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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What are police for? "Fighting crime" is the obvious answer. If there's a burglary, they should show up and investigate. Ditto if there's a murder or sexual assault. Speeding or drunk or dangerous driving is a crime, so obviously they should respond to that. And obviously, they should respond to ...
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Graham Adams writes that 20 years after the land march, judges are quietly awarding a swathe of coastal rights to iwi. Early this month, an hour-long documentary was released by TVNZ to mark the 20th anniversary of the land-rights march to oppose Helen Clark’s Foreshore and Seabed Act. The account ...
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Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for ...
The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants:On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point. Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
“Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
Henry Ergas writes – When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision Michael Reddell writes – When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
Muriel Newman writes – Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
“The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
Treasury officials have outlined many ways in which the Fast Track Approvals Bill is deeply flawed, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking says. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick used this year's State of the Planet to call on the Government to prioritise people and planet as the delivery of the Budget approaches. A full transcript of their speeches can be found below. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have used their State of the Planet speeches to challenge the Government to prioritise people and planet over profit as the delivery of the Budget approaches. ...
The Government’s introduction of legislation that would enable landlords to end tenancies with no reason marks a dark day for the 1.4 million people who rent their home in Aotearoa. ...
The Minister for Mental Health has found the Suicide Prevention Office and mental health support for 111 calls slipping through his fingers, says Labour spokesperson for Mental Health Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The Coalition Government will introduce legislation this year that will enable roadside drug testing as part of our commitment to improve road safety and restore law and order, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Alcohol and drugs are the number one contributing factor in fatal road crashes in New Zealand. In ...
The Government has announced a series of immediate actions in response to the independent review of Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “Kāinga Ora is a large and important Crown entity, with assets of $45 billion and over $2.5 billion of expenditure each year. It ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour is pleased that Pseudoephedrine can now be purchased by the general public to protect them from winter illness, after the coalition government worked swiftly to change the law and oversaw a fast approval process by Medsafe. “Pharmacies are now putting the medicines back on their ...
Tēnā koutou katoa. Da jia hao. Good morning everyone. Prime Minister Luxon, your excellency, a great friend of New Zealand and my friend Ambassador Wang, Mayor of what he tells me is the best city in New Zealand, Wayne Brown, the highly respected Fran O’Sullivan, Champion of the Auckland business ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced that the Government will make it easier for lines firms to take action to remove vegetation from obstructing local powerlines. The change will ensure greater security of electricity supply in local communities, particularly during severe weather events. “Trees or parts of trees falling on ...
Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani were the top winners at this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy awards recognising the best in Māori dairy farming. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced the winners and congratulated runners-up, Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, at an awards celebration also attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister ...
"On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “I raised my concerns after being ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools. “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019. “It is my pleasure ...
New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...
New Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says. “This ...
Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
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 ...
New Caledonia’s Tontouta International Airport remains closed, and Air New Zealand’s next scheduled flight is on Saturday — although it is not ruling out adding extra services. Air NZ’s Captain David Morgan said on Monday evening flights would only resume when they were assured of the security of the airport ...
Asia Pacific Report As Israel drives the Palestinians deeper into another Nakba in Gaza with its assault on Rafah, the Palestine Youth Aotearoa (PYA) and solidarity supporters in Aotearoa New Zealand tonight commemorated the original Nakba — “the Catastrophe” — of 1948. The 1948 Nakba . . . more than ...
Young people on the streets in New Caledonia are saying they will “never give up” pushing back against France’s hold on the Pacific territory, a Kanak journalist in Nouméa says. Pro-independence Radio Djiido’s Andre Qaeze told RNZ Pacific young people had said that “Paris must respect us” and what had ...
This episode of A View from Afar podcast was recorded live from 12:45pm May 20, 2024 (NZST). Political scientist Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning examine: The United States and how the world is engaging with it geopolitically.Specifically, Paul and Selwyn analyse what has changed in this regard in ...
