You might want to have a look at the RSE Curriculum for years 1 to 8 and see what they are being taught. Start with the "Glossary" if you want to save time.
Thanks Visubversa. I have just looked at the RSE quickly and will return to it tomorrow. Will look to see if there is a connect between the survey questions and what is actually taught in lessons. I hope that the glossary is just a reference to be informed when questions arise rather tha lesson plans.
"What a silly survey for Family First. Are Primary School kids taught" that they can "choose their gender" . . "
A bit confusing as it is not clear if by 'gender' they mean sex or gender (as in outer appearance feminine/masculine). Assuming they mean sex then:
Yet one in four persons, who voted Greens or Labour last time, don't think it a silly question and answered -yes- to the question.
22 April 2024
"The German Parliament, or Bundestag, passed one of the world’s most far-reaching sex self-determination policies on April 12, despite protests from women’s rights campaigners. The Self-Determination Act (SBGG) establishes ‘gender identity’ as a protected characteristic and allows parents to change the sex marker on their children’s documents from birth."
Do you believe that primary age children should be taught that they can choose their "gender" and that it can be changed through hormone treatment and surgery if they want it to be?
The problem with the Curia poll isn't asking that question, it's that gender isn't defined in the question. Many people still use 'sex' and 'gender' interchangeably.
As Visub points out, we can look to the curriculum as to what is being taught in schools,
Gender: Gender is an individual identity related to a continuum of masculinities and femininities. A person’s gender is not fixed or immutable.
They don't define masculinities and femininities. Given this is year 1 – 8, does this mean that if a boy likes playing with girls/girls toys/girls games, he has a gender that isn't boy?
Other definitions,
Gender binary (male/female binary): The (incorrect) assumption that there are only two genders (girl/boy or man/woman)
Gender diverse: An umbrella term used to encompass people who do not necessarily identify with being transgender but don’t feel their gender fits into the binary of male or female
Gender expression: A person’s presentation
of their gender through physical appearance – including dress, hairstyles, accessories, and cosmetics and also mannerisms, speech, behavioural patterns, names, and personal references. Gender expression may or may not conform to a person’s gender identity.
Gender fluid: Describes a person whose gender changes over time and can go back and forth. The frequency of these changes depends on the individual.
…
Sex: The biological sex characteristics of an individual (male, female, intersex)
Sex assigned at birth: All babies are assigned a sex at birth, usually determined by a visual observation of external genitalia. A person’s gender may or may not align with their sex assigned at birth.
Sex characteristics: A person’s physical features relating to sex, including genitalia and other sexual and reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, hormones, and secondary physical features emerging from puberty
…
Transgender (trans): This term describes a wide variety of people whose gender is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Transgender people may be binary or non-binary, and some opt for some form of medical intervention (such as hormone therapy or surgery).
Trans man: A transgender person who was assigned female at birth but identifies as male
Trans woman: A transgender person who was assigned male at birth but identifies as female
Transitioning: The process a transgender person may take to live in their gender identity. It may involve social, legal, and/or medical steps.
There's a big arrow there pointing to boys are blue and girls are pink. You can imagine how feminists feel about this after decades of work to dismantle gender roles and stereotypes.
Just what are the mannerisms that are feminine or masculine?
Note also that trans is identifying as a sex not a gender role/stereotype. Or female is a gender not a sex. Female and male aren't defined but the implication from the sex definition is they mean biological sex. So which is it? That someone identities as a biological sex they aren't? Or the societally imposed gender roles? Nice mess there.
So what is being taught? Indirectly, there is this, under the heading of Human Rights,
In the context of RSE, this means that schools need to:
ensure inclusive environments for all young people
allow their ākonga freedom of expression in relation to their gender identities and sexual orientation, including the right to determine their own identity and name
include content on the diversity of sex characteristics, sexuality, and gender identities in their curriculum programmes.
my first question is what is being done to support gender non-conforming children outside of a transition framework? Because of a boy wants to do girl stuff, is there support for that that doesn't involve transition? How about the tomboys? The word tomboy doesn't appear in the document.
If you want to see what is being suggested by the guide, keyword search 'gender'.
Note the suggestion that boys can use girls' toilets. That's dangerous.
The minute they use the term "sex assigned at birth" we know that they are captured and lying. Sex is determined at conception, and in mammals is bi-modal and immutable. If they lie about that – they will lie about anything because they have abandoned biological reality in favour of a homophobic and misogynistic ideology.
Look, I obviously know the circumstances are different, but there is a ton of overlap between what is going on now and the various iterations of the so-called campus free speech wars that we’ve seen for years. We know how this will unfold. Here’s a sneak preview.
WATCH: Among those arrested today were Noelle McAfee, Chair of the Philosophy Department at Emory University. I’ve asked for a comment from Emory on this arrest, no word yet. This video provided to us by an #Emory PHD student. You can hear him in this video.
did that get fact checked? I followed a few threads on twitter yesterday where people were arguing if the police were using a scope to observe individuals rather than it being a sniper.
Identify your target with a monocular scope. Otherwise, it's binoculars.
In the United States, mass arrests took place on Thursday at the Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio and Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana. Prior to the arrests, students photographed and videotaped armed police snipers on the rooftops of campus buildings with their weapons trained on students.
One of the primary rules of firearm safety is to never point a firearm at something/someone that you don't intend to shoot. Police were observed and documented doing just that.
someone knowledgeable about firearms who can confirm their rifles were being used for sniping rather than scoping. The threads I was watching were saying things like the rifles weren't usable as a firearm.
Even if they were just scoping, it's still an issue. I just prefer to know what was going on.
Witnesses and local legislators knew what was going on. Police used binoculars to scope protesting students and then they sent the message.
