How do we know whether a self-proclaimed free speech advocate actually means what they say – or in reality just seeks the continued dominance of their preferred speech and the social and economic arrangements that their preferred speech justifies?
Some people think that the political right has hijacked the notion of free speech to this end. So they are suspicious of anyone who loudly and conspicuously pins the star of free speech to their valiant chest. I find it hard to disagree with that view – though I do not approve of some of the more excessive actions that flow from it.
Privately, I have instead started talking about free and equal speech as the touchstone of a democracy – where all voices are heard and have (roughly) equal influence.
Some students would have noted the FSU made no defence of pro Palestinian protestors when they were accused of antisemitism. And the connection to the TU campaign against three waters (co-governance fears).
The event should go ahead all the same.
It can be presumed the FSU would oppose political funding of political parties because money has to dominate discourse.
"Some students would have noted the FSU made no defence of pro Palestinian protestors when they were accused of antisemitism. "
Really? My response to that would be they should go along and use the Q&A to ask.
I'm not quite sure why the FSU are expected to speak into the issue of 'pro palestinian protestors' being accused of anti-semitism. If the protestors were having their freedom of speech/expression curtailed, that's one thing, but being labelled anti-semitic is not that.
Sure, but if that is free speech, then labelling the state of Israel an apartheid state, is so as well.
Israelis warned back in 1977 that if they began to settle occupied territory it would undermine the standing of their nation state – and they were right.
There is only one party to the Oslo Accord peace process (state of Israel)(Likud government) running a river to the sea policy – and the Likud leader BN has always opposed that peace process.
The two RWers are Free Speech Union president Jonathan Ayling and the New Zealand Initiative’s Dr Michael Johnston.
I like the reframing of free speech though. 'Free speech' is an Americanism. In NZ we have legislation around freedom of expression. Not sure about the idea of equal speech (I don't think that is possible), but definitely agree the inequity issues need addressing.
Otoh, it was the right that stepped up to stop women's rights campaigners from being blocked from public venue hires. The left can complain about the right's free speech agenda, but it is dropping the ball in many ways on fairness.
Freedom of expression embraces free speech, the sanctity of an individual’s opinion, a free press, the transmission and receipt of ideas and information, the freedom of expression in art and other forms, the ability to receive ideas from elsewhere, and the right to silence.
Freedom of expression is one of a number of mutually supporting rights (including freedom of thought, of association and of assembly, and the right to vote) and is integral to other civil and political rights, such as the right to justice, and the right to take part in public affairs. Equally, the right to freedom of expression impacts on social and cultural rights, such as the right to education.
The term 'free speech' comes with a particular US political slant that I think is unhelpful in the NZ context. It gets used as a synonym for 'say what you want when you want'. And that slant is now part of the NZ culture wars where the liberal left use tactics to inhibit freedom of expression and the right go on about free speech rights, and we can't even have a decent conversation any more. Both sides are involved in positions that are anti-democratic and undermine freedom of expression.
AB's point about the right's impact on equity of access sits alongside the liberal left's use of ostracisation and ridicule, deplatforming, and more recently noise to disrupt the expression of others.
I don't value free speech above other forms of freedom of expression and see the principles underlying them as more important then the right to speak. And I say that as someone who frequently chooses to not write on certain topics because of concern about the backlash. We need to look at what is inhibiting or enabling freedom of expression, rather than relying on simplistic memes of 'free speech'.
cheers. I really should do a post on it. Lprent would be another good person to write a post, he has a somewhat different perspective again with an emphasis on the consequences of speech eg,
AB's point about the right's impact on equity of access sits alongside the liberal left's use of ostracisation and ridicule, deplatforming, and more recently noise to disrupt the expression of others.
From the right also come outright threats, often to women politicians on the left. And from some politicians – personal information releases by a former National MSD Minister come to mind.
Brash attacking Clark for having no children while she advocated for tax credits for low income families.
As for cancellation, what comes close to One New Zealand Brash proposing the end of Maori electorate seats. And Seymour on the Treaty and WT and NZF on references to the Treaty in legislation.
And I say that as someone who frequently chooses to not write on certain topics because of concern about the backlash.
It's worse over in the USA, the FBI sees its mission as to prevent threats to government authority and capitalism (pre and post the HUAC era). The numbers on their Fusion Centre watchlist is astonishing (from left to right, right to left).
I'm not sure what your points are here. That the right is worse and thus the left don't have to look at ourselves and our own actions?
The point of the sentence you quoted out of context was to place emphasis on the rest of the paragraph,
I don't value free speech above other forms of freedom of expression and see the principles underlying them as more important then the right to speak. And I say that as someone who frequently chooses to not write on certain topics because of concern about the backlash. We need to look at what is inhibiting or enabling freedom of expression, rather than relying on simplistic memes of 'free speech'.
Emphasis now added in italics. But I could also have written,
if the left won't look at our own undermining of freedom of expression, we have no ground upon to which put our criticism of others. And the others know this.
I was fairly sure I got your point. Which was to soft soap the criticism of the right, limiting it to access, and load it on the left.
No, and you're an idiot. Sorry, I can't be bothered with this. I'm really happy to share my thinking and clarify when asked, and I put a fair amount of effort in doing that pre-emptively, but this is starting to look like wilful ignorance.
If you cannot handle critique of the left, then you are in the wrong place. If you think critiquing the left = supporting the right, then you're just stupid.
But thanks for adding to my point. People that think they know what others thing, even when the person corrects them, are a big part of the problem. Why bother engaging with the arguments I am making when you can just write them off as RW apologia.
The reason I critique the left is because we are losing and if we don't sort this shit out, we will lose very very badly. And I know exactly what that will mean for women. Too many lefties are still running round apparently thinking we can just dump on the right and win the next election and everything will be alright. Meanwhile, society is breaking down in front of our eyes, and while the right bear the larger portion of the responsibility for that, they are not the only problem here.
I've debated on many boards – years on Kiwiblog …my left wing skin is much thicker than your own.
K-J K-M said, she would annihilate those women on the left in her way. You probably realise what she meant more than most (as given your views on the global environment and social justice you'll be staying on the left) as she is of a mind to divide women against the left on the birth sex/womens identity issue (and then her next issues prostitution and pornography).
You need to be mindful that while the idea that the left cannot win without women voters is true (and nor can Trump/GOP) and yet it is women who face the consequences of right wing government the most.
Gaslighting others on the left – telling them they have to worthy on the womens ID issue to win is unfair and sometimes untrue.
Only where the right is opposing self-ID does the point has relevance.
If the right can make/retain the issue self ID as one that divides the left and then leave the left to it, they will.
the postponed event had five speakers from across the political spectrum
that I agreed with AB that framing free speech to include the concept of equity of access/opportunity was useful
that the right has stepped up on freedom of expression and the left has dropped the ball
What would balance that? If I said that the left does good things too? Or that teh right does bad things? These are givens on a blog like TS.
Why exactly are we talking about KJK all of a sudden? She is a centre right populist trying to build power. She's not trying to divide women on the left, she hates women on the left, the left generally, and feminists. The only women she accepts are those that agree with her. But why are we talking about her at all?
You need to be mindful that while the idea that the left cannot win without women voters is true (and nor can Trump/GOP) and yet it is women who face the consequences of right wing government the most.
When I say the left is losing, I am not talking about women voters (although it may come to that). I mean that we are outnumbered, we have no strong vision and narrative to win people back to a progressive position, and large chunks of the left are engaged in a culture war we cannot win because the other side fights dirty and we don't except for the whole ostracisation thing. Telling people who don't think like us they are wrong isn't going to get them to vote left. No-one can tell me what the end game is on that stuff.
… and yet it is women who face the consequences of right wing government the most.
And? That's so obvious I'm not sure why you felt the need to say it. Of course. That's why I want the left to sort its shit out so we can avoid a fascist future.
Gaslighting others on the left – telling them they have to worthy on the womens ID issue to win is unfair and sometimes untrue.
