The Leader of the Free World…..or so we are lead to believe, tells us “America can be defined in a single word”…here it is, straight from the horses mouth….
I've heard many of Bidens's speechs over the years and stuttering is a very minor issue for him. It's the 'other issue' – I'm not sure if he's quite up to Shadbolt's level yet but getting very very close.
imo, that tweet and video is ageist bullshit. If Biden is struggling because he is elderly, then you cannot demonstrate that in sound bite vid and implication.
If he has dementia, likewise.
Elderly people process information and spatial awareness differently than younger people. Doesn't mean they can't think or function.
The ancient Egyptians use to have a test of a Pharaoh's fitness to rule in their 30th year – he had to run a distance within a set time.
PS Biden would beat Trump over any distance in terms of mobility. I mention this because Hu Jintao could barely walk by himself. Reagan had issues during his second term as to ability to handle concentration (stay awake) for long periods.
Biden has a combination of historic speech impediment and aging (part processing his thoughts cogently and part information overload from all those years on Capitol Hill) – that would tend to compound the problem on the communication side.
When confronted with cheap shots by lazy thinkers who judge a lifelong speech impediment as a sure sign of cognitive decline to suit their Trumpian populist propaganda narrative it is never hard to counter it with blissful facts:
Much moaning is not on-topic per se but a sign (symptom) of people under pressure. Another example is people snapping at others over trivial things that is generally uncalled for, out of proportion, and out of character. Unfortunately, it does have a contagious element as it spreads itself like a virus. Here on TS most seem to be fairly immune to it – the Mods can isolate & quarantine the super-spreaders aka concern trolls when necessary, but this is a last resort measure as it conflicts with freedoms that we hold high here.
Now look here Adrian, are you suggesting that someone whose mental powers are declining shouldn't have access to the nuclear codes?
Cos thats just ageist and cognitive deficit shaming .So what if he says his son Beau died in the Iraq war.He just misspoke, thats all, no reflection on the man who holds the fate of the world in his hands.
Mr Kruger reiterates Te Urewera is no longer a National Park. And rebuilding those huts? Yeah, good luck with that. Given the move back to nature so beloved by Greenies and Maori; in principle anyway, my guess is huts are a thing of the past. So it'll probably be back to the future with tents.
Why not go on Freecycle and ask for one free. Then contact Tuhoe to find out the real picture? Or you could ask them about bivvys.
Best to practice putting the tent up before you leave. Te Urewera, contrary to what some seem to imply, is not a 'walk in the park'. Apart from round the lake(which has its moments), climbing Panekiri, and the trip to Lake Ruapani it can be bush whacking and not country for the unprepared.
Apart from walking in to Maungapohatu I have not done any of the tracks from the Ruatahuna/Waimana northern end. In my day these were serious difficult tracks used by hunters and possum trappers.
All the while when visiting in those days you were aware that it was someone's home. People lived in the area when it was a National Park. This is an important difference to many other NZ National parks.
Have we all got so entitled that this means nothing now?
Family anecdote 'Children of the mist' was what Elsdon Best called them and Maungapohatu sums this up.
Maungapōhatu is the sacred mountain of Ngāi Tūhoe. In times long ago, when gods walked the earth and men possessed strange powers, there lived a woman called Hine-pūkohu-rangi, the personification of mist and fog. Her younger sister was Hine-wai, the personification of light, misty rain. It was Hine-pūkohu-rangi who enticed Te Maunga (the mountain) to earth. From their union came Pōtiki I, the ancestor of Ngā Pōtiki, one of the tribes occupying the land before the arrival of the Mataatua canoe. And so Tūhoe claim they are descended from their environment: the rugged bush ranges of the Urewera and the white mist clouds that cover them. '
My family farmed up close to the boundary of Tuhoe country and my grandfather said they were aptly named as 'children of the mist' just appearing, seemingly from no-where. A tribute to their bush skills/directions.
Yes….horses are the thing. My Uncle had a block behind Ohuka and he and my Aunt used to ride across country with children doubled up to visit grandparents. My grandmother used to sew the clothes for the little ones, my cousins. then they would ride back. You think it looks far away but much closer to go overland than into Wairoa, out the Napier Road then up past Raupunga.
Going up the Horomanga would have been great, far bit of river walking for you and the horse…..
Walked up from Taneatua to Ruatahuna, camping all the way, years ago, then spent 2 days trying to hitch out of Ruatahuna, eventually getting the NZ Railways bus on its once a week route along SH38. I don't like to see DOC huts being removed and not being replaced, but it should be pointed out that the back country hut system in NZ remains unique. Many other well known tramping/hiking trails around the world you just camp wherever you can, whatever the weather throws at you.
So the open mike 24/10 is there – and the link is in the comments, but the OP 24/10 does not show on the homepage which is stuck on 21/10 is because you are all on holiday?
"Clearly, that was an unwarranted assumption. New Zealand’s education system – once celebrated as one of the most successful in the world – is in free-fall. By all the recognised international comparators, we are failing – and failing fast. So bad have things become that it is increasingly difficult to find a sufficient number of willing and able participants to make our international test-results robust enough, statistically, to stand comparison. In a telling sign of the times, this dearth of suitable participants is being presented by some school principals as a signal that it is time for New Zealand to abandon international comparisons altogether."
Are 'National Standards' (partly) to blame?
Your guess is probably as good as mine, in principle anyway
Study raises concerns about National Standards [28 Nov 2013]
NZ Principals' Federation president Phil Harding said: "[The report is] confirmation [that] all the dire warnings and the negative consequences of this national standards policy are coming true.
"The only fix is a dramatic re-think of the policy. We've now got a high-stakes model … this is damaging the New Zealand education system and it's no better than a national test."
A spokeswoman for Minister of Education Hekia Parata said she would not be able to comment as she had not read the report.
National Standards 2016: Retrospective Insights, Continuing Uncertainties and New Questions
New Zealand’s National Standards policy has been deeply controversial in the education sector, especially amongst primary teachers and principals. This article provides a view of the National Standards from their introduction up until 2016, nearly a decade after they were first mooted.
National Standards The Principals’ Federation has for some time been outspoken about its concerns and the risks its members see in the Government’s National Standards Policy. To this end it joined in the Forum hosted by the New Zealand Educational Institute in November 2009.
The forum believes that national standards represent considerable risk to student learning and identified various themes and actions. In support of members around the country and those regional associations who wish to share their initiatives, the NZPF has made this page available as a resource to all.
I agree that it's virtually impossible to separate out National Standards as possible cause for dropping educational levels – from all of the other potential causes.
The actual data seems to show virtually a flat-line in student achievement during the period when National Standards were implemented.
For what it's worth, the national data shows virtually no change in the proportions of students at or above national standards so far – flat at 78 per cent in reading, 75 per cent in maths and 71 per cent in writing in each of the past three years for which data has been published.
National Standards had zero impact (it was, after all a measurement tool – not a teaching one)
National standards improvements offset declines in student achievement due to other causes.
Teachers were deliberately undermining National Standards by inflating results (see article link for the 'poor quality' of the data reported)
National Standards needed a generation to embed in (changing teacher practice is a lot harder and takes a lot longer than changing reporting practices).
Having had a child going through Primary school during the period when National Standards were implemented and then removed – I can say that my experience was that communication over a child's progress was enormously better, when teachers were required to report against National Standards.
Once that requirement was removed – school 'reports' went back to meaningless jargon – and I was literally told that a child who was clearly struggling with Maths was 'trucking along in his maths group'
[NB: this was poor teaching, rather than inability – a tutor soon brought him up to speed, and he achieves at, or slightly above his peer group at secondary school. My issue with the teacher/school wasn't the poor teaching (well, it was, but that's another story), it was that they apparently *didn't even see there was a problem*]
This article from 2016 seems to indicate that having to report to the MoE on kids not achieving, made schools focus greater attention on those kids.
And, of course, teachers and principals hated National Standards – it made it possible to compare the results achieved by individual teachers and schools. (Comparing the average achievement rate for a class at the beginning of the year, with the average rate at the end of the year – tells you whether that teacher is making a significant difference, is average, or performs worse than average. You can even be more nuanced – and look at the individual or group improvement rates – e.g. Is this teacher good at bringing up kids to average level, but doesn't extend the high achievers, or the other way around.)
And, of course, teachers and principals hated National Standards…
If that's the case, then 'National Standards' operated under a severe handicap. It does beg the question – why would the Gnats enact policy they knew would be "hated" by those charged with implementing it – seems a tad sadistic to me.
There is renewed interest in studying sadism as a personality trait. Sadism joins with subclinical psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism to form the so-called “dark tetrad” of personality.
I wonder what proportion of Kiwi MPs (of any political flavour) with children sent/send them to private schools – 'worked for me'? Education eh – what a business!
In NZ we have the post-code lottery for schooling as well as health. If you live in a wealthy area your local school is likely to approach private schools for quality of education (think of the high ratings of Epsom Girls Grammar or Auckland Grammar in Auckland – I'm sure you can plug in the names of the rich area schools in your home town).
Overseas (UK for example) MPs on both sides of the house routinely send their kids to private schools.
Hmm. If you're only ever going to make changes which are supported by the teachers unions, then you run into difficulty make any hard choices at all.
ATM, my personal belief is that the Ministry of Education (which has a much greater influence on teaching in NZ, than any government does) – has experienced pedagogical capture by a particular educational philosophy. To the extent where they ignore all contrary evidence (dropping ed stds are just one measure).
I don't know how (if this is indeed the case) that any government can turn this around. Let alone turn it around easily.
Hmm. If you’re only ever going to make changes which are supported by the teachers unions, then you run into difficulty make any hard choices at all.
Hmm – maybe just make some changes which are supported by unions?
I don't know how (if this is indeed the case) that any government can turn this around. Let alone turn it around easily.
"Pedagogical capture" notwithstanding, MoE's strategies have changed, are changing, and will change. We can, however, be certain that there will be no education(al) ‘fix’, easy or otherwise, while our parliamentary representatives treat NZ education as a political football.
Might help if Government politicians and MoE staff listened more to the collective voice of the teaching profession. One can only hope that any future NAct government will be less ideologically inclined to ignoring unions than the previous one…
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Interpreting Hekia Parata’s legacy [1 May 2017]
It is tempting to suggest that 2012, her annus horribilis, was a turning point and after that things improved. But although the depths of the PR disasters of that year weren’t ever plumbed again, Parata never gained the full trust of teachers. She continued to pursue an agenda that was completely out of step with school leaders, education academics and the teacher unions.
'Not remembering the past' could soon be a new NCEA course
You tell me….. After the litany of 'failures' under National you recited – I'd have expected to see a comparable positive storm of success under Labour – who, clearly, have no interest in upsetting the powerful teacher unions.
Really, we have to stop blaming 'Covid' for everything. They had 2 Covid-free years to set policy in place (because, clearly they had spent the previous 9 years in opposition honing their education policy /sarc/ – and knew exactly what they were going to use to replace National Standards)
And, while Covid lockdowns had an impact – it was greatest on the very young (the kids just starting school – who might just as well not have bothered), and the kids in their final NCEA years – who needed to cover specific material to a specific level (and, some of whom, had little or no access to online classes for a variety of reasons). Not to say that other kids weren't affected – but those were the critical areas.
If Covid lockdowns were such a major limiting factor on learning – then we should have seen a great chasm between the achievement results of kids in Auckland (who experienced more than double the number of lockdown days), and the kids in the rest of NZ – South Island in particular. I have yet to see any evidence of this.
Note that reducing the qualifying level for NCEA (as was done in 2020 and (for some areas) in 2021) – doesn't actually prepare kids for the next level. You still need to know Year 12 chemistry, if you want to be successful in doing Year 13 chemistry.
Hang on – you told me “education has been such a success story under Labour” (@4:20 pm)??
After the litany of 'failures' under National you recited –
I provided ~10 links (to data and the opinions of others) in response to comments in this thread – but "litany"? Still, "Perception is Reality" for some, including the reality that The Standard is a left-leaning blog.
What’s your political ‘angle’?
We come from a variety of backgrounds and our political views don’t always match up but it’d be fair to say that all of us share a commitment to the values and principles that underpin the broad labour movement and we hope that perspective will come through strongly as you read the blog.
"What is your political angle?" – good question, eh?
I'd have expected to see a comparable positive storm of success under Labour – who, clearly, have no interest in upsetting the powerful teacher unions.
Bizarre comment for a respectful centrist to make, imho. Why on earth would anyeffective Government be interested in upsetting a large group of public servants? It might prove difficult to make a case for NZ right-wing political parties being supportive of "powerful" worker (cf. taxpayer) unions, but why would they be interested in upsetting unions? Ideology?
As for expecting a "positive storm of success under Labour", that comment seems a tad hyperbolic for a centrist, but I'm biased.
If Covid lockdowns were such a major limiting factor on learning…
If NZ's Covid response wasn't "a major limiting factor on learning", then that would be an excellent outcome (imho) – the key word in "I have yet to see any evidence of this." is 'yet' – time will tell.
NCEA exam attendance was down in regions affected (most) by lockdowns (i.e. Northland, Waikato, Auckland) in 2021. Annual Report came out in May this year, IIRC.
"Make changes supported by the teacher unions' and "Pedagogical capture" raises pertinent points.
It's reasonable to say that the place of schooling and teachers in our society has changed remarkably over the past 70 years. (No doubt in a time frame people in forums such as this could understand.) I'm not talking just about the changes technological and curricular.
Was a time when there was a thing called 'country service' which saw the mass of teachers trained having to teach in identified country schools. The flow of teachers in and out of communities the length and breadth of the country assuredly had significant impact. Go there for two years, maybe meet a future spouse, become part of the local drama or rugby club, coach or organise kid's sports teams. Then likely move on.
Along with that was a system of teachers being 'graded' by Departmental inspectors on a three year cycle. It was an 'appointments and promotions' scheme, hierarchical, giving currency for those deemed capable to move 'up the ladder.' Accommodating those elements were many hundreds of small schools, one teacher, two, or three or four and so on.
