For anyone not familiar with my stream friends, Elvira is a four foot long NZ Native Longfin Eel (Tuna, in Māori) about as round as a standard Golden Syrup tin, & Granville is about a 3 foot 6 inch long Australasian Shortfin "Tuna", a beautiful lime green & yellow colour, slightly slimmer than Elvira & with a pointier head shape.
More from the story that our new teen radio show known as RNZ and most media seem to be avoiding like the plague….
DAY TWO — ‘CIA Tried to Kill Assange;’ US: ‘He’s Only Moderately Depressed & Won’t Go to Isolation’ The two-day U.S. appeal against the denial of extradition of Julian Assange has ended in London with the U.S. promising humane prison conditions and Assange’s lawyers saying the CIA tried to kill him.
Thanks Adrian please keep the info and the links coming since noone else is bothering gonna be a long day of light rail an gender id by the looks still at least its not wall to wall covid !!
The US has a long tradition of welching on it's agreements. They have no sense of honour. NZ has been a total disappointment in its willingness to look the other way when a journalist is being killed slowly in plain sight for exposing the criminality of governments. I no longer have any faith in our much touted independence, or the calibre and courage of our politicians
So many NZers heading to the streets over our "freedom" but not one placard for Assange, one of the worst breaches of human rights in the western world
Even Navalny gets conjugal visits (3 days) in a salubrious apartment within the prison , and gets to write letters and have social media accounts.
If you get all the pesky women back into the three K's there will be no more problems and we will have gone back in to the good old times where women knew what is good for them. Or something.
Maybe higher education is not all that high, but really just a cesspit of forced affirmation of the worst. If one goes into an apprenticeship and learnes a trade they at least have something of worth.
Long March through the Institutions … Woke dogmatists, deeply immersed in Queer Theory, quietly capture administrative positions & enact profound change by stealth … no need for any of that really yucky stuff like democratic endorsement or accountability because … well … the vast majority of voters are just the most appalling deplorables who don't even remotely possess the Critical Theorists' unusually refined sensibilities… & obviously we can trust the highly privileged children of the Establishment to act in all of our best interests, can't we ?
And, of course, Wokedom’s massive downplaying of class & wealth disparities [traditionally a core concern of the Left … & by far the most consequential factor for life chances] … in favour of a total obsession with & cynical weaponizing of ethnicty & (to a lesser extent) gender … dovetails very very nicely with Corporate interests.
You must be referring to that non-democratic Parliamentary process called the Select Committee, which has through an extensive extra round of submissions on the Births Deaths and Marriages Bill. Plenty of unusually refined sensibilities faced political reality there.
Normally you are on the money Ad, but in this case your statements are inaccurate.
The BMDRR Bill went through a select committee process in 2018. When public submissions had closed, the Greens attempted to sneak through SOP 59 which is the gender self ID part of the Bill. Some women in the Green party got wind of it and that's how knowledge of this bill was made known to many feminists. Crown law saw problems with gender self id and declared the process of attempting to enact it in legislation was undemocratic and that there were potential conflicts with the Human Rights Act. Tracey Martin mothballed it.
Labour did not have anything about gender self ID in its election manifesto. Nor was I informed about it as a party member (although I was regularly asked my opinion about many of their policies). A vote compass poll before the last election showed a majority of people do not support it.
The Select Committee's Labour and Green members are clearly totally bias in favour of the bill and have shown contempt for most of the people presenting against the Bill …….Their behaviour improved after many letters to the PM. The Labour whip contacted many of us who complained and said the MPs had been spoken to and that we shouldn't have any more problems with them. Frankly their behaviour was disgusting. The clips from the select committee were shown overseas and I think it showed the NZ parliament in a poor light
Without exception every person in my network I have spoken to about Gender self ID (and I do move in more left/progressive circles0 is not aware of this legislation and they are shocked that it about to become law.
There has been an almost total black out of reporting on this bill.
I can't see anything in this process that is democratic whatsoever.
Precisely … great for signalling 'elevated' social status … often at a direct & profound cost to 'ordinary' people … aided by moral panics, purity spirals & the uber-romanticisation of intersectional 'in-groups'.
Maybe higher education is not all that high, but really just a cesspit of forced affirmation of the worst.
Maybe not everyone wading/swimming/deep diving through that "cesspit of forced affirmation of the worst" is completely beyond redemption, remembering that most registered nurses and teachers, veterinarians, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, commecial pilots, architects and engineers emerge from the so-called ‘cesspit’.
Although I'll grant you so do all our lawyers and accountants, plus a fair few MPs and small business owners.
Was simply observing that the second half of your comment @4.1.1 comes across to me as a stinky dump on our institutions of higher learning – the consequence of a (deliberate?) scatter-gun shock-jock critique, imho.
Maybe higher education is not all that high, but really just a cesspit of forced affirmation of the worst.
Then I thought about it for ~20 minutes.
Then I commented. My hope is that my comment @4.1.1.2 will help some readers here to think about how workers in higher education might perceive Sabine's comment. That is all.
Dear Molly, I (again) regret that my replies have proved unsatisfactory.
I "just read" (paraphrasing): 'higher education is really just a cesspit of forced affirmation of the worst.', and (as a former tertiary educator) saw red.
On reflection I see that Sabine was not characterising all of higher education as a cesspit, but rather just a small subset that is (thankfully) well clear of my area of expertise. Apologies to you and Sabine.
Oh, dear Molly again? (Watch out, your patronising is becoming harder to hide).
For your edification.
It is apparent to me, and possibly others, that you have made no independent efforts to find out about some of the threads you so 'innocently' wander onto.
Criticism of your 'well-thought' comments, is in regards to relevance. You seem determined to be both irrelevant and proud of it.
Redirection is a way of avoiding the topic at hand. You are an adept at that.
Providing another perspective or insight into the topic in discussion is another matter.
(As I have instilled in my children, apologies without sincerity should not be offered. Apologies without a change in behaviour are worthless. I doubt your sincerity.)
you know, maybe not seeing red at the slightest infraction is the way to go. And as Molly stated, please follow up on the story of this particular women, who by all means was vilified, harrassed, threatened with all sorts of violence – physical violence, who was not helped at all by her so called union, and who 'self selected' out of a job in order to probably not be raped, beaten and killed by someone who thought she was fair game as a TERF a transphobe and other assorted bullshit.
And yes, that higher education is a cesspit of almost religious fervent and fuck it, but these kids are not learning anything in this 'institution' other then when you just bully someone hard enough, when the threats of violence are just convincing enough, not only does the victim get to carry the burden of it all, but you win – the biggest, vilest and most unsavory bully will win, and the Union and the University will do nothing.
And that dear DMK is a cesspit. And worse even, these young people being so disserved in this institution will end up with a life time of debt, but hardly any skills, but they get to feel proud for hounding out that Terf.
