It'll be good to see if the TWAW crowd will bring themselves to watch and come to the realisation current definition of transwomen includes these men.
The irony of criticising Act (for beingAct) when Golriz Ghahraman and the Green Party have succeeded on dismantling women's rights and hounding out heretics from the party to do so.
A veteran Green Party feminist and lesbian activist has sparked a storm among party members by warning that MPs' attitudes to transgender issues risks undermining women's rights.
Jill Abigail wrote an article for the party's online newsletter Te Awa in response to comments by MP Jan Logie that the party was trying to resist a backlash against trans people.
Party co-leader Marama Davidson says the article put the right of trans people to exist up for debate, and should never have been published.
It's since been removed and the party says the newsletter editor has apologised for publishing it. But Jill Abigail rejects claims it was transphobic or hateful.
For those who can handle reading an article so hateful, it was republished (without self-righteous erasure) on the Public Good website:
I am writing a personal response to Jan Logie’s words in the last Te Awa, where she says: “We continue to push for progress on LGBTQI+ freedoms, and resist the backlash that’s trying to undermine our trans and gender diverse whanau and roll back their hard-won rights”.
Who is the “we” in this statement? Is it the Rainbow Greens? I am a lesbian, supposedly under their umbrella, but I am part of the backlash. Is it the whole Green Party? I am a long-time Greens member, but I am part of the backlash. If the Greens caucus is acting on policy that feelings of gender identity over-ride biological sex, then some of us older feminists in the party have strong concerns about its implications….
…Many feminists are concerned to protect the sex-based rights of women and girls, whose disadvantaged position under patriarchy is based exactly on our biology and whose primary problem is male violence. Hence sex-based rights include the right to female-only spaces and activities. But feminist analysis of patriarchy seems to be completely lacking in gender ideology. Indeed, feminists who have worked for decades to achieve the rights now enjoyed by younger women are being vilified.
So, criticism of David Seymour is shooting fish in a barrel – enjoy the amateur sport if you like.
The Green Party has been no friend to women and girls. A slippery target, but a foe to females because of gender ideology in many countries – including ours.
(Also, lacklustre on climate change, but that's another discussion)
Unfortunately, Labour is no better. I was interested to see that the "celebrations" of 25 years of Rainbow Labour were cancelled recently through "lack of interest". As Rainbow Labour (which I helped establish) now is totally committed to gender ideology and has turned its back on the same sex attracted people it was formed to promote and serve, it is no wonder that many of us were not going to put ourselves through the exercise.
Visubversa, I've got a very small project with an Australian woman, collating NZ specific links regarding the impact on women's rights of legislation and policy changes.
If you are interested, just reply in the affirmative, and I'll ask weka to connect us.
(Also, lacklustre on climate change, but that's another discussion)
Since you mentioned it 😉 they're not. They have a really good suite of policies on climate aimed at shifting the Overton Window, and they're culturally committed to transition. They're also stymied by the Labour vote, because Labour are dragging the chain the climate. If the Greens had serious governmental powers, we'd be in a completely different position and we could be leading the world on transition.
I find it odd when people diss the Greens' performance or policies (not sure which you were doing here). But it's like the realities of parliament don't exist and they almost never factor into the criticisms. Meanwhile Shaw and his team, and the other Green MPs, with the small amount of power they have, have been changing government culture from the inside. This is gold. In government departments, the thinking and policies are being changes to prepare for transition.
It's not enough obviously, and Shaw says this frequently. He also says that they/we need people outside of parliament to act strongly and boldly as well.
I know we disagree on this weka. I don't have the same perspective as you, and have articulated why a few times. I keep up with the Green policies, and when offered by their surveys – submit my opinions directly to them on proposed or current policies.
I think that's all I can reasonably do as a member of the public in terms of the focus and the policies of the Greens.