I don't know where you think I am gaslighting because you haven't said. I am highly critical of the liberal left that has abandoned women over our sex based rights. I hadn't actually thought about whether a chance on self ID is necessary to win, but on the face of it I would say it's not necessarily. You seem to be assuming my criticism of the left is simply about self ID. It's not. It's about our lose of class politics, loss of a commitment to community and the good of all, and the apparent idea that we can force people to think like us. All of that exists independently of the gender/sex wars.
Only where the right is opposing self-ID does the point has relevance.
If the right can make/retain the issue self ID as one that divides the left and then leave the left to it, they will.
Yes, another good reason for the left to sort its shit out. The right will use whatever means it can to gain power. Women won't give up their rights. That leaves the left some choices, but ignoring women isn't one of them.
Why exactly are we talking about KJK all of a sudden?
I raised her agenda – war against the left on the women's birth sex identity issue (the so called GCF cause – an irony when she herself says she is no feminist), because it is so often cited in the free speech issue by yourself.
I would have thought it obvious, it is one driving some GCF from the left, cancel culture etc.
Relevant? I would have thought so.
I don't know where you think I am gaslighting because you haven't said
Sigh.
I'm not sure what your points are here.
I would have pointed it out, But I've had enough of the, then make your points clearer then. They were clear.
No, and you're an idiot. Sorry, I can't be bothered with this
"The left can complain about the right's free speech agenda, but it is dropping the ball in many ways on fairness."
So right. The left used to defend free speech, but now progressives want to shut down events that include "right-wing" voices. So much for progressives' holy trinity of diversity, equity and inclusion. VUW have acted spinelessly, as NZ university leaders all too often do.
Why is it so hard for self-righteous progressives to understand that democracy requires a balance of liberal and conservative views? If conservatives rule unopposed, the likely result is stagnation and religious despotism. If liberals rule largely unopposed (as they have in NZ for 40 years), the result is the slide we now find ourselves upon, as our institutions become captured by "progressives" who actually undermine liberal values like freedom of expression and equality before the law.
Who was it who opposed the inclusion of gender identity in the Conversion Practices legislation? Eight conservatives – an island of sanity in our parliament. It is conservatives who are likely to challenge ideas that are at odds with the accumulated wisdom of human experience. When Chloe Swarbrick says she wants to abolish prisons, a conservative might ask her to name a single advanced civilization that has done so successfully.
Yes – a backlash led by (fee-paying) students, i.e. Victoria Uni stakeholders – what has become of our notionally independent tertiary education institutions? Will free speech stop the rot in universities, and elsewhere? I fear not, but it can be a crucial diversion.
And it's not only Aotearoa NZ, although we could be a fast follower. Let's not go here.
June 26, 2017: Wisconsin State Assembly Supports Campus Free Speech Act
The Wisconsin State Assembly sent to the State Senate last week the Campus Free Speech Act, legislation which would institute severe penalties — including suspension or explosion — for University of Wisconsin students who engage in “violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, obscene, unreasonably loud or other disorderly conduct that interferes with the free speech of others.”
"Explosion"! There's a severe penalty indeed, if ever there was one. Not much chance of an exploded student exercising their right to free speech.
Free speech never hurt anyone, and some free speech is more equal than others
Those students (who btw only pay a fraction of the cost of their education) will learn the hard way that in life people say things they may find uncomfortable.
I agree. Turning students into customers has given students too much power. University administrators live in fear of "brand damage" by student accusations of "racism", "transphobia" etc on social media. The old fees-free model needed reform, not replacement.
Not that I'm absolving university administrators of responsibility for the present situation. I wish they would show more spine and leadership in resisting activist pressure.
Twas apartheid in my later university days, and I guess protests against the Vietnam war before that – interesting times, although nowhere near as interesting as where we are now, and where we're going.
Do you think it's a good idea for students (at a University of all places ) to be exposed to a range of views and opinions? Because that's the issue here, not who pays for their education.
Do you think it's a good idea for students (at a University of all places) to be exposed to a range of views and opinions?
A range? Absolutely. I'd draw a line at, say, advocating white supremacy, but The Christchurch Call isn't everyone's cuppa – we each have our own line(s), university supremos included.
Because that's the issue here, not who pays for their education.
Might there be funding-related tensions (suggested @3.2.1.1.1) between the neoliberal universityindustry (increasingly financially-dependent on moar customers, particularly overseas students, i.e. ‘bums on seats’), and commitment to free speech, or indeed academic freedom. Such tensions may shift power imbalances – hmm, free speech knee-capped by commodification.
Free speech vs hate speech: Victoria University postpones debate after student backlash [27 Apr 2024]
In a statement, vice-chancellor Nic Smith said the debate had been postponed to ensure there was enough time to finalise the most effective format and speakers for the event. He said the university remained committed to holding the debate in late May.
"Over 600 people have registered to attend the event, reflecting the high level of interest across our community in discussing this topic. We have also had a large number of different voices express an interest in being part of the conversation. We want to ensure we have a cross-section of balanced and representative views in the discussion and we need more time to do this – hence the decision to postpone the event for a few weeks."
Patience is a virtue. A balance (that's key, imho) will likely be struck soon, although nowhere near soon enough to stop sensitive souls on all sides from working themselves into a distracting yet laser-focused lather. Are the 'freeze-peachers' and/or their opponents capable of learning during this hiatus?
And should commitment to free speech be a prerequisite for university admission? That's a tough one.
"If students are not resilient enough or mature enough to be able to deal in ideas – even those that they find uncomfortable – then maybe they shouldn't be at university."
Difficult to police though, as an individual's thoughts about what they find 'uncomfortable' remain private – sometimes even after they open their mouth.
"And should commitment to free speech be a prerequisite for university admission? "
Absolutely. Or at least, as Weka has recently articulated, freedom of expression. Students, of all people, should welcome the sunlight of free and open debate. Unless, of course, they hold to the somewhat elitist view that only their opinions, only those with which they are comfortable, matter.
I'd be comfortable with 16 / 17 / 18-year-old (potential) university students questioning the value of free speech events on campus, on a case-by-case basis. At that age, nascent, open-minded and/or changeable views might not be such a rarity, and shouldn't bar access to tuition, imho.
And perhaps those who are truly committed to free speech would be open to the idea of not excluding potential university students who are questioning, or even hold a contrary view – after all, university students are a diverse bunch, thank goodness, and could be more representative still. Just a thought.
I'd be comfortable with 17 / 18-year-old university students questioning the value of free speech events on campus, on a case-by-case basis.
Do you mean trying to get shut down? Or more that it's healthy for them to be making the critique?
And perhaps those who are truly committed to free speech would be open to the idea of not excluding potential university students who currently have a contrary view? Just a thought.
Do you mean trying to get shut down? Or more that it's healthy for them to be making the critique?
Yes, healthy – questioning the potential value (and cost) of events is healthy. I often question the value of sporting events, but never tried to shut one down, although did come close in Hamilton in 1981.
Sorry, who is being excluded?
That exchange (with Traveller) kicked off when I quoted this statement from an RNZ report.
"If students are not resilient enough or mature enough to be able to deal in ideas – even those that they find uncomfortable – then maybe they shouldn't be at university."
Just thought it was problematic for a free speech advocate to be suggesting students who might choose not to deal with (some) ideas that they found uncomfortable (for whatever reason) shouldn't be at university. I’d want to know something about the backgrounds and abilities of those (vulnerable/sensitive/fragile or immature) students, before characterising them as unsuitable for university study.
"And perhaps those who are truly committed to free speech would be open to the idea of not excluding potential university students who are questioning, or even hold a contrary view "
A contrary view to what? If you're suggesting that opposing freedom of expression/free speech is something that is an option for attending university, then you would be wrong. Opposing freedom of expression is the very antithesis of what university's should be.
"Just thought it was problematic for a free speech advocate to be suggesting students who might choose not to deal with (some) ideas that they found uncomfortable (for whatever reason) shouldn't be at university."
This depends on what purpose you proscribe to universities.
My view is that universities are "guardian of reason, inquiry and philosophical openness, preserving pure inquiry from dominant public opinions".
That being the case, I expect students to be able to critique ideas they disagree with, even ones they find abhorrent, not 'freak out' at just the names on a speakers list, before they even speak.