State Rep. Matt Pierce D-Bloomington, who is also a senior lecturer in the Media School, released a statement Friday condemning IU’s role in the arrest of protesters in Dunn Meadow on Thursday.
"It's ironic that University leaders who continually use the excuse of potential violence to suppress speech it opposes invited onto campus state police with military-style weapons that included what appeared to be snipers stationed on rooftops to force a physical confrontation with protesters,” his statement read. “This reckless decision is indefensible. Does President Whitten not remember Kent State?”
[…]
The Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus released a statement Sunday in response to “heavy police presence during peaceful demonstrations” at IU.
“What we are seeing on the news and hearing from firsthand accounts gives us great concern that First Amendment Rights and even personal safety could be at risk on the Indiana University Campus,” the statement read. “While we understand this is a fluid situation we still worry about the sheer amount of police in riot gear, including snipers, called in to manage what has been reported as a peaceful protest.”
The Standard is rather quiet of late. Have people shrugged their shoulders and accepted we are stuck with Luxon and Co and are just getting on with their lives as best they can?
Or are we all shell-shocked from the barrage of decisions being made by the government which are making life pretty tough for many?
I was reading in the Herald yesterday about a couple who have a very disabled 23 year old son they care for at home. The difficulties they face daily are extreme and how they manage to do this I cannot imagine. They previously were entitled to have a paid weekend stay at a hotel (can't recall how often) so they can relax and have a good night's sleep. This has now been stopped.
The lack of empathy and humanity by that sacked minister to the plight of people like this couple I find very disturbing.
To be a Tory politician, one must have, at the very least, sociopathic traits. Be hardwired to feel incapable of empathy or compassion, in order to harm so many citizens and still sleep at night.
There is something particularly dangerous about the Tory women put in charge of welfare portfolios over the years (Shipley, Bennet et al) The amount of damage they have overseen to so many people- makes one wonder how they've been selected for their positions.
"To be a Tory politician, one must have, at the very least, sociopathic traits. Be hardwired to feel incapable of empathy or compassion, in order to harm so many citizens and still sleep at night."
Is that you, Angela Rayner? This kind of smug self-righteousness does no credit to the contemporary left.
Those eight conservatives (most of the Nats are liberals) were the only MP's who stood up for vulnerable young people at risk of irreversible damage by transgender ideology. Not a single "progressive" MP stood up to support them.
Is it not possible at all to have any sort of discussion on the site without someone incorporating that topic, even when it was never mentioned in the first place??? Jeez, no wonder people are leaving this site in droves. Looks like I'm about to join them.
"To be a Tory politician, one must have, at the very least, sociopathic traits. Be hardwired to feel incapable of empathy or compassion, in order to harm so many citizens and still sleep at night."
We only need one person like Victoria Atkins (UK Health secretary and tory mp) in our government, with this amount of empathy or compassion, I know my observation, but still. Others might follow. Watched by well over 33,000 people
Although I was not surprised the decision the electorate at large made last election, it is still sad and disturbing living with the reality that so many Kiwis in their political naivety can be so easily manipulated that they vote for such a hopeless bunch as Luxon and Co.
The only sane thing left is just get on with life and do the best we can.
I have a more important job now which limits my time to respond, and in addition, my employers firewall detects commenting on sites like this as spam and blocks them, that counts out the comments I usaed to make during my lunch hour.
The other thing I would say is the Standard spends far to much of it's time hijacked by a moderator who is a single issue fanatic. The fact is Weka's obsession with trans issues, her ridiculous womens rights party, and that she comes across as a remarkably uniformed and rather dull person has killed the interest of a lot of people in the site.
My suggestions for the Standard are the following:
Update the sites mission statement – Novara Media provides an excellent example:
"…Novara Media is an independent media organisation addressing the issues that are set to define the 21st century, from a crisis of capitalism to racism and climate change. Within that context our goal is a simple one: to tell stories and provide analysis shaped by the political uncertainties of the age, elevating critical perspectives you’re unlikely to find elsewhere. Driven to build a new media for a different politics, our journalism is always politically committed; rather than seeking to moderate between two sides of a debate, our output actively intends to feed back into political action…"
Novara specifically aviod entangling themselves in idiotic identity conflicts because they think it distracts them from their mission statement.
Look, this site has some brand recognition and it uses the masthead of a storied publication. It could be built into a fine and trusted alternative media source, surely that it can get some seed funding from somewhere.
1 – refresh your team.
2 – Get off whatever is hosting the site and create a "proper" media platform capable of (eventually) supporting an end game including Youtube, podcasts, long form studio interviews etc.
3 – Create a Patreon page.
4 – Create regularly updated premium content for Patreon users – like using the contributors/moderators you do have as contributing editors to contribute articles on the areas they are subject matter experts in.
5 – Look at syndicating a Sunday reading omnibus by cross-posting from the likes of David Slack, Nick Rockel, Gerard Otto, Greater Auckland, David Farrier, Russell Brown, The Kaka – some as Patreon only (if the content owner needs to be paid per view) and some free.
6 – Get more outreach for your posts, especially from the contributing editors, by publishing across multiple platforms – Slack, Substack, Reddit, Discord, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, LinkedIin etc .
7 – Look to generate enough patreon and donation revenue or find enough grants to hire at least part time a social media manager & a researcher initially.
8 – The end game would be a finding a good interviewer and doing a regular monthly 60 minute long form interview about left wing ideas and a professional, bright, enthusiastic, optimistic, must view, weekly 60 minute Youtube show presented by a couple of likeable, smart, passionate, unabashedly left media trained people under 40 in a proper studio – Pat Brittenden has the idea bless him but to be blunt his production and content is amateur and he is in Dunedin, which is a hopeless backwater these days.
