Another beautiful sunny morning in North Welly. Not sposed to last though. I can see grey clouds moving in from norwest. A week of gardening & lawn maintenance, some new plants in, including marigolds, so a couple of warm rainy days will be just the ticket. 👍🏼 🐧
Rapid antigen tests (RATs) are nowhere near as accurate as traditional RT-PCR tests when it comes to detecting the virus behind COVID-19 but they have their place, Kiwi scientists behind a new study say.
The Government announced on Thursday an end to its year-and-a-half-long ban on point-of-care RATs. Associate MInister of Health Ayesha Verrall said while we were trying to eliminate the virus "the cost of missing a case was too high", so the Government wanted every test to be via the ultra-accurate but slow RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, or PCR), a type of nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT).
I just don't know what to say in response to India Willoughby.
I am sorry she got trolled for her appearance, but it doesn't seem to have given her any empathy. These "butch lesbians" should be free to dress how they want, knowing they are lesbian and knowing the are women, not men.
and as always, one of the core problems here is how to talk about this without throwing trans people generally under the bus. Women need to be free to talk about what is going on, and the active suppression of that has led to a really skewed debate. So I will spell it out: not all trans women (obviously)*, and trans people have the same right to human rights as everyone else (also obviously). Supporting trans people in their rights is part of progressive politics. The above isn't progressive.
That gender identity politics now positions itself as speaking for trans people is part of the problem, because there is no way in hell that women are going to let the above tweet stand without challenge. Lefties and liberals need to get a grip and step up and push back on that bullshit instead of attacking gender critical feminists.
*or men for that matter, which apparently still needs spelling out.
Women need to be free to talk about what is going on, and the active suppression of that has led to a really skewed debate. So I will spell it out: not all trans women (obviously)*, and trans people have the same right to human rights as everyone else (also obviously). Supporting trans people in their rights is part of progressive politics. The above isn't progressive.
I agree. I've stopped posting along the lines of this obvious paragraph because it is ignored, but it remains true.
The arrogance of telling women how to women, seems a common thread in protests and other silencing actions. Seems to be done without any sense of irony or self-awareness.
I read that they were trolled in the Wikipaedia link.
Have been thinking about India's comments some more. Its like they are trying to erase lesbians, the butch ones anyway. The implication is they are really trans women who don't have the guts to become men. What a bloody cheek.
To be honest, I find this very offensive. I grew up with someone who was what we called a tom boy. Hated dresses, dolls, wanted to do all the "boy" things. There was never any real pressure on her to be more girly. It was very much accepted. And what a surprize she grew up to be lesbian. Not quite butch, but always clear she was a girl then a women…….not a man or boy. She's a women and is being her self with clothes, sexual orientation etc.
I try to stay out of the trans wars. Except when I see this. Men fucking ragging on women for not living up to their expectations? Despicable behaviour from someone who wouldn’t want to be picked on for their appearance.
Sadly shows how far trans rights have moved from feminism and lgb rights
Brother-in-law's father died yesterday after being hospitalised with Covid. (Treatment they gave caused internal bleeding which they were unable to stop. Will be looking to see if gets recorded as a Covid fatality.)
These statistics will be given faces for many of us over the coming months, I'm sure.
Don't know really, family still reeling. Family were isolating at home after one member tested positive. AFAIK, three household members tested positive, with the Dad going in for hospital care.
Posted initially just to say that many of us will have faces to go along with these numbers that are released each day. It is likely a few of us will have personal connections with the statistics.
So sorry. Was thoughtless of me to query you about that.
I truly hope Jacinda re thinks the plan to open the border. The new variant has mutated to such a degree I wont be surprised if they find the vaccine has little effect on it.
And you're right. It will, if it hasn't already, be affecting us all personally before long
Molly, so very sorry to hear that. Yes you are correct. Some of us feel "safe" in our bubble, but that is likely to be tested in the next while, and we will watch the numbers with growing anxiety. This is always a worry for family already on treatment for other conditions. A terrible tragedy for your family. Keep well Molly, and thank you for your brave post. I suggest a family video of the life, so family too young now will see their relative.