After being an 'ordinary' teacher the masses aspiring to be head teachers served in small schools, trying to prove their worth, improving their grading and hoping to go onto some school bigger. Someone from Northland might transfer to Taranaki or Southland or Hawkes Bay with the system being national.
In their schools teachers tried to prove their worth, experimented, went to courses trying to pick up new ideas and put them into practice. Most consequentially, those who were aspiring to be headmasters/headmistresses were at the chalkface and running a school dealing with every child and their learning from (as it was) primer one to form two. They served apprenticeships in learning how kids learn, steps along the way, and dealing with the ebb and flow of humans on learning journeys.
The apprenticeship necessarily too was in teachers learning who they were themselves and their place in communities. And vice versa. ‘The teacher is right’ easily became part of a societal norm.
Lifeblood flowed through the countrywide veins of our schools. As the structural elements changed the nature of the business of training teachers and the expectations and demands on those in the business changed. The nature of the beasts in charge changed. The demands on them changed and so what they expect of their charges.
At it’s best learning is a magic event, a series of them, and should be that. We want altruistic, creative, demanding, challenging, personable, inspiring people in the job.
The job though, with it’s fear and tight underpants accountability demands drones. The managers, the principals need ticks in boxes not magic. And generations of parents are playing that same game. ‘The teacher is right?’ “Only if they see it like I see it.”
Changes supported by teacher unions? Teacher unions have no chance of seeing the most essential changes made. And those necessary ones won't be proposed from elsewhere where the lowest of low trust models rule.
Teacher unions have no chance of seeing the most essential changes made. And those necessary ones won't be proposed from elsewhere where the lowest of low trust models rule.
The other syndrome is one we find in many of the richest democracies in Europe, the United States, and East Asia, where trust in government has plummeted in recent years. In these circumstances, citizens overestimate the extent of corruption because it is constantly sensationalized by an increasingly fragmented and competitive media, including especially social media. Moreover, intense political polarization—driven by highly ideological and partisan voices on social media and crystallized into self-reinforcing echo chambers of agreement—makes it hard to pass legislation to address the major problems.
Simply reducing corruption or increasing transparency will not in itself restore trust in government. We must find ways to reduce political polarization, reduce bad information and incivility in cyberspace, and enable government to function more effectively again.
They were certainly introduced by National, in 2010. However they were scrapped, as one of their first actions, by Labour, in the person of Hipkins, who gleefully announced that they were being dumped in 2017.
It seems a great deal more likely that the scrapping of National Standards then is more likely to be responsible for the recent collapse in pupil's results than the fact that they were brought in long before the current 14 year olds were anywhere near school.
National Standards ended [12 December 2017]
“Starting in 2018, schools will no longer be compelled to report annually on National Standards to the Ministry of Education. The process was little more than a compliance exercise and was a major distraction to schools. There are better ways to build a nationwide picture.”
The National Standards 'tap' was turned on in 2010, and turned off in 2018 – the effects of eight years of National Standards are still flowing through schools.
NZ's education 'system' seems severely damaged – schooling is increasingly unattractive to pupils, and it's difficult to attract and retain any teachers, let alone those who might regard teaching as a calling. The pandemic hasn't helped either.
Interfering politicians must take some responsibility for this – education is too important to the future of Aotearoa New Zealand for it to continue to be a partisan political football, imho.
However, it's difficult to actually attribute any educational failure to National Standards – given that all of the measures showed that educational measures (reading, writing maths) remained pretty much static while National Standards were in place. [That's not, of course, the outcome that the Government wanted, but it's the one they got]
I can think of no learning impact which would have been invisible in any measure while NS were in place, only to become apparent when they were removed. Can you?
You mean "pretty much static", or "invisible",, as in "pretty legal"?
See Figure 6 on page 16 of this report [PDF], available from the NZI website.
National Standards 2016: Retrospective Insights, Continuing Uncertainties and New Questions [2017]
Looking back from 2016 perhaps the most concerning thing about the National Standards experience is how little genuine commitment there was on the part of the National‐led Government to assess the pros and cons of the Standards and respond accordingly. The ‘Cautionary Tale’ book discusses numerous other instances where evidence that casts doubt on the National Standards was ignored or dismissed by Ministers of Education and senior policymakers of the National‐led Government or where evidence has not been sought in the first place.
Standards and the professor [6 Feb 2010]
So it came as a shock when Hattie returned from a six-month study tour in the United States last July to tell the Herald that he was deeply concerned about the direction the Government's policy had taken and worried that it could set back education 50 years.
"50 years"! Surely you must be joking, Professor Hattie.
The actual data seems to show virtually a flat-line in student achievement during the period when National Standards were implemented.
For what it's worth, the national data shows virtually no change in the proportions of students at or above national standards so far – flat at 78 per cent in reading, 75 per cent in maths and 71 per cent in writing in each of the past three years for which data has been published.
This was from 2016. The original data (sadly) appears to have been removed from the MoE website.
Given that the latest PISA ratings are from 2018 – all we have to compare against are the reported 'test' results from the new NCEA reading/writing/maths curriculum – which had …. poor …. pass rates. This is a base-level competency test – which all students sitting NCEA level 1 should have been able to (on paper) pass. Students were selected to sit the test paper on an opt in/out basis – and schools would certainly have encouraged able students to do so (less able ones, might well have been encouraged to wait a year, to improve their pass-chances); so students sitting are highly likely to have skewed to the higher end of the academic range – which makes the pass-rates even more dismal.
This is the same John Hattie who supports performance pay for teachers, and increased class sizes (I certainly don't agree with the latter) as well as saying the the critical factor in low income households isn't money, but low parental expectations.
I've read his visible learning book – and absolutely agree that a major critical factor for effective learning is specific, targeted, timely feedback – from teacher to child – which is almost entirely missing from our education system [Based on my experience as a parent, and shared conversations with friends who are both parents and teachers]
His point has always been that measurement is pointless unless you are going to do *something* with the information.
Interestingly the report you quote (Briar Lipson), supports my argument for the pedagogical capture that I believe MoE and the NZ teaching profession has experienced; and is highly critical of their lack of willingness to review the failures in their approach.
"However, despite at least 15 years of decline, and a total failure to raise equity, New Zealand’s educational establishment keeps doubling down on child-centred orthodoxy."
Repairing the generational damage of this failed idea will take a coordinated effort. For many New Zealand educators, child-centred orthodoxy is like the air they breathe. It has redefined not only how to teach students, but even the purpose of school.
She also advocates for an evidence-based approach to education (including, ironically, some form of 'nationalized assessments') – p. 112.
A very interesting report indeed, I would agree with the majority of her recommendations – thank you for drawing it to my attention.
The original data (sadly) appears to have been removed from the MoE website.
That's a shame. Still, since you're familiar with "PISA ratings", and have read Briar Lipson's NZI report, perhaps you could comment on the trends illustrated in Figure 6 on page 16 of Lipson's report [PDF]. To my eye it looks as if the PISA scores for Maths, Science and Reading all decrease relatively sharply between 2009 and 2012, with further smaller decreases in the 2015 and 2018.
It's not, however, all bad news – that same graph shows that between 2009 and 2017 the percentage of school leavers with NCEA Level 2 or higher increased from 70% to nearly 80%.
Lipson summarises the constrasting trends thus:
While the NCEA paints an illusion of rising standards, students’ scores in the most basic areas have been dropping relentlessly.
One might say that treating education as a business was bound to improve apparent student achievement, but I couldn't possibly comment.
Lipson is no fan of teacher unions (this is an NZI report), and views National Standards (2010 – 2017) as a means of ensuring accountability:
For reasons like these, teachers’ unions have long resisted more accountability in education. In fact, the Primary teachers’ union, the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), successfully campaigned in 2018 to remove National Standards.
Accountability is important, but it seems to me that the National Standards initiative as it was implemented was always going to prove incompatible with a high-trust model of teacher-led education.
Maybe it comes down to certain political tribes simple not valuing education.
Your argument about 14 yr old's not being subjected to National Standards is flawed, as the standards were abolished 4 yrs ago they had spent the first five years within that system.
My partner formerly a secondary schoolteacher long moaned about pupils arriving in that system barely unable to read, she always complained about primary teachers not doing their job. She is now involved in basic literacy and numeracy assessments, can you imagine any 14 yr old not being able to understand any times tables, but this is what assessment is showing and at a private Christian school to boot.
Yes, they spent the first 5 years in the system. During that time – the reported standards were consistent (flat, without improvement, but not dropping).
Unless you can think of a way that the damage could have been caused – but remained invisible – until National Standards were removed…..
Times tables haven't been taught in primary schools (at least not as part of the state curriculum) for at least the last 15 years. The old days of the class chanting 3 x 7 = 21; 3 x 8 = 24 – are long gone. Maths teaching is 'student-led' (as is the rest of the curriculum) and focuses on number strategies (rather than teaching a standard way to solve a problem). While this is a successful approach for kids who have mathematical minds – and enjoy number games ; it is (observationally) a poor strategy for kids who *don't* think that way – and would benefit more from a 'this is how to solve the problem' approach. Many get confused, and then withdraw from maths with the 'I can't do it' approach. [NB: from discussion with my kid's tutor, she spends at least the first 6 months with any kid, convincing them that they *can* do it]
Again, observationally, very few primary teachers either enjoy or are good at teaching maths (there are exceptions) – and it's often a 'pro forma' excercise – rather than the enjoyment that I see in teaching in other areas.
This is troubling to say the least. Not to mention the high truency levels. I wonder how Jan Tinettis adds to get kids back into the classroom are going.?
a reserve under the Reserves Act 1977 has the reserve status revoked.
(3)
The fee simple estate in the establishment land vests in Te Urewera and is held under, and in accordance with, this Act.
this Act is the Te Urewera Act 2014
The continued non-acceptance of this basic fact seems to indicate that there is a mass happening of 'old man yells at cloud' (anger at things they cannot control) affecting among others, the race scared, those taking Stuff as gospel.
Does this idea of landowners apply to all people? Some owners of high country land have removed musterers huts that also functioned as huts for others/trampers. Does the shock horror apply to them also? Or does it only apply to Maori & specifically Te Urewera and Tuhoe?
(My bro in law has been involved with use of these musterers huts over the years working with owners/lessees to make them safe. Over recent years many have been broken into/wrecked – not by trampers in need of a safe haven but by 4WD people (not the clubs) but the yobbo ones)
4WD may not be able to make it to the hinterland huts but they sure can make a mess on the margins.
Title of what? Outrage by locals who wilfully continue to misunderstand the current situation? My heart bleeds, it really does.
Your Facebook like response is difficult to respond to.
If Tuhoe has control of its land then what it does on its land is surely up to it. All of this would have been done under a management plan and with the knowledge of the board that has 3 DOC reps on it.
'Old man yells at cloud' refers to the continued non acceptance of the existence of the legislation. Acceptance or even a reading and undestanding of the legislation would lessen this.
Is there such yelling when other management functions sich as pest control are undertaken?
what's your point Pat? Please explain, because I've read your two comments twice and I don't get it.
Shanreagh was using the meme of old man yelling at clouds to point the people who don't seem to understand that the area is no longer a national park and hasn't been for a long time, but are angry about it.
'old man yells at cloud' is a pejorative expression against those disapproving of something they cannot impact…..and the case of Te Urewera it is not applicable for the simple reason there is every potential to impact that which is causing disapproval.
Te Urewera Act (2014) is an Act of Parliament that didnt apply prior to that date and can be as easily rescinded or modified by any subsequent Parliament…and as we know public pressure has been known to move politicians …in democracies.
Democracy is not immutable, that is the domain of theocracies and autocracies
Prior to 1860 it was land owned and occupied by Tuhoe since time immemorial. After 1864, I think, it was taken by the Crown, confiscated, in the terms of the time, for an act that Tuhoe had no part in. In 1954 this land was taken further away by the declaration of National Park status. Tuhoe were not consulted on this.
When I say 'taken further away' to take land out of a national park involves an Act of Parliament and even had there been a will to return Te Urewera direct from the NP this would not have seen the light of day. If it had been taken up we would have had the unconscionable action of this being politicised/polarised on party grounds. So the delivery of a right and just solution would have been subject to a political whim.
The investigations are correctly apolitical through the Waitangi Tribunal. Identifying the redress options are also correctly apolitical. The financial options are correctly political as it involves $$$$ from the Govt of NZ. The finalising of the settlement by an Act of parliament is correctly political as we do not want a settlement overturned without great thought.
The Te Urewera act sets up a Board. There is no time limit on that.
Is it just this land you have a problem with or are/were you similarly concerned with the many other Treaty Settlements such as Ngai Tahu, Tainui, Sealord. Why this one in particular?
'Claims to the Waitangi Tribunal are allegations that the Crown has breached the Treaty of Waitangi by particular actions, inactions, laws, or policies and that Māori have suffered prejudice (harmful effects) as a result.
Link to the Whakatohea claim. This contains in language we can understand what the deprivation of land from Maori can mean. This is what I mean when I say that while all of the settlements are written in good clear English, some are lyrical in the language as well. it is this combination that makes them so readable. Having had an involvement on the land side way down food chain I know that great care is taken with the language with many of those involved across many depts being given the chance to say ‘does this say what we mean it to say?’
In 2010 – when Tuhoi (including the same leader now quoted) were angling for the transfer of the management from DoC – they made unequivocal statements that public access would not be infringed in any way.
Chief negotiator Tamati Kruger told the Herald yesterday that Tuhoe had given assurances to the Government that access to some of New Zealand's most rugged and beautiful tracks, Lakes Waikaremoana and Waikareiti "would not be compromised in any way".
"The public access that is available now will not be limited or diminished in any way – what changes is that Tuhoe now owns that area but the public's interests does not change."
I think applying a lityle pressure on Mr Kruger is not a bad thing,he made a deal he needs to honor it,for the sake of co governess deals to follow if nothing else.
Any comments on the conservation disaster that has resulted from TUT management?
Any comments on the conservation disaster that has resulted from the dominant culture's management of the whole country?