"I’d want to know something about the backgrounds and abilities of those (vulnerable/sensitive/fragile or immature) students, before characterising them as unsuitable for university study."
You're assuming that students opposed to free speech are actually "vulnerable/sensitive/fragile or immature". My experience has been such people are actually very open to new ideas, to ideas they disagree with. The people fighting against freedom of expression are (often) actually elitist and privileged. They are not used to being drawn out of the comfort of their cozy ideas and so baulk at any suggestion they put those ideas to the test.
Salient visited the Provost/Acting Vice Chancellor, Bryony James, for a kōrero. The conversation was productive and wide-ranging, and revealed a genuine desire from James and Reece Moores (Director of the Office of the VC) to counter what they see as corrosive and polarising online discourse. They’re worried that productive dialogue has been harmed by social media, and are seeking a remedy.
It’s important to note that their solution is an interesting fix, and one we should be open to. Moores and James stressed the mediated debate format would allow fact-checking. They acknowledged the total absence of Māori voices was an issue, and assured Salient they were working to amend it—so watch this space. The idea is a good one, but this specific panel aint it.
If you're suggesting that opposing freedom of expression/free speech is something that is an option for attending university, then you would be wrong.
And yet, opposing "a panel discussion about the rights and responsibilities associated with freedom of speech" (in its present form) was the very option chosen by some students attending Victoria University – that's the reality, however unpalatable.
Of course, if prospective students were tested for their propensity to question the value of a variety of events on campus, and particularly for their willingness to call for certain events to be cancelled, then youngsters scoring above an arbitrary threshold on the 'wrong-think' scale could be barred from enrolling – sweet! Otoh, that might select for students savvy enough to mask their aberrant thoughts – damn!
And what about those pesky students who are already enrolled; the ones who gained admission when there were no filters to screen out 'wrong thinking' customers. Instant expulsion seems harsh – after all, these are typically young people with few obvious prior 'wrong-think offences'. Perhaps a three-strikes system could be trialled to give malfunctioning students a couple of opportunities to see the error of their ways and adjust their values, thoughts and actions accordingly.
That being the case, I expect students to be able to critique ideas they disagree with, even ones they find abhorrent, not 'freak out' at just the names on a speakers list, before they even speak.
That's an (aspirational?) expectation – but these are not criteria for admission to university study in Aotearoa, and I’d be interested to learn if any university has incorporated such an expectation into their student admission processes. Imho, NZ’s tertiary education industry has no business regulating the values and thoughts of its customers with regard to free speech, among other things.
You're assuming that students opposed to free speech are actually "vulnerable/sensitive/fragile or immature".
Nope, just picked a parenthetical selection of antonyms for words in Ayling's quote at the end of this RNZ report – apologies for laziness.
"If students are not resilient enough or mature enough to be able to deal in ideas – even those that they find uncomfortable – then maybe they shouldn't be at university." – Ayling
Here are a couple of items on the tension between free speech and inclusivity/harassment in UK, European and US universities. Imho they're useful because they consider both aspects, and without compromise between pro-free speech and (new-ish) anti-harassment/pro-inclusivity factions there can be little progress, just useless and distracting conflict between absolutist camps.
Free speech is not universities’ problem. It’s students’
[9 Feb 2024]
Conflict on campus feels more intractable than ever – yet methods to resolve it are increasingly legalistic, silencing students in the process. Jim Dickinson sets out an alternative
As a new generation rises, tension between free speech and inclusivity on college campuses simmers
[13 Jan 2024]
Yet as the U.S. Education Department opens dozens of federal civil rights inquiries around antisemitism and Islamophobia, college leaders face pressure to counter hateful speech even if it’s constitutionally protected, Howard Gillman, chancellor of the University of California, Irvine, said during a panel on campus free speech on Wednesday.
Says Gillman: “There is increasingly now a sense of obligation on the part of campuses to do something.”
“And yet, opposing "a panel discussion about the rights and responsibilities associated with freedom of speech" (in its present form) was the very option chosen by some students attending Victoria University“
And that’s their right, but it’s also a misleading claim. The ‘form’ is a red herring. Here’s Marcail Parkinson’s objection:
“…people “freaked out” when they saw the panel line up, which looked like a platform for “right wing voices”, with the involvement of Free Speech Union president Jonathan Ayling and the New Zealand Initiative’s Dr Michael Johnston.”
This morning I have listened to Jonathan Ayling and Marcail Parkinson interviewed by Sean Plunkett, and Henry Broadbent (Salient) interviewed by Michael Walls. They were clear that their problem is not with the format but with Ayling himself. Broadbent claimed that Ayling represents ‘hate speech’, and when asked for an example specifically cited the FSU’s support of critical feminist speakers right to speech. In fact the long form interview then became a platform for those claims to be repeated constantly by Broadbent. When asked if he was looking for a blanket ban on the FSU, he confirmed that is precisely what he wants. These are opinions/prejudices they are entitled to hold, but don’t pretend this is a debate about the ‘form’, or that it is in any way appropriate for the University to shut down the free speech of others by acting on them.
“Of course, if prospective students were tested for their propensity to question the value of a variety of events on campus, and particularly for their willingness to call for certain events to be cancelled,“
‘Tested’? My goodness what are you suggesting? And the issue is not the value of the events, the issue is that people like Marcail want to be the arbiter of the people who speak at the events.
“Nope, just picked a parenthetical selection of antonyms for words in Ayling's quote at the end of this RNZ report – apologies for laziness.”
Ayling used the words not ‘resilient’ and not ‘mature’. You used the words ‘vulnerable/sensitive/fragile or immature’ . These are very different. And this is a problem, because those who oppose free speech are often elitist bullies. They consider themselves to be the guardians of a 'new orthodoxy', and they stand on the lives of the truly vulnerable to ensure their opinions are not subject to critique or challenge.
Ayling used the words not ‘resilient’ and not ‘mature’. You used the words ‘vulnerable/sensitive/fragile or immature’. These are very different.
Imho, students who are "not resilient" or "not mature" (Ayling's descriptors for people he believes maybe "shouldn't be at university") might also be fairly described as "vulnerable/sensitive/fragile" or "immature", but there are other descriptors.
‘Tested’? My goodness what are you suggesting?
Maybe think about what Ayling is suggesting. It's not up to Ayling (or you, or me) to decide who has access to a university education – thank goodness. That could be a difficult and thankless task, I reckon, and I might be tempted to favour admission of Kiwis from under-represented demographics and/or socioeconomic backgrounds.
"If students are not resilient enough or mature enough to be able to deal in ideas – even those that they find uncomfortable – then maybe they shouldn't be at university." – Ayling
“Imho, students who are "not resilient" or "not mature" (Ayling's descriptors for people he believes maybe "shouldn't be at university") might also be fairly described as "vulnerable/sensitive/fragile" or "immature"…”
They might ‘also be’, but they are not one and the same. I found it interesting Henry Broadbent repeatedly claimed that in defending the free speech of gender critical feminists, the FSU were somehow engaging (and yes I don’t mean defending, actually engaging) in hate speech against trans people. The inability to distinguish between defending ones right to free expression, and taking a position on the content of that expression suggests a disturbing lack of critical awareness.
“Maybe think about what Ayling is suggesting. It's not up to Ayling (or you, or me) to decide who has access to a university education – thank goodness.”
Ah but Ayling has a point. If people aspire to higher education, and yet are not able to cope with ideas they find challenging, perhaps university is not for them. But then again, maybe we have a different view on what the purpose of a University is. Or is not.
“…and I might be tempted to favour admission of Kiwis from under-represented demographics and/or socioeconomic backgrounds.”
Mmm. Why would you specifically single out these groups to contrast the views of Ayling? Are you suggesting that it is these groups who are ‘not resilient’, or, God forbid, unable to cope with ideas they find uncomfortable?
It's not mine either. I felt you were implying that in the way you singled out these groups to contrast the views of Ayling. I am of the view that limits of freedom of expression actually increases, rather than diminishes, social vulnerability across society,
Thanks for that – this thread has broadened my horizons as to the tensions between free speech and inclusivity et al. on uni campuses.