Sympathy from our family to yours Molly.
That's devastating Molly. I hope your family find a good way of gathering all that was good about that person and sharing it. Funerals at this time are such stunted affairs.
Sad news for you and your family Molly. I hope this brings you all together in both sorrow and hope. Look after each other – and know that we're here for you too if needed.
There is smoke in the air and rubble on ground after days of rioting and arson attacks in Solomon Islands capital of Honiara.
Businesses, schools and even the Prime Minister's residence were set alight and looted by protesters during three straight days of civil unrest.
Now people are struggling to restock food supplies, and there are queues at ATMs and petrol stations as the extent of the crisis begins to take its toll.
So while the ADF will be present at the request of the Solomon govt, the irony is that this is a pro-CPP govt. At the same time there are many hundreds of PRC citizens who are understandably looking for protection and possibly evacuation. If the PRC sends ships into Honiara for this purpose it will demand close cooperation with the ADF to avoid misunderstanding and confrontation.
And right now close cooperation between Canberra and Beijing is a big ask. The risks of this escalating must be of deep concern to everyone in the South Pacific right now.
Where is mao smith in all of this? Surely this is the work of western imperialist agitators who no have no understanding of the benevolence the ccp can bestow on its “friends” and those minorities “in its historical realms”
To be fair this crisis lies at a very messy intersection between tribalism, a weak government, and a geopolitical landscape in turmoil. If this one falls apart it won't be pretty and NZ will not remain aloof.
This is interesting, a group with long term monitoring and data in regards to heart health has seen significant increases in markers that infer increased risk of heart issues post vaccination.
Without gainsaying or pre-empting any conclusions on this – this is just an abstract and lacks some important data.
The way I look at signals like this is that they should not be ignored. If there is only a small, say 10% chance, of the eventual paper being correct – it would have very severe implications. On the other hand it's too soon to call on it.
working the phone for somebody else is what a corporate shill does. luxom doesnt even want an election on tuesday, wants to be made boss without asking. needs to get on with privatising things. big corp needs a mouthpiece.
Stephen D (10) … That would guarantee a Luxon/Key Nat leadership, because Key would be pulling Luxon's strings from behind the scenes no doubt. If Luxon is allowing someone else to do his work for him at this stage, then he’s weak!
After quitting the game halfway through a term in 2016 and as a past Nat leader and former PM, Key needs to butt out doing anyone’s 's lobbying for leader.
"If Luxon is allowing someone else to do his work for him at this stage, then he’s weak!"
Totally agree. A strong PM – regardless of their political leanings – earns the right to be elected after proving their mettle for the job.
Two PM's on opposite sides – Rob Muldoon and Helen Clark are cases in point. I despised Muldoon but acknowledge he earned the right to be elected in 1975. So did Helen Clark in 1999.
If Luxon thinks he can just walk into the job by relying on someone else to do the running for him then he is not fit to be a PM.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[Your problem now is that not only will I ban you from all my posts if you troll like that again, but you are now on my radar for being a troll generally. I want disagreement under my posts, but it has to relate to the post and mean something. This is a political blog, we expect people to make political arguments and engage in debate. If you want to drop random reckons that suggest you didn’t even bother reading a post, try FB and see how you get on. You try and bait me again over feminism instead of posting something meaningful, expect a ban site wide. – weka]
The default defence…'trolling'…my allegation of femmesplaining relies 100% on your criteria of what 'mansplaining' is.
I realise now, that when you start threads,they are only for the 'faithful'…I can tell you, I have no wish to comment on any topic you originate ,on the basis that you will use your power as a moderator in an extremely prejudicial and blatantly, oppressive ,intolerance of people who do not accept your viewpoint.
you're certainly entitled to your opinions Blazer, and you can by and large express them on this site. What you can't do is troll, and calling a feminist on her post post a femmesplainer without saying how or why is in fact trolling. There's no substance there to respond to, there's no politics, there's just a lazily thrown out slur.
Mansplaining is a known phenomenon. If you want coin the term 'femmesplainer' you have to be able to explain what it means.