And btw, i have two completed apprenticeships by the time i was 30, one in wholesale and one in accountancy. Part of that was contract law, small and large business law, accounting, customer service etc etc. No debts, but rather got paid. You ain't gonna make me feel bad about not having been to one of these overrated usurious institutions for the same gain.
Although I'll grant you so do all our lawyers and accountant
We have words like 'racist' and 'sexist' to cover those sorts of prejudice, but unfortunately I cannot think of an '-ist' word that covers that sort of prejudice.
Marion Millars case was 'discontinued' by the crown. But, and i guess that is the difference between dropped and discontinued, they crown and start this up again at a later stage.
In the meantime a new Witch was found and is forced to defend herself for 'disobedience' to the almighty penis, @femmeloves Ceri Black, and she will now have to fend of those that would love to burn an unruly witch at the stake for public entertainment.
might be a bit soon to say this, but I think the tide is turning in the UK. How that will play with the conservative political milieu remains to be seen, especially if Scotland gets independence which leaves the rest of the UK ultra conservative parlimentary wise. I know people in the UK who believe they're heading for fascism (removing protest rights is a really bad sign).
I agree Weka, I think the tide is turning in the UK. And it is very good news about Marion Miller, but she should never have been charged in the first place.
Not in NZ as there is almost a total media black out in these issues. With the exception of an excellent interview with Helen Joyce in the NZ Listener, this weeks edition I think.
Here's a short list: J K Rowling, Marion Miller Maya Forstater, Margeret Atwood, Germaine Greer,…….
And of course many many other women who have been cancelled, threatened with murder, violence and rape.
It is just that some is too stupid to actually follow through. And as I said, the crown can bring these charges again, at a different time. But for now, Marion Millar is getting the right to breathe, and she gets to keep her children.
Scotland is actually worse then England in this Gender Bullshit Saga.
I know people who believe that NZ is heading for fascism, (removing protests right is really a bad sign) _ i add this not to make fun of what you said, but people are saying exactly the same here in regards to Tamaki and his unmerry band of followers. And fwiw, in NZ our dear leader from Labour with their support group The Greens are happy to forge ahead with this bullshit, never mind the women and girls whose life are apparently not worthy of safety, and dignity to even just toilet in peace. Or for lesbians to choose a partner to their liking, freely and without fear of tra's ire and hate.
Fuck sake Sabine. In the UK the Tory government is removing protest rights permanently because they can see the shit storm coming with social breakdown and that XR aren’t going away and are replicating.
NZ has some very temporary restrictions on gatherings because of a pandemic, and even those are being phased out.
I'm also seeing red flags about the trajectory of current political discourse in NZ. I didn't pay enough attention to the introduction of the hate speech bill, but on present investigation it looks like a terrible piece of legislation. I can see it being used in a malicious way, similar to what has happened in Scotland and Northern Ireland, if interpreted in the same way by the police here.
Our society, along with many others in world who are dealing with multiple existential threats (Covid, Climate Change) alongside the foreseeable but ignored endgames of poverty, inequality, housing crisis, degraded public services and infrastructure, has a large number of people who are untethered from their normal grounding processes. Eg. For those who ground themselves with social interaction, lockdown has broken that link. The reliance on technology to replace such interactions is exposed as a trojan horse when we listen to the testimony of Frances Haugen.
My point is, we don't need the government to do anything to make some believe in fascism. There are other influential agencies out there promoting that belief, some of whom may actually have more influence on the public than our own politicians.
I don't know the answer to this.
(But a recognition from our government that this is occurring, and some ideas about how to counteract it would be a start, else every step they take without full transparency just feeds the beast in the shadows.)
The restrictions on voting in the UK, where Boris is proposing needing to produce evidence of identity is also scary. This always puts the less well off from voting.
Meanwhile the dinosaur Starter has come out against PR. Can't he see that this is both fairer and his easiest path to being PM?
I did not say to stupid to follow through, i said 'they saw it was a stupid case that would go nowhere. Sorry if that does was not clear. A ribbon ain't a noose, no matter what anyone wants to pretend. To make this a case was stupid, and going through with this case would have shown that 'stupidity' that in my book is organised harrasment by officials and their enforcers the police in order to shut down mainly women who might be upset about certain things that happen and that loose their jobs if voicing these objections. We have these issues already here see Ani O'Brian.
And as i said, i don't disagree with you not having protests atm, in fact i more often then not ask people to abstain from any large gatherings for the next two years, that would include protests. But just because we don't like this particular protest does not mean it is not in infractions on someones 'right to protests' and either we ban all of these protests under the health act or we might show a bias towards cases we personally approve of. And always please keep in mind, that as someone who grew up in Germany, who went trhough 'denazification' in school, I have my very own mind on things that might seem very outlandish to New Zealanders.
It always starts with very small things, one might call this the death of a thousand cuts. And no matter if we approve of some groups or not, we should always be very careful in giving up rights that were won with blood and tears.
‘I think the tide is turning”
I do too, and it’s thanks to people like JK Rowling and Kathleen Stock who refused to say black is white, refused to issue grovelling apologies to keep their place in employment, and refused to back down .
And in all of that still affirmed the same human rights for trans as we all have.
This also suggests a "turn" when the BBC allows a lesbian to speak about lesbians difficulties with "transbians", ie fully covked and stubbled men who want to have sex with lesbian women
I am not surprized. She endured the most vile level of harrasment and threatening behaviur. I hate to think what the impact has been for her. Told to install security cameras at her home and needing security as protection.
Kathleen Stock has been so reasonable and spoke of her fears of a backlash against Trans people because of gender ideology..
Because the police is a partner of Stonewall and diversity. And is – it appears quite happy to charge any women with a 'non crime hate incident' for stating that men ain't no women, that grooming exist, that safe guarding is needed, and can we just be sensible.
But then, if you look closely, very closely, they don't do that shit to men. I wonder why.
Well to be fair, the police in the UK is to busy investigating ribbons for nooses, and 'non crime hate incidents'. The many many hundreds of thousands of complaints to the Police for 'misgendering' someone, or for writing tweets about safe guarding children.
Vaccine effiacy study currently in pre print on the Lancet out of Sweden. In some groups vaccine efficacy drops to zero by 9 Months and potentially below zero. Pretty scary.
I think she is going to get a visit from the police shortly. Oh how I will laugh when they take her away in handcuffs and she's denied bail on the grounds she's too stupid to be set free.
came across this via the BBC (if that is still considered a reputable institution). This is in regards to vaccinated people still spreding covid and still getting it.
According to the study, which ran from September 2020 to September 2021 and included 440 households in London and Bolton doing PCR Covid tests:
People who are double jabbed have a lower, but still appreciable, risk of becoming infected with the Delta variant compared with unvaccinated people
They also appear to be just as infectious
Vaccinated people clear the infection more quickly, but their peak viral load – when people are most infectious – is similar to that seen in unvaccinated people
This may explain why they can still readily pass on the virus in household settings
this might also explain why cases in AKL are not dropping as much as expected and as fast as we might wish for it.