Amazing to see the number of recent articles on the topic, and resources already in place to defuse tensions. Hope Vic managers can help to organise a safe event that’s not too inflammatory, and that everyone can get something out of – like these (North American) links.
The Third Way: Navigating the tension between free speech and inclusion
During this webinar, we’ll discuss the ideological tension between free speech and inclusion and why a both/and framing is needed to help higher education get out of a false binary. Gain ideas and strategies from leaders in the higher ed space who are working to shape a different conversation about freedom of speech and inclusion and how those two ideals can be — and should be — advanced in unison.
More than 600 people had registered their interest in attending the event, a panel discussion about the role of universities in free speech. But earlier this week the university postponed the event with a notice saying “the mere framing of this event has surfaced a depth of feeling and a polarisation of views on how we should proceed, that has made it challenging to even schedule a conversation about how to have challenging conversations”.
Student association president Marcail Parkinson said that context had not been clear and people “freaked out” when they saw the panel line up, which looked like a platform for “right wing voices”, with the involvement of Free Speech Union president Jonathan Ayling and the New Zealand Initiative’s Dr Michael Johnston.
“Hopefully, those conversations will mean that the event is inclusive and doesn't make people feel unsafe in any way. But it's yet to be seen whether that will actually come through.”
'Inclusive' is now code for 'agrees with what I think'.
There's a Leunig cartoon that skewers "inclusivity" thus:
"This is an inclusive society. Anyone deemed to be acting, speaking or thinking in a non-inclusive manner will be excluded".
I have experienced this directly myself, having been uninvited from attending certain weekly academic discussions for having the wrong views about maatauranga Maaori and "systemic racism". Apparently some people didn't feel safe.
Yes there are some subjects that where, sadly, the discourse is now dominated by a singular point of view. The discussion around the place of Mātauranga is one case in point.
I had a period in my life when I was addicted to crack-cocaine..(not 'p'.. cocaine..)
As an addiction it is notable for lots and lots of wasted days and wasted nights..binges for days/nites on end….
..and the obsessive behaviour with the glass-pipe…
..with users overly focussed on the delivery vehicle..and sucking on that pipe like they are trying to suck the life out of it..and clinging onto that pipe.. seemingly for dear life..
The echoes of that past pastime..when watching vapers..is disturbing…
They are giving themselves a lifelong addiction…
And the allowing of this to happen..by the last Govt…is perhaps what historians will view as their greatest failing .
Went to Welly recently and could not believe the amount of vaping I saw. Particularly in those under 25. Plus the smell, it's a really odd smell. Tobacco has a smell, love it or hate it – but it gets moved on by the wind. But a lot of people vaping seems to linger, with that sweet sickly chemically aroma hanging about even in the wind.
..at first look it seems ok..but if it goes too low…then that will create/feed a black market..
And as for banning disposable vapes..this is good in an environmental impact way….but as for putting a dent in smoking levels..?… especially amongst the young ..?..
All around the country hospital emergency departments are barely functioning and what does this neat benevolent government do? It demands 105 million dollars of saving in the health budget and gives each region a figure of how it is expected to save.
Our health system was held together by paper and straw under Labour but now it is falling apart under National, and what's more – they don't care.
We had better hope there is no huge natural disaster on the scale of Cyclone Gabrielle over the next three years because who would clean up the mess and pay for it?
The NACTZ?
Yeah right. They would expect the communities affected to hold a few gala days and sausage sizzles to pay for it themselves.
Hi Mike the Lefty. Have a listen to this pre-election debate with Paddy Gower – between 34 mins and 44 mins. It covers Luxon's health views [in broad terms] plus a revealing few minutes on racism in NZ. Then compare with what is actually happening:
He comes across as a lying, pompous sociopath and that is what he is proving to be.
Health unions have warned the constraints will impact medical care, which is denied by Health NZ and Health Minister Shane Reti.
"We expect local managers to use their judgement to make decisions in their own settings when it comes to how they manage this," Apa said.
….
When asked to supply the document or advice confirming that cost-cutting would not impact patient care, a spokesperson for the minister said he met officials often and received this assurance from Health NZ verbally.
There is a problem with (supply and demand) access to primary health care and loss of any after hours clinics they provide then impacts on A and E in the hospitals.
Not enough doctors, but also loss of nurses to hospitals (better pay and attempt to properly staff wards).
There have been gains in new nurses (local and offshore inflow), offset with the Oz drive to take some their way.
This is exacerbated by an economy dependent on migrant inflow, to offset loss of workers to Oz or to provide stimulus for fools growth.
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 12, 2024 thru Sat, May 18, 2024. Story of the week “The legislation I signed today [will] keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and ...
TL;DR: Here’s six links that stood out to me in the last day in Aotearoa’s political economy to 6:06am on Sunday, May 19:Aotearoa-NZ is the seventh worst in the OECD’s homelessness rankings, just behind the United States and just ahead of Australia. BlackRock thinks rate hikes actually worsen inflation because ...
Halfway up a historic tower in York, we are neither up nor down. At the top you will have views of a city steeped in antiquity, made and remade by Romans, Normans, Vikings, Tescos. Below, you will find a retired minister happy to tell you all about this most astonishing ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does breathing contribute to CO2 ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: KiwiRail’s seemingly endless requests for more money is damning. At one point, KiwiRail assured Robertson when he was the Finance Minister that the worst-case scenario would be an extra $300 million before requesting $1.2 billion a few months later. Not what most people ...
No one knows what it's likeTo be the bad manTo be the sad manBehind blue eyesNo one knows what it's likeTo be hatedTo be fatedTo telling only liesHave you ever wondered what life must be like for Mike Hosking? Seeing things in black and white through blue tinted specs? In ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two week’s editions.Share More Than A FeildingBike bling, London Read more ...
Hi,I think we all made it through another week — congratulations. I’ve been digesting the new Arab Strap record, which is astonishing. In other news, I’m going to be doing a Webworm popup in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday July 13. I’ll bring a bunch of merch, and some other ...
The Fast-Track Approvals Bill enables cabinet ministers to circumvent key environmental planning and protection processes for infrastructure projects. Its difficulties have been well canvassed. This column suggests a different way of thinking about the proposal. I am going to explore the Bill from the perspective of its proponents with their ...
New Zealand First Cabinet Minister Shane Jones has become the best advertisement against the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill. In selling the radical new resource consenting processes, in which ministers can green light any mine, dam, or other major development, Jones seems to be shooting the proposal in the foot. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Associate Education Minister David Seymour is urging the PostPrimary Teachers Association to put learning ahead of ideology. He wants the union leaders to call off their teachers meetings around the country where they hope to muster the strength to undo the government’s plans to establish several ...
What are police for? "Fighting crime" is the obvious answer. If there's a burglary, they should show up and investigate. Ditto if there's a murder or sexual assault. Speeding or drunk or dangerous driving is a crime, so obviously they should respond to that. And obviously, they should respond to ...
Michael Reddell writes – I got curious yesterday about how the Australia/New Zealand real exchange rate had changed over the last decade, and so dug out the data on the changes in the two countries’ CPIs. Over the 10 years from March 2014 to March 2024, New Zealand’s ...
Graham Adams writes that 20 years after the land march, judges are quietly awarding a swathe of coastal rights to iwi. Early this month, an hour-long documentary was released by TVNZ to mark the 20th anniversary of the land-rights march to oppose Helen Clark’s Foreshore and Seabed Act. The account ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: Suspended Green MP Darleen Tana has passed an unpleasant milestone: she has now been absent for as many parliamentary sitting days as she has been present for this year. Tana is on full pay while she is suspended, and will benefit from a ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is no coincidence that two Labour should-have-been MPs are making the most noise about public sector cuts. As assistant general secretary of the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons has been at the forefront of revealing where the next round of state sector job ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a ...
This is one of the (extra) weekly columns on music or movies. Plenty of solid analyses of Possession exist online and most of them – inevitably – contain spoilers. This column is more in the way of a first-timer’s aid to getting your initial bearings. You don’t need to have ...