Anyway, perhaps something for me to do when I can afford to give up the rat race of paid employment.
@Sanctuary
"her ridiculous womens rights party", and "our journalism is always politically committed; "
Sounds like a contradiction in terms, maybe you’re not interested in what might be interesting or important to other people in today's political landscape, esp if there are women?
"Novara specifically aviod entangling themselves in idiotic identity conflicts because they think it distracts them from their mission statement"
and than this: visiting Novara for the 1st time:
"The Cass Review was hyped as the nail in the coffin for a lawless cult of child mutilators. After all that, what we got was a 400-page GCSE sociology essay that ignored decades of research in favour of pure vibes. How embarrassing."
Unfortunately a lot of the progressive commentary on this has promoted strawman narratives as opposition to the review. The main point opponents don't deal with is the description of youth-trans being peer pressure induced in many cases. We have seen many peer induced conditions with similar demographics (e.g teenage anorexia, bulemia even suicide attempts) and the appropriate treatment there seems to be good counciling.
Unfortunately I didn't see a lot of engagement with the potential for some children to be starting on a medical path by peer pressure, but I did see a lot of implication this was not a thing.
Seems to be one of the most difficult points for this commentary to deal with. Since the point of political commentary on the report ought to be to summarise what it says you don't get any approval from me with claiming an understandable analogy to peer pressure induced conditions, is actually claiming trans people are just cos playing and don't exist. If thats the only way a commentator understands psychology they are clearly not qualified to discuss a review of psychological practice.
I tend to agree. I find that whole line tedious tbh. I would also say that that level of commenting is politics not discussion of psychology and the impact and role of social media, peer-induced conditions (a better framing than contagion).
One of the dynamics is the contemporary liberal idea that children know what they need. I'm of the generation where my peers as parents let their children decide what to eat (in the sense of overall diet) 🙄 I think later parents also handed over a level of responsibility for social media to young people and children, that has been a huge mistake.
I also have an appreciation for why so many people have gone down the 'there's no such thing as a trans child' route. Lisa Littman tried to do research on rapid onset gender dysphoria and basically got cancelled. Now we have lots of parents who have kids who are medically transitioning and those parents are very very angry about the safeguarding failures.
The moderation pendulum swung to far to the heavy handed side sadly. It certainly pushed a bunch of people away and so many interesting veiw points are gone. Redlogix springs to mind as an example.
Sadly, Sanctuary, I agree with your sentiments regarding commentary on The Standard lately. I say this as an aging feminist who despairs at what I read some days. I said several months ago that this site used to be my go to read for enlightened left wing commentary on matters political, but that seems to be no longer the case on the majority of days. I get far more thoughtful input from my Twitter mates.
Mickey and Ad could both contribute well informed content as contributing editors on their expert subjects. Robert Guyton is an achiever with a deep love of the environmnet and hands on experience of governance. Not sure about Ianmac, but I imagine he would have a contribution based on experience in his area of excellence. Why not geWhat is your skillset? I'd love to find someone who could do a review of the weeks ethnic newspapers in Chinese and Indian languages – what on earth are those communities talking about? Its a skinny horse to start but let's fatten up Boxer over time.
Monthly long form? It would be about ideas. Not the same parade of pundits discussing the horse race or activists – actual ideas. Why not talk about religion from the left? Talk to Peter Lineham, the Catholic Archbishop, the heads of the Anglican Communion. goodness, try and get a genuine evangelical pastor in for a hour long chat and counterpoint it talking to the pastor at Ponsonby Baptist a week later. Talk to the Maori King, Sarah Page of the kindness Collective, the dean of philosophy from Auckland University, Brian Easton and Craig Rennie, Bernard Hickey – once you've got a bit of credibility syndicate Novara media's downstream content with a kiwi panel to adjudge it relevance to NZ, then the likes of Ted Goia, Grace Blakeley and Marxist philosopher Richard Seymour, find a leftist expert on China’s economy and someone to give a leftist critique of the EU – gosh there is so many, that is over a year just there of the top off my head! Filling an ideas gap bigger the grand Canyon in NZ could make you the compulsory watch/listen on a Monday night!
Tbh I find the most interesting snippets came from the comments, the posts themselves are more a starting point. Thats why it's sad so many interesting particpants have been lost. Didnt always agree with them but the point of veiw often lead to further reading and a better understanding of the subject at the very least.
It does worry me that we seem to be becoming ore fragile as a nation in terms of opposing views. The latest postponment of the panel @ Vic being a case in point.
speaking as a long time commenter and author, the best way to get a more vibrant commentariat here is to support the posts. Read the post, comment under them, make an effort to create the kind of debate you want to see. For quite some time now there have been more comments in OM than under the posts. That's not sustainable.
Commenters come and go, I have people I miss too. But without the authors and support for them, the site doesn't exist.
I'm also concerned about the lowering ability to handle opposing views.
Personally speaking, I almost ignore Mickey's posts as they're almost always about the Nats or coalition and what theyre doing wrong. I'd rather hear his ideas about what a left govt should do… Id also suggest to you Weka that you be more open to opposing views on your posts even if they derail them a little. You have to screen a lot of worthless rock to find gold.
I'd also add that I was ambivious to the gender stuff, although my partner had a read one day and went wtf and is now positivly engaged so while some dont like the posts keep it up.
Nah it's not, its some fragile individual whos so opposed to your world view that they'd seek you out and essentially attempted have you silenced. Your real life experience as you see it was valuable espexially here amd kinda matched my more limited experience as a contractor moving through Rimutaka. In a nutshell its the part of the left thats completely lost the plot.