And, seeing as how you brought it up, sexism isn't symmetrical in the way you imply. Just because mansplaining is a thing, doesn't mean that there is automatically such a thing as femmesplaining. That you think I was doing the female equivalent of mansplaining, instead of setting boundaries on my own post, tells me you don't actually understand what mansplaining is.
You came into my post, made an assertion that didn't make sense on the context of the post, I pointed this out the problem and your next comment wasn't to talk about the politics you had raised or I had written about, but to instead take a pop at me, that my post wasn't clearly written.
The reason I don't tolerate this kind off approach on my posts is because it is well known in feminism and it's just a basic derail.
You are also wrong to believe that you cannot disagree with me. You can, you just need to have an actual argument. Put one up and then I'll respect what you are saying even if I disagree. There are plenty of people in that thread that I disagree with, but it's only you that got mod attention. Consider that it's about what you did.
1-'femmesplaining'-'mansplaining' is a known phenomenom…really..so you believe in equality I presume=the criteria you applied to accuse someone of …'mansplaining' can logically be applied to its equal and opposite..'femmesplaining'..whether or not you accept that as ..'known' is completely moot.
2-'made an assertion that didn't make sense on the context of the post'
That is merely your OPINION..nothing more ,nothing..less.,
' because it is well known in feminism and it's just a basic derail.'
O.K please understand that what is 'well known in feminism' is NOT well known in …general.
'There are plenty of people in that thread that I disagree with, but it's only you that got mod attention'=what relevance is that!
Your reply to Gezza was quite benign compared to your response to me.
Quite frankly the you are guilty of the very crimes you rail against as a feminist..imo.
Not most people, imo. Women are simply starting their own businesses & young women are noticing that that’s the way to get around the male-centric gender pay gap, for example. Work for a female boss.
In the Public Service there’s a requirement for 50% of CEOs to be female. My stay i hospital showed as many doctors are females as males. I don’t think there’s a gender pay gap there. As I found, when I decided to copy my thank you email to the ward doctors and staff and ancillary staff who looked after me during my recent two week stint in Welly Hospital, to the CEO of Wellington’s CCDHB, THE CEOs a woman.
But weka’s right, if you comment & its only to attack someone (or e.g. childishly call them a nasty name like “roll-on deodorant” based on their appearance, not their politics or policies) you probably won’t last long here.
Supporters of the law say their goal is to save the life of every embryo, regardless of the circumstances of conception.
“We never advocate taking a life of an unborn child unless it is necessary to protect the life of a woman,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life.
Even in cases of rape or incest, “we don’t advocate for taking the life of an unborn child for the crime of the father,” he said.
The law’s supporters say that it provides sufficient leeway for physicians to act if a mother’s life or bodily functions are compromised, and they insist those cases are rare.
Dr. Ingrid Skop, an obstetrician in San Antonio who belongs to the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said that even a girl as young as 9 or 10, impregnated by a father or a brother, could carry a baby to term without health risks.
“If she is developed enough to be menstruating and become pregnant, and reached sexual maturity, she can safely give birth to a baby,” Dr. Skop said.
The only way you can lose your immunity in Russia is if you're caught with either a dead elk or a live reporter.
Russia’s State Duma has voted to deprive a Communist MP of his immunity from prosecution after police found the dismembered remains of an elk in the boot of his car.
Valery Rashkin, who recently led protests against the Kremlin over alleged election fraud, could face criminal charges for illegal hunting and may also be stripped of his seat in parliament.
Police say officers discovered the animal remains during a traffic stop in the Saratov region in October. Rashkin also faces punishment for refusing to take a breathalyser test, Russian prosecutors said.
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
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 from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Scully, Professor in Modern History, University of New England Bunker.Image courtesy of Michael Leunig, CC BY-NC-SA Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the ...
The House - On Parliament's last day of the year, there was the rare occurrence of a personal (conscience) vote on selling booze over the Easter weekend. While it didn't have the numbers to pass, it was a chance to get a rare glimpse of the fact ...