Thus anyone who is expected to isolate at home, depending on the size of that home, will with good chance infect anyone else in that household, no matter if they are double jabbed, single jabbed or not jabbed at all.
So please, mask up, keep physical distance, and once, twice three times santize, and stay away from large scale events no matter how hungry one is for a game of sport or a concert or a theatre production or any other gathering where transmission is easy, fast and guaranteed.
Have a look at the study I linked up there a bit, the declining efficiency to zero is prob behind the upwards march in cases amongs vaccinated people particularly males, the elderly and those with comorbidities overseas. It would ñe reasonable to expect similar patterns here.
Now they just need to come up with a means to transfer resources to where they are needed – without robbing them from other public services.
Pity Labour aren't interested in taxing wealth any time soon. Without resources there are big limits on what you can do, regardless of how you rearrange things.
The ministry for the disabled will have a commissioner for loss of jocularity to explain levity, satire and gentle mocking. He will be known as the Shaman of the Far Side……..
I sense another gravy train on the way, for paper shufflers, lawyers, consultants, managers, committees et al. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Government announces new Ministry for Disabled People
And about time. I have been advocating for this for over 30 years now as once turned 18 (in practicality 16) until you turned 65 basically any problems such as financial abuse had to be dealt with either by agencies who totally took a hands off approach – don't believe me ask them what their written policy if and when staff come across suspected abuse of clients by family members, etc. – or by the police.
Lets hope they address this issue as part of this establishment. Guidance for agencies to have policies around abuse and somewhere to report those to would be a good start.
I hate doing this. I actually do. But it has been a bug bear of mine having for a while having a deaf uncle this govt turfed the sign langauge person from question time.
Are there more interpreters available? That's why they stopped it a few months after bringing NZSL interpreters into QT. It's not like they cancelled a long-term practise, they tried it and it meant other people were missing out on services.
no longer be used during parliamentary question time because it is putting pressure on other services the small pool of interpreters offer deaf people, such as going to the doctor or school.
Government announces new Ministry for Disabled People
An announcement met with guffaws of disdain in our wee household.
(Tell you what DOS, let's review this in 30 years time and see if there's any appreciable difference in the lives of those with significant disabilities not supported by ACC.)
Little waffling on with the usual 'we will consult with disabled peoples' organisations…' bs. More korero with the organisations 'representing' disabled people who have enjoyed the largesse of the government without actually having to do much in the way of actual real advocacy.
(Peter is ready and waiting whenever they want an individual's real 'lived experience' opinion on how it should have, could have, been done. First off he'll tell them that he felt more supported and included (in some aspects) fifty one years ago when he broke his neck than he does now.)
"More korero with the organisations 'representing' disabled people who have enjoyed the largesse of the government without actually having to do much in the way of actual real advocacy"
Including referring to each other the same client so they could all get paid for the same piddly thing that they might have achieved. The established groups in bed with the government have had some very cosy arrangements in the past. Good stuff still tends to happen due to good individuals rather than structural support. Privatisation has focussed on profits rather than service and need.
I'm hopeful there is much more of a move to partnership with those with disabilities as as starting to happen with Maori. Also a mainly de-centralised regional workforce rather than a Wellington one. People who have access to local communities – not just the Chief Executives of the organisations you reference.
I guess now is the time to try and influence what it will finish up as – that is more hopeful than trying to influence the current set-up. I'll start with optimism anyway.
An 0800 number is access, it still does not mean any services were provided or that anything is getting better for those living with disability and those that care for people with disabilities.
I hope that his ministry will be doing better works then say Social Welfare, ACC, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Housing etc.
a lot of wonderful things written about supporting disabled people, mission statements, plans about how to improve things
some of that will actually work and there will definitely be disabled people whose lives improve
because Labour work from a paternalistic model rather than a power sharing one, they will miss the people who don't fit in the systems well, and probably some of those that do.
if Labour actually knew what they were doing they would have raised SLP and reinstated sickness benefit by now.
Thing I feel most nervous about is longer term plans to address the disparities between ACC, disability and illness, and that Labour will fuck this up. As bad as WINZ is, I don't trust Labour to shift income to the new department but I can see the accountants sharpening their budgeting pencils already. Welfare income via WINZ is a statutory right afaik, and health isn't. We will see if they give disabled people actual rights here.
Andrew Little said today, "The disabled had told him disability was not a health matter, it was more about being empowered." That did not sound too paternalistic.
It was the fact that feedback from the people who actually used NZSL interpreters was that they'd rather have the few NZSL interpreters available for their daily lives, rather than the few die-hards who want to watch QT live rather than (at best) at the 6pm news (with subtitles).
from your (and my) link (emphasis added):
Clerk of the House of Representatives David Wilson said a decision had been made jointly with Deaf Aotearoa to stop the service in response to concerns that resources were being stretched.
"The pool of interpreters is very small and we've been told that having interpreters at Parliament every day that the House sits is putting a lot of pressure on the services they offer in other areas like at the doctor, in schools or when getting legal advice," Wilson said.
"We've listened to those concerns and responded by returning to offering NZSL at Parliament for significant events."
Well, if one or two in an afternoon can deprive someone of communication in school in Wellington, fair to say there's a shortage that needs sorting out.
Individuals who have had two vaccine doses can be just as infectious as those who have not been jabbed.
Now let’s reflect on what I think was said by Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles (probably wants another award) I think said (parroting CNNs propaganda division again)
“This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated “
yeah but naaa Miss Wiles
Having been vaccinated I still think it’s ok for other people to have freedom of choice (some have legitimate concerns). I’m uncomfortable with any worker not being found alternative and comparable paid jobs if the refuse vaccines. I don’t think I can resolve this in my head as can see both sides. However……
Segregation via terms like “this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated” is just sanctimonious BS.
Maybe little Miss & Mrs Inclusivity (insert political party and media outlets of choice) could be, well a little more inclusive and instead say:
“this is a pandemic of the vaccinated and unvaccinated”
It ain’t so black or white is it… Experts meh (wicked problems make fools of us all)
latest from bbc
Individuals who have had two vaccine doses can be just as infectious as those who have not been jabbed.
Even if they have no or few symptoms, the chance of them transmitting the virus to other unvaccinated housemates is about two in five, or 38%.
This drops to one in four, or 25%, if housemates are also fully vaccinated.
The Lancet Infectious Diseases work shows why getting even more people vaccinated and protected is important, they say.
Unvaccinated people cannot rely on those around them being jabbed to remove their risk of getting infected, they warn.
■ Covid infection protection waning in double jabbed
Vaccines do an excellent job of preventing serious Covid illness and deaths, but are less good at stopping infections, particularly since the emergence of the more infectious Delta variant which is dominant in the UK.