While Pharmac definitely needs some tweaking done (read: major funding boost), I can't help but be extremely afraid about the future of medication access in New Zealand
More what the expectations of the relevant Ministers are. We may be pleasantly surprised, and something positive and beneficial for all might happen, but look at the players. The benefit to greater society is never on their agenda.
"The benefit to greater society is never on their agenda."
You know the dollar can be spent only once, right?
It is so easy to stand on the sideline and criticise.
What if you are faced with a budged and have to make chooses.
a) helping 1000 people with a costly medication that extend their lives by average 6 months or
b) helping 1000 people with medication to make them enjoy live more, over a longer period?
With even more information the chooses become more difficult…
The Tech Baron Seeking to “Ethnically Cleanse” San Francisco
If Balaji Srinivasan is any guide, then the Silicon Valley plutocrats are definitely not okay.
[…]
“What I’m really calling for is something like tech Zionism,” he said, after comparing his movement to those started by the biblical Abraham, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith (founder of Mormonism), Theodor Herzl (“spiritual father” of the state of Israel), and Lee Kuan Yew (former authoritarian ruler of Singapore). Balaji then revealed his shocking ideas for a tech-governed city where citizens loyal to tech companies would form a new political tribe clad in gray t-shirts. “And if you see another Gray on the street … you do the nod,” he said, during a four-hour talk on the Moment of Zen podcast. “You’re a fellow Gray.”
The Grays’ shirts would feature “Bitcoin or Elon or other kinds of logos … Y Combinator is a good one for the city of San Francisco in particular.” Grays would also receive special ID cards providing access to exclusive, Gray-controlled sectors of the city. In addition, the Grays would make an alliance with the police department, funding weekly “policeman’s banquets” to win them over.
“Grays should embrace the police, okay? All-in on the police,” said Srinivasan. “What does that mean? That’s, as I said, banquets. That means every policeman’s son, daughter, wife, cousin, you know, sibling, whatever, should get a job at a tech company in security.”
In exchange for extra food and jobs, cops would pledge loyalty to the Grays. Srinivasan recommends asking officers a series of questions to ascertain their political leanings. For example: “Did you want to take the sign off of Elon’s building?”
Pew asked another question that gets at the democracy issue more obliquely. How important is it, they asked respondents, for losing candidates to concede an election? Both Democrats and Republicans (and leaning independents in both cases) largely said that it was “very” or “somewhat” important. But while 77 percent of Democrats/leaners said it was very important (as did 60 percent of all respondents), fewer than half of Republicans agreed.
Good point. Had a similar thought after pressing “Submit”.
talking about unelected people pulling the strings of government. Is Bill English, the minder of the useless finance minister, paid by the tax payer, the National Party or by the financial supporters of the party?
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, suspended an account owned by the grandson of former South African President Nelson Mandela on Friday.
It is currently unclear why the social media platform, owned by Elon Musk, banned Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa. The company has issued no statement regarding its decision to restrict the South African politician’s speech, but the timing is questionable.
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Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
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Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – 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 of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
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 ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
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https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350255156/damien-grant-pay-attention-review-gender-care-youth
Damian Grant on the idiocy (my words) of transitioning kids.
On that note, a new Curia poll suggests the NZ public are more sensible than most of our politicians:
http://familyfirst.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Child-Gender-Dysphoria-Poll-Results-April-2024.pdf
Green Party supporters are the only significant demographic that leans towards supporting so-called "gender-affirming care" of minors.
What a silly survey for Family First. Are Primary School kids taught" that they can "choose their gender" . I would say they aren't and shouldn't be.
However if the question was, "Should a Primary School child who has anxieties about gender, be offered support?" Yes most would say.
How about when a child is a diabetic; "Should Primary School children be taught that they can choose to be a diabetic or not?"
You might want to have a look at the RSE Curriculum for years 1 to 8 and see what they are being taught. Start with the "Glossary" if you want to save time.
Thanks Visubversa. I have just looked at the RSE quickly and will return to it tomorrow. Will look to see if there is a connect between the survey questions and what is actually taught in lessons. I hope that the glossary is just a reference to be informed when questions arise rather tha lesson plans.
"What a silly survey for Family First. Are Primary School kids taught" that they can "choose their gender" . . "
A bit confusing as it is not clear if by 'gender' they mean sex or gender (as in outer appearance feminine/masculine). Assuming they mean sex then:
Yet one in four persons, who voted Greens or Labour last time, don't think it a silly question and answered -yes- to the question.
22 April 2024
"The German Parliament, or Bundestag, passed one of the world’s most far-reaching sex self-determination policies on April 12, despite protests from women’s rights campaigners. The Self-Determination Act (SBGG) establishes ‘gender identity’ as a protected characteristic and allows parents to change the sex marker on their children’s documents from birth."
"If parents choose to do so, they may alter the identifying information of their children from birth. The SBGG stipulates that the consent of a child is necessary from the age of five, and, “from the age of 14, minors can do it themselves, but require the consent of their guardians.”
https://reduxx.info/germany-passes-gender-self-identification-law-allowing-infants-to-transition-imposes-massive-fine-for-deadnaming/
So much for the right of the child…
Read that again: asking for the consent of a 5 year old!!
I commented below about definitions. I don't think we can assume the poll means sex. In the RSE guide, gender is defined differently from sex.
The problem with the Curia poll isn't asking that question, it's that gender isn't defined in the question. Many people still use 'sex' and 'gender' interchangeably.
As Visub points out, we can look to the curriculum as to what is being taught in schools,
https://hpe.tki.org.nz/assets/healthpe/pdfs/RSE+Guide+y1-8.pdf
That guide does have a definition of gender,
They don't define masculinities and femininities. Given this is year 1 – 8, does this mean that if a boy likes playing with girls/girls toys/girls games, he has a gender that isn't boy?