Because if we're going down that track, of critiquing Tūhoe's management, and I see no reason not to other than it's rude and hypocritical, then I'll point to the politics that you support as having a massively detrimental impact on nature eg the loss of biodiversity from industrial dairying.
The reason I'm pointing that out is that there are real and deep differences in world view and values here, and imo that's the stuff we should be wrangling with. It's easy enough to point a finger at any Iwi and the things we don't like, but we're a bit slower to point the finger at Pākehā. Maybe we should look at what the underlying values are and why each set is driving what it is.
Comparing the conservation results in Te Urewera before and after the change in ownership.
This is not me, saying it's a disaster; it's respected conservation professionals – many who have dedicated a large portion of their life to making a difference in this area.
I already knew about this issue. My point here is the narrative you are weaving here about Tūhoe and its ability to manage things properly. I'm suggesting we dig deeper and look at the conflict of values. I think the time has passed for just writing of Māori and enforcing Pākehā values.
Interestingly, the removal of the huts is also opposed by Tuhoe locals (presumably part of the hunters who used them for shelter)
The move has sparked anger from some Tūhoe locals like Paki Nikora.
"The lack of consultation has been terrible," Nikora told Newshub.
Nikora is one of 8000 people who've signed a petition calling for it to stop. He's been using the huts since the 1960s for hunting and tramping and said there's been no proper communication with the community on the matter.
There is a quantitative difference between the removal of the odd DoC hut (unless you can link to a source which shows a systematic pattern of large scale removal) – and the proposal to remove more than 50 from Te Urewera.
I also note that DoC go to significant lengths to work with community groups for upkeep and maintenance of remote huts, which primarily benefit their group.
a commenter on TS expressing their opinion that Tūhoe have control of the land, and that this means it is up to them how they manage it.
a statement from the chair of the governing board of the legal structure Tūhoe were required to have by the Crown as part of the settlement process. He says that Te Urewera is no longer a national park and they will do things differently. I read this as meaning that Māori have their own thinking about management that is different from the Crown's ideas about National Parks. This doesn't surprise me, there are clear cultural differences between Māori and Pākehā on conservation and management of nature.
What I'm not seeing is
it's our land and we can do what we want – tough luck if what we want to do, doesn't suit the public.
although I can see how some might choose to interpret it that way. I am curious if you believe that Iwi should have a consultation process with Tauiwi (or the Crown, or New Zealanders generally) about what they do with the land returned to them under treaty settlements. And if so, what is the rationale?
My memory is that DOC removed back country huts in the 80s or 90s without consulting the public, and it did piss a lot of people off. It wasn't the odd hut, it was DOC going through and removing the ones they didn't want to keep and it was systematic. Have a feeling that groups intervened, not sure how many were saved.
If it's the number of huts in Te Urewera that is bothering you, rather than it being Māori doing it not DOC, then I'd like to see an audit of the condition and usage of the huts being removed. Fifty huts seems a very large number for the area. Were DOC keeping them all in good condition? Who was using them?
Which isn't to say there isn't a place for critiquing what is happening. I think it's useful to tease out what the objections are specifically, and look at to what extent this is an objection of transfer of power from the dominant culture to Māori, and if so, that's a different conversation than issues about huts.
I am curious if you believe that Iwi should have a consultation process with Tauiwi (or the Crown, or New Zealanders generally) about what they do with the land returned to them under treaty settlements. And if so, what is the rationale?
Apparently TUT don't even have a consultation process with Tuhoe living close by – referencing the quote above.
DOC are not allowed (by TUT) to do any maintenance in Te Urewera – that is all controlled by TUT – that was a big part of the stoush which saw access to Lake Waikaremoana closed for months.
My understanding is that these huts are 'shelter-from-the-elements' huts used by hunters (they're not camping venues). As such, they will be predominantly used by local (or regional) hunters – not tourists or backpackers. Apparently Tuhoe among them.
Some may view the 2014 Act as a recent wrong 'not making a right', whereas to others (me included) it's about righting wrongs. Personally, I would have preferred the land to remain a National Park (sans mining thank-you very much), but NZ's population is growing.
As Sacha says access is different from maintaining old and now unserviceable huts.
Before many of these huts were built you packed in and out.
I think we need to give Tuhoe time to establish and not automatically assume the worst as many nay sayers are doing.
I don't think Tuhoe have said what you have said they are saying but in point of fact it their land, vested in the board, it is no longer NP. We may not have an automatic right of access (I don't know) or huts but then we don't have an automatic right of access or to huts to many other properties in NZ do we?
If the land was illegally taken from someone do we, as the taker ie the Crown as the Treaty partner, have a unilateral right to impose conditions on its return? No we don't. The Crown has broached ideas and Tuhoe has agreed and the two are working through the Board. So in fact we as those that the Crown worked on behalf of have the ability.
If the public don't have an inbuilt right what is the matter of trust? Is it that arguments over huts may derail other Treaty claims? If so I don't think so as those working in the field will not let irrelevant matters derail the working they are doing to investigate.
Is it that the current Govt will lose trust? Generally these claims and investigations are apolitical as they should be.
So is the trust lost from people who don't know the background, can't be bothered to know the background? If so I agree that perhaps greater publicity about the role of Treaty Settlements, the two partners may be useful but then perhaps not.
People will just continue to follow and believe click bait, ill researched articles in MSM. That is where MSM gets its raison d'etre from. Regrettably this will give people a reason to grumble about anti Maaari this or anti Mowri (depending on your Europeanised pronunciation).
There does seem to be a bit of a bow wave building up where Maori issues are a convenient whipping boy. Winston Peters and his silly 'apartheid' comments seems to be grabbing this wholeheartedly.
We may not have an automatic right of access (I don't know) or huts but then we don't have an automatic right of access or to huts to many other properties in NZ do we?
When DOC created the great walks, they introduced a rule that you couldn't free camp along the tracks any more. Because obviously at that point, making money was a new priority. This was loss of pre-existing access. Admittedly it was before the internet, but I don't remember that the same kind of animosity as gets directed a Māori (even allowing for the large degree of antipathy towards DOC from certain parts of society).
The 'trust' that is lost is between the public statements of a lead negotiator before the transfer of Te Urewera, and the public statements and actions of the same individual as a member of the trust board afterwards.
With co-governance on the table – not just for Treaty settlements, but in a raft of areas (including 3 waters) this kind of situation means that people are much less likely to trust iwi statements about their intentions.
Would you ever vote for another National Park to move into iwi ownership?
Would you ever vote for another National Park to move into iwi ownership?
I might if there was a guarantee that mining couldn't happen on/under the land. But the question is off imo, because it's going to depend on which park, and what Iwi reps and others are saying. Or are you saying that all Māori are liars?
Why would we ever vote on this? It is supposed to be an apolitical process designed to right wrongs? It has worked through both Labour and National Governments.
It so happens that the land that was taken from Tuhoe, for no reason and then had a another land alienation (to NP) put on top while it was still in public ownership. If this was proven to be the case in another situation I would have no hesitation in supporting a return of land taken unjustly to Maori from whom it was taken.
As I said above I am struggling to think of another NP where the fact situation mirrors Tuhoe and where the original people are still living on the land.
Are you able to name other NPs where the original owners, from time immemorial have lived on the land right through its time as a NP?
I have forgotten nothing. However, most New Zealanders don't know what's being done behind their backs on both sides of the fence, regardless of rights and wrongs. These issues are hiving off in unexpected ways:
I'm asking you to explain in your own words what *you mean. Links are good, but they're there to back up commenter's points and arguments. The reason for this is that we can't expect people to read a whole article and parse what is in someone's mind. It's on the person making the comment to explain.
For instance, removal of the huts is clearly not behind people's backs, because it's in the public domain that this is being done. So what did you mean exactly?
Sub groups of Tuhoe have gone behind, or moved forward, ( take your pick) with hut removal without consultation with either the public or other Tuhoe.
Also I know personally of people who have been assaulted and threatened. I seriously suggest you do not visit this area because Tuhoe are a law unto themselves. They dislike Pakehas, and they call other Maori tribes 'Brown Pakeha.''It's so sad because this area is one of the last in NZ that harks back to a time of the Moa and pre European. It is so beautiful.
Unfortunately things wont’ be getting better anytime soon.
If the people have gone there with the entitled and incorrect views that have been exhibited here on TS I am not surprised they have not received a warm welcome.
Had your friends contacted Tuhoe before arriving? You know how some people like to have a warning of the arrival of others, you know being polite and all that. Finding out if it was possible, where, what cost etc?
It is a beautiful place and it is also someone's home and it also does not belong to us.
Even if you or your friends made contact and asked now about it and if you had the time from now on asked if you could give them a hand, no obligation, with anything.
It cannot be easy hosting this event with a smallish permanent population and with many living away from home.
In this way you will get to be better informed, do something to help people, have fun, get to know others.
There is a strategy to rid the area of western influences
We remove the western influences and their imprint within Te Urewera. We regrow the belief in ourselves, and that our care practices by Tūhoe hands and hearts will lead the way.
and
We treasure our indigenous ecological systems and biodiversity through significantly reducing key existing pressures, enabling Te Urewera to a natural state of balance.
And even if it [wide public consultation] were, and it isn’t, ‘consultation’ is becoming a euphemism for ‘listen to me and alleviate all my concerns or this is a farce and I’ll moan & complain till the cows come home’. I’d like to think that it is foundational to democracy to agree to disagree throughout each and every process as well regarding all outcomes.
We are heading into a future with no defining constitutional references.
NZ doesn't have a written constitution, so do you mean that our current conventions that are the basis of an unwritten constitution are changing to not having any? Please give examples, with evidence.
In the link provided you will notice some legal rulings have been made and legal oversight and jurisdiction established. But nothing is happening. Obviously our ''current conventions'' have no teeth. Maori are now able to thumb their nose at the law because of Maori Tikanga.
This is a very poor example of some thing, far be it for me to say racial profiling about 'Maaris' and it does nothing to bolster your argument.
If I was running your argument I would be looking at the threat to our Westminster system of Government posed by the Sovereign Citizens movement. These people, given their head have the ability to turn our style of Govt on its head and bingo we are all back being ruled under Admiralty law and the law of the Sea and Discovery. No thanks I prefer the system that the Ngati Wikitorias have given us at Waitangi in 1840.
Treaty settlements have been part of NZ life since the Waitomo Caves and Sealord Fisheries claims. There were large settled claims for Tainui and Ngai Tahu in the mid 90s……so at least 25 years.
It does not take much of a sense of right and wrong to concede that taking someone's land as punishment for something they did not do and then compounding this wrong by further alienating under a National Park status is offensive. Yet this is what happened to Tuhoe.
The need to meet and learn from Treaty of Waitangi Claims has been a feature of both Labour and National Govts with Rt Hon Sir Doug Graham being an enthusiastic supporter. He speaks on YouTube below.
Ngai Tahu have had settlement payments before. I can't find my notes but they had received four payments historicaly leading up to the present if I remember correctly:
''The first settlements:
Other inquiries and commissions followed. All commented on the misery and poverty that Ngāi Tahu endured after the land sales of the mid-19th century. A 1920–21 commission of inquiry suggested they should be paid compensation of £354,000, but no immediate action was taken. In 1928 the first Ngāi Tahu Trust Board was set up, with a meeting the following year to help identify the beneficiaries of the proposed compensation.
''It was not until 1944 that the first Labour government passed the Ngāi Tahu Claim Settlement Act. This awarded Ngāi Tahu £300,000, payable at a rate of £10,000 a year for 30 years. This was less than the recommended £354,000 of the royal commission, whose findings had always been contested by Ngāi Tahu. Nevertheless, the act was passed with the intention of making £300,000 a full and final settlement of the Ngāi Tahu claim. In 1946, legislation reconstituted the Ngāi Tahu Māori Trust Board, which enabled the funds to be administered.''
''Treaty settlements have been part of NZ life since the Waitomo Caves and Sealord Fisheries claims. There were large settled claims for Tainui and Ngai Tahu in the mid 90s……so at least 25 years.''
”It was not until 1944 that the first Labour government passed the Ngāi Tahu Claim Settlement Act. This awarded Ngāi Tahu £300,000, payable at a rate of £10,000 a year for 30 years. This was less than the recommended £354,000 of the royal commission, whose findings had always been contested by Ngāi Tahu. Nevertheless, the act was passed with the intention of making £300,000 a full and final settlement of the Ngāi Tahu claim.”
As I said before there have been other historical payments. One I believe was for 27,000 pounds. Plus, I believe(?) Ngai Tahu will receive payments in perpetuity.
”Two iwi have quietly been paid huge top-ups, totalling $370 million, to their supposed "full and final" Treaty of Waitangi settlements.”
Waikato-Tainui received $190m and the South Island's Ngāi Tahu $180m – more than they originally settled for in 1995 and 1998, respectively.
The Government made the payments on December 15 without any public announcement, but they were discovered by Stuff and confirmed by the Office of Treaty Settlements this week.
A source in the Labour-led Government said some ministers were unhappy that every time a Treaty settlement was achieved, another 33 cents in the dollar had to be paid to the two tribes.”
Like I said: There is no way we as a country can move forward with with this type of stuff going on.
But in the case of Ngai Tahu, I do have a problem. It has a contestable history that is different to the one portrayed in the media. And when some Labour MPs have a problem with Ngai Tahu, you know for sure we all have a problem.
Where can all this lead. Here's just one peripheral outcome using Australia as an example.
Like I said: There is no way we as a country can move forward with with this type of stuff going on.
What type of stuff? You were asked to clarify and you didn't.
Let me see if I can guess: you believe that treaty settlements should be full and final? and that if we don't do that, then something terrible will happen.
Can you please confirm if this is what you believe, and then say what the terrible thing is? I/m sure you think you are being clear, but it's really not.
1- Legal uncertainties around settlements and their outcomes. Different tribes being treated differently re settlement outcomes.
2- The public being increasingly ostracized by Maori/ Maori organisations around land rights and co governance.
