“Collins was unhappy with the way some MPs had publicly suggested they were less than supportive of the caucus’ decision to vote against a ban on conversion therapy.
Collins allegedly unloaded on one of the most high-profile detractors, Covid-19 spokesman Chris Bishop.
Bishop, with Nicola Willis and Erica Stanford, is considered a standardbearer of the caucus’ liberal wing.
One source told the Herald that Collins “completely lost it” at Bishop. Another source described her tirade as “f***ing ballistic”.
It was said to be the most tense caucus meeting of Collins’ reign. Stanford was allegedly given an unsparing dressing down for being upset over the way the vote played out.
The MPs had disagreed with National’s decision to bloc vote against a ban on conversion therapy, which happened the week prior.”
Oh dear, oh dear, what a shame, what a pity.
Is Aotearoa really a Christian Conservative country? National are heading down a blind alley with this sort of policy.
National have correctly identified that they can split the Labour vote on identity politics stuff. There is a significant constituency of religious or conservative voters who went Labour because of Jacinda's leadership. But Labour should not take that for granted. The conversion therapy "ban" is another identitarian effort to undermine democratic freedoms (along with hate speech & transgender self-ID). Highly questionable legislation and the framing in the media is incredibly one sided.
National are right to. realize this. And again I point to the MInister of Justices interview that suggested rugby coaches and parents could be covered under the converstion therapy bill.
You are 100 % correct about the framing in the media being one sided. The gender self id bill is being introduced under the radar. Most people I talk to about it (and my friends are mostly politically aware) have not heard of it.
Erica Standford has put Jan Tinetti to shame in her speech in parliament about the bill. She gave a balanced speech where it was clear she was considering both sides. Unlike the Minister of Women who wouldn’t listen to a feminist group.
She talked about reading every email people had sent her, including from parents who are concerned about the rapid onset decision of their teens to identify as members of the opposite sex. And some of the experiences of these parents being told that automatically have to affirn the new gender. Despite people refuting on this site that kids under sixteen are getting puberty blockers, a Listener article at the end of June gave at least two examples of a 13 year old and a 14 year old being prescribed these drugs. In this article there was also the case of a 23 year who was given a masectomy at 16 and a hysterectomy at 18 years old and now regretted this.
This is part of gender ideology that is sweeping the Western World and the self id and Conversion Bill are part of this. There is significant back lash now in the UK.
Unfortunately NZ hasn't seemed to learn from their mistakes.
5 year jail terms for parents teaching their children traditional ethics is overkill. Non coercive faith based counselling is being pointlessly endangered in the middle of a mental health crisis. Because of a stupid woke crusade against something that is already illegal.
Fucksake, nobody is telling you to go have gay sex or reassignment surgery.
Just don't torment people who want those things. If you feel personally incapable of that, then I don't have any sympathy if the cops knock on your door.
Dude, I grew up religious, and I've had other denominations try to convert me.
I know there's "prayer – the wee chat with God", and "Prayer – the loud, pointed, passive-aggressive harrassment that gets passed around the room, all targetting one person who deviates from the norm".
Well, if someone calls the cops to accuse a religious leader of creating one "problem", and the religious leader says it's really the other "problem", we have a process to decide which "problem" it actually is.
The exact nature of this particular form of coercive psychological abuse, while recognised by medical authorities, is not recognised in the extant child abuse and assault legislation. Nor, thanks to ACC, do we have the option of suing for medical malpractice because that's exactly how conversion therapy is regarded by reputable medical agencies.
Try again.
It doesn't just apply to psychological therapy, it also applies to organised religion and there are countless LGBT people raised in religious families who could explain to you exactly what goes on with the sanction of the Catholic Church and LDS without even starting on outfits like Gloriavale.
similar legislation elsewhere in the world is rightly restricted to professional practice… the new zealand version is Orwellian in its policing of families and churches… i expect to see an outbreak of vexatious accusations after this law is passed
It's bad law based on false premise designed to coerce/enforce a particular belief structure. And it's surrounded by bad faith arguments. The coercion is not coming from the churches but those who want to use the power of the State to subjugate dissent.
Oh so McFlock you are ok with a lesser sentence for parents who say to their gender dysphoria teen, "hold on, lets wait, lets try to understand what is going on that you feel you are a different gender". Thats a big choice to make and you need to be an adult so you can make the best choice for you. Once you make that choice if you go through with medical treatment it might be hard to change. Now tell me about what lead to you feeling you were the other gender?"
And later on telling the child that they need to give it more time and that you will support them when they are an adult if they want to transition. And that a lot of people are unhappy with their bodies when they are teenagers.
I'm okay with judges applying sentences up to the maximum in proportion with the specific crimes' relationship to the maximum possible severity of commission, multiple offences, and so on. You know, the usual judicial practise.
I don't even agree with mandatory minimum sentences for crimes, let alone a mandatory maximum.
But you haven't really answered my question McFlock. Would the hypothetical scenario I outlined, which I think is a fairly realistic one, constitute grounds for a visit from the police? A possible prosecution? Would it constittue the need for the Attorney General to cast their eyes over it?
If the cops get involved, who called them? Unlikely to be the parents. So maybe the teen is asking for help getting the care they actually want.
And if any person calls the cops for help, the cops should turn up and ask questions, no? And that might lead to a referral to AG. I'd be surprised, if your hypothetical parents werre actually as calm and reasonable about it as you portray, that it will get that far. But if it did and a jury found them guilty, then I'd be happy if they did not receive five years imprisonment for their actions. So to answer your specific made-up scenario, yes I would be ok with the judge handing down a sentence of less than five years.
Heck, I might even be ok with a discharge without conviction, depending on how the teen feels about it all.
"Conversion Therapy"…aka "pray or talk the gay away" and "watchful waiting" for gender dysphoric children are two completely different things.
Two completely different things.
As critics of those with serious concerns about this Bill would know were they to wander slightly outside their bubbles and echo chambers.
Or are you being deliberately ignorant? Are you genuinely comfortable with medical and surgical interventions for otherwise physically healthy children who in all probability just going through a phase?
Are you genuinely comfortable with medical and surgical interventions for otherwise physically healthy children who in all probability just going through a phase?
As someone who has had 'top surgery' and is taking ongoing hormone suppression therapies, it is not something I would recommend for young people. I ask myself, why would anyone?
Given the added impact on fertility, and negligible improvement in mental health outcomes it makes me wonder if this village raising the child is made up of idiots.
It is appropriate to avoid permanent harm for many, until a person has the brain development and maturity to choose medical interventions for themselves as an adult.
…it makes me wonder if this village raising the child is made up of idiots.
Do you think that perhaps the same folks advocating for what amounts to vivisection on teenagers are the same ones who claim that human brains do not mature until our late twenties?
If you're in you mid to late 20s and still struggling to feel like a fully fledged "adult", don't stress – because according to science you only truly become a "grown up" in your 30s.
While in the eyes of the law, you're classed as an adult at 18, brain experts say this idea is "increasingly absurd".
In fact they note that the path to become an adult is different for each person, with some people becoming mentally mature much faster than others.
I find it quite distressing that some are happy to take that gamble that a particular young person has completed the maturation process and is capable of consenting to medical and surgical transitioning.
But what if it is not "just a phase". If I'm not mistaken there are many hoops to be jumped through before a person can transition, Time periods, Councillors, Doctors etc. It is not as simple as a child waking up one day and going against their parents wishes. Many years ago I worked in a crisis centre in Auckland and met some lovely but sad Trans Women who had no choice, at that time, but to wait, or maybe never receive surgery that would've made their life complete. There was no amount of Make-up that could be applied to hide the masculinity that these women couldn't erase. My best wishes go to parents struggling to come to terms with the fact their children may not be all they hoped they will be, but my ❤ goes to the person genuinely trying to be who they believe they are.
Go and have a look. I don't want to direct you, but search for studies that look at the persistence of gender dysphoria as compared to same sex attraction.
Although, a small percentage will persist, how do we ensure that permanent harm or consequences don't occur for those that don't?
When we can define that, we can write appropriate legislation. At present, we are using the history of gay conversion therapy as impetus for a different cohort of young people.
There is also a concerted push for an affirmation only approach, which makes a wait and watch response difficult if not impossible.
Red Blooded One a fair question "what if it is not a phase……..Then that person when they are able to understand the consequences of their decision and have had the opportunity to fully explore it with good, non directive therapy, must absolutely be supported to transition. No question about that.
The problem, Anker, is that if left until the age you apparently think is ok for a person to make a decision an awful lot of hormonal activity as happened that will have caused the development of secondary characteristics such as body hair, voice changes etc that are as equally irreversible as surgical interventions. Thus the use of puberty blockers which certainly are reversible, you just stop taking them, But then you don't approve of them either so what are we left with that would satisfy your apparent desire to control the lives of people you don't even know? I suspect nothing. I transitioned late and I can tell that body hair and voice changes do not help a person who is struggling with gender dysphoria and are a big part of suicidal ideation in such people.
I think you might be mistaken RBO, partly at least. I don't think it's as bad in NZ, but there is good reason to be cautious about the affirmation only approach taken by a wide range of professional people (counsellors/psychiatrists), schools, medical practitioners and so on). This is where a young person (child or teen) presents either with mental health issues based around gender, or presents with gender non-conformity (eg young girl wants to wear trousers, cut hair short, play with the boys and the boys' toys and is then affirmed as being a trans boy, I kid you not). The idea is that the adults around the child or teen must affirm the child/teens gender identity or the young person will be harmed.
This has led to increasing numbers of young women having radical surgeries to transition and them later realising they're not trans but are instead (lesbian) women. Please stop and think that through.
The Tavistock Clinic in the UK uses this model and is unable to present statistics on success. It also fails to treat those teens for other mental health issues such as abuse, eating disorders. Please stop and think that through as well. They're medicating and putting kids on a transition path to radical surgery and hormones without looking at the whole picture.
In some places there is enormous pressure on practitioners to use the affirmation model.
Look up the Keira Bell case in the UK. Start listening to the stories of detrans people. None of this is new and it's not hard to find. Happy to provide links if you need them.
None of that precludes trans people needing to be protected from people in authority trying to suppress or convert their transness. But it looks like there is a clear conflict here, in that the Greens and Labour are unwilling to look at the conversion therapy of young women including lesbians described above. That ideological position leads to bad law.
Thanks Weka and Anker for your considered comments. I'm not disputing anything you are saying but I just wanted to highlight my limited experience and remembering the sadness that went with the Ladies I met who would have loved to have not waited and have to hide their masculinity every day. As I've mentioned before, I know of a friends Grand daughter who is transitioning and is now a beautiful feminine woman and I know she had to take quite some time of supervision of her decision from professionals before being allowed to start the process. Hopefully she will always be happy with her decision and when she looks in the mirror isn't confronted with the masculinity that would have developed if she was forced to wait till adulthood. I'm not, and don't want to be a spokesperson for the trans community I will just retell my limited exposure to them when catchphrases I dislike are thrown around. Regards
The problem with puberty blockers for young men is that their genitalia do not develop and so although their outer presentation is more feminine, there is less material to work with if they wish to have surgery to make a neovagina and often end up having to use part of the colon which apparently often gives a nasty smell and is not ideal.
Also, what is meant by conversion therapy? Many commenters mention same-sex attraction, however do not seem to be aware that the youth support agencies (eg Rainbow Youth and Inside/Out) define homosexuality as being "same-gender" attracted. Am just being naive in feeling that this is in itself a form of conversion therapy – as according to their definitions there is no longer a valid sexuality that involves same-sex attraction. According to some people, same-sex attraction is transphobic. (Note that homosexuality is not mentioned in the bill – only sexuality and gender identity/gender expression). In fact, I cannot see any support agencies for young people that provide support for same-sex attracted youth. Perhaps someone could enlighten me?
The only way I can see to protect both trans people and people being transed institutionally from conversion therapy is to have an open discussion about all of it. Labour and the Greens have failed to facilitate that. It's shockingly bad.
We can protect everyone, those going through a phase, those who really do need to transition to whatever degree.
The only way I can see to protect both trans people and people being transed institutionally from conversion therapy is to have an open discussion about all of it.
"transed"? Jesus. Look, I appreciate you have a point of view, but that sort of language is just dehumanising. If it's something that people need protected from, then you ban it. That's really all the compelling argument you need. The current proposed legislation sets the bar high enough in my layperson's opinion that affirmation therapy isn't impacted. That said, case by case, if affirmation therapy isn't enough or proves inappropriate for an individual, it is very much parental neglect to rule out transition on medical advice.
Labour and the Greens have failed to facilitate that. It's shockingly bad.
That's what the consultation phase is for, surely? Did you make a submission?
I haven't made a submission. I haven't even read the Bill yet, nor a range of explanations. Like many people I've got a full plate, and it's a very complex area to understand.
It's not what consultation is for. Labour and the Greens should be leading on the detrans issues. Why aren't they?
"transed"? Jesus. Look, I appreciate you have a point of view, but that sort of language is just dehumanising. If it's something that people need protected from, then you ban it. That's really all the compelling argument you need. The current proposed legislation sets the bar high enough in my layperson's opinion that affirmation therapy isn't impacted. That said, case by case, if affirmation therapy isn't enough or proves inappropriate for an individual, it is very much parental neglect to rule out transition on medical advice.
I don't actually understand what you are saying there, which makes me wonder if you didn't understand my comment.