A new poem by Holly Fletcher. bejeweled log i was dreaming about wasps / wee darlings that followed me / ducking under objects / that i was fated to pickup / my fingers seeking / and meeting with tiny proboscis’s / but instead / i wake up / roll sideways ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne Versta/Shutterstock Australians are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world. While we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Terry, Professor of Business Regulation, University of Sydney Michael von Aichberger/Shutterstock Even if you’ve no idea how the business model underpinning franchises works, there’s a good chance you’ve spent money at one. Franchising is essentially a strategy for cloning ...
If something big is going to happen in Ferndale, it’s going to happen at Christmas. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If there’s one episode of Shortland Street you should watch each year, it’s the annual Christmas cliffhanger. The final episode of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William A. Stoltz, Lecturer and expert Associate, National Security College, Australian National University US President-elect Donald Trump has named most of the members of his proposed cabinet. However, he’s yet to reveal key appointees to America’s powerful cyber warfare and intelligence institutions. ...
Announcing the top 10 books of the the year at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, $37) The phenomenal Irish writer is the unsurprising chart topper for 2024 with her fourth novel that, much like her first ...
Another beautiful sunny morning in North Welly. Not sposed to last though. I can see grey clouds moving in from norwest. A week of gardening & lawn maintenance, some new plants in, including marigolds, so a couple of warm rainy days will be just the ticket. 👍🏼 🐧
He sounds very content.
He was, Patricia.
Boss Tui. He sang in that tree for hours. Most unusual. Usually they fly between trees for relatively short singing performances.
Countering rapid antigen tests (RATs) are nowhere near as accurate – they're accurate enough when it matters.
https://twitter.com/michaelmina_lab/status/1436738065620471817
https://twitter.com/WesElyMD/status/1462966813805977602
Rapid antigen tests (RATs) are nowhere near as accurate as traditional RT-PCR tests when it comes to detecting the virus behind COVID-19 but they have their place, Kiwi scientists behind a new study say.
The Government announced on Thursday an end to its year-and-a-half-long ban on point-of-care RATs. Associate MInister of Health Ayesha Verrall said while we were trying to eliminate the virus "the cost of missing a case was too high", so the Government wanted every test to be via the ultra-accurate but slow RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, or PCR), a type of nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT).
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/11/coronavirus-rapid-antigen-testing-misses-more-than-half-of-positive-cases-kiwi-study.html?
Prominent trans activist says it out loud:
https://twitter.com/janeclarejones/status/1464317195140448273
India Willoughby is a UK tv celebrity and presenter.
I just don't know what to say in response to India Willoughby.
I am sorry she got trolled for her appearance, but it doesn't seem to have given her any empathy. These "butch lesbians" should be free to dress how they want, knowing they are lesbian and knowing the are women, not men.
Willoughby is the epitome of the male/TW subculture colonisation of women as a class. Male pattern gaslighting in that tweet.
and as always, one of the core problems here is how to talk about this without throwing trans people generally under the bus. Women need to be free to talk about what is going on, and the active suppression of that has led to a really skewed debate. So I will spell it out: not all trans women (obviously)*, and trans people have the same right to human rights as everyone else (also obviously). Supporting trans people in their rights is part of progressive politics. The above isn't progressive.
That gender identity politics now positions itself as speaking for trans people is part of the problem, because there is no way in hell that women are going to let the above tweet stand without challenge. Lefties and liberals need to get a grip and step up and push back on that bullshit instead of attacking gender critical feminists.
*or men for that matter, which apparently still needs spelling out.
I agree. I've stopped posting along the lines of this obvious paragraph because it is ignored, but it remains true.
The arrogance of telling women how to women, seems a common thread in protests and other silencing actions. Seems to be done without any sense of irony or self-awareness.
Trolled for her appearance?
I read that they were trolled in the Wikipaedia link.
Have been thinking about India's comments some more. Its like they are trying to erase lesbians, the butch ones anyway. The implication is they are really trans women who don't have the guts to become men. What a bloody cheek.