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a manWho has taken all the heart aches,And all the pain he can stand.I am using all the colors of blue,I have here on my stand.I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.This has been an interesting week for me. ...
Helen Clark joins the Hoon as a special guest talking whether Aotearoa should join Aukus II, and her views on the fast track legislation and how Luxon and the new Government are performing. File Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts ...
With an election due in less than nine months, Britain’s embattled PM, Rishi Sunak, gave a useful speech earlier this week. He made a substantial case for his government, perhaps as compelling as is possible in the current environment. Quite an achievement. His overall theme was security, first pulling ...
Open access notablesPublicly expressed climate scepticism is greatest in regions with high CO2 emissions, Pearson et al., Climatic Change:We analysed a recently released corpus of climate-related tweets to examine the macro-level factors associated with public declarations of climate change scepticism. Analyses of over 2 million geo-located tweets in the U.S. showed that climate ...
You can be all negative about these charter schools if you want, but I’m here to accentuate the positive. You can get all worked up, if you want to, by the contradiction of Luxon saying We’re going to make sure that every school in the country is teaching exactly the same ...
Losing The Room: One can only speculate about what has persuaded the Coalition Government that it will pay no electoral price for unreasonably pushing ahead with policies that are so clearly against the national interest. They seem quite oblivious to the risk that by doing so they will convince an increasing ...
Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for ...
The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants:On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point. Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
“Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
Henry Ergas writes – When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision Michael Reddell writes – When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
Muriel Newman writes – Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
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 ...
“The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
David Farrar writes – Kata MacNamara reports: Details of Tony Blakely’s involvement in the New Zealand Government’s response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
RNZ reports – It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
Buzz from the BeehiveTolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 “crucial” projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick used this year's State of the Planet to call on the Government to prioritise people and planet as the delivery of the Budget approaches. A full transcript of their speeches can be found below. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have used their State of the Planet speeches to challenge the Government to prioritise people and planet over profit as the delivery of the Budget approaches. ...
The Government’s introduction of legislation that would enable landlords to end tenancies with no reason marks a dark day for the 1.4 million people who rent their home in Aotearoa. ...
The Minister for Mental Health has found the Suicide Prevention Office and mental health support for 111 calls slipping through his fingers, says Labour spokesperson for Mental Health Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced that the Government will make it easier for lines firms to take action to remove vegetation from obstructing local powerlines. The change will ensure greater security of electricity supply in local communities, particularly during severe weather events. “Trees or parts of trees falling on ...
Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani were the top winners at this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy awards recognising the best in Māori dairy farming. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced the winners and congratulated runners-up, Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, at an awards celebration also attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister ...
"On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “I raised my concerns after being ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools. “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019. “It is my pleasure ...
New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...
New Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says. “This ...
Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
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" How to kill off debt without selling your favourite classic car or treasured artwork"
Headline in NZHerald today which perfectly reflects our massive food bank lines in a recession.
Haven't quite got to the toys lined up for sale down Ladies Mile stage yet..
May not be far away though.
Today's NZ Herald also carried stories about:
* car thieves stealing a Porsche from a Parnell address and leading the police a merry dance thru' the Waikato before they were stopped
* overworked after-hours medical centres and stressed GPs
* a man who needed knee surgery spending a long time on the surgical waiting list
So it's business as usual in GodZone.
C'mon..!.. that's a bit unfair to Herald ..
They don't only do bleed-journalism..
..they also do entertain-stories..!
.. so they do achieve a balance ..of sorts..
Forgot to add that:
* our public hospitals have been told to cut $105 million from their budgets by July.
* the navy is in a "fragile" state.
Despite all that, we should count our blessings.
And look..!..over there .!…more patches..!
A free speech event is postponed because, well, some students don’t like their perceived view of the speakers. https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350258865/victoria-university-postpones-challenging-free-speech-event
This is the weird country we have become.
How do we know whether a self-proclaimed free speech advocate actually means what they say – or in reality just seeks the continued dominance of their preferred speech and the social and economic arrangements that their preferred speech justifies?
Some people think that the political right has hijacked the notion of free speech to this end. So they are suspicious of anyone who loudly and conspicuously pins the star of free speech to their valiant chest. I find it hard to disagree with that view – though I do not approve of some of the more excessive actions that flow from it.
Privately, I have instead started talking about free and equal speech as the touchstone of a democracy – where all voices are heard and have (roughly) equal influence.
How do we know? By listening to them. The only people wanting their preferred speech to dominate in this instance are a cohort of students.
Some students would have noted the FSU made no defence of pro Palestinian protestors when they were accused of antisemitism. And the connection to the TU campaign against three waters (co-governance fears).
The event should go ahead all the same.
It can be presumed the FSU would oppose political funding of political parties because money has to dominate discourse.
"Some students would have noted the FSU made no defence of pro Palestinian protestors when they were accused of antisemitism. "
Really? My response to that would be they should go along and use the Q&A to ask.
Yes really. And relevant to the USA university issue atm.
I'm not quite sure why the FSU are expected to speak into the issue of 'pro palestinian protestors' being accused of anti-semitism. If the protestors were having their freedom of speech/expression curtailed, that's one thing, but being labelled anti-semitic is not that.
Sure, but if that is free speech, then labelling the state of Israel an apartheid state, is so as well.
Israelis warned back in 1977 that if they began to settle occupied territory it would undermine the standing of their nation state – and they were right.
There is only one party to the Oslo Accord peace process (state of Israel)(Likud government) running a river to the sea policy – and the Likud leader BN has always opposed that peace process.
"Sure, but if that is free speech, then labelling the state of Israel an apartheid state, is so as well."
Of course. Why would it be otherwise?
It doesn't appear to be a RW event. Jane Kelsey was one of the speakers. The other two I don't know, so just doing a quick google.
Nicola Moreham, not a lot online about her, but there is this paper on physical privacy
https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/law/pdf/staff-profile-publications/2014-Intrusion-CLJ.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Moreham
John Byron, is a policy advisor at an Australian university, and was an advisor for the Australian Labour party in opposition.
https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-byron-117201
The two RWers are Free Speech Union president Jonathan Ayling and the New Zealand Initiative’s Dr Michael Johnston.
I like the reframing of free speech though. 'Free speech' is an Americanism. In NZ we have legislation around freedom of expression. Not sure about the idea of equal speech (I don't think that is possible), but definitely agree the inequity issues need addressing.
Otoh, it was the right that stepped up to stop women's rights campaigners from being blocked from public venue hires. The left can complain about the right's free speech agenda, but it is dropping the ball in many ways on fairness.
Isn't freedom of expression just free speech extended to all other forms of communication?
I find this from NZ HRC useful,
https://tikatangata.org.nz/human-rights-in-aotearoa/freedom-of-opinion-and-expression
The term 'free speech' comes with a particular US political slant that I think is unhelpful in the NZ context. It gets used as a synonym for 'say what you want when you want'. And that slant is now part of the NZ culture wars where the liberal left use tactics to inhibit freedom of expression and the right go on about free speech rights, and we can't even have a decent conversation any more. Both sides are involved in positions that are anti-democratic and undermine freedom of expression.
AB's point about the right's impact on equity of access sits alongside the liberal left's use of ostracisation and ridicule, deplatforming, and more recently noise to disrupt the expression of others.
I don't value free speech above other forms of freedom of expression and see the principles underlying them as more important then the right to speak. And I say that as someone who frequently chooses to not write on certain topics because of concern about the backlash. We need to look at what is inhibiting or enabling freedom of expression, rather than relying on simplistic memes of 'free speech'.
Thanks Weka, you make some excellent points.
cheers. I really should do a post on it. Lprent would be another good person to write a post, he has a somewhat different perspective again with an emphasis on the consequences of speech eg,
https://thestandard.org.nz/a-sad-lament-from-the-serial-left/#comment-1989528
From the right also come outright threats, often to women politicians on the left. And from some politicians – personal information releases by a former National MSD Minister come to mind.
Brash attacking Clark for having no children while she advocated for tax credits for low income families.