To bring the conversation back to the issue of Green Party policies in various countries, it is worth noting that the meeting this week in NSW, reported by Catherine Karena between parents of ROGD children and politicians, was not attended by any Green Party politicians. They declined to attend.
I know we disagree on this weka. I don't have the same perspective as you, and have articulated why a few times.
I you believe the GP are lacklustre on climate, but I don't know why, and certainly not in the context of the issue I raised about the realities of parliamentary process and power.
I could search my comments on this and repost, but TBH don't really see the necessity.
Sabine often has the same criticisms I do of the Greens, so if you really want to know, I am often in accord with her thoughts as well.
If the Green Party take note of their survey results they will already have my input. Despite previous voting choices, they are presently not the party for me. That loss is no doubt compensated by the increase in party votes by those to whom they now appeal, so it's probably not much of a loss in terms of the Green Party representation.
That’s a sound political Green Party position to be in.
I'm not bothered by you not voting for them, nor that they are not the party for you. What interests me here is the running of anti-Green lines, on climate, when they are the leading edge for NZpol on this. It's not that they're perfect, it's that they're what we have and we don't have much else, at a time when we're entering of the biggest crisis any of us will ever face.
Critiquing the Greens is important. But I'm not seeing that. Certainly Sabine's position doesn't stand up to scrutiny. I know she doesn't like the Greens, and the reasons are probably legitimate for her (so again, don't vote for them, they're not the party for her).
But the politics matter a great deal, people exploring what their antipathy means in real terms in the real world. If people are going to run ant-Green lines without an analysis or debating it, I can't see how this is much different from GI allies doing what they do in the gender wars.
Attitude towards those that are adversely affected by their proposals or policies. Failure to spark public interest or discussions. Supporting knee-jerk National Policy Statements on productive soils, but not strongly advocating for one on climate change – which will have immediate effect on all local government planning documents, sending emails celebrating divisive policies or implying credit for other's achievement, performative political posturing, throwing feminists out of the party…etc.
Let me break that down,
Attitude towards those that are adversely affected by their proposals or policies.
What attitude? Which people? Which adverse effects?
Failure to spark public interest or discussions.
They vary on this a fair bit, they used to do it more, they got gun shy after Turei's ousting, they're visibly upping their game since Shaw was challenged over the co-leadership.
Supporting knee-jerk National Policy Statements on productive soils, but not strongly advocating for one on climate change – which will have immediate effect on all local government planning documents,
This is a deeper political point that's worth looking at, but needs an explanation. I'll be wondering how much of it is them spread too thin, or what other explanation there might be.
sending emails celebrating divisive policies or implying credit for other's achievement,
such as? 🤷♀️ They get criticised for not showing how they are different from Labour, and then when they do, they get criticised.
performative political posturing,
such as?
throwing feminists out of the party…etc.
this one we agree on
I'm not saying you have to put any energy/time into this. I'm saying that while you believe you are giving a clear political analysis for your position that the GP are lacklustre, what I see is comments that reaffirm your antipathy and dislike (and disdain), but without explanations or political analysis.
Which was in a thread I started about what would happen if the GP went full Turei.
Both you and Sabine didn't engage with my opening question, but instead spent time talking about your dislike of the Greens. Bugger all analysis of the problems with the GP, lots of declaratory statements that they are wrong and/or wanting.
I thought both Sabine and I did respond in essence to that post, but also see that we responded to other comments to that thread that may have redirected away from your original question.
So, in regards to the Green Party going full Turei.
I can't see it happening, if I consider their actions in this regard, rather than their words:
"I agree. Also voted in support of Metiria Turei, even while thinking to myself, it looks like the Green Party supported the policy behind the public statement, and then collectively all took several steps back, when the pushback was immediate and negative.
Leaving her isolated, undefended and ultimately, ejected.
Looking back, I should've taken more note of this incident. The integrity of the organisation was shown here. Good political strategy no doubt, but not appealing to me."
