socialists) than Labour

            • weka 8.2.3.1.4.1

              yeah but only in the last five minutes and because the country was about to collapse. It's Minto's rhetoric around tax policy and public sector spending in a few areas. It's not that the Tories are left of NZ Labour across the board.

      • Molly 8.2.4

        Thanks weka. The hate crime legislation assumes a continuation of current identified vulnerable minorities. With a change of parliament, who knows what characteristics will be added to the list?

        I have an aversion to adding a more valued or more persecuted layer of protection to certain victims of crime. Sentencing after conviction should be equal as determined by the crime – not by the social status of the victim. There are too many variables in what is considered hate, and how that applies under legislation.

        We have examples from overseas of the use of the police authorities and hate legislation to harass, and persecute women such as above.

        • Sabine 8.2.4.1

          That is the point of such legislation. To keep in check those that might be of the mind to say NO, and we all know who in society is not allowed to say NO.

    • Anker 8.3

      Kellie Jean is brilliant. I hear she is coming to NZ

  7. Molly 9

    Did think about whether to post, but once again, this is current and NZ relevant.

    It is also directly relevant to ongoing discussions around how inclusiveness rhetoric often excludes the voices of the unapproved Māori and women – in this case – when dealing with the NZ Midwifery Council

    Michelle Uriarau (Mana Wāhine Kōrero) once again, writes comprehensively about the problems in formal submission:

    https://rexlandy.substack.com/p/from-mana-wahine-korero?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

    • weka 9.1

      wow. That is incredible.

      I really need to go read the relevant docs, because I cannot understand how they got from midwifery that centres women to decentering women to the point of invisibility.

    • Shanreagh 9.2

      I hope they (Michelle et al) take a case to Treaty of Waitangi Tribunal against the craziness coming out of the Midwifery Council.

      Making all bio women invisible is one way I guess to be able to concentrate on those who really are deserving of help……chest feeders etc. sarc/

      • Molly 9.2.1

        I would hope that common sense would prevail which would make further actions unnecessary. Such a large expenditure of energy required to hold ground in terms of respect for women.

        The list of contributors includes a couple of the usual suspects, I noticed.

      • Visubversa 9.2.2

        That is certainly who it is about. It is not about those few women who demand we call them men who have not managed to completely opt out of their biology and who do that most female of things and have a child,

        It is not about those who can – it is about those who cannot.

        The autogynephiliac men who want to completely take to themselves the concept of "woman" have a problem. While they can perform "femininity" they cannot perform women's reproductive functions. Therefore those things have to be uncoupled from the word "woman" and relegated elsewhere. Some just out into the public sphere -"pregnant people" and some removed from humanity entirely – the famous Lancet front page of "bodies with vaginas" that is so far removed that it encompasses dogs and giraffes as well as human beings. This is all done so that the entire concept of "woman" can be possessed by those who are not women.

        • Sabine 9.2.2.1

          This is not even about these people. This is about who will control the reproduction of the human species.

          I have said it some time ago, any Transwomen who legally is a 'woman' can not be happy about what is done, as it will affect them too. This is a movement that is using Transpeople to hide behind.

      • Sabine 9.2.3

        That would be the way to go. Another crowd fundraiser/bake sale to throw money and donations for sale at.

      • Molly 9.3.1

        I think it's worh posting the opening paragraphs:

        "So, Te tatou o te Whare Kahu | Midwifery Council is the body that regulates all midwives in Aotearoa New Zealand. It just published its proposed Revised Scope of Practice for midwives. In it the words women and mother are removed and replaced with the word whānau.1 Ex-midwife and health researcher Sarah Donovan responded to this. Dr Donovan is concerned about the removal of these words given, as she states, midwifery is “arguably the most woman-centred and mother-centred of all health professions”.

        While arguing that the changes are made to better support Māori women not all Māori are in agreement. In this interview Michelle Uriarau, from Mana Wāhine Korero argues that the Māori women chosen for consultation were handpicked and are far from representative of all iwi in Aotearoa. Uriarau also considers that Te Tiriti o Waitangi2 is being used to justify changes actually wanted by key transgender advocates who are big fans of degenderising language3.

        It’s a great interview where Uriarau refuses to comply with the entirely theory-based gender woo that would try and take biology out of even the most visceral embodied experiences.

        “When you give birth it’s not a philosophical act” said Ms Uriarau. Gold."

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    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 ...
    2 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    5 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    6 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    10 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    13 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    15 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T08:09:20+00:00