Analysis - Power is not being abused, but it is not being well managed either. New Zealand democracy, unique and currently brittle, should be handled with greater care, Alexander Gillespie writes. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University Forest Conservation Victoria, CC BY-NC-ND Victoria’s native forest logging industry ended on January 1 this year. The news was met with jubilation from conservationists. But did logging really ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Crosby, Professor, Monash University Rose Marinelli/ShutterstockThis article is part two of The Conversation’s “Business Basics” series where we ask leading experts to discuss key concepts in business, economics and finance. How governments should manage their budgets, and how ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole George, Associate Professor in Peace and Conflict Studies, The University of Queensland On Sunday afternoon, Australian citizens who have been trapped in New Caledonia were called to a meeting at one of the large hotels in the capital, Noumea. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Soong, Senior Lecturer and Socio-cultural researcher, UniSA Education Futures, University of South Australia International students have come under fire from both sides of federal politics in the past week. The Albanese government introduced legislation to parliament last Thursday to put ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jake Renzella, Lecturer, Director of Studies (Computer Science), UNSW Sydney An example of shrimp Jesus.Shutterstock AI Generator If you search “shrimp Jesus” on Facebook, you might encounter dozens of images of artificial intelligence (AI) generated crustaceans meshed in various forms with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua McLeod, Lecturer in Sport Management, Deakin University Being a sport administrator comes with many perks, so it’s no surprise many want to stay in their positions as long as possible. Recently, a trend has emerged whereby leaders in sport are seeking ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Joyisjoyful/Shutterstock If you buy your olive oil in bulk, you’ve likely been in for a shock in recent weeks. Major supermarkets have been selling olive oil for up to ...
A conversation with artist and home cook Prairie Hatchard-McGill, aka @cacioeprairie. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. A few weeks ago, I spotted Prairie strolling down Ponsonby Road at sunset, a bunch of celery tucked under her arm. She was too far away for me ...
The Haka Challenge invites anyone to learn and record the Ka Mate haka as performed by the All Blacks, to show their support for "the South Pacific's greatest truth teller". ...
At the Christchurch rally in support of Palestine, he started his hunger strike and vowed to continue until the government stops supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza. ...
With Nouméa reeling as mainly young, politically active Kanak people take to the streets and protest, a spirit that has been dormant since the 1980s has awoken. Tāmaki Makaurau-based Kanak Joseph Xulué provides some context.As reports continue to emphasise the fires burning through the streets of Nouméa (the capital ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Newspoll, conducted after the May 14 budget from a sample of over 1,200 people, gave Labor a 52–48% lead over ...
A New Zealander studying at the University of New Caledonia says students have been taught to use fire extinguishers as firefighters are unlikely to come help if there is an emergency. It comes as days of unrest followed a controversial proposed constitutional amendment which would allow more French residents of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images There have been so many submissions on the government’s proposed Fast-track Approvals Bill – 27,000 written, with 2,900 wanting to appear before the select committee in person – that a ballot ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 20, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). Today, political scientist Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning will examine: The United States and how the world is engaging with it geopolitically.Specifically, we will ...
After falling victim to a scam over the phone, Russell Brown spent the day with One NZ’s cyber defence and fraud prevention teams to see the work they do to stop millions of scam attempts every year.The only windows in the Cyber Defence Centre at One NZ’s Auckland headquarters ...
Treasury officials have outlined many ways in which the Fast Track Approvals Bill is deeply flawed, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking says. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marika Sosnowski, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Melbourne Ever since armed conflict has existed, ceasefires have been thought of as a bridge between war and peace. Consequently, their success has been measured by their ability to stop violence between warring parties ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antonia Shand, Research Fellow, Obstetrician, University of Sydney Backgroundy/Shutterstock Oral retinoids are a type of medicine used to treat severe acne. They’re sold under the brand name Roaccutane, among others. While oral retinoids are very effective, they can have harmful effects ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Renwick, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Lincoln University, New Zealand This month the federal government announced a plan to ban live sheep exports, set to come into effect from May 1 2028. The announcement coincided with the release of a highly ...
Another technical answer: ‘no one really knows.’ It smells like hot fat and fish. You hug the warm bundle of newspaper, translucent with grease, swaddling it like a newborn babe. Behind the counter is a small child doing her homework, and the grumpiest Chinese lady in the world. Above you, ...
New Zealanders are being called on to give Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones “the finger” in a cheeky new campaign that aims to dramatically boost marine protection in Aotearoa. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nic Rawlence, Senior Lecturer in Ancient DNA, University of Otago Auckland Island merganser. Artistic reconstruction by J. G. Keulemans from Bullers Birds of New Zealand (1888)Bullers Birds of New Zealand, Author provided Ask a bird lover if they have heard of ...
Leaders from three of the biggest political parties addressed party faithful over the weekend, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A weekend ...
Kia ora, welcome to Windbag, The Spinoff’s new Wellington issues column, written by me, Joel MacManus. In this first edition, I take a closer look at the first half of Tory Whanau’s term as mayor. If you want to understand Wellington’s local political landscape, you need to start in 2013 ...
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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.
.
@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….
/
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