I continue to think this was a direct response to your question. (Moreso than many others on the thread.) If you don't agree, then write it off as irrelevant.
Just because it remains my opinion, doesn't make it either a convincing or relevant one for others. I'm OK with that.
I don’t think it’s irrelevant at that time, people can diverge from topics. But I didn’t ask in that tweet thread if it would happen, I asked what would happen if they did go full Turei. Which is relevant here, because it’s the same issue of playing out people’s ideas to see how they might work in the world, in this case in parliament and nzpol.
(I wrote posts during the 2017 election and Shaw was completely beside Turei all the way through. He stood up repeatedly and said he supported her. I don’t know what happened inside the party away from the public eye, but in public the party didn’t abandon her (apart from the two Mps who went rogue on caucus)
What sank Metiria was not the policy – it was the absolute political bungling that accompanied its' delivery. Imagine the difference if Ann Hartley (the child's paternal grandmother) had been standing on that stage beside Metiria and had backed her up her by saying something like "yes, we supported Metiria and we would have given our last dollar to help her with our first grandchild, but the punitive clawback regime of Social Welfare means that she would have been no better off". The media focus than would have been on the policy, not on the benefit "fraud".
As it was, the Hartleys were absolutely blindsided and as every journo in the country knew about the connection, they were persecuted for days. This also led to the Election "fraud" charges as the media pack were digging into the living arrangements at the time which led to the fact that Metiria had registered to vote at a place where she was not living. It was the house in New Bond St that the Hartleys had actually purchased for Metiria and Paul to live in – but the relationship did not survive.
It was basic political bungling – absolute amateur hour stuff, and how any Party could let their co-leader do it is beyond belief.
OK. My opinion is that they are lacklustre. My opinion of their policies can be dismantled.
Because I don't want them to fail, I refrain from more than a cursory discussion on one or two points, on this left wing site.
Climate change as a priority means that ALL decisions and policies need to consider the impact on every other policy and issue.
As someone pointed out the other day, transition requiring the use of mined minerals, means that a blanket opposition to mining is no longer able to be supported, because the priority of climate change means that sometimes mining is the cost.
This disconnection regarding climate change impacts, continues where it suits.
One example of a feted policy that I don't support is the Clean Car rebate:
"Kiwi families will be supported to make the transition to low-emission alternatives through the establishment of the Clean Car Upgrade, a scrap-and-replace trial, with funding from the Climate Emergency Response Fund.
Transport to drive down emissions
Rolling out the Clean Car Upgrade programme, supporting lower- and middle- income families transition to low-emission alternatives through a new scrap-and-replace trial
Supporting the rapid development of urban cycleway networks, walkable neighbourhoods, healthier school travel, and increased accessibility and reliability of public transport through our transport choices initiative
Accelerating the decarbonisation of the public transport bus fleet"
A frankly middle-class initiative that ignores the reality of lower-income households, and their financial and alternative transport options. And consequential time poverty.
In terms of climate change, the NZ built environment and housing affordability crisis, means that an assumption that walkable neighbourhoods and urban cycleway networks provide a commuter or required transport option, rather than a recreational asset, is not evidenced.
Supporting the rapid development of urban cycleway networks, walkable neighbourhoods,
A considerable amount of transition resources and project proposals relate to this, but in many cases, this is not a transition project. It is a community asset for recreation and well-being – but not transition.
The hard choices that face us all with regards to climate change, are not being faced at all by an approach that treats transition as a supplementary issue, not the overriding priority. Climate change is either THE overriding policy consideration, or it is not.
Their failure to propose, or even publicly discuss a National Policy Statement on Climate Change that would have an immediate effect on local and regional planning documents and decisions, is acceptable for the National party but can be critiqued for an environmental one.
That's about all I wish to comment on, as an example of my withdrawal of support. If you want to raise a particular policy that you find good, I can comment on whether I agree or not.
thanks for this, this gives me a better idea of what the issues are for you, cheers.