3- Secretive government agreements behind the backs of the public. Or agreements not explained properly and signalled properly to the public.
4- Uncertainty around legal obligations/ rights regarding things Maori. Eg Maori health.
5- Racist legal rulings the allow Maori offenders to have a cultural report presented during criminal trials with judges able to take such a report into consideration.
6- A real pissed off public. The outcome of that will be apparent at the next election. Only for the public to become pissed off with the next government. No government will be able to fix all this supposed Maori stuff.''
7- Average Maori who just want to get on with life having to suffer discrimination because racists tar all Maori with the same brush fuelled by a media who sensationalise some stories, and don't report on others. Have you heard the word Maori associated with 'ram raids?'
My point is there is no coherent way forward as a country. The treaty settlement issue is all over the place. Maori, like The Maori Party, really want separate state within a state. Pakeha have had enough, especially the ones who cannot wrap their heads around the fact that Maori will no longer be out of sight and mind. Maori can't agree amongst themselves over a variety of issues, so they can't move forward as a people. All these issues are now being magnified by the times we live in, especially economic wise.
And, yes, settlements must be final. But they never will be because some Maori are claiming modern grievances?
You may be thinking I'm a sad and pessimistic. Not true, I'm only pessimistic about the future of our country. There is no future. I would love to here your argument ''That there is a future for Aotearoa?''
Like I said: There is no way we as a country can move forward with with this type of stuff going on.
mean?
What is the 'stuff'? payments for unfair Crown actions is that 'stuff'? Does this view only apply to Maori or do we include other payments for 'stuff' such as unfair imprisonment etc. Or are you able to accept payment of $$$ to people wrongly accused of a crime by the Crown but you cannot accept payment of land and $$$ where the payment is because the Crown wronged an iwi?
If you had read the background to the Ngai Tahu claim you would have realised that it is all not as black and white re earlier claims.
In which case, what were effectively read as 'promises' by both Tuhoe and the Government/DoC – that Te Urewera would be effectively retained as a National Park (even though the ownership had changed) were, at best naive and at worst profoundly dishonest.
I think to do yourself justice you will need to link to these promises.
Also please read through their website. Some of the stuff that has been raised here on TS is borderline lacking in honesty because it is from someone's 'friend' or I remember reading . Best to get info from the horse's mouth as it were. Slight Tuhoe pun here.
Neither the legislation nor the Treaty Settlement documents say anything about it remaining as a de facto NP. In fact the legislation clearly and specifically removes references to NP Act, Reserves Act and Land Act as modifiers on the ability to do what is needed, as assessed by Tuhoe on the land.
Chief negotiator Tamati Kruger told the Herald yesterday that Tuhoe had given assurances to the Government that access to some of New Zealand's most rugged and beautiful tracks, Lakes Waikaremoana and Waikareiti "would not be compromised in any way".
"The public access that is available now will not be limited or diminished in any way – what changes is that Tuhoe now owns that area but the public's interests does not change."
Here's Chris Finlayson on the subject (note that this is after Key flat-out refused to transfer 'ownership' of Te Urewera to Tuhoe)
Chris Finlayson said the new structure will allow the historical, cultural and spiritual connection between Te Urewera and Tuhoe to be fully recognised for the first time, while the biodiversity of the area is protected and enhanced and public access is guaranteed for all New Zealanders.
He said while Tuhoe would take an increasing role in management over time, that did not mean that the tribe is getting ownership through the back door.
The minister said he is happy to leave the ultimate question of ownership of the park to future generations to decide.
Please note, that there was zero discussion at the time that this was intended to be a transfer into private ownership or into exclusive control of Tuhoe. The expressed intention at the time was partnership (what has later been come to be called co-governance).
Things are happening and will happen in the future. No-one really expects Te Urewera to be operated as a mirror copy of a national park. Things will happen in their own time and to the timetable of Tuhoe.
Please also read the aims etc for Te Urewera that I linked to earlier I don't mind linking to them again, it's no skin off my nose.
Do you not see the disconnect between the reporting at the time, and the legislation to which you keep linking?
Do you expect ordinary Kiwis to read legislation? Really?
TUT aims are all post facto – i.e. they were not published prior to the legislation being passed. And are – as I've pointed out – in conflict with public assurances made by the lead negotiator (same person as is currently fronting for the TUT board)
Well it is the legislation that is used to guide the actions from 2014 on. Prior to 2014 when it was a National Park it was legislation that guided administrators. Land administrators would not look for guidance on land management from newspapers. Newspaper reports add colour, explanations that may or may not be correct but would not be relied on for legal guidance.
I am not reading that there was any commitment to keeping Te Urewera just exactly as it was when it was a NP. Everyone who had knowledge of how lands handed over to iwi as part of Treaty settlements would be naive to think that the land would remain exactly as it was.
From what I can see from looking at the press material it was access that was talked about at the time. Reading the website there is nothing there to suggest access is constrained. Huts do not equal access.
What I can see from reading the management plans is that there is a plan to remove old and unsafe huts. There seems to be a plan also to bring the admin down to a number that could be competently managed, to not spread themselves (the workcrew) too widely and thinly.
Many NZers read legislation. Every public servant that works in a Govt Dept reads 'their' legislation. Every accountant and accounts administrator reads tax legislation, HR practitioners look at the Health & Safety in Employment Act and legislation about Employment contracts etc, Health administrators read the health & disabilities act. Citizens Advice Bureau staff read legislation. You would be surprised at how many NZers read legislation in the course of their jobs & interest and would find no great hardship in looking at treaty legislation.
As I have said before the Treaty legislation is a particularly clear type of legislation.
Other people would go directly to the Tuhoe site to get the advice from that on what the plans are. Both legislation and management plans are better sites to gather info from than newspapers.
Maori had no obligation to parade their plans before settlement. They knew they would have legislation that would guide them, and that they had to abide by, a board with reps from conservation and management plans to guide day to day, year to year work.
I am willing to let people have a go, they now have had land and mana restored. I suggest it would be a good idea for others to do so too.
Even by contacting Tuhoe, going to their festival rather than moaning from a distance, visiting packing in and out if need be, going on the close at hand walks.
I have seen an unpleasant and anti-Maori side over this thread.
I have seen people who are unwilling to let go their prejudices, who rely utterly on MSM and on sniping from a distance.
This weekend is the 80th anniversary of the battle of El Alamein. This WW2 desert battle was one where NZ troops featured against the Nazis…..Rommel. The Maori Battalion played a distinguished role in this battle. I had a father who fought alongside them & Australians in this particular battle against fascism. Maori fought so all of us as NZers could live our lives gently and peacefully.
Maori are not the enemy.
Please learn to live with them gently, respectfully and peacefully. Please learn discernment in what you read. Newspapers/media are here to make money, they do this by exploiting and click baiting. Go to the source rather than let it be interpreted for you.
It involves land taken under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act something could happen to Pakeha. The occupants refuse to move. The occupants seem to identify as Maori. Thye have fought a case against removal to the maori Land court and lost.
Please, what is the point of link other than the race of the people involved? Or is it just blatant smearing and diverting?
This case does not bolster your claim:
We are heading into a future with no defining constitutional references.
It seems to have worked well with the Police doing their job, with the person against whom the orders being taken having the chance to have the case looked at. All this in a country where we have operated very well using the Westminster system of justice.
You are missing the point. Everything, when its comes to our laws, seems to have flexibility when it comes to Maoridom for a number of reasons:
1- Organisations and government departments are unsure of their legal footing with regards to their actions. Especially as these departments have solid indoctrination processes into Maori Tikanga.
2- The Police are loathed to deal with things Maori for fear of public condemnation, woke condemnation, the Race Relations Office and Maori condemnation. Apologies to all who didn't make the list.
3- UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. What does this mean for our laws?
''Please, what is the point of link other than the race of the people involved? Or is it just blatant smearing and diverting?''
''Nicholas and his wife do not recognise the Crown’s authority to take the family land''
''The local hapū has “unqualified sovereign jurisdiction” over the land, the signs say, and kaitiaki (guardians) “reserve the … right to remove any … aliens at any time.''
“All presumed claims of title or right in and over our whenua … are not recognised and thus have no validity.”
''When Nicholas was first served with an eviction notice in 2020, dozens of people – including gang members, activists, lawyers and politicians – descended on the land, vowing to stop the eviction, claiming it was Māori ancestral land.''
''Stuff revealed in 2018 that a police iwi liaison officer had got into hot water with her bosses for writing an opinion – later used by Nicholas in his appeals – that the land was Māori land.''
Shanreagh, I take a global approach. You should, too. This type of rhetoric is happening right across New Zealand. I think a Nat/ ACT government will bring things to a head.
So I stand by my original assertion:
We are heading into a future with no defining constitutional references.
Ok, what say I say the things that the Nicholas family says about their land, about my own land. I am a a criminal and I want no rates or planning. I am free to say it. I am free to assert what ever I like.
So I get convicted of a crime where the proceeds of crown recovery act applies. I still assert.
If however I lost a court case involving the land that is where my freedom to do whatever legal things on my land ends. I can continue occupy as some have done when subject to a mortgagee sale. I might even try my luck, if I was mad enough with the sovereign citizens mob. Basically a range of illegal or outside the state options exist.
The point is that it is not a specifically Maori thing to do all or any of these things.
I loathe the mindset that says it is just because Maori people are involved that they have special rights or do this or that and 'woe is me'. As I said before these people seem to have done a pretty good job of using all of the avenues our Westminster system of govt has given them. They have used the rules that Pakeha brought. Not with any success mind. Now they are asserting their right by staying. Occupations have been around for years.
I forsee a skirmish. It could easily have been a Pakeha facing this act.
The thought of a Nact govt makes shivers run up and down my spine. We have our people here we devise our own solutions. We have a Westminster based system of Govt, lets keep that working as it should.
Can we extend that agreeing to have differing opinions to Tuhoe and its ongoing management of Te Urewera.
That would be a big step forward.
It would mean instead of grumbling that things are not exactly the same as before 2014 we allow Tuhoe to have and implement its own plans for Te Urewera.
Some of these plans we may like others not so much.
Nothing. Boris didn't have the numbers (and both Sunak and Boris knew that was the case).
Much like the various contenders in our political parties who 'have a go' when a leadership contest happens – but quickly pull out when it's evident they don't have the support.
If you know you don't have the support, then going ahead with a bid for leadership is simply an exercise in humiliation – not many people are actually into public self-flagellation.
It could be eight hours that we work here,
Eight hours for to sleep,
Eight hours with the family and the company you keep
Today is Labour Day, it commemorates the struggle to define a work day as an eight hour stretch. Samuel Parnell is credited with forcing the issue in Aotearoa New Zealand as early as 1840. Labour day was first officially celebrated in 1890 and an elderly Parnell was able to attend the celebrations. The day itself is often seen as just another holiday but it also offers us the time to reflect on the philosophy behind worker struggles of history and their continued relevance today.
Very good Arkie. I am certainly grateful……though through the excesses of the neo-lib reforms it was difficult to maintain an 8 hour workday and even now in some places one is thought to be a good worker if you work longer than 8 hours unpaid. Sucked in to this for a period of time through from the 1980s……
In one workplace we decided to leave after 8 hours, but what happens when we get home, what do we do was the cry? Over that time the work got done, and many of us had gardens as we had never had before……, others did exercise. We were all much more productive as human beings, as people.
And while some harbour hopes that such long-established drugs will be free of the conflicts of interest often alleged of large traditional pharmaceutical companies, this is not automatically valid. All pharmacological health treatments are invented, produced and marketed by someone who is likely to have personal and financial interest in its widespread use.
A financial interest is the least of our worries. As we've found out, if a pharmacological health treatment can capture our media, government, and most industries then something is very, very wrong.
Australia sees rough weather and headwinds as it sets to announce its budget tomorrow.
We have responsibly gone through the budget, line-by-line, and identified savings, or re-prioritisations, where we can to begin the task of budget repair or pay for new government priorities," she said.
It is believed $3.6 billion will be saved through the government reducing its spending on external contractors, advertising, travel and legal expenses, while $2 billion in grants promised by the former government will be cancelled.
Also learning from the mistakes from the UK were markets in the form of bond vigilantes will punish fiscal imprudence.Australia will still carry on with the Morrison tax cuts ( costing the budget 250b over 10 years) whilst hoping for revenue increases whilst mining revenues start to contract on risks of global recession.
left Lynn a note in the back end. Have turned the feed off. Can you see where to deleted the individual feeds? Not sure I want to press too many buttons.
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There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. 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 ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
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:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track 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 publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
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 publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
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 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
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RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
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While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
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Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
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The Leader of the Free World…..or so we are lead to believe, tells us “America can be defined in a single word”…here it is, straight from the horses mouth….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqiOeiG4VNo
[note: Joe Biden has a lifelong speech impediment that included stuttering. The word he was about to say is ‘possibilities’ – weka]
If he were the Cognitive Genius his predecessor was it would've come out much easier.
Trump: "America can be defined in a single word, 'Mine."
disability shaming, charming. I’m guessing it’s ageism as well.
For those interested,
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/joe-biden-stutter/
I've heard many of Bidens's speechs over the years and stuttering is a very minor issue for him. It's the 'other issue' – I'm not sure if he's quite up to Shadbolt's level yet but getting very very close.
https://twitter.com/KeaweWong/status/1583825475285106688?cxt=HHwWgICqiZu48PorAAAA
Here's the fuller clip of Biden. Sounds like a stutter to me.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5010607/user-clip-america-nation-defined-single-word
imo, that tweet and video is ageist bullshit. If Biden is struggling because he is elderly, then you cannot demonstrate that in sound bite vid and implication.
If he has dementia, likewise.
Elderly people process information and spatial awareness differently than younger people. Doesn't mean they can't think or function.
The ancient Egyptians use to have a test of a Pharaoh's fitness to rule in their 30th year – he had to run a distance within a set time.
PS Biden would beat Trump over any distance in terms of mobility. I mention this because Hu Jintao could barely walk by himself. Reagan had issues during his second term as to ability to handle concentration (stay awake) for long periods.