And over time, the protection offered by vaccines wanes and needs boosting with further doses.
Since households are where most Covid transmission occurs, making sure every member who is eligible for a vaccine has had one and is up to date with their doses makes sense, say experts.
According to the study, which ran from September 2020 to September 2021 and included 440 households in London and Bolton doing PCR Covid tests:
■ People who are double jabbed have a lower, but still appreciable, risk of becoming infected with the Delta variant compared with unvaccinated people
■ They also appear to be just as infectious
■ Vaccinated people clear the infection more quickly, but their peak viral load – when people are most infectious – is similar to that seen in unvaccinated people
■ This may explain why they can still readily pass on the virus in household settings
Prof Ajit Lalvani, of Imperial College London, UK, who co-led the study, said: "The ongoing transmission we are seeing between vaccinated people makes it essential for unvaccinated people to get vaccinated to protect themselves from acquiring infection and severe Covid-19, especially as more people will be spending time inside in close proximity during the winter months.
"We found that susceptibility to infection increased already within a few months after the second vaccine dose – so those eligible for booster shots should get them promptly.
When one group are twenty times more likely to infect someone than the other group (and makes up a disproportionate majority of the high needs patients), calling it a plandemic of that group is pretty accurate. No amount of bullet points will change that.
Keith the vaccinated are less likely to end up in hospital and far less likely to die.
That was Ms Wiles saying the biggest number in hospital were unvaccinated, so it was "becoming the disease of the unvaccinated." Oh and those households did not use the 2m rule or masks in all likely hood and were inside.
Me, I'm not so pollyanna about our country's independence anymore.My experience on this supposedly left wing blog revealed a disturbingly anti-Assange group think.
Surprised me too though and even more so that it persists – so did the anti-rugby groupthink here surprise me.
On the other hand I actively dislike religion so I guess we all have our biases.
With Assange he s clearly being treated terribly and I find it difficult to reconcile the fight to keep people out of jail, treat prisoners more humanly, etc etc with ignoring how even people we may not like be treated in the justice system.
Quite a contrast in thinking with Brevik who actually murdered people.
“Norway is a country known for its progressive prison system, and in its ruling, the court writes that ‘the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment represents a fundamental value in a democratic society,’ and that this also applies to terrorists and killers. …
Finally the tide is turning, but too little , too late I think
The media piled on, trashing his reputation and unfortunately too many people believed it. Without that there may have been the chance of a mass grass roots movement to get him freed .Pretty disappointing to see so many joining in to put their boot in
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The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants:On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point. Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
“Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
Henry Ergas writes – When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision Michael Reddell writes – When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
Muriel Newman writes – Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
“The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
David Farrar writes – Kata MacNamara reports: Details of Tony Blakely’s involvement in the New Zealand Government’s response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
RNZ reports – It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
Buzz from the BeehiveTolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 “crucial” projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ report: Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Electoral Commission should make sure the system ran smoothly and “taking away the right of thousands of people to vote” was not the answer. “Thousands of people enroled and voted on the day. If ...
Don Brash writes – There was a rather revealing headline in the Herald on Sunday today (12 May). It read “One in 8 Auckland homes on market were bought during boom, may now sell for loss”. The first line of text noted that “New data shows one in ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – At a time when universities are understandably nervous regarding the establishment of the University Advisory Group (UAG) and the Science System Advisory Group (SSAG) it may seem strange – or even fool-hardy – to state that there are long-standing issues in the tertiary sector ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – A lack of perspective can make something quite large or important seem small or irrelevant. Against a backdrop of high-profile, negative statistics it is easy to overlook the positive. For instance, the fact that 64 percent of Maori are employed is rarely reported. For ...
The Government’s introduction of legislation that would enable landlords to end tenancies with no reason marks a dark day for the 1.4 million people who rent their home in Aotearoa. ...
The Minister for Mental Health has found the Suicide Prevention Office and mental health support for 111 calls slipping through his fingers, says Labour spokesperson for Mental Health Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
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 ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
Asia Pacific ReportThe global human rights watchdog Amnesty International has called on France to not “misuse” a crackdown in the ongoing unrest in the non-self-governing French Pacific territory of Kanaky New Caledonia in the wake of a controversial vote by the French Parliament to adopt a bill changing the territory’s ...
A major provider of school lunches fears the government's new $3 limit for most students will see them eating more pre-packaged and processed food. ...
The star of Dark City: The Cleaner takes us through his life in TV, including the VHS revolution and the John Campbell impression that started it all. Best known for his comedic roles, Cohen Holloway says he struggled at times to maintain the stone cold facade of serial killer on ...
David Hill remembers an old friend, who you’ve probably never heard of. My friend Doug never travelled; he had little interest in the world beyond his own tiny rural town. I’ve rarely known anyone who radiated such contentment. Doug (I’ll call him that) died in March. You won’t know him. ...
Some of the earliest photos of life in Aotearoa are on display at Auckland Museum right now – but the identities of some of the people in them are a mystery.What was it like to be one of the first people in New Zealand to have their photo taken? ...
Since its founding almost a decade ago, Featherston Booktown has grown into one of the country’s most interesting and idiosyncratic literary events. Erin Banks reports from the audience. “Come in, have you had lunch? I’m about to make a cheese toastie.” Mary Biggs, operations manager of Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival, ...
After 33 years abroad, Loveni Enari recently returned to Aotearoa and Samoa in what a friend joked was an “existential crisis”. He learnt and re-learnt so much about his family, friends and both countries. Almost as an afterthought, he got a Samoan tatau. This is his story. (Accompanying it are ...
Nearly 30 years ago, two people told me they’d killed a woman they knew. I thought the truth would come out, that others would tell it. In the end, I had to. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Fact: in 1995, Angela Blackmoore ...
Editor Madeleine Chapman looks back at the week and shines a light on some increasingly rare longform journalism. Mōrena and welcome to The Weekend where there will sadly be no aurora to see. After a busy week last week of short, sharp pieces, this week we swung the other way, ...
ANALYSIS:By David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report Jean-Marie Tjibaou, a revered Kanak visionary, was inspirational to indigenous Pacific political activists across Oceania, just like Tongan anthropologist and writer Epeli Hao’ofa was to cultural advocates. Tragically, he was assassinated in 1989 by an opponent within the independence movement during ...
Forget thin is in, apparently now bigger is better … or is it? After over a decade of body positivity, girls, teens and women are even more confused about what body positivity actually is. The movement began with women confronting unrealistic expectations of how their bodies should look. But sub-strands ...
Grace always sat at the bar at the back of The Cambridge, where she could watch who came in. A huge mirror ran the length of the pub, so you could sometimes watch people without them knowing. The mirror made the place seem a lot bigger than it really was. ...
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 17 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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.