Much of what you say in this comment I agree with.
As someone pointed out the other day, transition requiring the use of mined minerals, means that a blanket opposition to mining is no longer able to be supported, because the priority of climate change means that sometimes mining is the cost.
Not sure if you mean all mining, or mining under conservation land. But here’s where I am at: We should already have a moratorium on all mining (not just conservation) except for that needed for essentials. We should be reclaiming metals from landfill and other dump sites, and we should be building expert level and subsidised systems for reuse, upcycle, recycle, as well as dropping demand.
How many people in NZ do you think believe what either of us just said?
What do you think would happen if the Greens released such a policy? I think the first thing that would happen would be a bunch of MSM articles quoting David Seymour and such that the GP are cranks and have lost the plot. Some MSM would attempt some analysis of the policy, and I think it would help shift both understanding and the Overton window on resources use a bit. It probably wouldn’t lose the Greens their place in parliament next year. But if they released a suite of policies like that, they might.
Which brings me to this: do you believe that political parties should develop policy independent of what is politically viable in NZ? Because that’s kind of what it sounds like, that the Greens should on principle develop policy that is true to climate action even if NZ isn’t on board and it means they leave parliament in 2023.
And if it’s not that, if it’s more a grey area, where the Greens should be realistic about the politica situation but should speak out more strongly, I agree. Hence my Full Turei question.
Climate change as a priority means that ALL decisions and policies need to consider the impact on every other policy and issue.
Which party has a policy of having all government departments consider climate in their policy development?
The "not all men" crowd slide effortlessly from "this never happens" to "that is only one person, you can't judge them all by that", to "do you spend all day trawling the internet over this – you must be obsessed".
I loved how Helen Joyce summed up the toilet issue, which is always downplayed by trans activists. Women need privacy, dignity and safety …then as another cleanliness! True to life examples of helping an elderly person in a toilet which means the door is open and this is not regarded as problematic except now it will be as men are able to use the toilets. The happenings of periods happening suddenly and the sad one that I did not really know and that is that many miscarriages occur in toilets. Plus the hiding out example.
Then there is ghastly link from Visubversa. So many wrong answers. So much truth in the headings.
Helen Joyce made mention of the male sex drive that meant that they want to call themselves women, many of the examples in the wrong answers link would be very frightening to many women using female toilets. They look dressed up, threatening and clearly obviously still men, who shouldn't be in women's toilets.
To me it is men who should be more welcoming to these men who choose to dress as women. Or if that is unsafe then make toilets that these men can use. Just don't force women to use them as well. I have seen urinals (for men) and then a unisex toilet for men and women. So where is the privacy, dignity and safety there?
Winston Marshall also did a great interview with James Dreyfus who was cancelled from Dr Who because he supported JK Rowling.
A great watch with an excellent interviewer and great actor & person of integrity.
i am most likely biased towards quiet, thoughtful, well educated people able to debate but I have not seen, in all the time of following this issue this kind stuff from the other side.
There the debate is as we know 'no debate', yelling and picketing and being obscene at the SUFW meetings, lots of 'lady dick' and other stuff to get you on side,
Is there anyone for the trans issue who can explain quietly about why they should be able to go to female toilets, compete against born females in sport therefore potentially wiping out born women's sport etc?
And in riposte "denying women their identity (as a voting majority) is designed as a trojan horse to divide and conquer (into diverse self-interested individuals) resistance to right wing authoritarianism".
The first stage was to equate the social gospel as socialism to promote prosperity religion – making idols of a wealthy elite class as inequality grew.
This excusing of the dismantling of women's rights by referring to "right-wing" rhetoric is not convincing or persuasive.
The word woman is taken. The word women is taken.
Keep your cervix havers, menstruators, impregnatable people, and non-males in your lexicon if you wish. They indicate a complete disregard for women, and by your words you will be known.
There have been two obvious moves by the American political right in recent decades.