Biden has a combination of historic speech impediment and aging (part processing his thoughts cogently and part information overload from all those years on Capitol Hill) – that would tend to compound the problem on the communication side.
Remember Winston Peters 'resting his eyes'….
When confronted with cheap shots by lazy thinkers who judge a lifelong speech impediment as a sure sign of cognitive decline to suit their
Trumpianpopulist propaganda narrative it is never hard to counter it with blissful facts:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stutterers#Politicians
Or with informative and even historically fairly accurate quality entertainment:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King%27s_Speech
Good grief ageism, pot shots at disability, cheap and nasty shots at Maaris. What are we on about. This is a snarky horrible thread.
It is Labour Day. We are lucky to have had it for long and to have forward thinkers. doers. change-ers from way back when.
Can we emulate those people? It is better than falling prey to the Moaning Minnie Virus that still seems to have us in its clutches.
I thought it was linked pathologically to the Covid virus when this moaning became fulsome. But it seem to have come in coincidently.
Much moaning is not on-topic per se but a sign (symptom) of people under pressure. Another example is people snapping at others over trivial things that is generally uncalled for, out of proportion, and out of character. Unfortunately, it does have a contagious element as it spreads itself like a virus. Here on TS most seem to be fairly immune to it – the Mods can isolate & quarantine the super-spreaders aka concern trolls when necessary, but this is a last resort measure as it conflicts with freedoms that we hold high here.
Now look here Adrian, are you suggesting that someone whose mental powers are declining shouldn't have access to the nuclear codes?
Cos thats just ageist and cognitive deficit shaming .So what if he says his son Beau died in the Iraq war.He just misspoke, thats all, no reflection on the man who holds the fate of the world in his hands.
Mr Kruger reiterates Te Urewera is no longer a National Park. And rebuilding those huts? Yeah, good luck with that. Given the move back to nature so beloved by Greenies and Maori; in principle anyway, my guess is huts are a thing of the past. So it'll probably be back to the future with tents.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/10/removal-of-te-urewera-huts-sparks-outrage-from-locals.html
What is the Māori word for “tent”? Just asking, for a freedom-camping friend who wants to book one.
Why not go on Freecycle and ask for one free. Then contact Tuhoe to find out the real picture? Or you could ask them about bivvys.
Best to practice putting the tent up before you leave. Te Urewera, contrary to what some seem to imply, is not a 'walk in the park'. Apart from round the lake(which has its moments), climbing Panekiri, and the trip to Lake Ruapani it can be bush whacking and not country for the unprepared.
Apart from walking in to Maungapohatu I have not done any of the tracks from the Ruatahuna/Waimana northern end. In my day these were serious difficult tracks used by hunters and possum trappers.
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/marae-diy-maungapohatu-marae-2015
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/heartland-ruatahuna-1995
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/loading-docs-the-road-to-whakarae-2014
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/kai-time-on-the-road-best-of-2012
All the while when visiting in those days you were aware that it was someone's home. People lived in the area when it was a National Park. This is an important difference to many other NZ National parks.
Have we all got so entitled that this means nothing now?
Family anecdote 'Children of the mist' was what Elsdon Best called them and Maungapohatu sums this up.
Maungapōhatu is the sacred mountain of Ngāi Tūhoe. In times long ago, when gods walked the earth and men possessed strange powers, there lived a woman called Hine-pūkohu-rangi, the personification of mist and fog. Her younger sister was Hine-wai, the personification of light, misty rain. It was Hine-pūkohu-rangi who enticed Te Maunga (the mountain) to earth. From their union came Pōtiki I, the ancestor of Ngā Pōtiki, one of the tribes occupying the land before the arrival of the Mataatua canoe. And so Tūhoe claim they are descended from their environment: the rugged bush ranges of the Urewera and the white mist clouds that cover them. '
My family farmed up close to the boundary of Tuhoe country and my grandfather said they were aptly named as 'children of the mist' just appearing, seemingly from no-where. A tribute to their bush skills/directions.
Nice,I spent my early child hood on the toe of te uruwera, rode my horse up the horomanga to midway hut a couple of times before I was 11.
Yes….horses are the thing. My Uncle had a block behind Ohuka and he and my Aunt used to ride across country with children doubled up to visit grandparents. My grandmother used to sew the clothes for the little ones, my cousins. then they would ride back. You think it looks far away but much closer to go overland than into Wairoa, out the Napier Road then up past Raupunga.
Going up the Horomanga would have been great, far bit of river walking for you and the horse…..
Walked up from Taneatua to Ruatahuna, camping all the way, years ago, then spent 2 days trying to hitch out of Ruatahuna, eventually getting the NZ Railways bus on its once a week route along SH38. I don't like to see DOC huts being removed and not being replaced, but it should be pointed out that the back country hut system in NZ remains unique. Many other well known tramping/hiking trails around the world you just camp wherever you can, whatever the weather throws at you.
Is there a reason why the home page seems stuck on 21/10?
we're on holiday.
So the open mike 24/10 is there – and the link is in the comments, but the OP 24/10 does not show on the homepage which is stuck on 21/10 is because you are all on holiday?
pretty much. Don't know what happened yesterday, three posts ended up at the top of the page, including the old OM.
I fixed it earlier, try quitting and reopening your browser.
Ah, ok then. It was just weird.
It is just fun to read the Standard while i am at work.
It is Groundhog Day today, which is a Public Holiday in NZ.
The decline extends past energy
"Clearly, that was an unwarranted assumption. New Zealand’s education system – once celebrated as one of the most successful in the world – is in free-fall. By all the recognised international comparators, we are failing – and failing fast. So bad have things become that it is increasingly difficult to find a sufficient number of willing and able participants to make our international test-results robust enough, statistically, to stand comparison. In a telling sign of the times, this dearth of suitable participants is being presented by some school principals as a signal that it is time for New Zealand to abandon international comparisons altogether."
https://www.interest.co.nz/public-policy/118136/chris-trotter-says-scarcely-believable-tale-professional-failure-across-new
We can add our health system to the growing list.
Real world consequences of resource scarcity.
You can blame "National Standards" for this result, educationalists said this would happen when introduced by National ten or so years ago.
How so, PN?
Are 'National Standards' (partly) to blame?
Your guess is probably as good as mine, in principle anyway
https://www.nzcer.org.nz/system/files/NZCER%20National%20Standards%20Report.pdf
I agree that it's virtually impossible to separate out National Standards as possible cause for dropping educational levels – from all of the other potential causes.
The actual data seems to show virtually a flat-line in student achievement during the period when National Standards were implemented.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/national-standards-are-they-working/TYGFLYLBS343WSLYAZOQAFHGEM/
This could mean a lot of things, e.g.:
Having had a child going through Primary school during the period when National Standards were implemented and then removed – I can say that my experience was that communication over a child's progress was enormously better, when teachers were required to report against National Standards.
Once that requirement was removed – school 'reports' went back to meaningless jargon – and I was literally told that a child who was clearly struggling with Maths was 'trucking along in his maths group'
[NB: this was poor teaching, rather than inability – a tutor soon brought him up to speed, and he achieves at, or slightly above his peer group at secondary school. My issue with the teacher/school wasn't the poor teaching (well, it was, but that's another story), it was that they apparently *didn't even see there was a problem*]
This article from 2016 seems to indicate that having to report to the MoE on kids not achieving, made schools focus greater attention on those kids.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/national-standards-are-they-working/TYGFLYLBS343WSLYAZOQAFHGEM/
And, of course, teachers and principals hated National Standards – it made it possible to compare the results achieved by individual teachers and schools. (Comparing the average achievement rate for a class at the beginning of the year, with the average rate at the end of the year – tells you whether that teacher is making a significant difference, is average, or performs worse than average. You can even be more nuanced – and look at the individual or group improvement rates – e.g. Is this teacher good at bringing up kids to average level, but doesn't extend the high achievers, or the other way around.)
If that's the case, then 'National Standards' operated under a severe handicap. It does beg the question – why would the Gnats enact policy they knew would be "hated" by those charged with implementing it – seems a tad sadistic to me.
I wonder what proportion of Kiwi MPs (of any political flavour) with children sent/send them to private schools – 'worked for me'? Education eh – what a business!
Probably not a vast number.
In NZ we have the post-code lottery for schooling as well as health. If you live in a wealthy area your local school is likely to approach private schools for quality of education (think of the high ratings of Epsom Girls Grammar or Auckland Grammar in Auckland – I'm sure you can plug in the names of the rich area schools in your home town).
Overseas (UK for example) MPs on both sides of the house routinely send their kids to private schools.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7490373/Labour-Party-high-flyers-accused-blind-hypocrisy.html
Probably not – then again, probably above average.
Given that we'll never know (MP's families are off limits for good reasons) – speculation seems rather futile.
Futile maybe, but there's no such thing as a stupid question – at least that's what I was taught, and what I taught in turn.
Let’s adopt a bipartisan (left – respectful centrist) consensus –
probably not below average.
Hmm. If you're only ever going to make changes which are supported by the teachers unions, then you run into difficulty make any hard choices at all.
ATM, my personal belief is that the Ministry of Education (which has a much greater influence on teaching in NZ, than any government does) – has experienced pedagogical capture by a particular educational philosophy. To the extent where they ignore all contrary evidence (dropping ed stds are just one measure).
I don't know how (if this is indeed the case) that any government can turn this around. Let alone turn it around easily.
Hmm – maybe just make some changes which are supported by unions?
"Pedagogical capture" notwithstanding, MoE's strategies have changed, are changing, and will change. We can, however, be certain that there will be no education(al) ‘fix’, easy or otherwise, while our parliamentary representatives treat NZ education as a political football.
Might help if Government politicians and MoE staff listened more to the collective voice of the teaching profession. One can only hope that any future NAct government will be less ideologically inclined to ignoring unions than the previous one…
'Not remembering the past' could soon be a new NCEA course
And education has been such a success story under Labour, of course….
Has it? And whaddaya think about this ‘pandemic’ – bloody Labour.
You tell me….. After the litany of 'failures' under National you recited – I'd have expected to see a comparable positive storm of success under Labour – who, clearly, have no interest in upsetting the powerful teacher unions.
Really, we have to stop blaming 'Covid' for everything. They had 2 Covid-free years to set policy in place (because, clearly they had spent the previous 9 years in opposition honing their education policy /sarc/ – and knew exactly what they were going to use to replace National Standards)
And, while Covid lockdowns had an impact – it was greatest on the very young (the kids just starting school – who might just as well not have bothered), and the kids in their final NCEA years – who needed to cover specific material to a specific level (and, some of whom, had little or no access to online classes for a variety of reasons). Not to say that other kids weren't affected – but those were the critical areas.
If Covid lockdowns were such a major limiting factor on learning – then we should have seen a great chasm between the achievement results of kids in Auckland (who experienced more than double the number of lockdown days), and the kids in the rest of NZ – South Island in particular. I have yet to see any evidence of this.
Note that reducing the qualifying level for NCEA (as was done in 2020 and (for some areas) in 2021) – doesn't actually prepare kids for the next level. You still need to know Year 12 chemistry, if you want to be successful in doing Year 13 chemistry.
You tell me…
Hang on – you told me “education has been such a success story under Labour” (@4:20 pm)??
I provided ~10 links (to data and the opinions of others) in response to comments in this thread – but "litany"? Still, "Perception is Reality" for some, including the reality that The Standard is a left-leaning blog.
"What is your political angle?" – good question, eh?
Bizarre comment for a respectful centrist to make, imho. Why on earth would any effective Government be interested in upsetting a large group of public servants? It might prove difficult to make a case for NZ right-wing political parties being supportive of "powerful" worker (cf. taxpayer) unions, but why would they be interested in upsetting unions? Ideology?
As for expecting a "positive storm of success under Labour", that comment seems a tad hyperbolic for a centrist, but I'm biased.
If NZ's Covid response wasn't "a major limiting factor on learning", then that would be an excellent outcome (imho) – the key word in "I have yet to see any evidence of this." is 'yet' – time will tell.
https://ero.govt.nz/our-research/learning-in-a-covid-19-world-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-pacific-learners
NCEA exam attendance was down in regions affected (most) by lockdowns (i.e. Northland, Waikato, Auckland) in 2021. Annual Report came out in May this year, IIRC.
"Make changes supported by the teacher unions' and "Pedagogical capture" raises pertinent points.
It's reasonable to say that the place of schooling and teachers in our society has changed remarkably over the past 70 years. (No doubt in a time frame people in forums such as this could understand.) I'm not talking just about the changes technological and curricular.
Was a time when there was a thing called 'country service' which saw the mass of teachers trained having to teach in identified country schools. The flow of teachers in and out of communities the length and breadth of the country assuredly had significant impact. Go there for two years, maybe meet a future spouse, become part of the local drama or rugby club, coach or organise kid's sports teams. Then likely move on.
Along with that was a system of teachers being 'graded' by Departmental inspectors on a three year cycle. It was an 'appointments and promotions' scheme, hierarchical, giving currency for those deemed capable to move 'up the ladder.' Accommodating those elements were many hundreds of small schools, one teacher, two, or three or four and so on.
After being an 'ordinary' teacher the masses aspiring to be head teachers served in small schools, trying to prove their worth, improving their grading and hoping to go onto some school bigger. Someone from Northland might transfer to Taranaki or Southland or Hawkes Bay with the system being national.
In their schools teachers tried to prove their worth, experimented, went to courses trying to pick up new ideas and put them into practice. Most consequentially, those who were aspiring to be headmasters/headmistresses were at the chalkface and running a school dealing with every child and their learning from (as it was) primer one to form two. They served apprenticeships in learning how kids learn, steps along the way, and dealing with the ebb and flow of humans on learning journeys.
The apprenticeship necessarily too was in teachers learning who they were themselves and their place in communities. And vice versa. ‘The teacher is right’ easily became part of a societal norm.
Lifeblood flowed through the countrywide veins of our schools. As the structural elements changed the nature of the business of training teachers and the expectations and demands on those in the business changed. The nature of the beasts in charge changed. The demands on them changed and so what they expect of their charges.