If a young teen girl with mental health issues presents to the health system saying they're a boy, and an affirmation only model is being used (with no other exploration of mental health or gender non-conformity other than trans), and that person is affirmed as a boy and given puberty blockers and later hormone therapy and radical surgery, and then in their early 20s comes to realise that they're not a boy but a GNC lesbian and so detranses, was their health care a form of conversion therapy?
If you don't like the words transed, what word would you use for what the system is doing to that girl?
If a young teen girl with mental health issues presents to the health system saying they're a boy, and an affirmation only model is being used (with no other exploration of mental health or gender non-conformity other than trans), and that person is affirmed as a boy and given puberty blockers and later hormone therapy and radical surgery, and then in their early 20s comes to realise that they're not a boy but a GNC lesbian and so detranses, was their health care a form of conversion therapy?
Besides the exemption criterion of "a health service provided by a health practitioner in accordance with their scope of practice", of course. Because I'm not even sure it would count as "performed with the intention of changing or suppressing the individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression." (my italics)
There is an interesting interview up on 'Benjamin A Boyce' you tube channel with a father and his autistic son. They describe Canadas anti conversion therapy laws as requiring therapy to practice affirmation. The rest of the story is about how father refused the unhelpful and confusing (for an autist) therapy and found some helpful therapy (which has helped). This also seems to be what is made illegal if Chris Faafoi is being interviewed on the topic.
There is a difficulty here with conflating gay conversion therapy, with therapy as a whole. This is especially important to remember when dealing with children, teens and young adults.
If a child presents with body dysmorphia such as anorexia, then we would hope some investigation would go into why this disconnect has developed before a diagnosis is made and a course of treatment proposed. This is appropriate and best practice..
If a child presents with same sex-attraction, we know from a wealth of studies that this attraction would most likely remain throughout their life. The appropriate treatment does not require any pharmaceutical or medical intervention, but may need an individual program of counselling and support, depending on that person's living environment, religious and/or cultural beliefs.
So far, so good.
Now, we come to gender dysphoria, which has the following differences from same sex attraction:
Studies show that up to 86 per cent of teens with gender dysphoria, will lose that dysphoria by their mid-twenties, usually after an acknowledgement of same sex attraction,
2, There is a fairly recent and quantifiable emergence of Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria which most notably presents in cohorts of teenage girls, which can resolve, once again with acknowledgement of same sex attraction. There are studies looking into heavy social media use, and the impact this has on a multiple number of self identification, esteem and mental health outcomes.
Many countries that have adopted a gender affirmation policy, have used same sex attraction conversion therapy as their evidence of harm, while ignoring the difference between persistence of same sex attraction and gender identification.
There is evidence that mental health outcomes for trans gender people do not improve even after transition. Why not? Is the existing diagnostic and treatment standard already failing our trans gender community by not considering the whole?
So, how do we ensure that those that present with gender dysphoria, are ensured comprehensive diagnostic care, if an "affirmative model" is adopted? This is a particular concern, if investigation into alternative causes could be seen as denying self-proclaimed identity.
We need to ensure that legislation that originated in preventing harm for gay and lesbian people, appreciates the difference in persistence between that and gender dysphoria and ensures individual and appropriate care is provided. That may mean not affirming gender without question.
There's more but I am picking this out letter by letter and it is enough to start discussion.
"there is evidence that mental health outcomes for trans gender people do not improve even after transition"
Funny, as a transwoman, who knows a lot of transwomen I can't say this is born out in my experience and that of my friends. In fact the main issue with post transition mental health issues has little to do with the persons self view, which generally improves remarkably, and much more to do with social support and acceptance. There's a lot of talk here of accepting but little actual evidence in the ongoing attempts to vilify young trans people that I have seen in this and other threads. I personally knew what I was at age 9, but wanting to remain a partof my family I didn't do anything about it for many years which has led to a great number of complications and hurt a huge number of people not the least my ex and my kids
There's a lot of talk here of accepting but little actual evidence in the ongoing attempts to vilify young trans people that I have seen in this and other threads.
Please point to anywhere on this blog where some of the commentators are 'vilifying' trans people, young or old. Because frankly there are none. There are points raised that seem to be fairly normal to me, i.e. is it healthy for a ten year old to be put on hormone blockers, to then be put on testesterone, to then undergoing a full a double masectomy at the onset of breast development, to then undergoing a hysterotomy at 18 to then discovering per chance at 26 (or any other date after that) that one has been sterilized while transing from Female (Biological) to Male (Trans).
I have yet to work the guts up to find out what is done to boys in order to trans them to female. Just so that they wake up at some stage in their lifes to find out that they too have been neutered.
And as with always, it works well for some, and it works not well for others.
I have two issues with the self id and the race to 'affirmation'.
A. Not everyone who self ID as 'women' is trans, many other simply gender queer. To me this is a big difference, but to some it is not i guess?
B. To affirm kids as toddlers in my mind is insane and bordering on child abuse and grooming behavior. Kids can obviously know a lot at various ages but toddlers should not 'worry' about body issues, they should simply be let kids. Ideally without any notion of gender impacting on childhood.
Anyone who is gong to undergo such life changing surgeries such as the removal of healthy body parts, and essentially reproductive organs should be old enough to a. understand what is done to them and b. want it.
Anyone who is going from no medication to daily injections/pills of hormones etc should be old enough to understand what 'lifelong' means.
Because if we don't err on the side of caution, we are going to end up with a generation of people in bodies they can no longer change at all, and bodies that will have been neutered, and in bodies that need daily medication at a high cost.
Thanks for coming here and sharing. We often hear how this site can feel unsafe for cis women to contribute yet those same people don't seem to consider what it might be like for trans women to do so.
I am glad that you have improved quality of life. Usually in discussions on TS, we are often asked for more than anecdotal data to make decisions for populations.
When looking for studies regarding mental health, there are quite a few hits proclaiming the advantage of transitioning. But further investigation into those claims shows those studies often have peer critiques that are not addressed. So, I tried to find studies that had been thoroughly scrutinised.
This 2020 Public Discourse article outlines the difficulty of conducting research, and the common (but not supported) conclusions that are often made without statistical validation.
This is not to say that individuals don't experience benefits, but it is not a universal given as is often claimed.
What this means, I don't know. Perhaps, it is simply that better and/or longer support systems need to be in place.
What is important to everyone, particularly the trans gender community, is that studies are accepted only when data is robust, and the conclusions are based on statistically valid empirical evidence. If mental health remains neutral, or worsens then a priority to improve outcomes should be a priority.
How would you define Conversion Therapy I feel love?
The Minister muddied the waters by talking about rugby coaches and parents.. Rugby coaches and parents aren't therapists.
As Roblogic says down this thread there are already laws and processes for child abuse and rightly so.
BTW practices of punishment, electric shocks and corrective rape (I understand these are past practices of Conversion Therapy are abhorant and evil. Exorcism too.
"Bollocks. Conversion Therapy is evil & should be banned. National & Ani & the Tamakis are wrong & shame on anyone supporting Conversion Therapy."
Can you please explain to me how affirmation only approaches by health professionals and counsellors will be dealt with under this Act for detrans people?
Given that conversion therapy applies to mental states I can't even see how this applies. In that context it would almost certainly be dealt with in exactly the same way as any other medical procedure carried out in good faith that has to be reversed – ACC.
Populuxe 1. But it is a bit more complex than that. It is just not about reversing these procedures, as some of them can't easily be reversed. Re-creating a penis after castration., losing ones testicles. Fertility issues from cross sex hormones…………Its about the age at which these are done and informed conset.
Keira Bell in the UK took the Tavistock Clinic to Court as she had puberty blockers, cross sex hormone and surgery. The puberty blockers were at age 16 years. The judge found in favour of Keira saying that she would not have been able to give informed consent at that age.
There is also the case of a psychotherapist in Bath UK who was doing a masters or PHd studying detransitioners. His research was initially approved, but then the universtity changed their mind. He believes it was to do with the the likely back lash the university would face.
BTW the Karolina Institute in Sweden has recently changed its approach to the prescription of puberty blockers to the age of 18 years, based on the evidence from NICE.
Can post links if required, but already have on a number of occassions.
Still no one has come forth with a defiinition of Converstion Therapy (unless I have missed it)
Conversion Therapy defined in the proposed bill as any practice that:
is directed towards an individual because of the individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression; and
is performed with the intention of changing or suppressing the individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
The bill provides a list of things that are not considered to be conversion practices, including:
a health service provided by a health practitioner in accordance with their scope of practice
assisting an individual who is considering undergoing, or is undergoing, a gender transition
assisting an individual to express their gender identity
providing acceptance, support, or understanding of an individual
facilitating an individual’s coping skills, development, or identity exploration, or facilitating social support
the expression only of a religious principle or belief that is not intended to change or suppress an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Having witnessed the fundamentalist, and frankly unchristian, fervour and unfeeling venom of those on the religious right towards LGBT folk and advocates of "conversion therapy"; I can only say that as a past member of the Presbyterian and Methodist Public Questions Committee in the 1970's and 80's which advocated for Fran Wild's Homosexual Law Reforms in the mid 80's, and a number of of other social justice issues, including the revised adoption law which was essentially drafted by one of our members (until then persons adopted could never get to know their birth mother or the birth mother ever get to know her adopted child)*, I can only agree that this is a most need piece of legislation.
Ridiculous. When a 5 year old claims to be a dinosaur or a tree you don't take it seriously. Identity and sexuality evolves and changes over a lifetime, especially during puberty. The idea of an innate/ fixed identity disconnected from physical reality is a controversial belief with religious (gnostic) overtones.
I was responding to the definition of CT that you quoted. It has inbuilt assumptions of immutable characteristics and it doesn't take account of adults who want therapy in order to better live in accordance with their own religious beliefs.
In other words the proposal holds a particular view of the human person that undermines biology and religious freedom.
When academics, politicians, and social commentators, continue to trade in false claims, vague generalisations and caricatures—all the while, ignoring what churches actually teach and practice—then what we have is not an honest dialogue but bullying bigotry.
If the child's claims to be a dinosaur or tree was completely unwavering, causing clear and enduring emotional distress in the child, and was diagnosed by a medical specialist as severe body dysphoria, you might have a point.
You don't.
You see you and others are reading far too much into this than is intended. As far as I can see this legislation is directed solely at the unethical, unprofessional, and fundamental religious based "programs" of badgering young people.
McFlock linked to a few articles above on what sort of damage these programs can do to those who suffer such treatment.
I think we both agree on the harm that can be caused by gay conversion therapy, as we know that same sex attraction persists into adulthood,
However, given historical and ongoing research into the majority percentage of gender dysphoric young people who resolve their dysphoria in adulthood, how do we ensure this legislation does not put appropriate treatment under "conversion therapy".
If this assurance was guaranteed within the legislation so that it could not be misinterpreted, then most of the concerns raised here would be addressed.
It's obvious you didn't read the link. Try to inform yourself at least.
And have a discussion..
Your ‘make a submission response…” added to a failure to address actual points is NoDebate in all its glory. (Also, very hard to make a submission on proposed legislation that the minister himself has trouble explaining.)
Molly I have been following this endless "discussion" for the past 2 – 3 weeks. There is little more to be said on the topic. If you feel that there is a need for that particular aspect to be addressed in the legislation – it certainly wouldn’t be fixed talking about it endlessly here – then please make a submission. It's not difficult. You can do it on-line and you do not need to appear before the committee in person.
You see you and others are reading far too much into this than is intended. As far as I can see this legislation is directed solely at the unethical, unprofessional, and fundamental religious based "programs" of badgering young people.
I haven't read all the comments today, but maybe we're talking past each other.
I'm assuming what you say there is true, that the Bill is aimed at people who try to convert trans people to being non-trans. What I want to know is why the Bill isn't also aimed a people who try and convert non-trans people to being trans. i.e. the people who end up as detrans.
Populuxe has said elsewhere in the thread that those cases are simple medical misadventure and should be dealt with via ACC. This is a massive fail for young people who end up altering their bodies, sometimes drastically and permanently, because the adults around them believed that affirmation is the only appropriate response to gender dysphoria. It's not medical accident, it's an ideologically driven, intentionally chosen practice that is blind to detrans people.
I'm unclear if NZ is at risk of ending up with an affirmation only model that will lead to what is happening overseas. This needs discussion and people saying 'oh submit' are missing the point: Labour and the Greens don't even recognise the issue or they would be talking about it. The Greens have actively suppressed debate within the party including in policy development. I gather that Labour has some pressures not to talk too.
None of that says that trans people shouldn't be protected. They should be. What I don't yet know is if detrans people are invisible or just considered collateral damage.
In spite of numerous attempts to have some discussion, you participate only to dismiss, not to inform yourself on how similar legislation has been interpreted in practice in other countries, to the detriment of practitioners and clients in trans gender services.
All we all want, is the minimisation of harm.
We could learn from the consequences and adapt accordingly.
But so many are refusing to even consider that unintended consequences may result, that we can't even propose that changes are made without being accused of malicious intent.
Just by-the-by, do you know how prevalent gay or gender conversion therapy is in NZ?
Populuxe 1. I think body dysmorphic disorder (aka in laypersons terms imagine ugliness syndrome) isn't about believing you are a dinosaur etc,. It is the belief that you or a particular feature is physical ugly/repulsive.