As for cancellation, what comes close to One New Zealand Brash proposing the end of Maori electorate seats. And Seymour on the Treaty and WT and NZF on references to the Treaty in legislation.
It's worse over in the USA, the FBI sees its mission as to prevent threats to government authority and capitalism (pre and post the HUAC era). The numbers on their Fusion Centre watchlist is astonishing (from left to right, right to left).
I'm not sure what your points are here. That the right is worse and thus the left don't have to look at ourselves and our own actions?
The point of the sentence you quoted out of context was to place emphasis on the rest of the paragraph,
Emphasis now added in italics. But I could also have written,
I was fairly sure I got your point. Which was to soft soap the criticism of the right, limiting it to access, and load it on the left.
That a woman would do that, given how the right behaves is somewhat astonishing .. and not get it … is astonishing.
And I did not quote anything out of context, I quoted something you said to relate to something in another country
I know how that feels.
No, and you're an idiot. Sorry, I can't be bothered with this. I'm really happy to share my thinking and clarify when asked, and I put a fair amount of effort in doing that pre-emptively, but this is starting to look like wilful ignorance.
If you cannot handle critique of the left, then you are in the wrong place. If you think critiquing the left = supporting the right, then you're just stupid.
But thanks for adding to my point. People that think they know what others thing, even when the person corrects them, are a big part of the problem. Why bother engaging with the arguments I am making when you can just write them off as RW apologia.
The reason I critique the left is because we are losing and if we don't sort this shit out, we will lose very very badly. And I know exactly what that will mean for women. Too many lefties are still running round apparently thinking we can just dump on the right and win the next election and everything will be alright. Meanwhile, society is breaking down in front of our eyes, and while the right bear the larger portion of the responsibility for that, they are not the only problem here.
anyway, thanks for being honest about what you think my values are, that's refreshing even if it's wrong.
If … straw argument .. is not debating my point.
Your original post was unbalanced, end of.
I've debated on many boards – years on Kiwiblog …my left wing skin is much thicker than your own.
K-J K-M said, she would annihilate those women on the left in her way. You probably realise what she meant more than most (as given your views on the global environment and social justice you'll be staying on the left) as she is of a mind to divide women against the left on the birth sex/womens identity issue (and then her next issues prostitution and pornography).
You need to be mindful that while the idea that the left cannot win without women voters is true (and nor can Trump/GOP) and yet it is women who face the consequences of right wing government the most.
Gaslighting others on the left – telling them they have to worthy on the womens ID issue to win is unfair and sometimes untrue.
Only where the right is opposing self-ID does the point has relevance.
If the right can make/retain the issue self ID as one that divides the left and then leave the left to it, they will.
that's quite the misinterpretation.
My original post said these things,
What would balance that? If I said that the left does good things too? Or that teh right does bad things? These are givens on a blog like TS.
Why exactly are we talking about KJK all of a sudden? She is a centre right populist trying to build power. She's not trying to divide women on the left, she hates women on the left, the left generally, and feminists. The only women she accepts are those that agree with her. But why are we talking about her at all?
When I say the left is losing, I am not talking about women voters (although it may come to that). I mean that we are outnumbered, we have no strong vision and narrative to win people back to a progressive position, and large chunks of the left are engaged in a culture war we cannot win because the other side fights dirty and we don't except for the whole ostracisation thing. Telling people who don't think like us they are wrong isn't going to get them to vote left. No-one can tell me what the end game is on that stuff.
And? That's so obvious I'm not sure why you felt the need to say it. Of course. That's why I want the left to sort its shit out so we can avoid a fascist future.
I don't know where you think I am gaslighting because you haven't said. I am highly critical of the liberal left that has abandoned women over our sex based rights. I hadn't actually thought about whether a chance on self ID is necessary to win, but on the face of it I would say it's not necessarily. You seem to be assuming my criticism of the left is simply about self ID. It's not. It's about our lose of class politics, loss of a commitment to community and the good of all, and the apparent idea that we can force people to think like us. All of that exists independently of the gender/sex wars.
Yes, another good reason for the left to sort its shit out. The right will use whatever means it can to gain power. Women won't give up their rights. That leaves the left some choices, but ignoring women isn't one of them.
I was referring to the post I replied to – 3.1.2.1.1.
I raised her agenda – war against the left on the women's birth sex identity issue (the so called GCF cause – an irony when she herself says she is no feminist), because it is so often cited in the free speech issue by yourself.
I would have thought it obvious, it is one driving some GCF from the left, cancel culture etc.
Relevant? I would have thought so.
Sigh.
I would have pointed it out, But I've had enough of the, then make your points clearer then. They were clear.
And the sarc.
"The left can complain about the right's free speech agenda, but it is dropping the ball in many ways on fairness."
So right. The left used to defend free speech, but now progressives want to shut down events that include "right-wing" voices. So much for progressives' holy trinity of diversity, equity and inclusion. VUW have acted spinelessly, as NZ university leaders all too often do.
Why is it so hard for self-righteous progressives to understand that democracy requires a balance of liberal and conservative views? If conservatives rule unopposed, the likely result is stagnation and religious despotism. If liberals rule largely unopposed (as they have in NZ for 40 years), the result is the slide we now find ourselves upon, as our institutions become captured by "progressives" who actually undermine liberal values like freedom of expression and equality before the law.
Who was it who opposed the inclusion of gender identity in the Conversion Practices legislation? Eight conservatives – an island of sanity in our parliament. It is conservatives who are likely to challenge ideas that are at odds with the accumulated wisdom of human experience. When Chloe Swarbrick says she wants to abolish prisons, a conservative might ask her to name a single advanced civilization that has done so successfully.
Yes – a backlash led by (fee-paying) students, i.e. Victoria Uni stakeholders – what has become of our notionally independent tertiary education institutions? Will free speech stop the rot in universities, and elsewhere? I fear not, but it can be a crucial diversion.
And it's not only Aotearoa NZ, although we could be a fast follower. Let's not go here.
"Explosion"! There's a severe penalty indeed, if ever there was one. Not much chance of an exploded student exercising their right to free speech.
Free speech never hurt anyone, and some free speech is more equal than others
https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/quality-and-standards/freedom-of-speech/changes-to-regulation/
Those students (who btw only pay a fraction of the cost of their education) will learn the hard way that in life people say things they may find uncomfortable.
we should definitely make their education free then.
I agree. Turning students into customers has given students too much power. University administrators live in fear of "brand damage" by student accusations of "racism", "transphobia" etc on social media. The old fees-free model needed reform, not replacement.
Not that I'm absolving university administrators of responsibility for the present situation. I wish they would show more spine and leadership in resisting activist pressure.
@weka – My tertiary education wasn’t free for NZ taxpayers, but it was practically free for me, and I became a taxpayer in due course.
@Traveller – Yes, life is hard, for some, and learning the hard way is all some people understand.
Commodification of higher education has largely bled the unrest from our brightest and best, but there's still the occasional issue "those students" will rally behind – thank goodness.
Twas apartheid in my later university days, and I guess protests against the Vietnam war before that – interesting times, although nowhere near as interesting as where we are now, and where we're going.
Do you think it's a good idea for students (at a University of all places ) to be exposed to a range of views and opinions? Because that's the issue here, not who pays for their education.
A range? Absolutely. I'd draw a line at, say, advocating white supremacy, but The Christchurch Call isn't everyone's cuppa – we each have our own line(s), university supremos included.
Might there be funding-related tensions (suggested @3.2.1.1.1) between the neoliberal university industry (increasingly financially-dependent on moar customers, particularly overseas students, i.e. ‘bums on seats’), and commitment to free speech, or indeed academic freedom. Such tensions may shift power imbalances – hmm, free speech knee-capped by commodification.
Patience is a virtue. A balance (that's key, imho) will likely be struck soon, although nowhere near soon enough to stop sensitive souls on all sides from working themselves into a distracting yet laser-focused lather. Are the 'freeze-peachers' and/or their opponents capable of learning during this hiatus?
And should commitment to free speech be a prerequisite for university admission? That's a tough one.
Difficult to police though, as an individual's thoughts about what they find 'uncomfortable' remain private – sometimes even after they open their mouth.