At it’s best learning is a magic event, a series of them, and should be that. We want altruistic, creative, demanding, challenging, personable, inspiring people in the job.
The job though, with it’s fear and tight underpants accountability demands drones. The managers, the principals need ticks in boxes not magic. And generations of parents are playing that same game. ‘The teacher is right?’ “Only if they see it like I see it.”
Changes supported by teacher unions? Teacher unions have no chance of seeing the most essential changes made. And those necessary ones won't be proposed from elsewhere where the lowest of low trust models rule.
Great comment – sadly, for the most part low-truss models rule
https://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Professional-information/Leadership-capability-framework/High-trust-relationships
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/471711/te-aorerekura-aiming-for-high-trust-funding-model
They were certainly introduced by National, in 2010. However they were scrapped, as one of their first actions, by Labour, in the person of Hipkins, who gleefully announced that they were being dumped in 2017.
It seems a great deal more likely that the scrapping of National Standards then is more likely to be responsible for the recent collapse in pupil's results than the fact that they were brought in long before the current 14 year olds were anywhere near school.
The National Standards 'tap' was turned on in 2010, and turned off in 2018 – the effects of eight years of National Standards are still flowing through schools.
NZ's education 'system' seems severely damaged – schooling is increasingly unattractive to pupils, and it's difficult to attract and retain any teachers, let alone those who might regard teaching as a calling. The pandemic hasn't helped either.
Interfering politicians must take some responsibility for this – education is too important to the future of Aotearoa New Zealand for it to continue to be a partisan political football, imho.
However, it's difficult to actually attribute any educational failure to National Standards – given that all of the measures showed that educational measures (reading, writing maths) remained pretty much static while National Standards were in place. [That's not, of course, the outcome that the Government wanted, but it's the one they got]
I can think of no learning impact which would have been invisible in any measure while NS were in place, only to become apparent when they were removed. Can you?
You mean "pretty much static", or "invisible",, as in "pretty legal"?
See Figure 6 on page 16 of this report [PDF], available from the NZI website.
https://longwortheducation.co.nz/2017/10/27/now-what-recovering-from-the-standards-era/
Why don't (can't?) we learn from history
https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/education/about/research/documents/assessment-for-success-in-primary-schools-(1998).pdf
"50 years"! Surely you must be joking, Professor Hattie.
You seem to have ignored this quote from above….
The actual data seems to show virtually a flat-line in student achievement during the period when National Standards were implemented.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/national-standards-are-they-working/TYGFLYLBS343WSLYAZOQAFHGEM/
This was from 2016. The original data (sadly) appears to have been removed from the MoE website.
Given that the latest PISA ratings are from 2018 – all we have to compare against are the reported 'test' results from the new NCEA reading/writing/maths curriculum – which had …. poor …. pass rates. This is a base-level competency test – which all students sitting NCEA level 1 should have been able to (on paper) pass. Students were selected to sit the test paper on an opt in/out basis – and schools would certainly have encouraged able students to do so (less able ones, might well have been encouraged to wait a year, to improve their pass-chances); so students sitting are highly likely to have skewed to the higher end of the academic range – which makes the pass-rates even more dismal.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2207/S00128/two-thirds-of-students-fail-ncea-pilot.htm
This is the same John Hattie who supports performance pay for teachers, and increased class sizes (I certainly don't agree with the latter) as well as saying the the critical factor in low income households isn't money, but low parental expectations.
I've read his visible learning book – and absolutely agree that a major critical factor for effective learning is specific, targeted, timely feedback – from teacher to child – which is almost entirely missing from our education system [Based on my experience as a parent, and shared conversations with friends who are both parents and teachers]
His point has always been that measurement is pointless unless you are going to do *something* with the information.
Interestingly the report you quote (Briar Lipson), supports my argument for the pedagogical capture that I believe MoE and the NZ teaching profession has experienced; and is highly critical of their lack of willingness to review the failures in their approach.
She also advocates for an evidence-based approach to education (including, ironically, some form of 'nationalized assessments') – p. 112.
A very interesting report indeed, I would agree with the majority of her recommendations – thank you for drawing it to my attention.
That's a shame. Still, since you're familiar with "PISA ratings", and have read Briar Lipson's NZI report, perhaps you could comment on the trends illustrated in Figure 6 on page 16 of Lipson's report [PDF]. To my eye it looks as if the PISA scores for Maths, Science and Reading all decrease relatively sharply between 2009 and 2012, with further smaller decreases in the 2015 and 2018.
It's not, however, all bad news – that same graph shows that between 2009 and 2017 the percentage of school leavers with NCEA Level 2 or higher increased from 70% to nearly 80%.
Lipson summarises the constrasting trends thus:
One might say that treating education as a business was bound to improve apparent student achievement, but I couldn't possibly comment.
Lipson is no fan of teacher unions (this is an NZI report), and views National Standards (2010 – 2017) as a means of ensuring accountability:
Accountability is important, but it seems to me that the National Standards initiative as it was implemented was always going to prove incompatible with a high-trust model of teacher-led education.
Maybe it comes down to certain political tribes simple not valuing education.
Your argument about 14 yr old's not being subjected to National Standards is flawed, as the standards were abolished 4 yrs ago they had spent the first five years within that system.
My partner formerly a secondary schoolteacher long moaned about pupils arriving in that system barely unable to read, she always complained about primary teachers not doing their job. She is now involved in basic literacy and numeracy assessments, can you imagine any 14 yr old not being able to understand any times tables, but this is what assessment is showing and at a private Christian school to boot.
Yes, they spent the first 5 years in the system. During that time – the reported standards were consistent (flat, without improvement, but not dropping).
Unless you can think of a way that the damage could have been caused – but remained invisible – until National Standards were removed…..
Times tables haven't been taught in primary schools (at least not as part of the state curriculum) for at least the last 15 years. The old days of the class chanting 3 x 7 = 21; 3 x 8 = 24 – are long gone. Maths teaching is 'student-led' (as is the rest of the curriculum) and focuses on number strategies (rather than teaching a standard way to solve a problem). While this is a successful approach for kids who have mathematical minds – and enjoy number games ; it is (observationally) a poor strategy for kids who *don't* think that way – and would benefit more from a 'this is how to solve the problem' approach. Many get confused, and then withdraw from maths with the 'I can't do it' approach. [NB: from discussion with my kid's tutor, she spends at least the first 6 months with any kid, convincing them that they *can* do it]
Again, observationally, very few primary teachers either enjoy or are good at teaching maths (there are exceptions) – and it's often a 'pro forma' excercise – rather than the enjoyment that I see in teaching in other areas.
Yup. That's why I didn't go teaching here when I returned from Korea – I have standards.
This is troubling to say the least. Not to mention the high truency levels. I wonder how Jan Tinettis adds to get kids back into the classroom are going.?
And Mr Kruger is correct, you forget this.
A quick look at the legislation Te Urewera Act 2014 would have removed all doubt.
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2014/0051/latest/DLM6183707.html
12Vesting of Te Urewera establishment land
(1)
Te Urewera establishment land ceases to be vested in the Crown.
(2)
Any part of the establishment land that is—
(a)
a conservation area under the Conservation Act 1987 ceases to be a conservation area:
(b)
Crown land under the Land Act 1948 ceases to be Crown land:
(c)
a national park under the National Parks Act 1980 ceases to be a national park:
(d)
a reserve under the Reserves Act 1977 has the reserve status revoked.
(3)
The fee simple estate in the establishment land vests in Te Urewera and is held under, and in accordance with, this Act.
this Act is the Te Urewera Act 2014
The continued non-acceptance of this basic fact seems to indicate that there is a mass happening of 'old man yells at cloud' (anger at things they cannot control) affecting among others, the race scared, those taking Stuff as gospel.
Does this idea of landowners apply to all people? Some owners of high country land have removed musterers huts that also functioned as huts for others/trampers. Does the shock horror apply to them also? Or does it only apply to Maori & specifically Te Urewera and Tuhoe?
(My bro in law has been involved with use of these musterers huts over the years working with owners/lessees to make them safe. Over recent years many have been broken into/wrecked – not by trampers in need of a safe haven but by 4WD people (not the clubs) but the yobbo ones)
4WD may not be able to make it to the hinterland huts but they sure can make a mess on the margins.
Tuhoe are working to achieve status under this
https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/resrecfiles/WCC1_REC_036_THE_WORLD_NETWORK_OF_BIOSPHERE_RESERV.pdf
The 'fact' of the Te Urewera Act 2014 is not however "old man yells at cloud"….the clue is in the title.
Title of what? Outrage by locals who wilfully continue to misunderstand the current situation? My heart bleeds, it really does.
Your Facebook like response is difficult to respond to.
If Tuhoe has control of its land then what it does on its land is surely up to it. All of this would have been done under a management plan and with the knowledge of the board that has 3 DOC reps on it.
'Old man yells at cloud' refers to the continued non acceptance of the existence of the legislation. Acceptance or even a reading and undestanding of the legislation would lessen this.
Is there such yelling when other management functions sich as pest control are undertaken?
The title of the Act.
The 'fact' is prior to 2014 it was not a 'fact' and there is no guarantee that it will remain (or modified) into the future,
That is the 'fact' of a democratic system…especially when the 'yelling' becomes sufficient.
Of course we may not remain a democracy.
what's your point Pat? Please explain, because I've read your two comments twice and I don't get it.
Shanreagh was using the meme of old man yelling at clouds to point the people who don't seem to understand that the area is no longer a national park and hasn't been for a long time, but are angry about it.
Thank you Weka…that is it exactly and much more succinctly than I could have put it!
The point is quite simple.
'old man yells at cloud' is a pejorative expression against those disapproving of something they cannot impact…..and the case of Te Urewera it is not applicable for the simple reason there is every potential to impact that which is causing disapproval.
Te Urewera Act (2014) is an Act of Parliament that didnt apply prior to that date and can be as easily rescinded or modified by any subsequent Parliament…and as we know public pressure has been known to move politicians …in democracies.
Democracy is not immutable, that is the domain of theocracies and autocracies
You have lost me.
Prior to 1860 it was land owned and occupied by Tuhoe since time immemorial. After 1864, I think, it was taken by the Crown, confiscated, in the terms of the time, for an act that Tuhoe had no part in. In 1954 this land was taken further away by the declaration of National Park status. Tuhoe were not consulted on this.
When I say 'taken further away' to take land out of a national park involves an Act of Parliament and even had there been a will to return Te Urewera direct from the NP this would not have seen the light of day. If it had been taken up we would have had the unconscionable action of this being politicised/polarised on party grounds. So the delivery of a right and just solution would have been subject to a political whim.
The investigations are correctly apolitical through the Waitangi Tribunal. Identifying the redress options are also correctly apolitical. The financial options are correctly political as it involves $$$$ from the Govt of NZ. The finalising of the settlement by an Act of parliament is correctly political as we do not want a settlement overturned without great thought.
The Te Urewera act sets up a Board. There is no time limit on that.
Is it just this land you have a problem with or are/were you similarly concerned with the many other Treaty Settlements such as Ngai Tahu, Tainui, Sealord. Why this one in particular?
'Claims to the Waitangi Tribunal are allegations that the Crown has breached the Treaty of Waitangi by particular actions, inactions, laws, or policies and that Māori have suffered prejudice (harmful effects) as a result.
https://www.govt.nz/browse/history-culture-and-heritage/treaty-of-waitangi-claims/settling-historical-treaty-of-waitangi-claims/
https://waitangitribunal.govt.nz/about-waitangi-tribunal/past-present-future-of-waitangi-tribunal/
https://www.parliament.nz/mi/get-involved/features/working-to-put-things-right-settling-treaty-of-waitangi-claims/
https://www.govt.nz/browse/history-culture-and-heritage/treaty-settlements/find-a-treaty-settlement/
Some recent claims
https://www.govt.nz/browse/history-culture-and-heritage/treaty-settlements/recent-treaty-settlements/
Link to the Whakatohea claim. This contains in language we can understand what the deprivation of land from Maori can mean. This is what I mean when I say that while all of the settlements are written in good clear English, some are lyrical in the language as well. it is this combination that makes them so readable. Having had an involvement on the land side way down food chain I know that great care is taken with the language with many of those involved across many depts being given the chance to say ‘does this say what we mean it to say?’
https://www.govt.nz/assets/Documents/OTS/Whakatohea/Whakatohea-deed-of-settlement-historical-claims-23-Dec-2021.pdf
In 2010 – when Tuhoi (including the same leader now quoted) were angling for the transfer of the management from DoC – they made unequivocal statements that public access would not be infringed in any way.
Now, the statement is – it's our land and we can do what we want – tough luck if what we want to do, doesn't suit the public.
There is a matter of public trust, here.
Access to a place is not the same as buildings there.
"The public access that is available now will not be limited or diminished
I would say removing huts is diminishing the experience
I agree. Removal of huts is a significant change. But we're not just talking about huts.
You do understand lefties don't have to blindly back everything Maōri do
I do. I also understand that people don't have to kneejerk react against Māori having power.
I think applying a lityle pressure on Mr Kruger is not a bad thing,he made a deal he needs to honor it,for the sake of co governess deals to follow if nothing else.
No problem with that. I've been saying critique is valid. I'm more objecting to the ways the objecting is being done by some.
(I don't know what the deal was though, I'm just going off what people are presenting here. I'll guess it wasn't his deal, but the Iwi's legal arm).
I'd interpret "not diminished in any way" to include the retention of the existing infrastructure (tracks, huts, etc.).
Huts aren't the only issue. Access to the park has also been closed for substantial periods of time – while TUT were arguing with DoC.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300456239/lake-waikaremoana-and-its-great-walk-have-been-closed-for-months-as-thoe-say-the-relationship-with-the-crown-has-failed
It's open again now – after a very significant public outcry.
Any comments on the conservation disaster that has resulted from TUT management?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/300535889/pest-control-efforts-in-te-urewera-have-changed–some-conservationists-worry-about-the-fate-of-native-species
Any comments on the conservation disaster that has resulted from the dominant culture's management of the whole country?