Other definitions,
There's a big arrow there pointing to boys are blue and girls are pink. You can imagine how feminists feel about this after decades of work to dismantle gender roles and stereotypes.
Just what are the mannerisms that are feminine or masculine?
Note also that trans is identifying as a sex not a gender role/stereotype. Or female is a gender not a sex. Female and male aren't defined but the implication from the sex definition is they mean biological sex. So which is it? That someone identities as a biological sex they aren't? Or the societally imposed gender roles? Nice mess there.
So what is being taught? Indirectly, there is this, under the heading of Human Rights,
my first question is what is being done to support gender non-conforming children outside of a transition framework? Because of a boy wants to do girl stuff, is there support for that that doesn't involve transition? How about the tomboys? The word tomboy doesn't appear in the document.
If you want to see what is being suggested by the guide, keyword search 'gender'.
Note the suggestion that boys can use girls' toilets. That's dangerous.
The minute they use the term "sex assigned at birth" we know that they are captured and lying. Sex is determined at conception, and in mammals is bi-modal and immutable. If they lie about that – they will lie about anything because they have abandoned biological reality in favour of a homophobic and misogynistic ideology.
My security software assesses that .pdf as a "security risk" and won't download it.
you can google the title and see if it works that way.
Thread.
Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D
@RVAwonk
Look, I obviously know the circumstances are different, but there is a ton of overlap between what is going on now and the various iterations of the so-called campus free speech wars that we’ve seen for years. We know how this will unfold. Here’s a sneak preview.
https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/1783609217204527494
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1783609217204527494.html
Balaclavas and roof-top snipers. Whatever could go wrong.
/
@PatrickQuinnTV
WATCH: Among those arrested today were Noelle McAfee, Chair of the Philosophy Department at Emory University. I’ve asked for a comment from Emory on this arrest, no word yet. This video provided to us by an #Emory PHD student. You can hear him in this video.
@ATLNewsFirst
https://twitter.com/PatrickQuinnTV/status/1783532600637681964
https://www.thelantern.com/2024/04/university-says-officers-had-readied-firearms-directed-toward-protesters-from-ohio-unions-roof-once-arrests-began/
did that get fact checked? I followed a few threads on twitter yesterday where people were arguing if the police were using a scope to observe individuals rather than it being a sniper.
Identify your target with a monocular scope. Otherwise, it's binoculars.
In the United States, mass arrests took place on Thursday at the Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio and Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana. Prior to the arrests, students photographed and videotaped armed police snipers on the rooftops of campus buildings with their weapons trained on students.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/04/25/fwco-a25.html
sure, but I was hoping someone had fact checked it by now.
One of the primary rules of firearm safety is to never point a firearm at something/someone that you don't intend to shoot. Police were observed and documented doing just that.
What's to fact check?
someone knowledgeable about firearms who can confirm their rifles were being used for sniping rather than scoping. The threads I was watching were saying things like the rifles weren't usable as a firearm.
Even if they were just scoping, it's still an issue. I just prefer to know what was going on.
Witnesses and local legislators knew what was going on. Police used binoculars to scope protesting students and then they sent the message.
State Rep. Matt Pierce D-Bloomington, who is also a senior lecturer in the Media School, released a statement Friday condemning IU’s role in the arrest of protesters in Dunn Meadow on Thursday.
"It's ironic that University leaders who continually use the excuse of potential violence to suppress speech it opposes invited onto campus state police with military-style weapons that included what appeared to be snipers stationed on rooftops to force a physical confrontation with protesters,” his statement read. “This reckless decision is indefensible. Does President Whitten not remember Kent State?”
[…]
The Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus released a statement Sunday in response to “heavy police presence during peaceful demonstrations” at IU.
“What we are seeing on the news and hearing from firsthand accounts gives us great concern that First Amendment Rights and even personal safety could be at risk on the Indiana University Campus,” the statement read. “While we understand this is a fluid situation we still worry about the sheer amount of police in riot gear, including snipers, called in to manage what has been reported as a peaceful protest.”
https://www.idsnews.com/article/2024/04/politicians-respond-dunn-meadow-encampment-clearing-arrests-protest
The Standard is rather quiet of late. Have people shrugged their shoulders and accepted we are stuck with Luxon and Co and are just getting on with their lives as best they can?
Or are we all shell-shocked from the barrage of decisions being made by the government which are making life pretty tough for many?
I was reading in the Herald yesterday about a couple who have a very disabled 23 year old son they care for at home. The difficulties they face daily are extreme and how they manage to do this I cannot imagine. They previously were entitled to have a paid weekend stay at a hotel (can't recall how often) so they can relax and have a good night's sleep. This has now been stopped.
The lack of empathy and humanity by that sacked minister to the plight of people like this couple I find very disturbing.
To be a Tory politician, one must have, at the very least, sociopathic traits. Be hardwired to feel incapable of empathy or compassion, in order to harm so many citizens and still sleep at night.
There is something particularly dangerous about the Tory women put in charge of welfare portfolios over the years (Shipley, Bennet et al) The amount of damage they have overseen to so many people- makes one wonder how they've been selected for their positions.
"To be a Tory politician, one must have, at the very least, sociopathic traits. Be hardwired to feel incapable of empathy or compassion, in order to harm so many citizens and still sleep at night."
Is that you, Angela Rayner? This kind of smug self-righteousness does no credit to the contemporary left.