@Molly there is no CT in NZ professional practice. That's why they are broadening the legislation to try and discriminate against religious teaching. It’s a cause in search of a bad guy
I'm going to have to research the level of harm that's been identfied in N Z, to reassure myself that this proposal was written specifically for our institutions, practices, and citizens.
As always on this topic, you contribute nothing but insults and/or misdirections.
And links to articles showing an increased risk of suicide attempts associated with attempts at conversion therapy. That's pretty fucking relevant, IMO.
edit: also, as always, you should see the stuff I delete before posting.
To date, there are no scientifically rigorous outcome studies to determine either the actual efficacy or harm of "reparative" treatments. There is sparse scientific data about selection criteria, risks versus benefits of the treatment, and long-term outcomes of "reparative" therapies. The literature consists of anecdotal reports of individuals who have claimed to change, people who claim that attempts to change were harmful to them, and others who claimed to have changed and then later recanted those claims
For someone who refuses to look at links provided, there is a fair whack of hubris to you providing one link as a discussion, but we can keep on, keeping on.
How do we ensure that appropriate care is given to all, if anything other than affirmation may be considered "conversion therapy"? (Noting there are significant differences in persistence between same sex attraction, and gender dysphoria).
The impact of affirmation models for same sex attraction is not the same as for gender dysphoria. It does not involve puberty blockers, hormone treatment or surgery at ages where the person has not reached physical, cognitive or emotional maturity The interpretation of the proposal seems to indicate that any failure to affirm gender identity in a counselling or support service capacity may fall foul of this legislation:
From macro:
"Conversion Therapy defined in the proposed bill as any practice that:
is directed towards an individual because of the individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression; and
is performed with the intention of changing or suppressing the individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression."
We are treating sexual orientation, and gender expression as if the are the same in occurrence, persistence and appropriate support.
They are not.
"edit: also, as always, you should see the stuff I delete before posting."
The American Psychiatric Association
does not believe that same-sex orientation should or needs to be changed, and efforts to do so represent a significant risk of harm by subjecting individuals to forms of treatment
which have not been scientifically validated and by undermining self-esteem when sexual orientation fails to
change. No credible evidence exists that any mental health intervention can reliably and safely change sexual orientation; nor, from a mental health perspective does sexual orientation need to be changed.
The validity, efficacy, and ethics of clinical attempts to change an individual's sexual orientation have been challenged14,15,16,17,18. The literature also consists of anecdotal reports of people who claim that attempts to change were harmful to them, and others who claimed to have changed and then later recanted those claims19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31. Along a similar vein, gender diverse patients have been shown to benefit from gender-affirming therapies32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39.40, and given the documented harm of “reparative” or conversion therapies regarding sexual orientation, it would likely be seen as unethical to research reparative therapy outcomes with gender diverse populations.
If the gender expression really is just a phase, then a parent wouldn't be trying to change it by opposing permanent treatments.
That's where the intent comes in to ensure that the needs of the child are being met, rather than simply intending to change the child's expression or orientation because the parents don't like it.
Your perspective is too narrow because it has a fixation on parents while the legislation is much broader, and can you please read the link first so we are both discussing the same therapies that may or may not be covered?
(You seem to be focused on gay conversion therapy instigated by parents, to the exclusion of all else).
Also, there is harm done to individuals and families as interpretations are tested by our justice systems. Legislation should be as clear as possible from the outset to minimise this fallout.
given that there seem to be three distinct arguments going on in one thread, I'm not surprised there's some confusion.
Skimmed your link. Seems to have been a clinician acting according to his specialty being disciplined via peers and employers rather than a criminal process, so has nothing to do with the legislation currently being considered in NZ.
If you only skimmed the link, you are skimming the conversation. Take the time to read.
I'll wait till you can go deeper.
The article does relate to how appropriate individualised therapy can be considered as suppression of gender identity, and practitioners accused of harm, despite a lack of evidence.
Because the legislation refers to any practice of gender suppression, rather than the outcome, this may well apply here in Aotearoa.
How would it inform the debate on Labour's support for the current bill? The bill has nothing to do with medical discipline, and health practitioners have an exemption if they're acting in their own specialty.
"The bill has nothing to do with medical discipline, and health practitioners have an exemption if they're acting in their own specialty."
The article shows how professional integrity is no protection against conflation of harm by affirmation only activism.
If it is appropriate for some health practitioners to address gender dysphoria by approaches that can be considered suppression, then it can also be appropriate for others to take this approach, including parents. There is no one size fits all. There cannot be a blanket approach to such a diverse number of presentations.
The article shows how professional integrity is no protection against conflation of harm by affirmation only activism.
If one reads the article uncritically (especially in regards to bias) and comes to that conclusion, then that still has nothing to do with the proposed NZ legislation because the proposed legislation deals with criminal (rather than professional) misconduct and gives health practitioners like the chap in your article a specific exemption from prosecution.
Activists whinge on both sides. Sometimes folks get fired. Sometimes they end up with a steady income from patreon and etsy. This has nothing to do with criminal prosecutions. It is… what was the term? "Misdirection".
I've read multiple articles today on this topic and frankly managed to do more work on this than on my actual day job, so please at least link to something relevant to the NZ bill.
Do you have any discussion points to raise about ensuring appropriate individualised care, which may be considered by some to be "conversion therapy" if it does not confirm gender identity automatically?
Faafoi’s response on this issue does not reassure.
Reply to Macro…."there is little more to be said on the subject"….well you are entitled to that view. I don't think you control what people discuss on the Standard though. I think people are entitled to raise the issues they want to and a current bill before parliament seems like a suitable topic for the Standard.
I think people know they can make a submission on the Conversion Therapy Bill. And many probably will. That is irrelevant to discussion here.
I did find your link helpful Macro. But there are gaps still. What about parents saying "you are too young to make this decision. We want to wait and see? " re puberty blockers, cross sex hormone and surgery.
What about if people refuse to use peoples pro-nouns?
If it could be constructed that refusing medical intervention is 'conversion therapy' by keeping a kid in its natural body rather then start transing it, then yes that could indeed get people for up to 5 years in prison an many many dollars.
And i think both the Minister of Justice and the PM have been asked that questions and were both non committal on the answer but underlying, yes, that could happen in NZ.
This is no area for politics. Individuals have the right to make their own choices. I taught teenagers for 32 years so I know how difficult they can be. If you allow their choices and support them, you will have happier teenagers and families.
Conversion therapy is a flawed concept that can only lead to more harm. Ban it!
Correct, but unfortunately the LGBT lobby has latched onto this as their latest hobby horse and now they are pretending there's an outbreak of fundamentalist christians trying to pray away the gay. It's just crap. The intent behind the activism is what concerns me, when the discourse is so fundamentally dishonest.
What if it never happens? Then it is a completely stupid law that isn't about addressing a real problem, but rather it's intended to send a virtue signal (and hopefully thwart political rivals).
Not Everyone Can Afford to ‘Learn to Live With’ COVID-19 [25 Aug]
If history is a guide, infectious diseases exploit inequities not just within societies but between them. This two-track recovery, where protection against the disease mirrors wealth and power, unfortunately reflects a historical pattern that is several centuries old. The world’s only hope lies in breaking it.
NZ and Australia are currently under the pandemic pump, but once we're in a position where nearly all of us will be able to live with COVID-19, we should take action to distribute wealth more evenly, both within and between societies. But will/can we?
‘Living with COVID’ could end up two very different ways [24 Aug] We should demand that political leaders lead us into a 21st-century world of living with COVID safely, not into the 17th-century world of living with COVID dangerously.
It really annoys me to hear the likes of Chris Bishop taking the moral high ground (on Morning Report this morning) on the supposed failings of the government.
We all know (but cannot prove) that the Natz in power would
a) have opened this country much earlier than the present government, with resulting cases of covid,
b) would have applied a lockdown-lite similar to that in New South Wales, with infection trends like in Sydney, and
c) would have priotised the economy over the lives of citizens.
Sure, the opposition’s task is to hold the government to account, but their hypocrisy beggars belief.
Ardern was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Fiame on her election to the office of prime minister after the court ruled her victory was legitimate, which was seen as a key moment in the global community accepting her victory.
Tuilaepa said her prompt congratulations was “proof” that the New Zealand government had “planned this all along”.
Another way to read this is that Samoa for several months was in a political crisis because a man did not want to be supplanted by a woman.
O the shame! O the ignominy!
Mrs Mac1 says it's becoming an overseas thing to blame our tall poppy, Jacinda- in the case of Covid for daring to even look like getting our response caring, careful and right.
The revealing part, in the above-cited Guardian article, of the utterances of the former Samoan male PM was where what he observed about timing became what he thought, became what was a fact, and finally became proof.
"After war was declared by Britain, it was imperative that Samoa be taken back from the Germans to disable the potential utilisation of the Samoa group as a Pacific launch base. There were no permanent means of defence in Samoa, and the Germans put up no resistance when the New Zealand Samoa Advanced Force arrived in Apia on 29 August 1914. The British flag was hoisted at the courthouse."
"On Thursday 7th November, 1918 the Talune, a New Zealand steamer ship that operated a supply service through Auckland, Suva, Nuku'alofa and Samoa, docked in Apia Harbour. Its holdings contained passengers, supplies for trading and the deadly Spanish Flu …..
The ship ironically carried news of the Spanish influenza break out in the Northern Hemisphere to Samoa, and the fatal cases that had reached New Zealand and beginning to affect the Māori population. Two days later a family of four were reportedly all sick, and their five-month-old baby died. The bonfire that was held in Apia on Beach Road, to celebrate the armistice would have escalated the spread of the flu to the outer villages. 19% of the population was wiped out within months"
“A 1948 United Nations study described Samoa’s exposure as “the most disastrous epidemic recorded anywhere in the world during the present century.”
Chris Trotter on Daily Blog has written an interesting article on why right wing media are in such a frenzy and are always attacking our PM. She is young, a woman, popular and enjoys people.
Nice piece by Chris Trotter – he can still produce good stuff when working outside his currently vitiating obsession with 'free speech' etc. But I do think he has overplayed the sexist aspect of the right's reaction to Ardern and underplayed their fear of ideological contagion, i.e. if a government and its citizens can collectively mobilise to battle a pandemic, why can't it do the same for climate change or economic inequality?
Yes I agree – but I think Chris has been unable to frame his position on the subject in a way that sufficiently differentiates himself from ACT. He thus ends up amplifying them, rather than undercutting them.
… if a government and its citizens can collectively mobilise to battle a pandemic, why can't it do the same for climate change or economic inequality?
The pandemic feels real, it makes people very ill and kills them. If not here in NZ, but overseas where many Kiwis have lost friends, family, and workmates. Fear is a good motivator.
Climate Change feels a long distance and time away and doesn’t quite have the same fear level, yet. I’d say we’re at Level 1.5.
Economic inequality is just life and we’ll have to accept as a fact of life and live with it. If you’re a home owner*you’ll know how it feels: it feels good, it feels right.
*not all home owners feel this way, but they’ll take the money anyway
Collins has accused the government "staggering cruelness", for not being quicker in getting our Afghani supporters out of Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister pushed back;
"I would just simply point out that people we're bringing into New Zealand whose lives are at risk are individuals who weren't eligible in 2012 when the National Government first implemented the ability for some interpreters to come."
Prime Minister Ardern.
"Either Labour is unkind or tragically incompetent across foreign policy, defence, and immigration", said Collins.
2012, transcription of the RNZ interview with Diamond Kazimi
I need to some help from the media to get my point out there for the government to hear. There are people that remain in Afghanistan and I don’t want to leave them behind…….
….I don’t have any authority, and I can’t do anything, and as I have said before they have tried to email them, those former commanders and those former officials but it is really disappointing how they didn’t even email them back. Because they have got kids, they have got families. How hard will it be for them to hear the news that they are only going to take 23 to 26 interpreters who are currently working, and not these poor people who have worked for more than a decade, and it is just heart breaking for them….
….the forces (that are working with them) do agree that everyone should be included in this deal. But it is just like; I just don’t understand this decision that John Key made regarding of this. Because there are like, contractors, electricians, builders who first worked for the New Zealand army in there to build the base. I mean, they’re the ones, that we need to look into that too. They have actually helped us build the base and they are still waiting they are locals they need New Zealand’s help…..
There are more than five or ten, there are a hundred of them…..
There is a female who works in the base and she usually cooks for the soldiers, I mean, what a great danger she is going to be (in) when New Zealand leaves……
These people, the contractors, the interpreters, the former interpreters want their families to become residents of New Zealand. Because these people have actually showed commitment, they have done service to New Zealand and they deserve to come here.
Diamond Kazimi Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan, 26/10/ 2012
Only 23 to 26 families were to be given sanctuary in New Zealand by the previous National Government. The majority were abandoned to their fate.
National’s Defence Minister Johnathon Coleman said at the time that those left behind could apply as refugees, and if their lives were in danger their applications will be looked on “reasonably”. Coleman went on to say this favourable eye would not be extended to cooks cleaners and other contracted support staff. As they had “not had a high profile“.
I wish RNZ would stop catatrophising the govts/MoH contingency plans. For example the MoH opens up two hotels to be quarantine facilities because they don't want to be caught short if cases take off but then RNZ is like "so we're going to be caught short".
No, there is a risk that we'll be caught short and the MoH/govt is trying to lower that risk. It doesn't mean that there is a large chance it will happen but it's something that should be planned for because the cost of not sorting it out is high.