Also, hope that university managers do due diligence to minimise the dissemination of misinformation (at a University, of all places.)
Forgot to add (@3.2.1.2) that 'some people never learn' – I blame poor teachers (just kidding teachers – keep up the good work).
"And should commitment to free speech be a prerequisite for university admission? "
Absolutely. Or at least, as Weka has recently articulated, freedom of expression. Students, of all people, should welcome the sunlight of free and open debate. Unless, of course, they hold to the somewhat elitist view that only their opinions, only those with which they are comfortable, matter.
I'd be comfortable with 16 / 17 / 18-year-old (potential) university students questioning the value of free speech events on campus, on a case-by-case basis. At that age, nascent, open-minded and/or changeable views might not be such a rarity, and shouldn't bar access to tuition, imho.
And perhaps those who are truly committed to free speech would be open to the idea of not excluding potential university students who are questioning, or even hold a contrary view – after all, university students are a diverse bunch, thank goodness, and could be more representative still. Just a thought.
Do you mean trying to get shut down? Or more that it's healthy for them to be making the critique?
Sorry, who is being excluded?
Yes, healthy – questioning the potential value (and cost) of events is healthy. I often question the value of sporting events, but never tried to shut one down, although did come close in Hamilton in 1981.
That exchange (with Traveller) kicked off when I quoted this statement from an RNZ report.
Just thought it was problematic for a free speech advocate to be suggesting students who might choose not to deal with (some) ideas that they found uncomfortable (for whatever reason) shouldn't be at university. I’d want to know something about the backgrounds and abilities of those (vulnerable/sensitive/fragile or immature) students, before characterising them as unsuitable for university study.
"And perhaps those who are truly committed to free speech would be open to the idea of not excluding potential university students who are questioning, or even hold a contrary view "
A contrary view to what? If you're suggesting that opposing freedom of expression/free speech is something that is an option for attending university, then you would be wrong. Opposing freedom of expression is the very antithesis of what university's should be.
"Just thought it was problematic for a free speech advocate to be suggesting students who might choose not to deal with (some) ideas that they found uncomfortable (for whatever reason) shouldn't be at university."
This depends on what purpose you proscribe to universities.
My view is that universities are "guardian of reason, inquiry and philosophical openness, preserving pure inquiry from dominant public opinions".
What is the purpose of a university? (pearson.com)
That being the case, I expect students to be able to critique ideas they disagree with, even ones they find abhorrent, not 'freak out' at just the names on a speakers list, before they even speak.
"I’d want to know something about the backgrounds and abilities of those (vulnerable/sensitive/fragile or immature) students, before characterising them as unsuitable for university study."
You're assuming that students opposed to free speech are actually "vulnerable/sensitive/fragile or immature". My experience has been such people are actually very open to new ideas, to ideas they disagree with. The people fighting against freedom of expression are (often) actually elitist and privileged. They are not used to being drawn out of the comfort of their cozy ideas and so baulk at any suggestion they put those ideas to the test.
And yet, opposing "a panel discussion about the rights and responsibilities associated with freedom of speech" (in its present form) was the very option chosen by some students attending Victoria University – that's the reality, however unpalatable.
Of course, if prospective students were tested for their propensity to question the value of a variety of events on campus, and particularly for their willingness to call for certain events to be cancelled, then youngsters scoring above an arbitrary threshold on the 'wrong-think' scale could be barred from enrolling – sweet! Otoh, that might select for students savvy enough to mask their aberrant thoughts – damn!
And what about those pesky students who are already enrolled; the ones who gained admission when there were no filters to screen out 'wrong thinking' customers. Instant expulsion seems harsh – after all, these are typically young people with few obvious prior 'wrong-think offences'. Perhaps a three-strikes system could be trialled to give malfunctioning students a couple of opportunities to see the error of their ways and adjust their values, thoughts and actions accordingly.
That's an (aspirational?) expectation – but these are not criteria for admission to university study in Aotearoa, and I’d be interested to learn if any university has incorporated such an expectation into their student admission processes. Imho, NZ’s tertiary education industry has no business regulating the values and thoughts of its customers with regard to free speech, among other things.
https://www2.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/understanding-secondary-quals/university-entrance/
Nope, just picked a parenthetical selection of antonyms for words in Ayling's quote at the end of this RNZ report – apologies for laziness.
Here are a couple of items on the tension between free speech and inclusivity/harassment in UK, European and US universities. Imho they're useful because they consider both aspects, and without compromise between pro-free speech and (new-ish) anti-harassment/pro-inclusivity factions there can be little progress, just useless and distracting conflict between absolutist camps.
“And yet, opposing "a panel discussion about the rights and responsibilities associated with freedom of speech" (in its present form) was the very option chosen by some students attending Victoria University“
And that’s their right, but it’s also a misleading claim. The ‘form’ is a red herring. Here’s Marcail Parkinson’s objection:
“…people “freaked out” when they saw the panel line up, which looked like a platform for “right wing voices”, with the involvement of Free Speech Union president Jonathan Ayling and the New Zealand Initiative’s Dr Michael Johnston.”
This morning I have listened to Jonathan Ayling and Marcail Parkinson interviewed by Sean Plunkett, and Henry Broadbent (Salient) interviewed by Michael Walls. They were clear that their problem is not with the format but with Ayling himself. Broadbent claimed that Ayling represents ‘hate speech’, and when asked for an example specifically cited the FSU’s support of critical feminist speakers right to speech. In fact the long form interview then became a platform for those claims to be repeated constantly by Broadbent. When asked if he was looking for a blanket ban on the FSU, he confirmed that is precisely what he wants. These are opinions/prejudices they are entitled to hold, but don’t pretend this is a debate about the ‘form’, or that it is in any way appropriate for the University to shut down the free speech of others by acting on them.
“Of course, if prospective students were tested for their propensity to question the value of a variety of events on campus, and particularly for their willingness to call for certain events to be cancelled,“
‘Tested’? My goodness what are you suggesting? And the issue is not the value of the events, the issue is that people like Marcail want to be the arbiter of the people who speak at the events.
“Nope, just picked a parenthetical selection of antonyms for words in Ayling's quote at the end of this RNZ report – apologies for laziness.”
Ayling used the words not ‘resilient’ and not ‘mature’. You used the words ‘vulnerable/sensitive/fragile or immature’ . These are very different. And this is a problem, because those who oppose free speech are often elitist bullies. They consider themselves to be the guardians of a 'new orthodoxy', and they stand on the lives of the truly vulnerable to ensure their opinions are not subject to critique or challenge.
Imho, students who are "not resilient" or "not mature" (Ayling's descriptors for people he believes maybe "shouldn't be at university") might also be fairly described as "vulnerable/sensitive/fragile" or "immature", but there are other descriptors.
Maybe think about what Ayling is suggesting. It's not up to Ayling (or you, or me) to decide who has access to a university education – thank goodness. That could be a difficult and thankless task, I reckon, and I might be tempted to favour admission of Kiwis from under-represented demographics and/or socioeconomic backgrounds.
“Imho, students who are "not resilient" or "not mature" (Ayling's descriptors for people he believes maybe "shouldn't be at university") might also be fairly described as "vulnerable/sensitive/fragile" or "immature"…”
They might ‘also be’, but they are not one and the same. I found it interesting Henry Broadbent repeatedly claimed that in defending the free speech of gender critical feminists, the FSU were somehow engaging (and yes I don’t mean defending, actually engaging) in hate speech against trans people. The inability to distinguish between defending ones right to free expression, and taking a position on the content of that expression suggests a disturbing lack of critical awareness.
“Maybe think about what Ayling is suggesting. It's not up to Ayling (or you, or me) to decide who has access to a university education – thank goodness.”
Ah but Ayling has a point. If people aspire to higher education, and yet are not able to cope with ideas they find challenging, perhaps university is not for them. But then again, maybe we have a different view on what the purpose of a University is. Or is not.
“…and I might be tempted to favour admission of Kiwis from under-represented demographics and/or socioeconomic backgrounds.”