Wildlife ranger in danger
For anyone not familiar with my stream friends, Elvira is a four foot long NZ Native Longfin Eel (Tuna, in Māori) about as round as a standard Golden Syrup tin, & Granville is about a 3 foot 6 inch long Australasian Shortfin "Tuna", a beautiful lime green & yellow colour, slightly slimmer than Elvira & with a pointier head shape.
NZ Native Longfins all have blue eyes.
For good commentary on Auckland's 3 light rail options to go to Cabinet, check out Matt on GreaterAuckland for the $9B, $14B, and $16B options.
Light rail veers off course – Greater Auckland
Separate post here about this topic now: https://thestandard.org.nz/auckland-light-rail-options-released/
More from the story that our new teen radio show known as RNZ and most media seem to be avoiding like the plague….
DAY TWO — ‘CIA Tried to Kill Assange;’ US: ‘He’s Only Moderately Depressed & Won’t Go to Isolation’
The two-day U.S. appeal against the denial of extradition of Julian Assange has ended in London with the U.S. promising humane prison conditions and Assange’s lawyers saying the CIA tried to kill him.
https://consortiumnews.com/2021/10/28/day-two-cia-tried-to-kill-assange-us-hes-only-moderately-depressed-wont-go-to-isolation/
Thanks Adrian please keep the info and the links coming since noone else is bothering gonna be a long day of light rail an gender id by the looks still at least its not wall to wall covid !!
LOL
The US has a long tradition of welching on it's agreements. They have no sense of honour. NZ has been a total disappointment in its willingness to look the other way when a journalist is being killed slowly in plain sight for exposing the criminality of governments. I no longer have any faith in our much touted independence, or the calibre and courage of our politicians
So many NZers heading to the streets over our "freedom" but not one placard for Assange, one of the worst breaches of human rights in the western world
Even Navalny gets conjugal visits (3 days) in a salubrious apartment within the prison , and gets to write letters and have social media accounts.
Thanks Adrian for not letting TS forget .
Kathleen Stock resigns from her position at Sussex University.
The purge continues
If you get all the pesky women back into the three K's there will be no more problems and we will have gone back in to the good old times where women knew what is good for them. Or something.
Maybe higher education is not all that high, but really just a cesspit of forced affirmation of the worst. If one goes into an apprenticeship and learnes a trade they at least have something of worth.
You have to wonder how the world changed so much so quickly that saying a man is not a woman will get you fired, in certain circles
.
Long March through the Institutions … Woke dogmatists, deeply immersed in Queer Theory, quietly capture administrative positions & enact profound change by stealth … no need for any of that really yucky stuff like democratic endorsement or accountability because … well … the vast majority of voters are just the most appalling deplorables who don't even remotely possess the Critical Theorists' unusually refined sensibilities… & obviously we can trust the highly privileged children of the Establishment to act in all of our best interests, can't we ?
And, of course, Wokedom’s massive downplaying of class & wealth disparities [traditionally a core concern of the Left … & by far the most consequential factor for life chances] … in favour of a total obsession with & cynical weaponizing of ethnicty & (to a lesser extent) gender … dovetails very very nicely with Corporate interests.
You must be referring to that non-democratic Parliamentary process called the Select Committee, which has through an extensive extra round of submissions on the Births Deaths and Marriages Bill. Plenty of unusually refined sensibilities faced political reality there.
Normally you are on the money Ad, but in this case your statements are inaccurate.
The BMDRR Bill went through a select committee process in 2018. When public submissions had closed, the Greens attempted to sneak through SOP 59 which is the gender self ID part of the Bill. Some women in the Green party got wind of it and that's how knowledge of this bill was made known to many feminists. Crown law saw problems with gender self id and declared the process of attempting to enact it in legislation was undemocratic and that there were potential conflicts with the Human Rights Act. Tracey Martin mothballed it.
Labour did not have anything about gender self ID in its election manifesto. Nor was I informed about it as a party member (although I was regularly asked my opinion about many of their policies). A vote compass poll before the last election showed a majority of people do not support it.
The Select Committee's Labour and Green members are clearly totally bias in favour of the bill and have shown contempt for most of the people presenting against the Bill …….Their behaviour improved after many letters to the PM. The Labour whip contacted many of us who complained and said the MPs had been spoken to and that we shouldn't have any more problems with them. Frankly their behaviour was disgusting. The clips from the select committee were shown overseas and I think it showed the NZ parliament in a poor light
Without exception every person in my network I have spoken to about Gender self ID (and I do move in more left/progressive circles0 is not aware of this legislation and they are shocked that it about to become law.
There has been an almost total black out of reporting on this bill.
I can't see anything in this process that is democratic whatsoever.
Luxury beliefs
.
Precisely … great for signalling 'elevated' social status … often at a direct & profound cost to 'ordinary' people … aided by moral panics, purity spirals & the uber-romanticisation of intersectional 'in-groups'.
Check out this mishmash of an article on Stuff.
Seems like the gender workshops didn't take that well
We start off with the newly correct " pregnant people," but revert to pregnant women .
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/126805433/covid19-pregnant-people-delaying-getting-vaccinated-playing-russian-roulette
Maybe not everyone wading/swimming/deep diving through that "cesspit of forced affirmation of the worst" is completely beyond redemption, remembering that most registered nurses and teachers, veterinarians, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, commecial pilots, architects and engineers emerge from the so-called ‘cesspit’.
Although I'll grant you so do all our lawyers and accountants, plus a fair few MPs and small business owners.
I note your concern and consider it irrelevant to the facts stated in this case.
Was simply observing that the second half of your comment @4.1.1 comes across to me as a stinky dump on our institutions of higher learning – the consequence of a (deliberate?) scatter-gun shock-jock critique, imho.
Again, your concern about my not giving enough respect for Institutions of 'higher' indoctrination is noted, and considered of no value.
Similarly I consider the second half of your comment @4.1.1 to be of no value – let's agree to disagree.
Your considerations are as valid as mine. That is all i agree too. 🙂
Apologies Sabine – I got the wrong end of the stick.
its all good. no harm done.
Read, just read.
Think.
Then comment.
Dear Molly, I “just read” this:
Then I thought about it for ~20 minutes.
Then I commented. My hope is that my comment @4.1.1.2 will help some readers here to think about how workers in higher education might perceive Sabine's comment. That is all.
Cherry picking one statement (and 20 min?) without putting into context, means that you wasted 20 min of your time.
Find out the full story behind the resignation of Kathleen Stock, then take some time to process, before commenting.
Your comments on this topic tend to have little or nothing to do with the main story.
Dear Molly, I (again) regret that my replies have proved unsatisfactory.
I "just read" (paraphrasing): 'higher education is really just a cesspit of forced affirmation of the worst.', and (as a former tertiary educator) saw red.
On reflection I see that Sabine was not characterising all of higher education as a cesspit, but rather just a small subset that is (thankfully) well clear of my area of expertise. Apologies to you and Sabine.