1. to attack the social gospel as socialism, to promote prosperity religion – making idols of the wealthy elite (including some pastors, aka Brian Tamaki bling here) as inequality grew.
2. and of course to promote self-interest (libertarianism, economic and otherwise) rather than group/class/community solidarity.
This includes undermining unity among women – given women are a voting majority. Thus each effort to divide and conquer solidarity/here women is a trojan horse to weaken resistance to right wing authoritarianism.
So I saying that the claim made in the magazine article is wrong in fact.
It is in common cause as women that resistance to right wing agendas for social control can best be made.
"It is in common cause as women that resistance to right wing agendas for social control can best be made."
So, wasn't too far of the mark in my comment, which was about left-wing support for women's rights being focused on dismissal of right-wing rhetoric.
The same can be said in regards to the left-wing:
It is in common cause as women that resistance to left wing agendas for social control can best be made.
Of course, that is predicated on women being able to retain the right to accurately name themselves as a political and distinct class, and be allowed to organise without left-wing censure and dismissal.
The Harper article claimed the identification of those capable of bearing children as women was part of a right wing agenda for social control. And I said no, given unity of a group/class was essential to avoid being subject to such social control. It is not in the identification as women but their promise keeper mentality and desire to determine women’s fertility (access to health care/family planning/lack of concern for poor families etc).
If bitterness between women (over womens ID) undermines common cause, the political right will the ones that take advantage.
I see… bitter women not understanding political class (my emphasis) which will result in the political right benefitting.
I cannot make sense of the part in italics. And I said bitterness between women on the ID issue.
The political left have a problem. If they go by the polling the strongest support for transgender rights comes from women. Until this changes what can they do?
"The political left have a problem. If they go by the polling the strongest support for transgender rights comes from women. Until this changes what can they do?"
(Unfortunately, I can't find the Facebook link to this data by SUFW as I am not a Facebook user. But they undertook an analysis of the submissions received and this figure was against the legislation as proposed.)
And, you know, they always have the choice of doing the right thing – even on the left.
Submissions were against civil unions etc. They are not indicative, apart from how many are motivated to make a submission against a proposed change – to demonstrate a strongly held position.
Even on the left ..
Don't put that bit in when campaigning for change.
I've seen no indication that any of the parties in parliament will review the decision to go with self-identification. Locally it's for now a matter of flow on effect, as to prison policy etc (and the impact of decisions made by the NHS on local practice)..
"Submissions were against civil unions etc. They are not indicative, apart from how many are motivated to make a submission against a proposed change – to demonstrate a strongly held position."
Yet surveys are?
"I've seen no indication that any of the parties in parliament will review the decision to go with self-identification. "
The removal of the words describing the reproductive capabilities of females is required to uncouple the reproductive process from the concept of "womanhood". Men who demand we call them women can perform "femininity" – some well, some appallingly badly, but what they cannot perform are women's reproductive functions. Therefore, those functions must be separated out from the concept of womanliness in order that these men can completely occupy and own the word "woman".
This is not left or right – it is Gender Ideology.
One could quibble that not all women can have children, but sure those born female are of the biological form for doing so.
Originally it was women's groups who called for gender equality (they women can and should be able to do anything/whatever career etc). So they are on the back foot on the issue, and while generally support gender ID, they must have concerns about the consequences of self ID and the "assertive" dick on two legs – opportunity for women and women's safety has been their thing.
The British slow process for adult ID system screens that out to some extent. Maybe there should be a campaign to end self ID for those who abuse it.
"One could quibble that not all women can have children, but sure those born female are of the biological form for doing so."
Not really seeing how "one could quibble", it is a material fact that not all women can have children. Of those that do, they are unquestionably women.
Originally it was women's groups who called for gender equality (they women can and should be able to do anything/whatever career etc).
And the problem with this is?