The only NZ MP's who opposed the inclusion of gender identity in the Conversion Practices legislation were eight "Tories": https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/02/15/conversion-practices-ban-passes-in-parliament/
Those eight conservatives (most of the Nats are liberals) were the only MP's who stood up for vulnerable young people at risk of irreversible damage by transgender ideology. Not a single "progressive" MP stood up to support them.
Is it not possible at all to have any sort of discussion on the site without someone incorporating that topic, even when it was never mentioned in the first place??? Jeez, no wonder people are leaving this site in droves. Looks like I'm about to join them.
Egavangenitalism, Kay, the new obsession.
"Egavangenitalism,"
It sure is, and watching NZ going from a secular society to one to adhere to an ideology, esp in state institutions, is a interesting development.
It's why UK will call for an inquiry how that happened. It might happen in NZ too, but not for a few more years.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/20/james-esses-public-inquiry-gender-ideology-tavistock/
Is that a word, Joe?
If it isn't it should be. It's a wonderful addition to the English language.
"To be a Tory politician, one must have, at the very least, sociopathic traits. Be hardwired to feel incapable of empathy or compassion, in order to harm so many citizens and still sleep at night."
We only need one person like Victoria Atkins (UK Health secretary and tory mp) in our government, with this amount of empathy or compassion, I know my observation, but still. Others might follow. Watched by well over 33,000 people
Although I was not surprised the decision the electorate at large made last election, it is still sad and disturbing living with the reality that so many Kiwis in their political naivety can be so easily manipulated that they vote for such a hopeless bunch as Luxon and Co.
The only sane thing left is just get on with life and do the best we can.
I have a more important job now which limits my time to respond, and in addition, my employers firewall detects commenting on sites like this as spam and blocks them, that counts out the comments I usaed to make during my lunch hour.
The other thing I would say is the Standard spends far to much of it's time hijacked by a moderator who is a single issue fanatic. The fact is Weka's obsession with trans issues, her ridiculous womens rights party, and that she comes across as a remarkably uniformed and rather dull person has killed the interest of a lot of people in the site.
My suggestions for the Standard are the following:
Update the sites mission statement – Novara Media provides an excellent example:
"…Novara Media is an independent media organisation addressing the issues that are set to define the 21st century, from a crisis of capitalism to racism and climate change. Within that context our goal is a simple one: to tell stories and provide analysis shaped by the political uncertainties of the age, elevating critical perspectives you’re unlikely to find elsewhere. Driven to build a new media for a different politics, our journalism is always politically committed; rather than seeking to moderate between two sides of a debate, our output actively intends to feed back into political action…"
Novara specifically aviod entangling themselves in idiotic identity conflicts because they think it distracts them from their mission statement.
Look, this site has some brand recognition and it uses the masthead of a storied publication. It could be built into a fine and trusted alternative media source, surely that it can get some seed funding from somewhere.
1 – refresh your team.
2 – Get off whatever is hosting the site and create a "proper" media platform capable of (eventually) supporting an end game including Youtube, podcasts, long form studio interviews etc.
3 – Create a Patreon page.
4 – Create regularly updated premium content for Patreon users – like using the contributors/moderators you do have as contributing editors to contribute articles on the areas they are subject matter experts in.
5 – Look at syndicating a Sunday reading omnibus by cross-posting from the likes of David Slack, Nick Rockel, Gerard Otto, Greater Auckland, David Farrier, Russell Brown, The Kaka – some as Patreon only (if the content owner needs to be paid per view) and some free.
6 – Get more outreach for your posts, especially from the contributing editors, by publishing across multiple platforms – Slack, Substack, Reddit, Discord, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, LinkedIin etc .
7 – Look to generate enough patreon and donation revenue or find enough grants to hire at least part time a social media manager & a researcher initially.
8 – The end game would be a finding a good interviewer and doing a regular monthly 60 minute long form interview about left wing ideas and a professional, bright, enthusiastic, optimistic, must view, weekly 60 minute Youtube show presented by a couple of likeable, smart, passionate, unabashedly left media trained people under 40 in a proper studio – Pat Brittenden has the idea bless him but to be blunt his production and content is amateur and he is in Dunedin, which is a hopeless backwater these days.
Anyway, perhaps something for me to do when I can afford to give up the rat race of paid employment.
Agree with your suggestions…apart from the paywall…
This would be a good time to do what you suggest….
And I can't find any reasons not to involve/empower the readers more..
One way this could be done is by making available an uptick option for readers to endorse what others have said..
I would use that..and I am sure many others would also..
@Sanctuary
"her ridiculous womens rights party", and
"our journalism is always politically committed; "
Sounds like a contradiction in terms, maybe you’re not interested in what might be interesting or important to other people in today's political landscape, esp if there are women?
"Novara specifically aviod entangling themselves in idiotic identity conflicts because they think it distracts them from their mission statement"
and than this: visiting Novara for the 1st time:
"The Cass Review was hyped as the nail in the coffin for a lawless cult of child mutilators. After all that, what we got was a 400-page GCSE sociology essay that ignored decades of research in favour of pure vibes. How embarrassing."
"Gemma Stone is a transgender writer and co-founder of Trans Writes."
https://novaramedia.com/2024/04/15/spare-a-thought-for-hilary-cass/
What did you say about "aviod entangling themselves in idiotic identity conflicts"
after reading that anti-scientific hogwash, seen enough. Give me WEKA anytime, at least you won't read anti-scientific ramblings like that.
Unfortunately a lot of the progressive commentary on this has promoted strawman narratives as opposition to the review. The main point opponents don't deal with is the description of youth-trans being peer pressure induced in many cases. We have seen many peer induced conditions with similar demographics (e.g teenage anorexia, bulemia even suicide attempts) and the appropriate treatment there seems to be good counciling.