Oh, dear Molly again? (Watch out, your patronising is becoming harder to hide).
For your edification.
It is apparent to me, and possibly others, that you have made no independent efforts to find out about some of the threads you so 'innocently' wander onto.
Criticism of your 'well-thought' comments, is in regards to relevance. You seem determined to be both irrelevant and proud of it.
Redirection is a way of avoiding the topic at hand. You are an adept at that.
Providing another perspective or insight into the topic in discussion is another matter.
(As I have instilled in my children, apologies without sincerity should not be offered. Apologies without a change in behaviour are worthless. I doubt your sincerity.)
Molly – again, my apologies, however little they may count for.
OK.
Now go find out for yourself about what has transpired so that Kathleen Stock has resigned from her post at Sussex University. (Actions remember?)
(Ask for links if you don’t know where to start)
you know, maybe not seeing red at the slightest infraction is the way to go. And as Molly stated, please follow up on the story of this particular women, who by all means was vilified, harrassed, threatened with all sorts of violence – physical violence, who was not helped at all by her so called union, and who 'self selected' out of a job in order to probably not be raped, beaten and killed by someone who thought she was fair game as a TERF a transphobe and other assorted bullshit.
And yes, that higher education is a cesspit of almost religious fervent and fuck it, but these kids are not learning anything in this 'institution' other then when you just bully someone hard enough, when the threats of violence are just convincing enough, not only does the victim get to carry the burden of it all, but you win – the biggest, vilest and most unsavory bully will win, and the Union and the University will do nothing.
And that dear DMK is a cesspit. And worse even, these young people being so disserved in this institution will end up with a life time of debt, but hardly any skills, but they get to feel proud for hounding out that Terf.
And btw, i have two completed apprenticeships by the time i was 30, one in wholesale and one in accountancy. Part of that was contract law, small and large business law, accounting, customer service etc etc. No debts, but rather got paid. You ain't gonna make me feel bad about not having been to one of these overrated usurious institutions for the same gain.
Although I'll grant you so do all our lawyers and accountant
We have words like 'racist' and 'sexist' to cover those sorts of prejudice, but unfortunately I cannot think of an '-ist' word that covers that sort of prejudice.
'elit – ist'?
Marion Millars case was 'discontinued' by the crown. But, and i guess that is the difference between dropped and discontinued, they crown and start this up again at a later stage.
In the meantime a new Witch was found and is forced to defend herself for 'disobedience' to the almighty penis, @femmeloves Ceri Black, and she will now have to fend of those that would love to burn an unruly witch at the stake for public entertainment.
might be a bit soon to say this, but I think the tide is turning in the UK. How that will play with the conservative political milieu remains to be seen, especially if Scotland gets independence which leaves the rest of the UK ultra conservative parlimentary wise. I know people in the UK who believe they're heading for fascism (removing protest rights is a really bad sign).
I agree Weka, I think the tide is turning in the UK. And it is very good news about Marion Miller, but she should never have been charged in the first place.
Not in NZ as there is almost a total media black out in these issues. With the exception of an excellent interview with Helen Joyce in the NZ Listener, this weeks edition I think.
Here's a short list: J K Rowling, Marion Miller Maya Forstater, Margeret Atwood, Germaine Greer,…….
And of course many many other women who have been cancelled, threatened with murder, violence and rape.
Nope, the tide is not turning, yet.
It is just that some is too stupid to actually follow through. And as I said, the crown can bring these charges again, at a different time. But for now, Marion Millar is getting the right to breathe, and she gets to keep her children.
Scotland is actually worse then England in this Gender Bullshit Saga.
I know people who believe that NZ is heading for fascism, (removing protests right is really a bad sign) _ i add this not to make fun of what you said, but people are saying exactly the same here in regards to Tamaki and his unmerry band of followers. And fwiw, in NZ our dear leader from Labour with their support group The Greens are happy to forge ahead with this bullshit, never mind the women and girls whose life are apparently not worthy of safety, and dignity to even just toilet in peace. Or for lesbians to choose a partner to their liking, freely and without fear of tra's ire and hate.
Fuck sake Sabine. In the UK the Tory government is removing protest rights permanently because they can see the shit storm coming with social breakdown and that XR aren’t going away and are replicating.
NZ has some very temporary restrictions on gatherings because of a pandemic, and even those are being phased out.
They’re two completely different things.
I'm also seeing red flags about the trajectory of current political discourse in NZ. I didn't pay enough attention to the introduction of the hate speech bill, but on present investigation it looks like a terrible piece of legislation. I can see it being used in a malicious way, similar to what has happened in Scotland and Northern Ireland, if interpreted in the same way by the police here.
Our society, along with many others in world who are dealing with multiple existential threats (Covid, Climate Change) alongside the foreseeable but ignored endgames of poverty, inequality, housing crisis, degraded public services and infrastructure, has a large number of people who are untethered from their normal grounding processes. Eg. For those who ground themselves with social interaction, lockdown has broken that link. The reliance on technology to replace such interactions is exposed as a trojan horse when we listen to the testimony of Frances Haugen.
My point is, we don't need the government to do anything to make some believe in fascism. There are other influential agencies out there promoting that belief, some of whom may actually have more influence on the public than our own politicians.
I don't know the answer to this.
(But a recognition from our government that this is occurring, and some ideas about how to counteract it would be a start, else every step they take without full transparency just feeds the beast in the shadows.)
The restrictions on voting in the UK, where Boris is proposing needing to produce evidence of identity is also scary. This always puts the less well off from voting.
Meanwhile the dinosaur Starter has come out against PR. Can't he see that this is both fairer and his easiest path to being PM?
What evidence is there that the Crown was too stupid to follow through? As opposed to they realised the case wasn’t valid.
I did not say to stupid to follow through, i said 'they saw it was a stupid case that would go nowhere. Sorry if that does was not clear. A ribbon ain't a noose, no matter what anyone wants to pretend. To make this a case was stupid, and going through with this case would have shown that 'stupidity' that in my book is organised harrasment by officials and their enforcers the police in order to shut down mainly women who might be upset about certain things that happen and that loose their jobs if voicing these objections. We have these issues already here see Ani O'Brian.
And as i said, i don't disagree with you not having protests atm, in fact i more often then not ask people to abstain from any large gatherings for the next two years, that would include protests. But just because we don't like this particular protest does not mean it is not in infractions on someones 'right to protests' and either we ban all of these protests under the health act or we might show a bias towards cases we personally approve of. And always please keep in mind, that as someone who grew up in Germany, who went trhough 'denazification' in school, I have my very own mind on things that might seem very outlandish to New Zealanders.
It always starts with very small things, one might call this the death of a thousand cuts. And no matter if we approve of some groups or not, we should always be very careful in giving up rights that were won with blood and tears.
‘I think the tide is turning”
I do too, and it’s thanks to people like JK Rowling and Kathleen Stock who refused to say black is white, refused to issue grovelling apologies to keep their place in employment, and refused to back down .