I am an introvert so lockdown is fine for me but for some people this really drives their anxiety when it's totally unecessary to report things in that way.
Damned if they do and damned if they don't. I think its become a contest to see which media outlet can come up with the most outlandish shock-jock story of the day.
What really annoys me is the media’s apparent inability to distinguish between operational matters which are the realm of individual DHBs and general policy directions as laid down by govt. Either they know and deliberately mix the two together, or they are the most ignorant bunch of journos ever seen in this country.
Like Collins upthread, the media are struggling to take a trick. The government response to Covid has been spot on.
The culture created around the vaccinations is a reflection of this. A vaccinator made a boo-boo during their day. They weren't afraid to put their hand up and start the process of sorting it.
I would far rather this state of affairs rather than the sort of carry on voiced on the RNZ this am.
Interesting piece informed by OIA documents throwing a light on our foreign policy positions
With foreign policy shielded from public scrutiny in New Zealand, these documents provide a rare glimpse of how decisions on issues of crucial international importance seem to be made between officials and ministers. In this case, it was a decision to relax intellectual property rules for Covid-19 vaccines. But what does this tell us about how NZ will decide its global position on other global existential threats like climate change
When calling out BS it pays to be blunt and clear.
University of Auckland epidemiologist Rod Jackson said the [Scott Morrison’s] comments were inane and ridiculous, especially Morrison talking about forever.
“I’m unaware of anyone in New Zealand saying forever,” he said. He believes part of the problem is the conflation of the terms eradication and elimination.
“Elimination refers to a specific population at a specific point in time,” he said. “Eradication means no more of the virus in the world – perhaps like smallpox. It’s a shame the words are so similar.”
I share his optimism; the biggest hurdle/obstacle is the same as always.
However, his view of the future had an optimistic tinge as well. Jackson said because Covid has not proven to be as quickly-mutating as influenza, world-wide vaccination may get it under control.
“Covid is not a super mutator like the flu,” he said. “We have to have a new flu vaccine every year – we can reduce the flu but we can’t stop it. In comparison, Covid mutates quite slowly.
“I see life and death at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “It could become much more severe – or it could disappear.”
By the way we watched Utube clips of the NSW pressers last night with their Premier and Health Minister (sorry I can't remember their names). Good lord The "S(hambles)" word comes to mind…………embarrasing. I almost felt sorry for them, except thier inadequcies are causing deaths and a very, very long lock down.
Advice like if you are going into Harvey Norman, don't browse……………..Its Delta ffs.
And a petulant blamey tone of Sydneysiders and beyond almost like, some people have been very naughtly boys and girls not keeping to the rules.
"A failure to contain the coronavirus delta variant could reset the economy to pre-pandemic levels and spark a “W-shaped” recovery, economists say, as virus case numbers continue to rise.
The economy lifted above its pre-pandemic size in March, but subsequent lockdowns are tipped to spark a contraction which has the potential to wipe out gains made over the past 18 months."
87,000 + vaccinations yesterday and 73% of over 30 yr old NZers have had the vax or signed up to get it according to today’s 1pm,er. Nothing like a glimpse of the ghostly man with the scythe to scare the shit out of some eh. If I was cynical I would say that the outbreak has done us all a favour, except of course the poor buggers who have taken one for the team, commiserations to you and best of luck.
That figure once completed has to be the one of the highest in the world, no wonder Collins and Bishop et al are pissed off, my bet is they wanted a low turnout.
Unlikely, but I've taken the liberty of giving the PM a hand with her speech from the podium for tomorrow:
tena katoa katoa
I want to start with some great news Aotearoa. We now have 5000 trained Labour propaganda distributors. Yesterday during Level 4 we delivered a record 80,000 propaganda pamphlets throughout the land. This is an amazing achievement and I want to thank the team of supporters.
Now for the not such good news. In terms of vaccine delivery, we are still last in the OECD. I’ll hand over to Doctor Bloomfield to provide an explanation. Doctor, over to you.
What it tells us P4life is that Labour has a few idiots who apparently can't read among its ranks too, but nothing like as many as National and ACT and you're one of them.
He was overseas on holiday? Had to return home for level 4 lockdown? He was avoiding his creditors?He is one of the illiterati? He thought a letter box was a condominium? What?
I was asked this yesterday “Even better, if you think there's someone in NZ better to be PM or DGHealth or whatever, please “ and associated with this question and the focus in these 2 I feel that many are not recognising those who are supporting these 2 preparing the briefing and getting things done for our benefit and safety.
These 2 are like the chairmen of the board fronting up and being the face of the company.
1, People who made an appointment or only had one dose are not "vaccinated"
2, 71K or what doses administered or record they say have administered in a day is not vaccinated.
3, Delta has been the only strain coming through MIQ since April or June Dr Bloomfield said. They have had months knowing Delta is the only strain out there.
4, The PM herself said we are the last country in the world to have a Delta outbreak? Have we learnt nothing of those other countries and the research done on Delta. We should have had mass vaccination eventds months ago not just now when Delta has already broken out.
You see strong leadership, I just see BS and PR spin and very little accountability.
Vaccinated what with ? Cold tea, you Tory apologist Chicken Littles and your broken records stuck on repeat are nothing more than dickheads. God, I’ve had a guts full of your like.
Board chairs have a function, too, like any leader.
But the other thing is that the question was about who you would have doing the job instead of the incumbents. The thought that occurred last night was if you replaced DG health with an unknown bureaucrat selected on merit to do the briefings because of their training and specialist knowledge… that's just like getting the DG health to front up at press conferences.
How many people knew NZ even had a DGH 18 months ago, let alone the name of the incumbent?
Pataua4life – vaccine supplies have been in huge demand worldwide most of the year. Was NZ more entitled to be at the head of the queue than so many other countries which were in a dreadful situation and we were living a pretty as usual life?
I liken the pandemic to winning a war. Looking back at the two world wars, some battles were lost but the wars were in the end won by the allies. For such a huge logistical, organisational, and staffing undertaking of course not everything went perfectly but lessons are learnt all the time.
Give me the PM we have rather than Judith Collins with her sneers and nastiness and focus on opening borders to suit business interests rather than the health of New Zealanders. I can still hear her demands from last year to "open the borders".
Our PM is amazing, we won’t have a bad word said against her on this site. She is the only one in the world to have the foresight to suggest we can eliminate delta. Truely visionary.
This Government was one of the few in the world that listened to advice from real experts rather than from fake speech writers and armchair critics. That is amazing in its own right.
Of course, we allow genuine criticism of the Government and PM here on this site. Don’t be put off by a few outspoken commenters who are a little too tribal for comfort at times.
Thanks David – there's more than a few who will be absolutely wetting themselves at the prospect of profiting from a perceived Ardern failure, that's for sure.
In the News: Will Delta derail New Zealand’s ‘Zero Covid’ strategy? One week ago, on August 17th, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced the country was going into strict lockdown after the first coronavirus case in six months was reported in the city of Auckland.
Then the devil delta came knock knock knocking at the Crown Plaza and we said welcome in. The PM said we’ll deal with it. Then knock knock, I’m back. No worries the messiah will hold back the tide. We believe. We all believe here.
David, your faith is truly touched. No disrespect but the repeated 'messiah' references seem misplaced.
Anyone with half a brain will understand that Collins and Seymour surging to electoral victory in late 2023 would be the greater miracle. It's going to be a loooooooong wait for the faithful few.
Haste would have got an inferior vaccine, the SCIENTISTS waited to see what the vaccine with the least complications and the most effectiveness was, and that was Phizer. The governments job was to manage the political process to keep us as safe as possible until it was available, not helped by the Americans keeping all of their production within their own borders. It was a strategy that was brilliantly executed and became the worlds gold standard on how to do it properly, and because of that strategy, we have the most superior vaccine of the lot. The Australians on the other hand spent shitloads on a University of Queensland one that was to be manufactured in Melbourne. That went well didn’t it, exactly the same as every thing else they attempted. Right- wing stupidity begets the long lasting effect of Covid, Long Stupid. And you P4 are the poster boy for it.
Pataua4Life – your reading comprehension needs improvement. If you are referring to my post about NZ being fortunate we have Jacinda Arden as PM, rather than Judith Collins, you need to re-read the post. You are confused.
In time there are going to be a lot of serviceable motor bodies in very good condition, but little to no hydrocarbon fuels to power them.
Are there any plans for the major manufacturers to make electrical engines to replace the internal combustion units in these vehicles? Or are the incompatibilities just too great?
I have an engineering acquaintance who has converted an ICE ute to an EV as a backyard conversion, fully certificated and road worthy, and who is working on doing the same with a BMW.
So, it can be done. The ute handily carries the battery pack in the tray.
I think I need my 3 litre diesel Prado to tow my trailer sailor. It's a '99 model. I should love to convert to an electrical motor, and do my bit for climate change, but I fear that such a powerful replacement vehicle (complete) is going to be way out of my price range. The body of the Prado is very good. A different power unit however would be a wonderful prospect.
Getting outside of my expertise (I am an EV owner, is all) but the power of an EV is surprising and from the start- no power band as with an ICE when the power kicks in between certain revs.
My friend used the same body and transmission, just installed an electric motor. He is a hobbyist, so I have no idea as to the costings, but he's no fool either, even to convert an older ute.
The other important factor is that maintenance is less.
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 ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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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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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
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 ...
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Trouble at t’mill.
Todays Herald. Thomas Coughlan writes.
“Collins was unhappy with the way some MPs had publicly suggested they were less than supportive of the caucus’ decision to vote against a ban on conversion therapy.
Collins allegedly unloaded on one of the most high-profile detractors, Covid-19 spokesman Chris Bishop.
Bishop, with Nicola Willis and Erica Stanford, is considered a standardbearer of the caucus’ liberal wing.
One source told the Herald that Collins “completely lost it” at Bishop. Another source described her tirade as “f***ing ballistic”.
It was said to be the most tense caucus meeting of Collins’ reign. Stanford was allegedly given an unsparing dressing down for being upset over the way the vote played out.
The MPs had disagreed with National’s decision to bloc vote against a ban on conversion therapy, which happened the week prior.”
Oh dear, oh dear, what a shame, what a pity.
Is Aotearoa really a Christian Conservative country? National are heading down a blind alley with this sort of policy.
National have correctly identified that they can split the Labour vote on identity politics stuff. There is a significant constituency of religious or conservative voters who went Labour because of Jacinda's leadership. But Labour should not take that for granted. The conversion therapy "ban" is another identitarian effort to undermine democratic freedoms (along with hate speech & transgender self-ID). Highly questionable legislation and the framing in the media is incredibly one sided.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2021/08/17/will-gay-conversion-becomes-jacindas-anti-smacking-curse/
100% Roblogic.
National are right to. realize this. And again I point to the MInister of Justices interview that suggested rugby coaches and parents could be covered under the converstion therapy bill.
You are 100 % correct about the framing in the media being one sided. The gender self id bill is being introduced under the radar. Most people I talk to about it (and my friends are mostly politically aware) have not heard of it.
Erica Standford has put Jan Tinetti to shame in her speech in parliament about the bill. She gave a balanced speech where it was clear she was considering both sides. Unlike the Minister of Women who wouldn’t listen to a feminist group.
She talked about reading every email people had sent her, including from parents who are concerned about the rapid onset decision of their teens to identify as members of the opposite sex. And some of the experiences of these parents being told that automatically have to affirn the new gender. Despite people refuting on this site that kids under sixteen are getting puberty blockers, a Listener article at the end of June gave at least two examples of a 13 year old and a 14 year old being prescribed these drugs. In this article there was also the case of a 23 year who was given a masectomy at 16 and a hysterectomy at 18 years old and now regretted this.
This is part of gender ideology that is sweeping the Western World and the self id and Conversion Bill are part of this. There is significant back lash now in the UK.
Unfortunately NZ hasn't seemed to learn from their mistakes.
Bollocks. Conversion Therapy is evil & should be banned. National & Ani & the Tamakis are wrong & shame on anyone supporting Conversion Therapy.
100%
+++
5 year jail terms for parents teaching their children traditional ethics is overkill. Non coercive faith based counselling is being pointlessly endangered in the middle of a mental health crisis. Because of a stupid woke crusade against something that is already illegal.
Whether they get the full five years depends entirely on how they're "teaching their children traditional ethics".
Child abuse and assault are already illegal. Legislation like this is a license for harassment
Among other things, it's a prohibition against harrassment by parents and other people with social or economic power over another person.
"Conversion therapy" is quackery that can kill. Fuck your traditional ethics.
it's bad legislation that shits on democratic freedoms. emotional outbursts are not a sensible approach to lawmaking
Better than grasping onto the observed-more-in-the-ommission "traditional ethics".
I wonder how many people encouraging others to "pray the gay away" do so wearing polycotton clothes. Or whether they eat crab sticks and shrimp.
reckless medical experiments on disturbed children = "gender affirmation"
non coercive consensual christian ministry = "conversion therapy, quackery, evil"
dishonest rhetoric.
A bit like the term "reckless medical experiments on disturbed children".
& when taken to extremes, innocent people are scarred for life. But I am not trying to defend extremes.
That depends on how widespread your "traditional ethics" are.
Some communities will never bow down to the golden calf of sexual libertinism no matter how much you propagandise them with modern "ethics"
Fucksake, nobody is telling you to go have gay sex or reassignment surgery.