Unfortunately I didn't see a lot of engagement with the potential for some children to be starting on a medical path by peer pressure, but I did see a lot of implication this was not a thing.
The Cass Review talks about it, and I think this will shift the debate over time. Lots of barriers have been broken in the past few weeks.
Seems to be one of the most difficult points for this commentary to deal with. Since the point of political commentary on the report ought to be to summarise what it says you don't get any approval from me with claiming an understandable analogy to peer pressure induced conditions, is actually claiming trans people are just cos playing and don't exist. If thats the only way a commentator understands psychology they are clearly not qualified to discuss a review of psychological practice.
I tend to agree. I find that whole line tedious tbh. I would also say that that level of commenting is politics not discussion of psychology and the impact and role of social media, peer-induced conditions (a better framing than contagion).
One of the dynamics is the contemporary liberal idea that children know what they need. I'm of the generation where my peers as parents let their children decide what to eat (in the sense of overall diet) 🙄 I think later parents also handed over a level of responsibility for social media to young people and children, that has been a huge mistake.
I also have an appreciation for why so many people have gone down the 'there's no such thing as a trans child' route. Lisa Littman tried to do research on rapid onset gender dysphoria and basically got cancelled. Now we have lots of parents who have kids who are medically transitioning and those parents are very very angry about the safeguarding failures.
The moderation pendulum swung to far to the heavy handed side sadly. It certainly pushed a bunch of people away and so many interesting veiw points are gone. Redlogix springs to mind as an example.
Sadly, Sanctuary, I agree with your sentiments regarding commentary on The Standard lately. I say this as an aging feminist who despairs at what I read some days. I said several months ago that this site used to be my go to read for enlightened left wing commentary on matters political, but that seems to be no longer the case on the majority of days. I get far more thoughtful input from my Twitter mates.
the main people writing posts currently are micky and Ad. Is that who you are referring to?
If you want different content, maybe say what you would like to see?
Mickey and Ad could both contribute well informed content as contributing editors on their expert subjects. Robert Guyton is an achiever with a deep love of the environmnet and hands on experience of governance. Not sure about Ianmac, but I imagine he would have a contribution based on experience in his area of excellence. Why not geWhat is your skillset? I'd love to find someone who could do a review of the weeks ethnic newspapers in Chinese and Indian languages – what on earth are those communities talking about? Its a skinny horse to start but let's fatten up Boxer over time.
Monthly long form? It would be about ideas. Not the same parade of pundits discussing the horse race or activists – actual ideas. Why not talk about religion from the left? Talk to Peter Lineham, the Catholic Archbishop, the heads of the Anglican Communion. goodness, try and get a genuine evangelical pastor in for a hour long chat and counterpoint it talking to the pastor at Ponsonby Baptist a week later. Talk to the Maori King, Sarah Page of the kindness Collective, the dean of philosophy from Auckland University, Brian Easton and Craig Rennie, Bernard Hickey – once you've got a bit of credibility syndicate Novara media's downstream content with a kiwi panel to adjudge it relevance to NZ, then the likes of Ted Goia, Grace Blakeley and Marxist philosopher Richard Seymour, find a leftist expert on China’s economy and someone to give a leftist critique of the EU – gosh there is so many, that is over a year just there of the top off my head! Filling an ideas gap bigger the grand Canyon in NZ could make you the compulsory watch/listen on a Monday night!
That 'idea'/information gap is why I started doing (proto-aggregation) site whoar,..all those years ago…
I felt strongly that we were very poorly served as a nation…(The Herald and 6pm news were about it then.)
And yet the good stuff was out there…even back then…intelligent writing was my main criteria..
And I used to find about thirty stories a day I would deem worthy of inclusion…
That a generalist take on the events on any given day…and included politics/entertainment in all its forms..etc..etc..
Bugger all sport..I must confess..
And I think it is so much easier now..to find that good stuff…(It is more an editing exercise…having a 'good eye'..)
I say this in support of sanctuary's ideas for the standard…
It could become what he is envisioning…
Tbh I find the most interesting snippets came from the comments, the posts themselves are more a starting point. Thats why it's sad so many interesting particpants have been lost. Didnt always agree with them but the point of veiw often lead to further reading and a better understanding of the subject at the very least.
It does worry me that we seem to be becoming ore fragile as a nation in terms of opposing views. The latest postponment of the panel @ Vic being a case in point.
speaking as a long time commenter and author, the best way to get a more vibrant commentariat here is to support the posts. Read the post, comment under them, make an effort to create the kind of debate you want to see. For quite some time now there have been more comments in OM than under the posts. That's not sustainable.
Commenters come and go, I have people I miss too. But without the authors and support for them, the site doesn't exist.
I'm also concerned about the lowering ability to handle opposing views.
Personally speaking, I almost ignore Mickey's posts as they're almost always about the Nats or coalition and what theyre doing wrong. I'd rather hear his ideas about what a left govt should do… Id also suggest to you Weka that you be more open to opposing views on your posts even if they derail them a little. You have to screen a lot of worthless rock to find gold.
I'd also add that I was ambivious to the gender stuff, although my partner had a read one day and went wtf and is now positivly engaged so while some dont like the posts keep it up.
Refreshing ideas Sanctuary.
I've been through the emotional wringer and had to go through some things which were not pleasent and included very dark thoughts
Which was completely my own fault because I'm an open person and that was used against me
So I'm not posting as much to keep myself safe and my career safe
I will say that Weka does a good job moderating
cheers PR.
Your cautiousness seems sensible and I doubt you are the only one posting less for this reason.