To be honest, I find this very offensive. I grew up with someone who was what we called a tom boy. Hated dresses, dolls, wanted to do all the "boy" things. There was never any real pressure on her to be more girly. It was very much accepted. And what a surprize she grew up to be lesbian. Not quite butch, but always clear she was a girl then a women…….not a man or boy. She's a women and is being her self with clothes, sexual orientation etc.
I try to stay out of the trans wars. Except when I see this. Men fucking ragging on women for not living up to their expectations? Despicable behaviour from someone who wouldn’t want to be picked on for their appearance.
Sadly shows how far trans rights have moved from feminism and lgb rights
Brother-in-law's father died yesterday after being hospitalised with Covid. (Treatment they gave caused internal bleeding which they were unable to stop. Will be looking to see if gets recorded as a Covid fatality.)
These statistics will be given faces for many of us over the coming months, I'm sure.
What was the treatment? Anti clotting medication?
Don't know really, family still reeling. Family were isolating at home after one member tested positive. AFAIK, three household members tested positive, with the Dad going in for hospital care.
Posted initially just to say that many of us will have faces to go along with these numbers that are released each day. It is likely a few of us will have personal connections with the statistics.
So sorry. Was thoughtless of me to query you about that.
I truly hope Jacinda re thinks the plan to open the border. The new variant has mutated to such a degree I wont be surprised if they find the vaccine has little effect on it.
And you're right. It will, if it hasn't already, be affecting us all personally before long
thanks for this insight Molly. Hope everyone else is doing ok.
Thanks everyone. Your kind thoughts are appreciated.
Molly, so very sorry to hear that. Yes you are correct. Some of us feel "safe" in our bubble, but that is likely to be tested in the next while, and we will watch the numbers with growing anxiety. This is always a worry for family already on treatment for other conditions. A terrible tragedy for your family. Keep well Molly, and thank you for your brave post. I suggest a family video of the life, so family too young now will see their relative.
Sympathy from our family to yours Molly.
That's devastating Molly. I hope your family find a good way of gathering all that was good about that person and sharing it. Funerals at this time are such stunted affairs.
"Funerals at this time are such stunted affairs."
They truly are. My favourite brother inlaw died recently. I cold only watch by video link which was appallingly badly recorded. It was just horrible.
Condolences Molly. So sorry for the loss your whanau has suffered.
Hell, that's awful … sympathy & best wishes from my family, Molly.
Sad news for you and your family Molly. I hope this brings you all together in both sorrow and hope. Look after each other – and know that we're here for you too if needed.
So very sorry to hear Molly. Condolences to your family
Bad news Molly
Devastating for close family members
Sorry for your loss.
Seems lately that every day deaths are announced. Grim times.
Interesting, I like the clear statement
https://youtu.be/1Gh5pNg3NOw
Absolutely right, Ben & Fw.
A significant crisis is unravelling in our own backyard:
This has a very messy and byzantine backstory.
So while the ADF will be present at the request of the Solomon govt, the irony is that this is a pro-CPP govt. At the same time there are many hundreds of PRC citizens who are understandably looking for protection and possibly evacuation. If the PRC sends ships into Honiara for this purpose it will demand close cooperation with the ADF to avoid misunderstanding and confrontation.
And right now close cooperation between Canberra and Beijing is a big ask. The risks of this escalating must be of deep concern to everyone in the South Pacific right now.
Looks like a scene setter for more Canberra/Beijing relationship tensions.
Was dumbfounded that Darwin leased their port to China in 2015 for 99 years.
No one seemed too concerned then…as for…now!
Where is mao smith in all of this? Surely this is the work of western imperialist agitators who no have no understanding of the benevolence the ccp can bestow on its “friends” and those minorities “in its historical realms”
To be fair this crisis lies at a very messy intersection between tribalism, a weak government, and a geopolitical landscape in turmoil. If this one falls apart it won't be pretty and NZ will not remain aloof.
This is interesting, a group with long term monitoring and data in regards to heart health has seen significant increases in markers that infer increased risk of heart issues post vaccination.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circ.144.suppl_1.10712
It would be interesting if a comparison was done amongst people who have caught covid.