Just don't torment people who want those things. If you feel personally incapable of that, then I don't have any sympathy if the cops knock on your door.
disappointing that the liberal left is so keen on banning things intended to help people.
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2020/03/60895/
The road to suicidal ideation and attempts seems to be paved with good parental intentions.
Emotional manipulation now? Let's ban prayer next.
Dude, I grew up religious, and I've had other denominations try to convert me.
I know there's "prayer – the wee chat with God", and "Prayer – the loud, pointed, passive-aggressive harrassment that gets passed around the room, all targetting one person who deviates from the norm".
Fuck that latter manipulative shit.
that is a problem, but another problem is the constant misrepresentation of such practices as the norm in other, non-fundamentalist denominations
Well, if someone calls the cops to accuse a religious leader of creating one "problem", and the religious leader says it's really the other "problem", we have a process to decide which "problem" it actually is.
What a waste of police time
Not if the religious leader is the problem.
The exact nature of this particular form of coercive psychological abuse, while recognised by medical authorities, is not recognised in the extant child abuse and assault legislation. Nor, thanks to ACC, do we have the option of suing for medical malpractice because that's exactly how conversion therapy is regarded by reputable medical agencies.
Try again.
& how many cases of this malpractice are there? who is doing it?
This is a law that does nothing but create division and acrimony and alienate half of Labour's base.
It doesn't just apply to psychological therapy, it also applies to organised religion and there are countless LGBT people raised in religious families who could explain to you exactly what goes on with the sanction of the Catholic Church and LDS without even starting on outfits like Gloriavale.
similar legislation elsewhere in the world is rightly restricted to professional practice… the new zealand version is Orwellian in its policing of families and churches… i expect to see an outbreak of vexatious accusations after this law is passed
Agreed – ill-conceived and at odds with comparable law around the world. Whoever drafted it omitted the 'reasonable citizen' test.
It's bad law based on false premise designed to coerce/enforce a particular belief structure. And it's surrounded by bad faith arguments. The coercion is not coming from the churches but those who want to use the power of the State to subjugate dissent.
Oh so McFlock you are ok with a lesser sentence for parents who say to their gender dysphoria teen, "hold on, lets wait, lets try to understand what is going on that you feel you are a different gender". Thats a big choice to make and you need to be an adult so you can make the best choice for you. Once you make that choice if you go through with medical treatment it might be hard to change. Now tell me about what lead to you feeling you were the other gender?"
And later on telling the child that they need to give it more time and that you will support them when they are an adult if they want to transition. And that a lot of people are unhappy with their bodies when they are teenagers.
I'm okay with judges applying sentences up to the maximum in proportion with the specific crimes' relationship to the maximum possible severity of commission, multiple offences, and so on. You know, the usual judicial practise.
I don't even agree with mandatory minimum sentences for crimes, let alone a mandatory maximum.
will the legislation allow for people that use affirmation only models to be charged for transitioning lesbians who later detransition?
Maybe take that question to the select committee.
Maybe I think my time is better spent talking about it openly in left wing spaces.
But you haven't really answered my question McFlock. Would the hypothetical scenario I outlined, which I think is a fairly realistic one, constitute grounds for a visit from the police? A possible prosecution? Would it constittue the need for the Attorney General to cast their eyes over it?
If the cops get involved, who called them? Unlikely to be the parents. So maybe the teen is asking for help getting the care they actually want.
And if any person calls the cops for help, the cops should turn up and ask questions, no? And that might lead to a referral to AG. I'd be surprised, if your hypothetical parents werre actually as calm and reasonable about it as you portray, that it will get that far. But if it did and a jury found them guilty, then I'd be happy if they did not receive five years imprisonment for their actions. So to answer your specific made-up scenario, yes I would be ok with the judge handing down a sentence of less than five years.
Heck, I might even be ok with a discharge without conviction, depending on how the teen feels about it all.
Who exactly is calling the police in this scenario? The child? Or has the child seen a doctor? Has there been a medical referral?
"Conversion Therapy"…aka "pray or talk the gay away" and "watchful waiting" for gender dysphoric children are two completely different things.
Two completely different things.
As critics of those with serious concerns about this Bill would know were they to wander slightly outside their bubbles and echo chambers.
Or are you being deliberately ignorant? Are you genuinely comfortable with medical and surgical interventions for otherwise physically healthy children who in all probability just going through a phase?
Yes
Yes.
Are you being sarcastic or just ignorant?
As someone who has had 'top surgery' and is taking ongoing hormone suppression therapies, it is not something I would recommend for young people. I ask myself, why would anyone?
Given the added impact on fertility, and negligible improvement in mental health outcomes it makes me wonder if this village raising the child is made up of idiots.
It is appropriate to avoid permanent harm for many, until a person has the brain development and maturity to choose medical interventions for themselves as an adult.
…it makes me wonder if this village raising the child is made up of idiots.
Do you think that perhaps the same folks advocating for what amounts to vivisection on teenagers are the same ones who claim that human brains do not mature until our late twenties?
If you're in you mid to late 20s and still struggling to feel like a fully fledged "adult", don't stress – because according to science you only truly become a "grown up" in your 30s.
While in the eyes of the law, you're classed as an adult at 18, brain experts say this idea is "increasingly absurd".
In fact they note that the path to become an adult is different for each person, with some people becoming mentally mature much faster than others.
I find it quite distressing that some are happy to take that gamble that a particular young person has completed the maturation process and is capable of consenting to medical and surgical transitioning.
There's no going back.
yes to Molly's last three sentences.
But what if it is not "just a phase". If I'm not mistaken there are many hoops to be jumped through before a person can transition, Time periods, Councillors, Doctors etc. It is not as simple as a child waking up one day and going against their parents wishes. Many years ago I worked in a crisis centre in Auckland and met some lovely but sad Trans Women who had no choice, at that time, but to wait, or maybe never receive surgery that would've made their life complete. There was no amount of Make-up that could be applied to hide the masculinity that these women couldn't erase. My best wishes go to parents struggling to come to terms with the fact their children may not be all they hoped they will be, but my ❤ goes to the person genuinely trying to be who they believe they are.
Go and have a look. I don't want to direct you, but search for studies that look at the persistence of gender dysphoria as compared to same sex attraction.
Although, a small percentage will persist, how do we ensure that permanent harm or consequences don't occur for those that don't?
When we can define that, we can write appropriate legislation. At present, we are using the history of gay conversion therapy as impetus for a different cohort of young people.
There is also a concerted push for an affirmation only approach, which makes a wait and watch response difficult if not impossible.
Red Blooded One a fair question "what if it is not a phase……..Then that person when they are able to understand the consequences of their decision and have had the opportunity to fully explore it with good, non directive therapy, must absolutely be supported to transition. No question about that.
Agree.
The problem, Anker, is that if left until the age you apparently think is ok for a person to make a decision an awful lot of hormonal activity as happened that will have caused the development of secondary characteristics such as body hair, voice changes etc that are as equally irreversible as surgical interventions. Thus the use of puberty blockers which certainly are reversible, you just stop taking them, But then you don't approve of them either so what are we left with that would satisfy your apparent desire to control the lives of people you don't even know? I suspect nothing. I transitioned late and I can tell that body hair and voice changes do not help a person who is struggling with gender dysphoria and are a big part of suicidal ideation in such people.
I think you might be mistaken RBO, partly at least. I don't think it's as bad in NZ, but there is good reason to be cautious about the affirmation only approach taken by a wide range of professional people (counsellors/psychiatrists), schools, medical practitioners and so on). This is where a young person (child or teen) presents either with mental health issues based around gender, or presents with gender non-conformity (eg young girl wants to wear trousers, cut hair short, play with the boys and the boys' toys and is then affirmed as being a trans boy, I kid you not). The idea is that the adults around the child or teen must affirm the child/teens gender identity or the young person will be harmed.
This has led to increasing numbers of young women having radical surgeries to transition and them later realising they're not trans but are instead (lesbian) women. Please stop and think that through.
The Tavistock Clinic in the UK uses this model and is unable to present statistics on success. It also fails to treat those teens for other mental health issues such as abuse, eating disorders. Please stop and think that through as well. They're medicating and putting kids on a transition path to radical surgery and hormones without looking at the whole picture.
In some places there is enormous pressure on practitioners to use the affirmation model.
Look up the Keira Bell case in the UK. Start listening to the stories of detrans people. None of this is new and it's not hard to find. Happy to provide links if you need them.
None of that precludes trans people needing to be protected from people in authority trying to suppress or convert their transness. But it looks like there is a clear conflict here, in that the Greens and Labour are unwilling to look at the conversion therapy of young women including lesbians described above. That ideological position leads to bad law.
Thanks Weka and Anker for your considered comments. I'm not disputing anything you are saying but I just wanted to highlight my limited experience and remembering the sadness that went with the Ladies I met who would have loved to have not waited and have to hide their masculinity every day. As I've mentioned before, I know of a friends Grand daughter who is transitioning and is now a beautiful feminine woman and I know she had to take quite some time of supervision of her decision from professionals before being allowed to start the process. Hopefully she will always be happy with her decision and when she looks in the mirror isn't confronted with the masculinity that would have developed if she was forced to wait till adulthood. I'm not, and don't want to be a spokesperson for the trans community I will just retell my limited exposure to them when catchphrases I dislike are thrown around. Regards
The problem with puberty blockers for young men is that their genitalia do not develop and so although their outer presentation is more feminine, there is less material to work with if they wish to have surgery to make a neovagina and often end up having to use part of the colon which apparently often gives a nasty smell and is not ideal.
Also, what is meant by conversion therapy? Many commenters mention same-sex attraction, however do not seem to be aware that the youth support agencies (eg Rainbow Youth and Inside/Out) define homosexuality as being "same-gender" attracted. Am just being naive in feeling that this is in itself a form of conversion therapy – as according to their definitions there is no longer a valid sexuality that involves same-sex attraction. According to some people, same-sex attraction is transphobic. (Note that homosexuality is not mentioned in the bill – only sexuality and gender identity/gender expression). In fact, I cannot see any support agencies for young people that provide support for same-sex attracted youth. Perhaps someone could enlighten me?
The only way I can see to protect both trans people and people being transed institutionally from conversion therapy is to have an open discussion about all of it. Labour and the Greens have failed to facilitate that. It's shockingly bad.
We can protect everyone, those going through a phase, those who really do need to transition to whatever degree.
"transed"? Jesus. Look, I appreciate you have a point of view, but that sort of language is just dehumanising. If it's something that people need protected from, then you ban it. That's really all the compelling argument you need. The current proposed legislation sets the bar high enough in my layperson's opinion that affirmation therapy isn't impacted. That said, case by case, if affirmation therapy isn't enough or proves inappropriate for an individual, it is very much parental neglect to rule out transition on medical advice.
That's what the consultation phase is for, surely? Did you make a submission?
I haven't made a submission. I haven't even read the Bill yet, nor a range of explanations. Like many people I've got a full plate, and it's a very complex area to understand.
It's not what consultation is for. Labour and the Greens should be leading on the detrans issues. Why aren't they?
I don't actually understand what you are saying there, which makes me wonder if you didn't understand my comment.
If a young teen girl with mental health issues presents to the health system saying they're a boy, and an affirmation only model is being used (with no other exploration of mental health or gender non-conformity other than trans), and that person is affirmed as a boy and given puberty blockers and later hormone therapy and radical surgery, and then in their early 20s comes to realise that they're not a boy but a GNC lesbian and so detranses, was their health care a form of conversion therapy?
If you don't like the words transed, what word would you use for what the system is doing to that girl?
If a young teen girl with mental health issues presents to the health system saying they're [sic] a boy…
Surely, weka, that should read: "If a young teen girl with mental health issues presents to the health system saying she's a boy…"
I don't have a problem with teens trying on trans identity (although I think there should be limits where that impacts on others).
How does your example get covered by the current proposed definition?
Besides the exemption criterion of "a health service provided by a health practitioner in accordance with their scope of practice", of course. Because I'm not even sure it would count as "performed with the intention of changing or suppressing the individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression." (my italics)
There is an interesting interview up on 'Benjamin A Boyce' you tube channel with a father and his autistic son. They describe Canadas anti conversion therapy laws as requiring therapy to practice affirmation. The rest of the story is about how father refused the unhelpful and confusing (for an autist) therapy and found some helpful therapy (which has helped). This also seems to be what is made illegal if Chris Faafoi is being interviewed on the topic.
Yip, and double shame on those who oppose gay conversion therapy while supporting gender conversion therapy.
….and double shame on those who oppose gay conversion therapy while supporting gender conversion therapy.
Perhaps you could tell us what you mean by "gender conversion therapy"?
who is supporting gender conversion therapy? Can you please give some examples so we know what you are referring to?
There is a difficulty here with conflating gay conversion therapy, with therapy as a whole. This is especially important to remember when dealing with children, teens and young adults.
If a child presents with body dysmorphia such as anorexia, then we would hope some investigation would go into why this disconnect has developed before a diagnosis is made and a course of treatment proposed. This is appropriate and best practice..
If a child presents with same sex-attraction, we know from a wealth of studies that this attraction would most likely remain throughout their life. The appropriate treatment does not require any pharmaceutical or medical intervention, but may need an individual program of counselling and support, depending on that person's living environment, religious and/or cultural beliefs.
So far, so good.