Because if we're going down that track, of critiquing Tūhoe's management, and I see no reason not to other than it's rude and hypocritical, then I'll point to the politics that you support as having a massively detrimental impact on nature eg the loss of biodiversity from industrial dairying.
The reason I'm pointing that out is that there are real and deep differences in world view and values here, and imo that's the stuff we should be wrangling with. It's easy enough to point a finger at any Iwi and the things we don't like, but we're a bit slower to point the finger at Pākehā. Maybe we should look at what the underlying values are and why each set is driving what it is.
Comparing the conservation results in Te Urewera before and after the change in ownership.
This is not me, saying it's a disaster; it's respected conservation professionals – many who have dedicated a large portion of their life to making a difference in this area.
Apart from the link you have already posted who are the other professionals.
I already knew about this issue. My point here is the narrative you are weaving here about Tūhoe and its ability to manage things properly. I'm suggesting we dig deeper and look at the conflict of values. I think the time has passed for just writing of Māori and enforcing Pākehā values.
Please link to where either Tūhoe or Kruger have said this. Or own it as your beliefs about the situation.
I'll also point out that when DOC have removed huts from the conservation estate, they also didn't ask the public. What's the difference?
I was reflecting back the comment made by Shanreagh
"If Tuhoe has control of its land then what it does on its land is surely up to it. "
However, statement from Kruger.
Interestingly, the removal of the huts is also opposed by Tuhoe locals (presumably part of the hunters who used them for shelter)
There is a quantitative difference between the removal of the odd DoC hut (unless you can link to a source which shows a systematic pattern of large scale removal) – and the proposal to remove more than 50 from Te Urewera.
I also note that DoC go to significant lengths to work with community groups for upkeep and maintenance of remote huts, which primarily benefit their group.
https://www.remotehuts.co.nz/about-us.html
thanks. What I see is,
What I'm not seeing is
although I can see how some might choose to interpret it that way. I am curious if you believe that Iwi should have a consultation process with Tauiwi (or the Crown, or New Zealanders generally) about what they do with the land returned to them under treaty settlements. And if so, what is the rationale?
My memory is that DOC removed back country huts in the 80s or 90s without consulting the public, and it did piss a lot of people off. It wasn't the odd hut, it was DOC going through and removing the ones they didn't want to keep and it was systematic. Have a feeling that groups intervened, not sure how many were saved.
If it's the number of huts in Te Urewera that is bothering you, rather than it being Māori doing it not DOC, then I'd like to see an audit of the condition and usage of the huts being removed. Fifty huts seems a very large number for the area. Were DOC keeping them all in good condition? Who was using them?
Which isn't to say there isn't a place for critiquing what is happening. I think it's useful to tease out what the objections are specifically, and look at to what extent this is an objection of transfer of power from the dominant culture to Māori, and if so, that's a different conversation than issues about huts.
Apparently TUT don't even have a consultation process with Tuhoe living close by – referencing the quote above.
DOC are not allowed (by TUT) to do any maintenance in Te Urewera – that is all controlled by TUT – that was a big part of the stoush which saw access to Lake Waikaremoana closed for months.
My understanding is that these huts are 'shelter-from-the-elements' huts used by hunters (they're not camping venues). As such, they will be predominantly used by local (or regional) hunters – not tourists or backpackers. Apparently Tuhoe among them.
Some may view the 2014 Act as a recent wrong 'not making a right', whereas to others (me included) it's about righting wrongs. Personally, I would have preferred the land to remain a National Park (sans mining thank-you very much), but NZ's population is growing.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/interactive/maori-land-1860-2000
As Sacha says access is different from maintaining old and now unserviceable huts.
Before many of these huts were built you packed in and out.
I think we need to give Tuhoe time to establish and not automatically assume the worst as many nay sayers are doing.
I don't think Tuhoe have said what you have said they are saying but in point of fact it their land, vested in the board, it is no longer NP. We may not have an automatic right of access (I don't know) or huts but then we don't have an automatic right of access or to huts to many other properties in NZ do we?
If the land was illegally taken from someone do we, as the taker ie the Crown as the Treaty partner, have a unilateral right to impose conditions on its return? No we don't. The Crown has broached ideas and Tuhoe has agreed and the two are working through the Board. So in fact we as those that the Crown worked on behalf of have the ability.
If the public don't have an inbuilt right what is the matter of trust? Is it that arguments over huts may derail other Treaty claims? If so I don't think so as those working in the field will not let irrelevant matters derail the working they are doing to investigate.
Is it that the current Govt will lose trust? Generally these claims and investigations are apolitical as they should be.
So is the trust lost from people who don't know the background, can't be bothered to know the background? If so I agree that perhaps greater publicity about the role of Treaty Settlements, the two partners may be useful but then perhaps not.
People will just continue to follow and believe click bait, ill researched articles in MSM. That is where MSM gets its raison d'etre from. Regrettably this will give people a reason to grumble about anti Maaari this or anti Mowri (depending on your Europeanised pronunciation).
There does seem to be a bit of a bow wave building up where Maori issues are a convenient whipping boy. Winston Peters and his silly 'apartheid' comments seems to be grabbing this wholeheartedly.
When DOC created the great walks, they introduced a rule that you couldn't free camp along the tracks any more. Because obviously at that point, making money was a new priority. This was loss of pre-existing access. Admittedly it was before the internet, but I don't remember that the same kind of animosity as gets directed a Māori (even allowing for the large degree of antipathy towards DOC from certain parts of society).
The 'trust' that is lost is between the public statements of a lead negotiator before the transfer of Te Urewera, and the public statements and actions of the same individual as a member of the trust board afterwards.
With co-governance on the table – not just for Treaty settlements, but in a raft of areas (including 3 waters) this kind of situation means that people are much less likely to trust iwi statements about their intentions.
Would you ever vote for another National Park to move into iwi ownership?
I might if there was a guarantee that mining couldn't happen on/under the land. But the question is off imo, because it's going to depend on which park, and what Iwi reps and others are saying. Or are you saying that all Māori are liars?
Why would we ever vote on this? It is supposed to be an apolitical process designed to right wrongs? It has worked through both Labour and National Governments.
It so happens that the land that was taken from Tuhoe, for no reason and then had a another land alienation (to NP) put on top while it was still in public ownership. If this was proven to be the case in another situation I would have no hesitation in supporting a return of land taken unjustly to Maori from whom it was taken.
As I said above I am struggling to think of another NP where the fact situation mirrors Tuhoe and where the original people are still living on the land.
Are you able to name other NPs where the original owners, from time immemorial have lived on the land right through its time as a NP?
I have forgotten nothing. However, most New Zealanders don't know what's being done behind their backs on both sides of the fence, regardless of rights and wrongs. These issues are hiving off in unexpected ways:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300710974/the-waterfront-property-that-comes-with-a-gang-boss
We are heading into a future with no defining constitutional references.
what's being done behind people's backs in regards to Te Urewera? Be specific.
I posted this link above.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/10/removal-of-te-urewera-huts-sparks-outrage-from-locals.html
I'm asking you to explain in your own words what *you mean. Links are good, but they're there to back up commenter's points and arguments. The reason for this is that we can't expect people to read a whole article and parse what is in someone's mind. It's on the person making the comment to explain.
For instance, removal of the huts is clearly not behind people's backs, because it's in the public domain that this is being done. So what did you mean exactly?
Sub groups of Tuhoe have gone behind, or moved forward, ( take your pick) with hut removal without consultation with either the public or other Tuhoe.
Also I know personally of people who have been assaulted and threatened. I seriously suggest you do not visit this area because Tuhoe are a law unto themselves. They dislike Pakehas, and they call other Maori tribes 'Brown Pakeha.''It's so sad because this area is one of the last in NZ that harks back to a time of the Moa and pre European. It is so beautiful.
Unfortunately things wont’ be getting better anytime soon.
https://waateanews.com/2021/12/23/tuhoe-leader-faces-fresh-challenge/
If the people have gone there with the entitled and incorrect views that have been exhibited here on TS I am not surprised they have not received a warm welcome.
Had your friends contacted Tuhoe before arriving? You know how some people like to have a warning of the arrival of others, you know being polite and all that. Finding out if it was possible, where, what cost etc?
It is a beautiful place and it is also someone's home and it also does not belong to us.
X Socialist if you follow the links you will see that Tuhoe are having another of their festivals in 2023.
Why not find out a bit more about this and encourage your friends to do so too.
https://www.facebook.com/tuhoeahurei2022/
Even if you or your friends made contact and asked now about it and if you had the time from now on asked if you could give them a hand, no obligation, with anything.
It cannot be easy hosting this event with a smallish permanent population and with many living away from home.
In this way you will get to be better informed, do something to help people, have fun, get to know others.
I can't argue with any of this.
There is a strategy to rid the area of western influences
We remove the western influences and their imprint within Te Urewera. We regrow the belief in ourselves, and that our care practices by Tūhoe hands and hearts will lead the way.
and
We treasure our indigenous ecological systems and biodiversity through significantly reducing key existing pressures, enabling Te Urewera to a natural state of balance.
The board membership
https://www.ngaituhoe.iwi.nz/meet-the-te-urewera-board
Having worked with at least two of these people in times gone past I think the Board is well served with its people.
A pressure would be the constant upkeep of huts that are either not needed in terms of Tuhoe vision for the future or past their use by date.
Who says 'consultation' is part of how Tūhoe want to steward this land?
Exactly. It is not a public institution where consultation on its functions are enshrined in legislation or practice.
In fact Tuhoe did consult in 2017 and got many good ideas and presumably these are still being worked through.
And even if it [wide public consultation] were, and it isn’t, ‘consultation’ is becoming a euphemism for ‘listen to me and alleviate all my concerns or this is a farce and I’ll moan & complain till the cows come home’. I’d like to think that it is foundational to democracy to agree to disagree throughout each and every process as well regarding all outcomes.
Well said Incognito.
NZ doesn't have a written constitution, so do you mean that our current conventions that are the basis of an unwritten constitution are changing to not having any? Please give examples, with evidence.
In the link provided you will notice some legal rulings have been made and legal oversight and jurisdiction established. But nothing is happening. Obviously our ''current conventions'' have no teeth. Maori are now able to thumb their nose at the law because of Maori Tikanga.
Can you see any way forward as a nation?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300710974/the-waterfront-property-that-comes-with-a-gang-boss
This is a very poor example of some thing, far be it for me to say racial profiling about 'Maaris' and it does nothing to bolster your argument.
If I was running your argument I would be looking at the threat to our Westminster system of Government posed by the Sovereign Citizens movement. These people, given their head have the ability to turn our style of Govt on its head and bingo we are all back being ruled under Admiralty law and the law of the Sea and Discovery. No thanks I prefer the system that the Ngati Wikitorias have given us at Waitangi in 1840.
Behind their backs…….you are joking of course!
The Treaty of Waitangi Act was enacted in 1975.
Treaty settlements have been part of NZ life since the Waitomo Caves and Sealord Fisheries claims. There were large settled claims for Tainui and Ngai Tahu in the mid 90s……so at least 25 years.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/research-papers/document/00PlibC5191/historical-treaty-settlements
ToW claims are between the two Treaty partners
1 The Maori group
2 the Crown for and on behalf of the people of NZ
It does not take much of a sense of right and wrong to concede that taking someone's land as punishment for something they did not do and then compounding this wrong by further alienating under a National Park status is offensive. Yet this is what happened to Tuhoe.
The need to meet and learn from Treaty of Waitangi Claims has been a feature of both Labour and National Govts with Rt Hon Sir Doug Graham being an enthusiastic supporter. He speaks on YouTube below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ84xwJTbzE
Ngai Tahu have had settlement payments before. I can't find my notes but they had received four payments historicaly leading up to the present if I remember correctly:
''The first settlements:
Other inquiries and commissions followed. All commented on the misery and poverty that Ngāi Tahu endured after the land sales of the mid-19th century. A 1920–21 commission of inquiry suggested they should be paid compensation of £354,000, but no immediate action was taken. In 1928 the first Ngāi Tahu Trust Board was set up, with a meeting the following year to help identify the beneficiaries of the proposed compensation.
''It was not until 1944 that the first Labour government passed the Ngāi Tahu Claim Settlement Act. This awarded Ngāi Tahu £300,000, payable at a rate of £10,000 a year for 30 years. This was less than the recommended £354,000 of the royal commission, whose findings had always been contested by Ngāi Tahu. Nevertheless, the act was passed with the intention of making £300,000 a full and final settlement of the Ngāi Tahu claim. In 1946, legislation reconstituted the Ngāi Tahu Māori Trust Board, which enabled the funds to be administered.''
https://teara.govt.nz/en/ngai-tahu/page-8
Of course.
Your point?
''Treaty settlements have been part of NZ life since the Waitomo Caves and Sealord Fisheries claims. There were large settled claims for Tainui and Ngai Tahu in the mid 90s……so at least 25 years.''
”It was not until 1944 that the first Labour government passed the Ngāi Tahu Claim Settlement Act. This awarded Ngāi Tahu £300,000, payable at a rate of £10,000 a year for 30 years. This was less than the recommended £354,000 of the royal commission, whose findings had always been contested by Ngāi Tahu. Nevertheless, the act was passed with the intention of making £300,000 a full and final settlement of the Ngāi Tahu claim.”
As I said before there have been other historical payments. One I believe was for 27,000 pounds. Plus, I believe(?) Ngai Tahu will receive payments in perpetuity.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/100542696/ngi-tahu-and-tainui-receive-370-million-in-treaty-payment-topups-with-more-to-come
”Two iwi have quietly been paid huge top-ups, totalling $370 million, to their supposed "full and final" Treaty of Waitangi settlements.”
Waikato-Tainui received $190m and the South Island's Ngāi Tahu $180m – more than they originally settled for in 1995 and 1998, respectively.
The Government made the payments on December 15 without any public announcement, but they were discovered by Stuff and confirmed by the Office of Treaty Settlements this week.