A rise in endothelial inflammatory markers or a dangerous and potentially fatal endothelial disease….?
https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/41/32/3038/5901158
Maybe a double whammy from both Joe.
Wow, we would be gonners with our problems … explains why people hang on but then succumb.
Without gainsaying or pre-empting any conclusions on this – this is just an abstract and lacks some important data.
The way I look at signals like this is that they should not be ignored. If there is only a small, say 10% chance, of the eventual paper being correct – it would have very severe implications. On the other hand it's too soon to call on it.
A bit of a gold rush at the moment for scientists and researchers wanting to make their mark
There'll be a lot of wheat and chaff to sort through
But it does seem that the short period (up to 2 weeks) monitoring for heart issues may not be enough.
I do hope this won't be neglected in the rush to get everyone vaccinated
Could anyone posting here who read this premium article in The Herald today give us a precis or summary?
The great divide: Why are NZ interest rates so much higher than Australia?
Re the new variant Nu (B.1.1.529).
https://twitter.com/sailorrooscout/status/1464234680379662336?s=20
Interesting that John Key is working the phones for Luxon.
Luxon himself isn’t.
working the phone for somebody else is what a corporate shill does. luxom doesnt even want an election on tuesday, wants to be made boss without asking. needs to get on with privatising things. big corp needs a mouthpiece.
Stephen D (10) … That would guarantee a Luxon/Key Nat leadership, because Key would be pulling Luxon's strings from behind the scenes no doubt. If Luxon is allowing someone else to do his work for him at this stage, then he’s weak!
After quitting the game halfway through a term in 2016 and as a past Nat leader and former PM, Key needs to butt out doing anyone’s 's lobbying for leader.
key is only doing what he is told . key doesnt pull strings, ponytails are his limit. he has always worked for big corp, and still does.
"If Luxon is allowing someone else to do his work for him at this stage, then he’s weak!"
Totally agree. A strong PM – regardless of their political leanings – earns the right to be elected after proving their mettle for the job.
Two PM's on opposite sides – Rob Muldoon and Helen Clark are cases in point. I despised Muldoon but acknowledge he earned the right to be elected in 1975. So did Helen Clark in 1999.
If Luxon thinks he can just walk into the job by relying on someone else to do the running for him then he is not fit to be a PM.
Key has now denied that he has done this. Other Nats say he did.
So to sum up, they're still a bunch of liars, divided.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300464783/national-party-leadership-john-key-says-he-wasnt-making-calls-for-luxon
Guilty of femmesplaining.Leave your thread now.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[Your problem now is that not only will I ban you from all my posts if you troll like that again, but you are now on my radar for being a troll generally. I want disagreement under my posts, but it has to relate to the post and mean something. This is a political blog, we expect people to make political arguments and engage in debate. If you want to drop random reckons that suggest you didn’t even bother reading a post, try FB and see how you get on. You try and bait me again over feminism instead of posting something meaningful, expect a ban site wide. – weka]
mod note.
The default defence…'trolling'…my allegation of femmesplaining relies 100% on your criteria of what 'mansplaining' is.
I realise now, that when you start threads,they are only for the 'faithful'…I can tell you, I have no wish to comment on any topic you originate ,on the basis that you will use your power as a moderator in an extremely prejudicial and blatantly, oppressive ,intolerance of people who do not accept your viewpoint.
you're certainly entitled to your opinions Blazer, and you can by and large express them on this site. What you can't do is troll, and calling a feminist on her post post a femmesplainer without saying how or why is in fact trolling. There's no substance there to respond to, there's no politics, there's just a lazily thrown out slur.
Mansplaining is a known phenomenon. If you want coin the term 'femmesplainer' you have to be able to explain what it means.
And, seeing as how you brought it up, sexism isn't symmetrical in the way you imply. Just because mansplaining is a thing, doesn't mean that there is automatically such a thing as femmesplaining. That you think I was doing the female equivalent of mansplaining, instead of setting boundaries on my own post, tells me you don't actually understand what mansplaining is.