And in all of that still affirmed the same human rights for trans as we all have.
This also suggests a "turn" when the BBC allows a lesbian to speak about lesbians difficulties with "transbians", ie fully covked and stubbled men who want to have sex with lesbian women
https://mickhartley.typepad.com/blog/2021/10/a-dirty-little-secret-that-the-lgbt-lobby-is-embarrassed-to-discuss.html
wasn't being coy . I meant to say "cocked"
… good to know. Thought for a moment there was another word in the lexicon I'd have to Google…
I am not surprized. She endured the most vile level of harrasment and threatening behaviur. I hate to think what the impact has been for her. Told to install security cameras at her home and needing security as protection.
Kathleen Stock has been so reasonable and spoke of her fears of a backlash against Trans people because of gender ideology..
How come the police can't charge these people?
Because the police is a partner of Stonewall and diversity. And is – it appears quite happy to charge any women with a 'non crime hate incident' for stating that men ain't no women, that grooming exist, that safe guarding is needed, and can we just be sensible.
But then, if you look closely, very closely, they don't do that shit to men. I wonder why.
But i guess it is easier to police' non crime hate incidents' rather then go after people who inject women in pubs with drugs, or people who rape and kill women in bright day light, or even just to police their own collegues who go by nickname such as 'the rapist'. https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/wayne-couzens-the-rapist-nickname-why-known-as-sarah-everard-killer-explained-1227129
'How come the police can't charge these people?'
Why indeed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotherham_child_sexual_exploitation_scandal
Once again its women (girls) paying the price
Well to be fair, the police in the UK is to busy investigating ribbons for nooses, and 'non crime hate incidents'. The many many hundreds of thousands of complaints to the Police for 'misgendering' someone, or for writing tweets about safe guarding children.
Kinda funny how these so-called terfs get labelled as far right, right wing extremists and conservatives etc
As someone is conservative I didn't think supporting women was a right wing thing but there you go
We certainly have gone down a helluva rabbit hole
PR most of the women in SUFW are lefties(labour green voters) and femisists.
Intelligent and competent woman hounded out of her job by abuse and threats of violence.
The only thing that has changed is the topic and the extreme level of vitriol that seems to go with that.
Vaccine effiacy study currently in pre print on the Lancet out of Sweden. In some groups vaccine efficacy drops to zero by 9 Months and potentially below zero. Pretty scary.
The effectiveness against severe illness seems to remain high through 9 months, although not for men, older frail individuals, and individuals with comorbidities. This strengthens the evidence-based rationale for administration of a third booster dose.
Test
Hi Veutoviper, I still have my long handled brush and shovel
How the f' can Zuckerberg be so desperate to pull this publicity stunt? Have I missed some controversy?
Yeas Mark. Because you have told people to. They will stop calling it Facebook…………F'ing sleazy prick
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/technology/2021/10/facebook-announces-its-new-name-meta-in-shift-to-virtual-reality-focus.html
If it gets to hot, just rebrand.
Apologies for the language there btw. Some rich people just annoy me 🙂
Some people are just too stupid. I am speechless.
Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Woman claims she was able to cross Auckland border – NZ Herald
A selfie from the selfish, a twit on Twitter, bragging from a braggart. The foolish do not comprehend their stupidity.
Turns out she had an exemption letter. Now there is bound to be scrutiny, as that gem was from the Police.
I think she is going to get a visit from the police shortly. Oh how I will laugh when they take her away in handcuffs and she's denied bail on the grounds she's too stupid to be set free.
came across this via the BBC (if that is still considered a reputable institution). This is in regards to vaccinated people still spreding covid and still getting it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-59077036
this might also explain why cases in AKL are not dropping as much as expected and as fast as we might wish for it.
Thus anyone who is expected to isolate at home, depending on the size of that home, will with good chance infect anyone else in that household, no matter if they are double jabbed, single jabbed or not jabbed at all.
So please, mask up, keep physical distance, and once, twice three times santize, and stay away from large scale events no matter how hungry one is for a game of sport or a concert or a theatre production or any other gathering where transmission is easy, fast and guaranteed.
Have a look at the study I linked up there a bit, the declining efficiency to zero is prob behind the upwards march in cases amongs vaccinated people particularly males, the elderly and those with comorbidities overseas. It would ñe reasonable to expect similar patterns here.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/28/covid-vaccinated-likely-unjabbed-infect-cohabiters-study-suggests
Its in the guardian as well, when you combine that with waning efficiency in vulnerable groups it spells big trouble.
The current messaging will need changing given alot of adds are get jabbed for summer, for concerts etc.
Wow Labour is shifting into high gear. New Min for Disabled People announced.
Government announces new Ministry for Disabled People and accessibility law | RNZ News
Now they just need to come up with a means to transfer resources to where they are needed – without robbing them from other public services.
Pity Labour aren't interested in taxing wealth any time soon. Without resources there are big limits on what you can do, regardless of how you rearrange things.
Satire ?
I honestly can't tell anymore.
The ministry for the disabled will have a commissioner for loss of jocularity to explain levity, satire and gentle mocking. He will be known as the Shaman of the Far Side……..
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=422303365929791&set=gm.1036647456878394
Don't joke, it could happen.
That's the nature of satire………
I sense another gravy train on the way, for paper shufflers, lawyers, consultants, managers, committees et al. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Government announces new Ministry for Disabled People
And about time. I have been advocating for this for over 30 years now as once turned 18 (in practicality 16) until you turned 65 basically any problems such as financial abuse had to be dealt with either by agencies who totally took a hands off approach – don't believe me ask them what their written policy if and when staff come across suspected abuse of clients by family members, etc. – or by the police.
Lets hope they address this issue as part of this establishment. Guidance for agencies to have policies around abuse and somewhere to report those to would be a good start.
I hate doing this. I actually do. But it has been a bug bear of mine having for a while having a deaf uncle this govt turfed the sign langauge person from question time.
Have they changed their mind?
Are there more interpreters available? That's why they stopped it a few months after bringing NZSL interpreters into QT. It's not like they cancelled a long-term practise, they tried it and it meant other people were missing out on services.
"nd it meant other people were missing out on services."
What other people were missing out from having a sign language interpret in parliament at question time?
In the link
And to be perfectly frank. The cash for them them seems fairly free flowing for Ardern's daily Covid Pressers
And how are "other people missing out on services?"
As your uncle whether he'd rather watch question time with an NZSL interpreter or go to the emergency room with one.
Government announces new Ministry for Disabled People
An announcement met with guffaws of disdain in our wee household.
(Tell you what DOS, let's review this in 30 years time and see if there's any appreciable difference in the lives of those with significant disabilities not supported by ACC.)
Government announces new Ministry for Disabled People
Makes me nervous.
It's the Ministry for the Disabled, not for Disabling. You'll be OK.
that's very optimistic of you.