Someone figured out your psuedo? Pretty shit if so…
Again it was my own fault or rather my own naivety
Nah it's not, its some fragile individual whos so opposed to your world view that they'd seek you out and essentially attempted have you silenced. Your real life experience as you see it was valuable espexially here amd kinda matched my more limited experience as a contractor moving through Rimutaka. In a nutshell its the part of the left thats completely lost the plot.
I suspect old school left and conservatives have more in common with each other than with their new modern iterations
Agreed
Good on the Aussies. Getting their gun laws lined up.
Whilst we have a bunch of wankers hell bent on enabling the next massacre.
It's like our politicians are corrupted by greed and stupidity.
Personally I don't mind uptick as long as it doesn't include down vote, which is a form of groupthink bullying IMHO.
While Pharmac definitely needs some tweaking done (read: major funding boost), I can't help but be extremely afraid about the future of medication access in New Zealand
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/515385/former-deputy-pm-paula-bennett-appointed-pharmac-board-chair
@Kay
"the future of medication access in New Zealand"
Doesn't it depends on what the boards members tasks and expectations are?
More what the expectations of the relevant Ministers are. We may be pleasantly surprised, and something positive and beneficial for all might happen, but look at the players. The benefit to greater society is never on their agenda.
"The benefit to greater society is never on their agenda."
You know the dollar can be spent only once, right?
It is so easy to stand on the sideline and criticise.
What if you are faced with a budged and have to make chooses.
a) helping 1000 people with a costly medication that extend their lives by average 6 months or
b) helping 1000 people with medication to make them enjoy live more, over a longer period?
With even more information the chooses become more difficult…
Tbf, the last mob's former cabinet minister, Maharey, is being replaced by one of the new mob's former cabinet ministers.
Bennet's crony appointment to pharmc makes about as much sense as Seymour being associate minister of health. Couple of know nothings.
Best idea in a long time sanctuary. Congratulations.
Goebbels lives.
The Dystopians
The Tech Baron Seeking to “Ethnically Cleanse” San Francisco
If Balaji Srinivasan is any guide, then the Silicon Valley plutocrats are definitely not okay.
[…]
“What I’m really calling for is something like tech Zionism,” he said, after comparing his movement to those started by the biblical Abraham, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith (founder of Mormonism), Theodor Herzl (“spiritual father” of the state of Israel), and Lee Kuan Yew (former authoritarian ruler of Singapore). Balaji then revealed his shocking ideas for a tech-governed city where citizens loyal to tech companies would form a new political tribe clad in gray t-shirts. “And if you see another Gray on the street … you do the nod,” he said, during a four-hour talk on the Moment of Zen podcast. “You’re a fellow Gray.”
The Grays’ shirts would feature “Bitcoin or Elon or other kinds of logos … Y Combinator is a good one for the city of San Francisco in particular.” Grays would also receive special ID cards providing access to exclusive, Gray-controlled sectors of the city. In addition, the Grays would make an alliance with the police department, funding weekly “policeman’s banquets” to win them over.
“Grays should embrace the police, okay? All-in on the police,” said Srinivasan. “What does that mean? That’s, as I said, banquets. That means every policeman’s son, daughter, wife, cousin, you know, sibling, whatever, should get a job at a tech company in security.”
In exchange for extra food and jobs, cops would pledge loyalty to the Grays. Srinivasan recommends asking officers a series of questions to ascertain their political leanings. For example: “Did you want to take the sign off of Elon’s building?”
https://newrepublic.com/article/180487/balaji-srinivasan-network-state-plutocrat
Reading such chilling nonsense immediately called to mind this short story from long ago (published a few years after Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four):
Ripe for the plucking.
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@RpsAgainstTrump
Trump supporter: “This country needs a dictator. I hate to say it, but this is the truth.” Never Trump.
https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1784230836356677939
Pew asked another question that gets at the democracy issue more obliquely. How important is it, they asked respondents, for losing candidates to concede an election? Both Democrats and Republicans (and leaning independents in both cases) largely said that it was “very” or “somewhat” important. But while 77 percent of Democrats/leaners said it was very important (as did 60 percent of all respondents), fewer than half of Republicans agreed.
https://archive.li/Ux7hW#selection-823.0-823.443 (wapo)
https://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/342032-paula-bennett-appointed-as-pharmac-chair.html
bennet in charge pharmac that sounds bad
She chose a career as “unelected bureaucrat”, how nice for her. I guess trying to win a mayoral election was in the too hard basket.
I'd say that was a play to get a choice roll which is now landed.
Therw power brokers are quite happy with Wayne Brown tbh I prob vote for him if he stands again.
Good point. Had a similar thought after pressing “Submit”.
talking about unelected people pulling the strings of government. Is Bill English, the minder of the useless finance minister, paid by the tax payer, the National Party or by the financial supporters of the party?
Thank goodness we have Mark Mitchell to clear up crime in NZ.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/emergency-services-responding-to-aggravated-robbery-at-west-auckland-mall/L534V5VCPZACRMVXW4AM4AYIXU/
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/armed-police-guard-scene-of-partridge-jewellers-newmarket-after-second-ram-raid-in-nine-days/RRLQBE7RENCSXD5AQKIXJQH6VE/
Note the outrage from Media!
Funny how it's not the governments fault any more!!
Same with the petrol price… it’s nearly funny how there’s no mention of high oil / petrol prices compared to pre-election.
The media, especially in NZ, is such a joke.
Apartheid Clyde's free speech absolutism….
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X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, suspended an account owned by the grandson of former South African President Nelson Mandela on Friday.
It is currently unclear why the social media platform, owned by Elon Musk, banned Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa. The company has issued no statement regarding its decision to restrict the South African politician’s speech, but the timing is questionable.
https://news.yahoo.com/why-did-elon-musk-just-211706089.html