Now, we come to gender dysphoria, which has the following differences from same sex attraction:
2, There is a fairly recent and quantifiable emergence of Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria which most notably presents in cohorts of teenage girls, which can resolve, once again with acknowledgement of same sex attraction. There are studies looking into heavy social media use, and the impact this has on a multiple number of self identification, esteem and mental health outcomes.
We need to ensure that legislation that originated in preventing harm for gay and lesbian people, appreciates the difference in persistence between that and gender dysphoria and ensures individual and appropriate care is provided. That may mean not affirming gender without question.
There's more but I am picking this out letter by letter and it is enough to start discussion.
Thanks Molly, you saved me the effort.
"there is evidence that mental health outcomes for trans gender people do not improve even after transition"
Funny, as a transwoman, who knows a lot of transwomen I can't say this is born out in my experience and that of my friends. In fact the main issue with post transition mental health issues has little to do with the persons self view, which generally improves remarkably, and much more to do with social support and acceptance. There's a lot of talk here of accepting but little actual evidence in the ongoing attempts to vilify young trans people that I have seen in this and other threads. I personally knew what I was at age 9, but wanting to remain a partof my family I didn't do anything about it for many years which has led to a great number of complications and hurt a huge number of people not the least my ex and my kids
Please point to anywhere on this blog where some of the commentators are 'vilifying' trans people, young or old. Because frankly there are none. There are points raised that seem to be fairly normal to me, i.e. is it healthy for a ten year old to be put on hormone blockers, to then be put on testesterone, to then undergoing a full a double masectomy at the onset of breast development, to then undergoing a hysterotomy at 18 to then discovering per chance at 26 (or any other date after that) that one has been sterilized while transing from Female (Biological) to Male (Trans).
I have yet to work the guts up to find out what is done to boys in order to trans them to female. Just so that they wake up at some stage in their lifes to find out that they too have been neutered.
And as with always, it works well for some, and it works not well for others.
I have two issues with the self id and the race to 'affirmation'.
A. Not everyone who self ID as 'women' is trans, many other simply gender queer. To me this is a big difference, but to some it is not i guess?
B. To affirm kids as toddlers in my mind is insane and bordering on child abuse and grooming behavior. Kids can obviously know a lot at various ages but toddlers should not 'worry' about body issues, they should simply be let kids. Ideally without any notion of gender impacting on childhood.
Anyone who is gong to undergo such life changing surgeries such as the removal of healthy body parts, and essentially reproductive organs should be old enough to a. understand what is done to them and b. want it.
Anyone who is going from no medication to daily injections/pills of hormones etc should be old enough to understand what 'lifelong' means.
Because if we don't err on the side of caution, we are going to end up with a generation of people in bodies they can no longer change at all, and bodies that will have been neutered, and in bodies that need daily medication at a high cost.
Thanks for coming here and sharing. We often hear how this site can feel unsafe for cis women to contribute yet those same people don't seem to consider what it might be like for trans women to do so.
Hello Joanne
I am glad that you have improved quality of life. Usually in discussions on TS, we are often asked for more than anecdotal data to make decisions for populations.
When looking for studies regarding mental health, there are quite a few hits proclaiming the advantage of transitioning. But further investigation into those claims shows those studies often have peer critiques that are not addressed. So, I tried to find studies that had been thoroughly scrutinised.
This 2020 Public Discourse article outlines the difficulty of conducting research, and the common (but not supported) conclusions that are often made without statistical validation.
This is not to say that individuals don't experience benefits, but it is not a universal given as is often claimed.
What this means, I don't know. Perhaps, it is simply that better and/or longer support systems need to be in place.
What is important to everyone, particularly the trans gender community, is that studies are accepted only when data is robust, and the conclusions are based on statistically valid empirical evidence. If mental health remains neutral, or worsens then a priority to improve outcomes should be a priority.
How would you define Conversion Therapy I feel love?
The Minister muddied the waters by talking about rugby coaches and parents.. Rugby coaches and parents aren't therapists.
As Roblogic says down this thread there are already laws and processes for child abuse and rightly so.
BTW practices of punishment, electric shocks and corrective rape (I understand these are past practices of Conversion Therapy are abhorant and evil. Exorcism too.
"Bollocks. Conversion Therapy is evil & should be banned. National & Ani & the Tamakis are wrong & shame on anyone supporting Conversion Therapy."
Can you please explain to me how affirmation only approaches by health professionals and counsellors will be dealt with under this Act for detrans people?
Given that conversion therapy applies to mental states I can't even see how this applies. In that context it would almost certainly be dealt with in exactly the same way as any other medical procedure carried out in good faith that has to be reversed – ACC.
Populuxe 1. But it is a bit more complex than that. It is just not about reversing these procedures, as some of them can't easily be reversed. Re-creating a penis after castration., losing ones testicles. Fertility issues from cross sex hormones…………Its about the age at which these are done and informed conset.
Keira Bell in the UK took the Tavistock Clinic to Court as she had puberty blockers, cross sex hormone and surgery. The puberty blockers were at age 16 years. The judge found in favour of Keira saying that she would not have been able to give informed consent at that age.
There is also the case of a psychotherapist in Bath UK who was doing a masters or PHd studying detransitioners. His research was initially approved, but then the universtity changed their mind. He believes it was to do with the the likely back lash the university would face.
BTW the Karolina Institute in Sweden has recently changed its approach to the prescription of puberty blockers to the age of 18 years, based on the evidence from NICE.
Can post links if required, but already have on a number of occassions.
Still no one has come forth with a defiinition of Converstion Therapy (unless I have missed it)
It's here
Having witnessed the fundamentalist, and frankly unchristian, fervour and unfeeling venom of those on the religious right towards LGBT folk and advocates of "conversion therapy"; I can only say that as a past member of the Presbyterian and Methodist Public Questions Committee in the 1970's and 80's which advocated for Fran Wild's Homosexual Law Reforms in the mid 80's, and a number of of other social justice issues, including the revised adoption law which was essentially drafted by one of our members (until then persons adopted could never get to know their birth mother or the birth mother ever get to know her adopted child)*, I can only agree that this is a most need piece of legislation.
Ridiculous. When a 5 year old claims to be a dinosaur or a tree you don't take it seriously. Identity and sexuality evolves and changes over a lifetime, especially during puberty. The idea of an innate/ fixed identity disconnected from physical reality is a controversial belief with religious (gnostic) overtones.
Well thank you very much for putting words into my mouth. Where in the above comment have I suggested anything that you claim I have?
I was responding to the definition of CT that you quoted. It has inbuilt assumptions of immutable characteristics and it doesn't take account of adults who want therapy in order to better live in accordance with their own religious beliefs.
In other words the proposal holds a particular view of the human person that undermines biology and religious freedom.
Take it to the select committee then. See how many cross-party fucks there are to give.
The debate has been poisoned by misinformation.
lol
nice article – pretending that "conversation" forced, at length, on vulnerable people by their religious leaders doesn't approach "coercion".
It's a bit like the "parent" hypothetical – a simple "conversation" probably wouldn't even be reported to the cops.
But an ambush intervention-style harrassment designed to break someone down with guilt and self-loathing? Oh, that's just "conversation", too, right?
If the child's claims to be a dinosaur or tree was completely unwavering, causing clear and enduring emotional distress in the child, and was diagnosed by a medical specialist as severe body dysphoria, you might have a point.
You don't.
Reinforcing delusion with ideas that one can be "born in the wrong body" is malpractice
Malpractice? Report them to the medical council, then.
damn hit the wrong reply tab
Does the second list include:
"Appropriate diagnostic, medical, counselling and support services that do not follow the "affirmation only" model."
Because that is the clarity being sought.
Questions on this are not being answered by the MP's responsible for the bill, and your list only relates to affirmation models.
Young people may have other issues being missed if we cannot guarantee that all diagnostic tools and treatments remain available to them.
You see you and others are reading far too much into this than is intended. As far as I can see this legislation is directed solely at the unethical, unprofessional, and fundamental religious based "programs" of badgering young people.
McFlock linked to a few articles above on what sort of damage these programs can do to those who suffer such treatment.
I think we both agree on the harm that can be caused by gay conversion therapy, as we know that same sex attraction persists into adulthood,
However, given historical and ongoing research into the majority percentage of gender dysphoric young people who resolve their dysphoria in adulthood, how do we ensure this legislation does not put appropriate treatment under "conversion therapy".
If this assurance was guaranteed within the legislation so that it could not be misinterpreted, then most of the concerns raised here would be addressed.
In that case I think you need to put that concern to the select committee – there are 13 days left to make such a submission.
Jesus, macro.
It's obvious you didn't read the link. Try to inform yourself at least.
And have a discussion..
Your ‘make a submission response…” added to a failure to address actual points is NoDebate in all its glory. (Also, very hard to make a submission on proposed legislation that the minister himself has trouble explaining.)
Telling someone to participate in the only debate that will affect the outcome of concern is now "no debate", huh.
Molly I have been following this endless "discussion" for the past 2 – 3 weeks. There is little more to be said on the topic. If you feel that there is a need for that particular aspect to be addressed in the legislation – it certainly wouldn’t be fixed talking about it endlessly here – then please make a submission. It's not difficult. You can do it on-line and you do not need to appear before the committee in person.
I haven't read all the comments today, but maybe we're talking past each other.
I'm assuming what you say there is true, that the Bill is aimed at people who try to convert trans people to being non-trans. What I want to know is why the Bill isn't also aimed a people who try and convert non-trans people to being trans. i.e. the people who end up as detrans.
Populuxe has said elsewhere in the thread that those cases are simple medical misadventure and should be dealt with via ACC. This is a massive fail for young people who end up altering their bodies, sometimes drastically and permanently, because the adults around them believed that affirmation is the only appropriate response to gender dysphoria. It's not medical accident, it's an ideologically driven, intentionally chosen practice that is blind to detrans people.
I'm unclear if NZ is at risk of ending up with an affirmation only model that will lead to what is happening overseas. This needs discussion and people saying 'oh submit' are missing the point: Labour and the Greens don't even recognise the issue or they would be talking about it. The Greens have actively suppressed debate within the party including in policy development. I gather that Labour has some pressures not to talk too.
None of that says that trans people shouldn't be protected. They should be. What I don't yet know is if detrans people are invisible or just considered collateral damage.
In spite of numerous attempts to have some discussion, you participate only to dismiss, not to inform yourself on how similar legislation has been interpreted in practice in other countries, to the detriment of practitioners and clients in trans gender services.
All we all want, is the minimisation of harm.
We could learn from the consequences and adapt accordingly.
But so many are refusing to even consider that unintended consequences may result, that we can't even propose that changes are made without being accused of malicious intent.
Just by-the-by, do you know how prevalent gay or gender conversion therapy is in NZ?
@McFlock.
As always on this topic, you contribute nothing but insults and/or misdirections.
At least try and participate beyond that.
Populuxe 1. I think body dysmorphic disorder (aka in laypersons terms imagine ugliness syndrome) isn't about believing you are a dinosaur etc,. It is the belief that you or a particular feature is physical ugly/repulsive.
@Molly there is no CT in NZ professional practice. That's why they are broadening the legislation to try and discriminate against religious teaching. It’s a cause in search of a bad guy
@roblogic, I hope that is not true.
I'm going to have to research the level of harm that's been identfied in N Z, to reassure myself that this proposal was written specifically for our institutions, practices, and citizens.
And links to articles showing an increased risk of suicide attempts associated with attempts at conversion therapy. That's pretty fucking relevant, IMO.
edit: also, as always, you should see the stuff I delete before posting.
From the American Psychological Association:
@McFlock, I have already conceded the harm done by the practice of conversion therapy.
For someone who refuses to look at links provided, there is a fair whack of hubris to you providing one link as a discussion, but we can keep on, keeping on.
Let's try again. Read that then comment.
How do we ensure that appropriate care is given to all, if anything other than affirmation may be considered "conversion therapy"? (Noting there are significant differences in persistence between same sex attraction, and gender dysphoria).
The impact of affirmation models for same sex attraction is not the same as for gender dysphoria. It does not involve puberty blockers, hormone treatment or surgery at ages where the person has not reached physical, cognitive or emotional maturity The interpretation of the proposal seems to indicate that any failure to affirm gender identity in a counselling or support service capacity may fall foul of this legislation:
From macro:
"Conversion Therapy defined in the proposed bill as any practice that:
We are treating sexual orientation, and gender expression as if the are the same in occurrence, persistence and appropriate support.
They are not.
"edit: also, as always, you should see the stuff I delete before posting."
I don't have to, I write it… then delete as well.
lol "to date".
Which date? At least before 2001, apparently. Even despite that proviso, they were opposed to conversion therapy.
They've maintained that position. 2013:
2018:
They've even put out a handy little fact sheet on what it is and why it sucks.
Update your reference sources, there's a good chap.
@Molly
If the gender expression really is just a phase, then a parent wouldn't be trying to change it by opposing permanent treatments.
That's where the intent comes in to ensure that the needs of the child are being met, rather than simply intending to change the child's expression or orientation because the parents don't like it.
A google search of rob's quote shows that it is a quote from a book from 2008 not a statement from the American Psychological Association.
@McFlock.
Your perspective is too narrow because it has a fixation on parents while the legislation is much broader, and can you please read the link first so we are both discussing the same therapies that may or may not be covered?
(You seem to be focused on gay conversion therapy instigated by parents, to the exclusion of all else).