A source in the Labour-led Government said some ministers were unhappy that every time a Treaty settlement was achieved, another 33 cents in the dollar had to be paid to the two tribes.”
Like I said: There is no way we as a country can move forward with with this type of stuff going on.
Ok, so the Maoris are bleeding us dry while we appropriate their culture for our own commercial gain.
Pay for intellectual property, you cheapskate.
A weak and cheap reply. I have no problem paying reparation. In fact parts of my family were involved with the Ngāti Pāhauwera settlement.
https://www.govt.nz/browse/history-culture-and-heritage/treaty-settlements/find-a-treaty-settlement/ngati-pahauwera/ngati-pahauwera-deed-of-settlement-summary/
But in the case of Ngai Tahu, I do have a problem. It has a contestable history that is different to the one portrayed in the media. And when some Labour MPs have a problem with Ngai Tahu, you know for sure we all have a problem.
Where can all this lead. Here's just one peripheral outcome using Australia as an example.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/477202/netball-australia-loses-sponsor
What type of stuff? You were asked to clarify and you didn't.
Let me see if I can guess: you believe that treaty settlements should be full and final? and that if we don't do that, then something terrible will happen.
Can you please confirm if this is what you believe, and then say what the terrible thing is? I/m sure you think you are being clear, but it's really not.
1- Legal uncertainties around settlements and their outcomes. Different tribes being treated differently re settlement outcomes.
2- The public being increasingly ostracized by Maori/ Maori organisations around land rights and co governance.
3- Secretive government agreements behind the backs of the public. Or agreements not explained properly and signalled properly to the public.
4- Uncertainty around legal obligations/ rights regarding things Maori. Eg Maori health.
5- Racist legal rulings the allow Maori offenders to have a cultural report presented during criminal trials with judges able to take such a report into consideration.
6- A real pissed off public. The outcome of that will be apparent at the next election. Only for the public to become pissed off with the next government. No government will be able to fix all this supposed Maori stuff.''
7- Average Maori who just want to get on with life having to suffer discrimination because racists tar all Maori with the same brush fuelled by a media who sensationalise some stories, and don't report on others. Have you heard the word Maori associated with 'ram raids?'
My point is there is no coherent way forward as a country. The treaty settlement issue is all over the place. Maori, like The Maori Party, really want separate state within a state. Pakeha have had enough, especially the ones who cannot wrap their heads around the fact that Maori will no longer be out of sight and mind. Maori can't agree amongst themselves over a variety of issues, so they can't move forward as a people. All these issues are now being magnified by the times we live in, especially economic wise.
And, yes, settlements must be final. But they never will be because some Maori are claiming modern grievances?
You may be thinking I'm a sad and pessimistic. Not true, I'm only pessimistic about the future of our country. There is no future. I would love to here your argument ''That there is a future for Aotearoa?''
Yeah, non-Maori are in constant agreement on every issue. Is that how they are able to move forward as a people?
/sarc.
Again your point?
What does
mean?
What is the 'stuff'? payments for unfair Crown actions is that 'stuff'? Does this view only apply to Maori or do we include other payments for 'stuff' such as unfair imprisonment etc. Or are you able to accept payment of $$$ to people wrongly accused of a crime by the Crown but you cannot accept payment of land and $$$ where the payment is because the Crown wronged an iwi?
If you had read the background to the Ngai Tahu claim you would have realised that it is all not as black and white re earlier claims.
In which case, what were effectively read as 'promises' by both Tuhoe and the Government/DoC – that Te Urewera would be effectively retained as a National Park (even though the ownership had changed) were, at best naive and at worst profoundly dishonest.
I think to do yourself justice you will need to link to these promises.
Also please read through their website. Some of the stuff that has been raised here on TS is borderline lacking in honesty because it is from someone's 'friend' or I remember reading . Best to get info from the horse's mouth as it were. Slight Tuhoe pun here.
https://www.ngaituhoe.iwi.nz/
Neither the legislation nor the Treaty Settlement documents say anything about it remaining as a de facto NP. In fact the legislation clearly and specifically removes references to NP Act, Reserves Act and Land Act as modifiers on the ability to do what is needed, as assessed by Tuhoe on the land.
Quotes as already provided above
Here's Chris Finlayson on the subject (note that this is after Key flat-out refused to transfer 'ownership' of Te Urewera to Tuhoe)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/115593/tuhoe-agrees-$170m-deal-with-crown
Please note, that there was zero discussion at the time that this was intended to be a transfer into private ownership or into exclusive control of Tuhoe. The expressed intention at the time was partnership (what has later been come to be called co-governance).
Have you not read the legislation?
Things are happening and will happen in the future. No-one really expects Te Urewera to be operated as a mirror copy of a national park. Things will happen in their own time and to the timetable of Tuhoe.
Please also read the aims etc for Te Urewera that I linked to earlier I don't mind linking to them again, it's no skin off my nose.
https://www.ngaituhoe.iwi.nz/tut
https://www.ngaituhoe.iwi.nz/annual-plan-bringing-the-blueprint-to-life
Do you not see the disconnect between the reporting at the time, and the legislation to which you keep linking?
Do you expect ordinary Kiwis to read legislation? Really?
TUT aims are all post facto – i.e. they were not published prior to the legislation being passed. And are – as I've pointed out – in conflict with public assurances made by the lead negotiator (same person as is currently fronting for the TUT board)
You snooze, you lose.
Well it is the legislation that is used to guide the actions from 2014 on. Prior to 2014 when it was a National Park it was legislation that guided administrators. Land administrators would not look for guidance on land management from newspapers. Newspaper reports add colour, explanations that may or may not be correct but would not be relied on for legal guidance.
I am not reading that there was any commitment to keeping Te Urewera just exactly as it was when it was a NP. Everyone who had knowledge of how lands handed over to iwi as part of Treaty settlements would be naive to think that the land would remain exactly as it was.
From what I can see from looking at the press material it was access that was talked about at the time. Reading the website there is nothing there to suggest access is constrained. Huts do not equal access.
What I can see from reading the management plans is that there is a plan to remove old and unsafe huts. There seems to be a plan also to bring the admin down to a number that could be competently managed, to not spread themselves (the workcrew) too widely and thinly.
Many NZers read legislation. Every public servant that works in a Govt Dept reads 'their' legislation. Every accountant and accounts administrator reads tax legislation, HR practitioners look at the Health & Safety in Employment Act and legislation about Employment contracts etc, Health administrators read the health & disabilities act. Citizens Advice Bureau staff read legislation. You would be surprised at how many NZers read legislation in the course of their jobs & interest and would find no great hardship in looking at treaty legislation.
As I have said before the Treaty legislation is a particularly clear type of legislation.
Other people would go directly to the Tuhoe site to get the advice from that on what the plans are. Both legislation and management plans are better sites to gather info from than newspapers.
Maori had no obligation to parade their plans before settlement. They knew they would have legislation that would guide them, and that they had to abide by, a board with reps from conservation and management plans to guide day to day, year to year work.
I am willing to let people have a go, they now have had land and mana restored. I suggest it would be a good idea for others to do so too.
Even by contacting Tuhoe, going to their festival rather than moaning from a distance, visiting packing in and out if need be, going on the close at hand walks.
I have seen an unpleasant and anti-Maori side over this thread.
I have seen people who are unwilling to let go their prejudices, who rely utterly on MSM and on sniping from a distance.
This weekend is the 80th anniversary of the battle of El Alamein. This WW2 desert battle was one where NZ troops featured against the Nazis…..Rommel. The Maori Battalion played a distinguished role in this battle. I had a father who fought alongside them & Australians in this particular battle against fascism. Maori fought so all of us as NZers could live our lives gently and peacefully.
Maori are not the enemy.
Please learn to live with them gently, respectfully and peacefully. Please learn discernment in what you read. Newspapers/media are here to make money, they do this by exploiting and click baiting. Go to the source rather than let it be interpreted for you.
This actually is a specious linking.
This has nothing to do with a Treaty claim.
It involves land taken under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act something could happen to Pakeha. The occupants refuse to move. The occupants seem to identify as Maori. Thye have fought a case against removal to the maori Land court and lost.
Please, what is the point of link other than the race of the people involved? Or is it just blatant smearing and diverting?
This case does not bolster your claim:
It seems to have worked well with the Police doing their job, with the person against whom the orders being taken having the chance to have the case looked at. All this in a country where we have operated very well using the Westminster system of justice.
You are missing the point. Everything, when its comes to our laws, seems to have flexibility when it comes to Maoridom for a number of reasons:
1- Organisations and government departments are unsure of their legal footing with regards to their actions. Especially as these departments have solid indoctrination processes into Maori Tikanga.
2- The Police are loathed to deal with things Maori for fear of public condemnation, woke condemnation, the Race Relations Office and Maori condemnation. Apologies to all who didn't make the list.
3- UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. What does this mean for our laws?
''Please, what is the point of link other than the race of the people involved? Or is it just blatant smearing and diverting?''
''Nicholas and his wife do not recognise the Crown’s authority to take the family land''
''The local hapū has “unqualified sovereign jurisdiction” over the land, the signs say, and kaitiaki (guardians) “reserve the … right to remove any … aliens at any time.''
“All presumed claims of title or right in and over our whenua … are not recognised and thus have no validity.”
''When Nicholas was first served with an eviction notice in 2020, dozens of people – including gang members, activists, lawyers and politicians – descended on the land, vowing to stop the eviction, claiming it was Māori ancestral land.''
''Stuff revealed in 2018 that a police iwi liaison officer had got into hot water with her bosses for writing an opinion – later used by Nicholas in his appeals – that the land was Māori land.''
Shanreagh, I take a global approach. You should, too. This type of rhetoric is happening right across New Zealand. I think a Nat/ ACT government will bring things to a head.
So I stand by my original assertion:
We are heading into a future with no defining constitutional references.
Ok, what say I say the things that the Nicholas family says about their land, about my own land. I am a a criminal and I want no rates or planning. I am free to say it. I am free to assert what ever I like.
So I get convicted of a crime where the proceeds of crown recovery act applies. I still assert.
If however I lost a court case involving the land that is where my freedom to do whatever legal things on my land ends. I can continue occupy as some have done when subject to a mortgagee sale. I might even try my luck, if I was mad enough with the sovereign citizens mob. Basically a range of illegal or outside the state options exist.
The point is that it is not a specifically Maori thing to do all or any of these things.
I loathe the mindset that says it is just because Maori people are involved that they have special rights or do this or that and 'woe is me'. As I said before these people seem to have done a pretty good job of using all of the avenues our Westminster system of govt has given them. They have used the rules that Pakeha brought. Not with any success mind. Now they are asserting their right by staying. Occupations have been around for years.
I forsee a skirmish. It could easily have been a Pakeha facing this act.
The thought of a Nact govt makes shivers run up and down my spine. We have our people here we devise our own solutions. We have a Westminster based system of Govt, lets keep that working as it should.
I will leave things as they are – two differing opinions. People can make their own minds up. If however you want a reply, I will provide one.
Can we extend that agreeing to have differing opinions to Tuhoe and its ongoing management of Te Urewera.
That would be a big step forward.
It would mean instead of grumbling that things are not exactly the same as before 2014 we allow Tuhoe to have and implement its own plans for Te Urewera.
Some of these plans we may like others not so much.
Boris has withdrawn from his tilt at the UK Conservative leadership.
At this state, looks like a shoo-in for Sunak. I don't think that Mordaunt – has even passed the 100 supporters threshold.
https://7news.com.au/politics/world-politics/boris-johnson-withdraws-candidacy-to-become-uk-prime-minister-again-after-liz-truss-resignation-c-8639178
One wonders how much it cost Sunak to get boris to pull out?
Nothing. Boris didn't have the numbers (and both Sunak and Boris knew that was the case).
Much like the various contenders in our political parties who 'have a go' when a leadership contest happens – but quickly pull out when it's evident they don't have the support.
If you know you don't have the support, then going ahead with a bid for leadership is simply an exercise in humiliation – not many people are actually into public self-flagellation.
Today is Labour Day, it commemorates the struggle to define a work day as an eight hour stretch. Samuel Parnell is credited with forcing the issue in Aotearoa New Zealand as early as 1840. Labour day was first officially celebrated in 1890 and an elderly Parnell was able to attend the celebrations. The day itself is often seen as just another holiday but it also offers us the time to reflect on the philosophy behind worker struggles of history and their continued relevance today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MeQA1HqFT4&ab_channel=SeaShanty
Very good Arkie. I am certainly grateful……though through the excesses of the neo-lib reforms it was difficult to maintain an 8 hour workday and even now in some places one is thought to be a good worker if you work longer than 8 hours unpaid. Sucked in to this for a period of time through from the 1980s……
In one workplace we decided to leave after 8 hours, but what happens when we get home, what do we do was the cry? Over that time the work got done, and many of us had gardens as we had never had before……, others did exercise. We were all much more productive as human beings, as people.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/stigma-in-drug-research-holding-back-new-therapies
Ouch! Such inconvenient fact; the truth does hurt, sometimes.
A financial interest is the least of our worries. As we've found out, if a pharmacological health treatment can capture our media, government, and most industries then something is very, very wrong.
Why is that “very, very wrong”? You’ve explained nothing.
Australia sees rough weather and headwinds as it sets to announce its budget tomorrow.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-24/carparks-scrapped-road-upgrades-delayed-budget/101567982
Also learning from the mistakes from the UK were markets in the form of bond vigilantes will punish fiscal imprudence.Australia will still carry on with the Morrison tax cuts ( costing the budget 250b over 10 years) whilst hoping for revenue increases whilst mining revenues start to contract on risks of global recession.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-24/liz-truss-could-teach-jim-chalmers-tax-cuts/101567770
What is happening on the feeds? It looks like. Closing the Gap, Tracey Sharp is spamming the site
Looks like her site has been hacked.
You/we can turn off the feed if necessary …
left Lynn a note in the back end. Have turned the feed off. Can you see where to deleted the individual feeds? Not sure I want to press too many buttons.
Under Feed Items you can select and move to Trash 🙂