Mmm. Why would you specifically single out these groups to contrast the views of Ayling? Are you suggesting that it is these groups who are ‘not resilient’, or, God forbid, unable to cope with ideas they find uncomfortable?
That’s not my experience – why do you to ask
"That’s not my experience – why do you to ask "
It's not mine either. I felt you were implying that in the way you singled out these groups to contrast the views of Ayling. I am of the view that limits of freedom of expression actually increases, rather than diminishes, social vulnerability across society,
Thanks for that – this thread has broadened my horizons as to the tensions between free speech and inclusivity et al. on uni campuses.
Amazing to see the number of recent articles on the topic, and resources already in place to defuse tensions. Hope Vic managers can help to organise a safe event that’s not too inflammatory, and that everyone can get something out of – like these (North American) links.
"Thanks for that – this thread has broadened my horizons as to the tensions between free speech and inclusivity et al. on uni campuses."
Thanks to you too! And I’ll have a look at those links when work etc permits.
Has a reason been proffered for this cancellation..?
(That post link just comes up with a black page for me..)
From the link:
More than 600 people had registered their interest in attending the event, a panel discussion about the role of universities in free speech. But earlier this week the university postponed the event with a notice saying “the mere framing of this event has surfaced a depth of feeling and a polarisation of views on how we should proceed, that has made it challenging to even schedule a conversation about how to have challenging conversations”.
Student association president Marcail Parkinson said that context had not been clear and people “freaked out” when they saw the panel line up, which looked like a platform for “right wing voices”, with the involvement of Free Speech Union president Jonathan Ayling and the New Zealand Initiative’s Dr Michael Johnston.
“Hopefully, those conversations will mean that the event is inclusive and doesn't make people feel unsafe in any way. But it's yet to be seen whether that will actually come through.”
'Inclusive' is now code for 'agrees with what I think'.
There's a Leunig cartoon that skewers "inclusivity" thus:
"This is an inclusive society. Anyone deemed to be acting, speaking or thinking in a non-inclusive manner will be excluded".
I have experienced this directly myself, having been uninvited from attending certain weekly academic discussions for having the wrong views about maatauranga Maaori and "systemic racism". Apparently some people didn't feel safe.
Yes there are some subjects that where, sadly, the discourse is now dominated by a singular point of view. The discussion around the place of Mātauranga is one case in point.
This is bullshit..!
I am firmly on the side of free speech .
I mean ..what the fornicate are universities for..?..
..if not the debating of ideas..?
What is the university afraid of..?
What is the left afraid of..?
Can't they stand behind their ideas..?.. can't they argue them..
If they are unable to articulate the bankruptcy of r/w politics… they should stand aside…
..and let someone else have a go ..
..and I would go and watch that..
.I almost thirst for something like that…
"I mean ..what the fornicate are universities for..?….if not the debating of ideas..?"
That horse bolted some time ago, Phillip.
Apparently the student association head at Vic said she was "glad to see the event was postponed and being reformatted."
It's all positively orwellian.
The too-soon..!-file..
This time it's ayesha verral… pontificating on vaping by young people..(!)..
(This on focus on politics on rnz ).
Ahem ..!…teenage vaping increased sixfold in the years labour was in power ..
Your point ..?
We just have to do what Australia has done…make them prescription only…
Nothing else will work…
And will just be an exercise in auto-eroticism…
I fear we have missed that boat. To many of our young are addicted, and addicted bad.
Plus the corner dairy will most probably shut without vapes. Most of the owner I speak to, get between 65%-85% of their cash flow from vapes.
We have dug ourselves a hell of a ugly hole.
I had a period in my life when I was addicted to crack-cocaine..(not 'p'.. cocaine..)
As an addiction it is notable for lots and lots of wasted days and wasted nights..binges for days/nites on end….
..and the obsessive behaviour with the glass-pipe…
..with users overly focussed on the delivery vehicle..and sucking on that pipe like they are trying to suck the life out of it..and clinging onto that pipe.. seemingly for dear life..
The echoes of that past pastime..when watching vapers..is disturbing…
They are giving themselves a lifelong addiction…
And the allowing of this to happen..by the last Govt…is perhaps what historians will view as their greatest failing .
Along the lines of w.t.f. were they thinking..?
It was truly odd move by the last government.
Went to Welly recently and could not believe the amount of vaping I saw. Particularly in those under 25. Plus the smell, it's a really odd smell. Tobacco has a smell, love it or hate it – but it gets moved on by the wind. But a lot of people vaping seems to linger, with that sweet sickly chemically aroma hanging about even in the wind.
That's a very big confession Phillip.
Well done for fighting hard through it and being still here.
Chrs..!
I have always been pretty open about the wild years….
..in part I am an object lesson in how change is possible…junky to vegan pot-smoker..
..the arc is also part of my vegan narrative ..
If I recall it right, you once said you beat heroin addiction via marjjuana and cocaine.
Did the crack cocaine addiction come after that?
We all sort of know nicotine is addictive and from that comes association with the hand and mouth habit and tobacco taste etc.
The last government had a plan to reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes. Do you think that would work?
And if so would it possible to provide vapes with lower nicotine levels to ease them off it (and any associated habits)?
And how did you get off crack cocaine addiction?
Hi ..
I just used marijuana when I cold-turkied off heroin…for the last time…
A large bag of very strong weed ..and a large lump of hashish ..
I used cannabis to help me kick alcohol…tobacco..heroin..cocaine..crack cocaine..barbiturates ..
And I got the crack-cocaine habit after the heroin..
This was in parts foreign…and how I kicked it was by going to Jamaica..and hanging with the rastafarians..and smoking lots of weed..
Marijuana is medicine..
And cocaine would be very effective in helping p-addicts to do away with their monkey..
'cos cocaine is easy to kick..so could make the journey to free..so much easier/do-able..
..a stepping stone..over/thru the horrors of meth withdrawals..
..and of course..some pot..
please fix your username.
Ok ..
I have posted two more comments..they have not as yet appeared..
I should add that crack cocaine is much much harder to kick than powdered cocaine ..dunno why that is ..
..but it is the most obsessive of all the addictions I sampled…
This is why I flew to Jamaica…to remove myself from access/opportunity to have what I so desired. .
And re reducing nicotine levels..
..at first look it seems ok..but if it goes too low…then that will create/feed a black market..
And as for banning disposable vapes..this is good in an environmental impact way….but as for putting a dent in smoking levels..?… especially amongst the young ..?..
..yeah .nah..!..eh .?
..the Aussie way is the only way..
All around the country hospital emergency departments are barely functioning and what does this neat benevolent government do? It demands 105 million dollars of saving in the health budget and gives each region a figure of how it is expected to save.
Our health system was held together by paper and straw under Labour but now it is falling apart under National, and what's more – they don't care.
We had better hope there is no huge natural disaster on the scale of Cyclone Gabrielle over the next three years because who would clean up the mess and pay for it?
The NACTZ?
Yeah right. They would expect the communities affected to hold a few gala days and sausage sizzles to pay for it themselves.
Hi Mike the Lefty. Have a listen to this pre-election debate with Paddy Gower – between 34 mins and 44 mins. It covers Luxon's health views [in broad terms] plus a revealing few minutes on racism in NZ. Then compare with what is actually happening:
He comes across as a lying, pompous sociopath and that is what he is proving to be.
Another link:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/515300/hospitals-asked-to-save-total-of-105-million-by-july-te-whatu-ora-confirms
Yeah… and pigs might fly.
There is a problem with (supply and demand) access to primary health care and loss of any after hours clinics they provide then impacts on A and E in the hospitals.
Not enough doctors, but also loss of nurses to hospitals (better pay and attempt to properly staff wards).
There have been gains in new nurses (local and offshore inflow), offset with the Oz drive to take some their way.
This is exacerbated by an economy dependent on migrant inflow, to offset loss of workers to Oz or to provide stimulus for fools growth.
Christchurch's after hours clinic currently closes at 10pm where it used to be 24 hours. Just another symptom of difficult times.
So the continuation of war in Gaza, and a regional war in the Middle East all to protect a corrupt politician?
It would appear so.
Thousands are dead so far, making it look like our politicians are as corrupt as well.