Also, there is harm done to individuals and families as interpretations are tested by our justice systems. Legislation should be as clear as possible from the outset to minimise this fallout.
@molly
given that there seem to be three distinct arguments going on in one thread, I'm not surprised there's some confusion.
Skimmed your link. Seems to have been a clinician acting according to his specialty being disciplined via peers and employers rather than a criminal process, so has nothing to do with the legislation currently being considered in NZ.
It's turning into ideology-based medicine. Perhaps it doesn't bother you that something weird is going on and professional organisations are cancelling therapists who speak out.
If you only skimmed the link, you are skimming the conversation. Take the time to read.
I'll wait till you can go deeper.
The article does relate to how appropriate individualised therapy can be considered as suppression of gender identity, and practitioners accused of harm, despite a lack of evidence.
Because the legislation refers to any practice of gender suppression, rather than the outcome, this may well apply here in Aotearoa.
How would it inform the debate on Labour's support for the current bill? The bill has nothing to do with medical discipline, and health practitioners have an exemption if they're acting in their own specialty.
"The bill has nothing to do with medical discipline, and health practitioners have an exemption if they're acting in their own specialty."
The article shows how professional integrity is no protection against conflation of harm by affirmation only activism.
If it is appropriate for some health practitioners to address gender dysphoria by approaches that can be considered suppression, then it can also be appropriate for others to take this approach, including parents. There is no one size fits all. There cannot be a blanket approach to such a diverse number of presentations.
If one reads the article uncritically (especially in regards to bias) and comes to that conclusion, then that still has nothing to do with the proposed NZ legislation because the proposed legislation deals with criminal (rather than professional) misconduct and gives health practitioners like the chap in your article a specific exemption from prosecution.
Activists whinge on both sides. Sometimes folks get fired. Sometimes they end up with a steady income from patreon and etsy. This has nothing to do with criminal prosecutions. It is… what was the term? "Misdirection".
I've read multiple articles today on this topic and frankly managed to do more work on this than on my actual day job, so please at least link to something relevant to the NZ bill.
@ I Feel Love (1.1.1.1) … Absolutely agree with your sentiments. There is no place for conversion therapy in any civilised and decent nation.
All good agreeing with sentiments, mary a.
But we are trying to get reassurance that the proposed legislation as it stands will not result in unintended harms.
And the discussion needs to look at a number of issues, some of which I've outlined above.
Do you have any discussion points to raise about ensuring appropriate individualised care, which may be considered by some to be "conversion therapy" if it does not confirm gender identity automatically?
Faafoi’s response on this issue does not reassure.
Reply to Macro…."there is little more to be said on the subject"….well you are entitled to that view. I don't think you control what people discuss on the Standard though. I think people are entitled to raise the issues they want to and a current bill before parliament seems like a suitable topic for the Standard.
I think people know they can make a submission on the Conversion Therapy Bill. And many probably will. That is irrelevant to discussion here.
I did find your link helpful Macro. But there are gaps still. What about parents saying "you are too young to make this decision. We want to wait and see? " re puberty blockers, cross sex hormone and surgery.
What about if people refuse to use peoples pro-nouns?
If it could be constructed that refusing medical intervention is 'conversion therapy' by keeping a kid in its natural body rather then start transing it, then yes that could indeed get people for up to 5 years in prison an many many dollars.
And i think both the Minister of Justice and the PM have been asked that questions and were both non committal on the answer but underlying, yes, that could happen in NZ.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/07/expert-concerned-government-s-planned-gay-conversion-therapy-law-could-criminalise-parents.html
Well said. BTW IMHO Stanford is very impressive. Alongside Willis she's one of a new breed of MP's who are likely to be the future of National.
This is no area for politics. Individuals have the right to make their own choices. I taught teenagers for 32 years so I know how difficult they can be. If you allow their choices and support them, you will have happier teenagers and families.
Conversion therapy is a flawed concept that can only lead to more harm. Ban it!
Correct, but unfortunately the LGBT lobby has latched onto this as their latest hobby horse and now they are pretending there's an outbreak of fundamentalist christians trying to pray away the gay. It's just crap. The intent behind the activism is what concerns me, when the discourse is so fundamentally dishonest.
How does it matter how fucking often this is happening? Once is too many.
It's potentially outlawing people's freedom of choice to be converted and baptised into faith.
It's naked bigotry against religious belief
so how often it happens is irrelevant.
What if it never happens? Then it is a completely stupid law that isn't about addressing a real problem, but rather it's intended to send a virtue signal (and hopefully thwart political rivals).
Expressive Ends: Understanding Conversion Therapy Bans (ucla.edu)
Have a good day.
NZ and Australia are currently under the pandemic pump, but once we're in a position where nearly all of us will be able to live with COVID-19, we should take action to distribute wealth more evenly, both within and between societies. But will/can we?
It really annoys me to hear the likes of Chris Bishop taking the moral high ground (on Morning Report this morning) on the supposed failings of the government.
We all know (but cannot prove) that the Natz in power would
a) have opened this country much earlier than the present government, with resulting cases of covid,
b) would have applied a lockdown-lite similar to that in New South Wales, with infection trends like in Sydney, and
c) would have priotised the economy over the lives of citizens.
Sure, the opposition’s task is to hold the government to account, but their hypocrisy beggars belief.
Chris Bishop and moral in the same sentence , Geez weird
Allowing bishop the high ground shows how ineffective RNZ has become.
It's an easy house of cards to topple with a decent set of questions rather than the provided soapbox.
Opposition politicians say it's the media's job to hold the government to account. Does the media hold opposition politicians to account too?
e.g. Was Bishop questioned about the way he would have gone about things
a) opening this country much earlier than the present government, with resulting cases of covid,
b) applying a lockdown-lite similar to that in New South Wales, with infection trends like in Sydney
c) priotising the economy over the lives of citizens?
‘
New Zealand Carbon neutral by 2050?
Sure, but only on the condition that we are allowed to continue polluting like crazy in the present.
From No Right Turn;
The ex-Prime Minister of Samoa accuses Jacinda Ardern of actively undermining him so that a woman would replace him:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/26/samoas-former-pm-accuses-jacinda-ardern-of-plot-to-replace-him-with-a-woman
TBH it would be fun if it were true.
Deluded !!!!
Hell has no fury like a narcissist male politician.
Another way to read this is that Samoa for several months was in a political crisis because a man did not want to be supplanted by a woman.
O the shame! O the ignominy!
Mrs Mac1 says it's becoming an overseas thing to blame our tall poppy, Jacinda- in the case of Covid for daring to even look like getting our response caring, careful and right.
The revealing part, in the above-cited Guardian article, of the utterances of the former Samoan male PM was where what he observed about timing became what he thought, became what was a fact, and finally became proof.
Samoan distrust of New Zealand goes back to the World War One "invasion" and subsequent Spanish Flu infection.
https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/samoa-pasifika-involvement-in-the-first-world-war/
"After war was declared by Britain, it was imperative that Samoa be taken back from the Germans to disable the potential utilisation of the Samoa group as a Pacific launch base. There were no permanent means of defence in Samoa, and the Germans put up no resistance when the New Zealand Samoa Advanced Force arrived in Apia on 29 August 1914. The British flag was hoisted at the courthouse."
"On Thursday 7th November, 1918 the Talune, a New Zealand steamer ship that operated a supply service through Auckland, Suva, Nuku'alofa and Samoa, docked in Apia Harbour. Its holdings contained passengers, supplies for trading and the deadly Spanish Flu …..
The ship ironically carried news of the Spanish influenza break out in the Northern Hemisphere to Samoa, and the fatal cases that had reached New Zealand and beginning to affect the Māori population. Two days later a family of four were reportedly all sick, and their five-month-old baby died. The bonfire that was held in Apia on Beach Road, to celebrate the armistice would have escalated the spread of the flu to the outer villages. 19% of the population was wiped out within months"
“A 1948 United Nations study described Samoa’s exposure as “the most disastrous epidemic recorded anywhere in the world during the present century.”
First person to mention the Samoan Assembly of God wins.
You just did, winner.
Ha! Godwins's law applies. Nice one, Ad!
There was a good documentary fairly recently on this.
You can find an excerpt of "Samoa and the Ship of Death" on NZ On Screen, but the whole is worth the watch if you can get it.
There is always one trouble maker! Well done to the Four Square staff for handling this so well, they do a fantastic job.
Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Anti-masker's rant caught on video – NZ Herald
Chris Trotter on Daily Blog has written an interesting article on why right wing media are in such a frenzy and are always attacking our PM. She is young, a woman, popular and enjoys people.
Nice piece by Chris Trotter – he can still produce good stuff when working outside his currently vitiating obsession with 'free speech' etc. But I do think he has overplayed the sexist aspect of the right's reaction to Ardern and underplayed their fear of ideological contagion, i.e. if a government and its citizens can collectively mobilise to battle a pandemic, why can't it do the same for climate change or economic inequality?
freedom of speech is rightly the domain of the anti-authoritarian left. we should not cede that argument to idiots in ACT
Yes I agree – but I think Chris has been unable to frame his position on the subject in a way that sufficiently differentiates himself from ACT. He thus ends up amplifying them, rather than undercutting them.
Good comment, particularly this:
The pandemic feels real, it makes people very ill and kills them. If not here in NZ, but overseas where many Kiwis have lost friends, family, and workmates. Fear is a good motivator.
Climate Change feels a long distance and time away and doesn’t quite have the same fear level, yet. I’d say we’re at Level 1.5.
Economic inequality is just life and we’ll have to accept as a fact of life and live with it. If you’re a home owner*you’ll know how it feels: it feels good, it feels right.
*not all home owners feel this way, but they’ll take the money anyway
The 'staggering' hypocrisy of Judith Collins
Collins has accused the government "staggering cruelness", for not being quicker in getting our Afghani supporters out of Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister pushed back;
"I would just simply point out that people we're bringing into New Zealand whose lives are at risk are individuals who weren't eligible in 2012 when the National Government first implemented the ability for some interpreters to come."
Prime Minister Ardern.
"Either Labour is unkind or tragically incompetent across foreign policy, defence, and immigration", said Collins.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/08/judith-collins-brands-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-staggeringly-cruel-for-snail-s-pace-response-to-afghanistan-crisis.html
The Prime Minister is right. With her own words Judith Collins has just condemned her own former National Party Government;
From 2012
2012, transcription of the RNZ interview with Diamond Kazimi
I need to some help from the media to get my point out there for the government to hear. There are people that remain in Afghanistan and I don’t want to leave them behind…….
….I don’t have any authority, and I can’t do anything, and as I have said before they have tried to email them, those former commanders and those former officials but it is really disappointing how they didn’t even email them back. Because they have got kids, they have got families. How hard will it be for them to hear the news that they are only going to take 23 to 26 interpreters who are currently working, and not these poor people who have worked for more than a decade, and it is just heart breaking for them….
….the forces (that are working with them) do agree that everyone should be included in this deal. But it is just like; I just don’t understand this decision that John Key made regarding of this. Because there are like, contractors, electricians, builders who first worked for the New Zealand army in there to build the base. I mean, they’re the ones, that we need to look into that too. They have actually helped us build the base and they are still waiting they are locals they need New Zealand’s help…..
There are more than five or ten, there are a hundred of them…..
There is a female who works in the base and she usually cooks for the soldiers, I mean, what a great danger she is going to be (in) when New Zealand leaves……
These people, the contractors, the interpreters, the former interpreters want their families to become residents of New Zealand. Because these people have actually showed commitment, they have done service to New Zealand and they deserve to come here.
Diamond Kazimi Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan, 26/10/ 2012
Only 23 to 26 families were to be given sanctuary in New Zealand by the previous National Government. The majority were abandoned to their fate.
National’s Defence Minister Johnathon Coleman said at the time that those left behind could apply as refugees, and if their lives were in danger their applications will be looked on “reasonably”. Coleman went on to say this favourable eye would not be extended to cooks cleaners and other contracted support staff. As they had “not had a high profile“.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7865719/Afghan-interpreter-resettlement-deal-confirmed
Judith Collins' views on Afghanistan are worthless.
Far better to read something by someone who actually knows something about the shameful history of Western pillaging of that country…
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/533018-west-destroyed-afghanistan-pdpa-revolution/
There is money to be made with weapons and mercenaries who know no loyalty. The west has created a beast with these soldiers of no conscience.
I wish RNZ would stop catatrophising the govts/MoH contingency plans. For example the MoH opens up two hotels to be quarantine facilities because they don't want to be caught short if cases take off but then RNZ is like "so we're going to be caught short".
No, there is a risk that we'll be caught short and the MoH/govt is trying to lower that risk. It doesn't mean that there is a large chance it will happen but it's something that should be planned for because the cost of not sorting it out is high.
I am an introvert so lockdown is fine for me but for some people this really drives their anxiety when it's totally unecessary to report things in that way.
Damned if they do and damned if they don't. I think its become a contest to see which media outlet can come up with the most outlandish shock-jock story of the day.
What really annoys me is the media’s apparent inability to distinguish between operational matters which are the realm of individual DHBs and general policy directions as laid down by govt. Either they know and deliberately mix the two together, or they are the most ignorant bunch of journos ever seen in this country.
Yes, I concede there are a few exceptions.
One RNZ guy made a big deal of the Anti Lockdown protest outside TVNZ, maybe a dozens turned up , along with a dozen media.