Little waffling on with the usual 'we will consult with disabled peoples' organisations…' bs. More korero with the organisations 'representing' disabled people who have enjoyed the largesse of the government without actually having to do much in the way of actual real advocacy.
(Peter is ready and waiting whenever they want an individual's real 'lived experience' opinion on how it should have, could have, been done. First off he'll tell them that he felt more supported and included (in some aspects) fifty one years ago when he broke his neck than he does now.)
Could the new MFDP really do worse? (Rhetorical )
"More korero with the organisations 'representing' disabled people who have enjoyed the largesse of the government without actually having to do much in the way of actual real advocacy"
Including referring to each other the same client so they could all get paid for the same piddly thing that they might have achieved. The established groups in bed with the government have had some very cosy arrangements in the past. Good stuff still tends to happen due to good individuals rather than structural support. Privatisation has focussed on profits rather than service and need.
I'm hopeful there is much more of a move to partnership with those with disabilities as as starting to happen with Maori. Also a mainly de-centralised regional workforce rather than a Wellington one. People who have access to local communities – not just the Chief Executives of the organisations you reference.
I guess now is the time to try and influence what it will finish up as – that is more hopeful than trying to influence the current set-up. I'll start with optimism anyway.
NZ is full of disabled people with massive experience in what is needed at the system level. Labour and MoH don't trust us.
Kind of curious where they will recruit management from.
to be honest, my first reaction was 'oh boy'.
An 0800 number is access, it still does not mean any services were provided or that anything is getting better for those living with disability and those that care for people with disabilities.
I hope that his ministry will be doing better works then say Social Welfare, ACC, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Housing etc.
Here's what I expect:
Thing I feel most nervous about is longer term plans to address the disparities between ACC, disability and illness, and that Labour will fuck this up. As bad as WINZ is, I don't trust Labour to shift income to the new department but I can see the accountants sharpening their budgeting pencils already. Welfare income via WINZ is a statutory right afaik, and health isn't. We will see if they give disabled people actual rights here.
Andrew Little said today, "The disabled had told him disability was not a health matter, it was more about being empowered." That did not sound too paternalistic.
Disability is very much a health issue, if it weren't these people would not be disabled.
Andrew Little, the sooner he retires into a nice and cushy board job somewhere to be never seen again the better.
I am hoping they will, but like you i just simply can't seem them getting it right for all the reasons you mentioned.
But, here is hoping.
What NZSL interpreter?
Forgive me if I am just thick, but Labour dropped them for TV
"Parliaments stops use of sign language interpreters for question time"
The party that loves the disabled
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/parliaments-stops-use-of-sign-language-interpreters-for-question-time/76QXM42WJNUQUAKC5N765GLQBA/
Yep there were not enough of them to do parliament and help deaf at the dr, school etc.
What a crock of shit. They have piled millions into Covid and are openly pretending to give a toss about the disabled
Note the date of publication was 4 Oct, 2018 12:21 PM re parliment.
Actually that would be billions
How much would NZSL be for question time.
Lets say 2 hours?
At the most 200k?
It. Wasn't. The. Cost.
It was the fact that feedback from the people who actually used NZSL interpreters was that they'd rather have the few NZSL interpreters available for their daily lives, rather than the few die-hards who want to watch QT live rather than (at best) at the 6pm news (with subtitles).
from your (and my) link (emphasis added):
die hards lol. Who here watches parliament TV?
Maybe the government should train more interpreters.
Well, if one or two in an afternoon can deprive someone of communication in school in Wellington, fair to say there's a shortage that needs sorting out.
news just in from bbc
Individuals who have had two vaccine doses can be just as infectious as those who have not been jabbed.
Now let’s reflect on what I think was said by Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles (probably wants another award) I think said (parroting CNNs propaganda division again)
“This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated “
yeah but naaa Miss Wiles
Having been vaccinated I still think it’s ok for other people to have freedom of choice (some have legitimate concerns). I’m uncomfortable with any worker not being found alternative and comparable paid jobs if the refuse vaccines. I don’t think I can resolve this in my head as can see both sides. However……
Segregation via terms like “this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated” is just sanctimonious BS.
Maybe little Miss & Mrs Inclusivity (insert political party and media outlets of choice) could be, well a little more inclusive and instead say:
“this is a pandemic of the vaccinated and unvaccinated”
It ain’t so black or white is it… Experts meh (wicked problems make fools of us all)
latest from bbc
Keep telling yourself that.
Well Mr Flock,
Your retort clearly up there with the likes of the great orators
You are my nemesis
Did you read the link, or did your ego block it from view?
you could always give a one sentence explanation.
When one group are twenty times more likely to infect someone than the other group (and makes up a disproportionate majority of the high needs patients), calling it a plandemic of that group is pretty accurate. No amount of bullet points will change that.
Keith the vaccinated are less likely to end up in hospital and far less likely to die.
That was Ms Wiles saying the biggest number in hospital were unvaccinated, so it was "becoming the disease of the unvaccinated." Oh and those households did not use the 2m rule or masks in all likely hood and were inside.
Mate we already went over this a couple of days ago.
https://osf.io/72abp/
https://thestandard.org.nz/why-vaccine-mandates-are-needed/#comment-1828069
https://theconversation.com/your-unvaccinated-friend-is-roughly-20-times-more-likely-to-give-you-covid-170448
Adrian Thornton
Here's Selwyn Manning with a long piece on the recent hearings and a group interested in providing a safe haven here in Aotearoa for J Assange .
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2021/10/29/special-report-assumptions-vs-facts-how-the-assange-case-confronts-our-biases/
Me, I'm not so pollyanna about our country's independence anymore.My experience on this supposedly left wing blog revealed a disturbingly anti-Assange group think.
Surprised me too though and even more so that it persists – so did the anti-rugby groupthink here surprise me.
On the other hand I actively dislike religion so I guess we all have our biases.
With Assange he s clearly being treated terribly and I find it difficult to reconcile the fight to keep people out of jail, treat prisoners more humanly, etc etc with ignoring how even people we may not like be treated in the justice system.
Quite a contrast in thinking with Brevik who actually murdered people.
“Norway is a country known for its progressive prison system, and in its ruling, the court writes that ‘the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment represents a fundamental value in a democratic society,’ and that this also applies to terrorists and killers. …
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/21/475106186/norwegian-mass-killer-wins-human-rights-case-over-prison-conditions
Finally the tide is turning, but too little , too late I think
The media piled on, trashing his reputation and unfortunately too many people believed it. Without that there may have been the chance of a mass grass roots movement to get him freed .Pretty disappointing to see so many joining in to put their boot in
Yes, the Norwegians take human rights seriously.
What do you you think our view of Assange should be?
Given his well publicised antics.
Not looking that shit hot for me old home town ChCh (well Kaiapoi, but same place roughly)