You came into my post, made an assertion that didn't make sense on the context of the post, I pointed this out the problem and your next comment wasn't to talk about the politics you had raised or I had written about, but to instead take a pop at me, that my post wasn't clearly written.
The reason I don't tolerate this kind off approach on my posts is because it is well known in feminism and it's just a basic derail.
You are also wrong to believe that you cannot disagree with me. You can, you just need to have an actual argument. Put one up and then I'll respect what you are saying even if I disagree. There are plenty of people in that thread that I disagree with, but it's only you that got mod attention. Consider that it's about what you did.
1-'femmesplaining'-'mansplaining' is a known phenomenom…really..so you believe in equality I presume=the criteria you applied to accuse someone of …'mansplaining' can logically be applied to its equal and opposite..'femmesplaining'..whether or not you accept that as ..'known' is completely moot.
2-'made an assertion that didn't make sense on the context of the post'
That is merely your OPINION..nothing more ,nothing..less.,
' because it is well known in feminism and it's just a basic derail.'
O.K please understand that what is 'well known in feminism' is NOT well known in …general.
'There are plenty of people in that thread that I disagree with, but it's only you that got mod attention'=what relevance is that!
Your reply to Gezza was quite benign compared to your response to me.
Quite frankly the you are guilty of the very crimes you rail against as a feminist..imo.
ok, well I did try. /
pathetic=try ..harder.
No point in your adopting your counterpunching technique here, imo, B. It too quickly deteriorates into hooflungdung shit fights you can’t win here.
Interesting perspectives in this Guardian article – which also covers femmesplaining or womansplaining:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/06/is-the-term-mansplaining-sexist-google-autocomplete
Interesting link…Gezza.
The reality is …'who cares'!
Outside of here – this blog, you mean?
Not most people, imo. Women are simply starting their own businesses & young women are noticing that that’s the way to get around the male-centric gender pay gap, for example. Work for a female boss.
In the Public Service there’s a requirement for 50% of CEOs to be female. My stay i hospital showed as many doctors are females as males. I don’t think there’s a gender pay gap there. As I found, when I decided to copy my thank you email to the ward doctors and staff and ancillary staff who looked after me during my recent two week stint in Welly Hospital, to the CEO of Wellington’s CCDHB, THE CEOs a woman.
But weka’s right, if you comment & its only to attack someone (or e.g. childishly call them a nasty name like “roll-on deodorant” based on their appearance, not their politics or policies) you probably won’t last long here.
Fucking sad, 'Murica.
Aunt Lydia is real.
Supporters of the law say their goal is to save the life of every embryo, regardless of the circumstances of conception.
“We never advocate taking a life of an unborn child unless it is necessary to protect the life of a woman,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life.
Even in cases of rape or incest, “we don’t advocate for taking the life of an unborn child for the crime of the father,” he said.
The law’s supporters say that it provides sufficient leeway for physicians to act if a mother’s life or bodily functions are compromised, and they insist those cases are rare.
Dr. Ingrid Skop, an obstetrician in San Antonio who belongs to the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said that even a girl as young as 9 or 10, impregnated by a father or a brother, could carry a baby to term without health risks.
“If she is developed enough to be menstruating and become pregnant, and reached sexual maturity, she can safely give birth to a baby,” Dr. Skop said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/26/health/texas-abortion-law-risky-pregnancy.html
https://archive.li/aHKKn
The only way you can lose your immunity in Russia is if you're caught with either a dead elk or a live reporter.
Russia’s State Duma has voted to deprive a Communist MP of his immunity from prosecution after police found the dismembered remains of an elk in the boot of his car.
Valery Rashkin, who recently led protests against the Kremlin over alleged election fraud, could face criminal charges for illegal hunting and may also be stripped of his seat in parliament.
Police say officers discovered the animal remains during a traffic stop in the Saratov region in October. Rashkin also faces punishment for refusing to take a breathalyser test, Russian prosecutors said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/25/kremlin-critic-found-with-dead-elk-in-car-is-stripped-of-immunity?
Chilled
https://twitter.com/genderoftheday/status/1464486913348304898
wunderbar…
https://youtu.be/TvyDKkMYEZ0