Yet the RNZ ' opinion piece' ran as though there was an uprisising in the offing against our harsh overlords. ( cant find it online anymore)
The 'reward' for the journo was it was syndicated to the NZ Herald
Like Collins upthread, the media are struggling to take a trick. The government response to Covid has been spot on.
The culture created around the vaccinations is a reflection of this. A vaccinator made a boo-boo during their day. They weren't afraid to put their hand up and start the process of sorting it.
I would far rather this state of affairs rather than the sort of carry on voiced on the RNZ this am.
Interesting piece informed by OIA documents throwing a light on our foreign policy positions
Yep
sorry about the extra bits on moniker, extra trouble for you and unobservant of me
Meanwhile, rents keep rising.
No worries, the NZX is looking good. The 0.1% are making bank, so the "labour" govt DGAF
The (paywalled) online link to the story about Nat caucus ructions mentioned in #1 above before that thread got diverted into conversion therapy: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/covid-19-coronavirus-thomas-coughlan-knives-out-in-national-as-caucus-struggles-to-show-unity-despite-obvious-division/PKJ2PZM6ABLWKZQCLRXK2BKYZE/
Subscribers, have at it..
death to paywalls and ads 🏴☠️
I don't subscribe, but you can access the Herald, and heaps of other papers etc through the Auckland Library and Press Reader. All free!!
Even when the physical paper is out of print due to lockdown?
Digital products are good for that, yes.
What does the Press Gallery think of the 1-pm press conferences?
Is it all orchestrated by the Government spin doctors to feed us ‘massaged’ data & info?
If you have a strong bias you might want to give this a miss we know who you are.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/podcast-card/dark-and-light-twists-in-our-daily-1pm-dose
When calling out BS it pays to be blunt and clear.
I share his optimism; the biggest hurdle/obstacle is the same as always.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/delta-needs-a-sledgehammer-not-a-scalpel-nz-epidemiologist
Yes Scomo has embarrased himself.
By the way we watched Utube clips of the NSW pressers last night with their Premier and Health Minister (sorry I can't remember their names). Good lord The "S(hambles)" word comes to mind…………embarrasing. I almost felt sorry for them, except thier inadequcies are causing deaths and a very, very long lock down.
Advice like if you are going into Harvey Norman, don't browse……………..Its Delta ffs.
And a petulant blamey tone of Sydneysiders and beyond almost like, some people have been very naughtly boys and girls not keeping to the rules.
I think Scomo will end up with end on his face.
Excellent wee doco on YouTube from a couple weeks ago, Four Corners about Aus vaccination fek up, people squarely blame Morrison & his inept Govt.
The Sydney experiment keeps developing,with tent hospitals at ER.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sydney-hospitals-erect-emergency-tents-amid-delta-surge-2021-08-25/
jesus christ.
Thank goodness we have a decent govt and no land border with NSW.
Yeah but ScoMo says "She'll be right cobbah, nothing to see here, look at that silly little cave-dwelling NZ"
We don't want their weather either with sydney having its coldest day since Bob Hawke was PM.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/did-sydney-just-have-its-coldest-day-in-37-years/534838
The Australian Financial Review is clear about the scale of damage this NSW Delta outbreak is causing:
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/delta-variant-could-wipeout-a-year-s-worth-of-economic-gains-20210721-p58bjq
"A failure to contain the coronavirus delta variant could reset the economy to pre-pandemic levels and spark a “W-shaped” recovery, economists say, as virus case numbers continue to rise.
The economy lifted above its pre-pandemic size in March, but subsequent lockdowns are tipped to spark a contraction which has the potential to wipe out gains made over the past 18 months."
Gladys soft initial approach,not only impacted Australia but NZ,and there are significant issues in the Doherty model with the wildfire parameter .
87,000 + vaccinations yesterday and 73% of over 30 yr old NZers have had the vax or signed up to get it according to today’s 1pm,er. Nothing like a glimpse of the ghostly man with the scythe to scare the shit out of some eh. If I was cynical I would say that the outbreak has done us all a favour, except of course the poor buggers who have taken one for the team, commiserations to you and best of luck.
That figure once completed has to be the one of the highest in the world, no wonder Collins and Bishop et al are pissed off, my bet is they wanted a low turnout.
Like myself alot of those people would have booked pre outbreak.
But little bit of fair will be surely pushing a few hesitants over the line
People should never be scared into taking personal actions in the name of public health. I really don't see that as a good thing, but here we are…
Those are astounding numbers for the over 30s! I dare say you're right Adrian, my anti vax GF got her first shot today, yay!
I'm not so sure about that bwaghorn, people are booking now& getting appointments the next day, things have ramped up quickly. It's bloody impressive.
Yes commiserations to those unlucky enough to have contracted covid. It must be terrifying.
I wonder if Mickey S will write about this. On the other hand if it was National?
Labour lockdown ads: PM 'disappointed' after delivery in her electorate | Stuff.co.nz
Unlikely, but I've taken the liberty of giving the PM a hand with her speech from the podium for tomorrow:
tena katoa katoa
I want to start with some great news Aotearoa. We now have 5000 trained Labour propaganda distributors. Yesterday during Level 4 we delivered a record 80,000 propaganda pamphlets throughout the land. This is an amazing achievement and I want to thank the team of supporters.
Now for the not such good news. In terms of vaccine delivery, we are still last in the OECD. I’ll hand over to Doctor Bloomfield to provide an explanation. Doctor, over to you.
You did take a liberty. When putting words into someone else's mouth, which is normally contra-indicated, get them right.
Tena koutou katoa.
Thanks for the proof. Apologies
Guessing lack of further comments you’re okay with the rest of the message.
Again, you presume more than you dare.
Remember the old Latin saying, " Tacere non consentire".
What it tells us P4life is that Labour has a few idiots who apparently can't read among its ranks too, but nothing like as many as National and ACT and you're one of them.
Ha! No, another own goal for the bored shit stirring right wingers, the pamphlets had been sitting in the bozos letterbox since last month!
He was overseas on holiday? Had to return home for level 4 lockdown? He was avoiding his creditors?He is one of the illiterati? He thought a letter box was a condominium? What?
Haha. Thats why the PM felt the need to apologise at her 1PM standup yesterday! Did you read the link? Doh
Did "the PM apologise at her 1PM standup yesterday!" @41:40? Dave, ya dreeaming.
Our PM is a very good leader and communicator – a safe pair of hands – her integrity and openess will be incomprehensible and threatening to some.
Unite against COVID-19 – https://covid19.govt.nz/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KymkFW0DdyQ
I was asked this yesterday “Even better, if you think there's someone in NZ better to be PM or DGHealth or whatever, please “ and associated with this question and the focus in these 2 I feel that many are not recognising those who are supporting these 2 preparing the briefing and getting things done for our benefit and safety.
These 2 are like the chairmen of the board fronting up and being the face of the company.
I disagree.
1, People who made an appointment or only had one dose are not "vaccinated"
2, 71K or what doses administered or record they say have administered in a day is not vaccinated.
3, Delta has been the only strain coming through MIQ since April or June Dr Bloomfield said. They have had months knowing Delta is the only strain out there.
4, The PM herself said we are the last country in the world to have a Delta outbreak? Have we learnt nothing of those other countries and the research done on Delta. We should have had mass vaccination eventds months ago not just now when Delta has already broken out.
You see strong leadership, I just see BS and PR spin and very little accountability.
Vaccinated what with ? Cold tea, you Tory apologist Chicken Littles and your broken records stuck on repeat are nothing more than dickheads. God, I’ve had a guts full of your like.
I believe saline solution is the alternative to Pfizer being used, not cold tea.
We've learnt that opening the border doesn't work.
Board chairs have a function, too, like any leader.
But the other thing is that the question was about who you would have doing the job instead of the incumbents. The thought that occurred last night was if you replaced DG health with an unknown bureaucrat selected on merit to do the briefings because of their training and specialist knowledge… that's just like getting the DG health to front up at press conferences.
How many people knew NZ even had a DGH 18 months ago, let alone the name of the incumbent?
I think Herodotus is pining for
DrChai Chuah, who truly was aCEObureaucrat.Trump ascends to his Apotheosis: Mme Tussaud's Chamber of Horrors
https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/08/22374925/did-disney-dis-trump-in-hall-of-presidents-placement?utm_campaign=mixi.media&utm_campaign=benzinga&utm_source=mixi.media&utm_source=mixi&utm_medium=feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=site
Pataua4life – vaccine supplies have been in huge demand worldwide most of the year. Was NZ more entitled to be at the head of the queue than so many other countries which were in a dreadful situation and we were living a pretty as usual life?
I liken the pandemic to winning a war. Looking back at the two world wars, some battles were lost but the wars were in the end won by the allies. For such a huge logistical, organisational, and staffing undertaking of course not everything went perfectly but lessons are learnt all the time.
Give me the PM we have rather than Judith Collins with her sneers and nastiness and focus on opening borders to suit business interests rather than the health of New Zealanders. I can still hear her demands from last year to "open the borders".
Last time I looked Jacinda was the PM of NZ.
The whole countries more deserving is again BS to hide the truth that the Govt and MOH are bloody useless at procurement with any haste.
Our PM is amazing, we won’t have a bad word said against her on this site. She is the only one in the world to have the foresight to suggest we can eliminate delta. Truely visionary.
This Government was one of the few in the world that listened to advice from real experts rather than from fake speech writers and armchair critics. That is amazing in its own right.
Of course, we allow genuine criticism of the Government and PM here on this site. Don’t be put off by a few outspoken commenters who are a little too tribal for comfort at times.
Thanks David – there's more than a few who will be absolutely wetting themselves at the prospect of profiting from a perceived Ardern failure, that's for sure.
Here's hoping. Unite against COVID-19 – https://covid19.govt.nz/
Like I said, truely visionary. Only one to think we can keep delta at bay. Messiah type qualities.
Next we’ll see the boomer bike bridge from Birkenhead is redundant. No need for it. Our PM will simply part the seas.
Agreed David, six months without community transmission of Covid-19 is a truly staggering achievement during a global pandemic.
It wasn't all down to our PM – give yourself a pat on the back for being a true believer in the team of five million, and stay dry.
Like I said: Here's hoping. Unite against COVID-19 – https://covid19.govt.nz/
Then the devil delta came knock knock knocking at the Crown Plaza and we said welcome in. The PM said we’ll deal with it. Then knock knock, I’m back. No worries the messiah will hold back the tide. We believe. We all believe here.
David, your faith is truly touched. No disrespect but the repeated 'messiah' references seem misplaced.
Anyone with half a brain will understand that Collins and Seymour surging to electoral victory in late 2023 would be the greater miracle. It's going to be a loooooooong wait for the faithful few.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_New_Zealand_general_election
Unite against COVID-19 – https://covid19.govt.nz/
Haven’t you heard?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/graham-adams-is-jacinda-ardern-the-messiah-or-just-a-very-crafty-politician/OX6JWIDJE2TA2RSCXVGMJVH77Q/
Or just a very crafty politician?
Did you just write "crafty politician"? Boy, have I got some crafty politicians for you.
https://christopherluxon.national.org.nz/news
Unite against COVID-19 – https://covid19.govt.nz/
Are you doing your level best to stop that happening davy?
Haste would have got an inferior vaccine, the SCIENTISTS waited to see what the vaccine with the least complications and the most effectiveness was, and that was Phizer. The governments job was to manage the political process to keep us as safe as possible until it was available, not helped by the Americans keeping all of their production within their own borders. It was a strategy that was brilliantly executed and became the worlds gold standard on how to do it properly, and because of that strategy, we have the most superior vaccine of the lot. The Australians on the other hand spent shitloads on a University of Queensland one that was to be manufactured in Melbourne. That went well didn’t it, exactly the same as every thing else they attempted. Right- wing stupidity begets the long lasting effect of Covid, Long Stupid. And you P4 are the poster boy for it.
Pataua4Life – your reading comprehension needs improvement. If you are referring to my post about NZ being fortunate we have Jacinda Arden as PM, rather than Judith Collins, you need to re-read the post. You are confused.
Electric Vehicles.
In time there are going to be a lot of serviceable motor bodies in very good condition, but little to no hydrocarbon fuels to power them.
Are there any plans for the major manufacturers to make electrical engines to replace the internal combustion units in these vehicles? Or are the incompatibilities just too great?
Just wondering
I have an engineering acquaintance who has converted an ICE ute to an EV as a backyard conversion, fully certificated and road worthy, and who is working on doing the same with a BMW.
So, it can be done. The ute handily carries the battery pack in the tray.
I think I need my 3 litre diesel Prado to tow my trailer sailor. It's a '99 model. I should love to convert to an electrical motor, and do my bit for climate change, but I fear that such a powerful replacement vehicle (complete) is going to be way out of my price range. The body of the Prado is very good. A different power unit however would be a wonderful prospect.
Getting outside of my expertise (I am an EV owner, is all) but the power of an EV is surprising and from the start- no power band as with an ICE when the power kicks in between certain revs.
My friend used the same body and transmission, just installed an electric motor. He is a hobbyist, so I have no idea as to the costings, but he's no fool either, even to convert an older ute.
The other important factor is that maintenance is less.
Kits galore.
https://www.electrive.com/2020/11/02/gm-announces-electric-conversion-kit/
https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/electric-crate-motors-make-turning-your-gas-car-into-an-ev-easy
Thanks, Joe90. I'll flick these on to my ute converter. Just wish I had the engineering expertise…….