"So they are on the back foot on the issue, and while generally support gender ID, they must have concerns about the consequences of self ID and the "assertive" dick on two legs – opportunity for women and women's safety has been their thing."
There's a series of assumptions here:
Women are a hive mind,
Feminists who fought for equal opportunity, equally supported men as women,
Women who are informed support gender ID – because… surveys…
That lesbians and feminists who retained a degree of sanity have not been fighting against this co-option of woman for decades. Their voices are not amplified, so perhaps you are unaware.
"The British slow process for adult ID system screens that out to some extent. Maybe there should be a campaign to end self ID for those who abuse it."
The conflation of sex, with an arbitrary gender identity IS in itself an abusive process.
How gracious of you to suggest that women begin a campaign to reintroduce the notion that women is not a costume for just any man, but only the nice ones. I'll ponder that – but have a couple of suggestions of my own.
Why not begin a campaign for men to accept non-conforming males in their spaces and protect them from abuse, so that women don't have to invest energy in reclaiming legal and policy protection for women's single sex spaces.
And while you are at it, find another term for transwomen.
The word woman is taken. The word women is also taken.
Excellent Molly. I too think that men should fix the problem that other men, when they are dressed/identifying as women have with access to toilets. I said just up the thread a little
"To me it is men who should be more welcoming to these men who choose to dress as women. Or if that is unsafe then make toilets that these men can use. Just don't force women to use them as well. I have seen urinals (for men) and then a unisex toilet for men and women. So where is the privacy, dignity and safety there?"
SPC the Helen Joyce interview is worth watching for clarity. Women do not stop being women because they have or never have used their biological evolutionary reproductive apparatus they are born with. Just as men do not stop being men ditto.
It’s grim reading. It’s almost as if those who’ve been demanding immediate action are motivated by the inaction of our supposed leaders of our society:
There is “no credible pathway” to keep the rise in global temperatures below the key threshold of 1.5C, according to a bleak new UN assessment.
Scientists believe that going beyond 1.5C would see dangerous impacts for people all over the world.
The report said that since COP26 last year, governments’ carbon cutting plans had been “woefully inadequate”.
Only an urgent transformation of society would avoid disaster, the study said.
It's an almost unsolvable problem, we are so dependent on the system that allows our planet to support most of use in a reasonable civil functioning society, that massively cutting carbon with out collapsing this society is so far eluding our leaders,
Get it wrong and a decent in to the brutal barbaric societies of old is not far a away.
The descent is locked in, only changing our societies priorities now will prevent barbarism. If our society wasn’t purely motivated by the pursuit of profit, more action would be happening. Inaction is justified as preserving the ‘economy’.
Perhaps the government should implement a windfall tax on ANZ's $2.3 billion profit where the proceeds are tagged specifically for CC measures and nothing else?
I prefer realistic, ever cent of carbon tax should be going to solving fusion power and carbon capture, shit if you could find away to remove carbon while turning in to a profitable resource, capitalism would solve the problem.
Don’t you think if there was a profitable way of doing it they’d be doing it already? Capitalism created the problem, there is no incentive within capitalism to solve it.
Carbon capture is only profitable with a globally enforced carbon price that rises and a falling cap on emissions. This requires governments to implement.
Technological research is best performed by government funded universities and crown labs that are not restrained to commercial applications.
Our system of global capitalism enforces artificial scarcity, waste and unequal distribution of the resources of the world. There are superior ways of distribution than pure profit motivation.
Capitalism requires external pressures to constrain and direct it (read regulation) at the very least, and certainly cannot solve the problems of unequal distribution that it is fundamentally responsible for. This is demonstrated with the wealth of the world being concentrated into the hands of smaller and smaller groups of people year on year.
Those with extreme wealth have often accumulated their fortunes on the backs of people around the world who work for poor wages and under dangerous conditions. According to Oxfam, the wealth divide between the global billionaires and the bottom half of humanity is steadily growing. Between 2009 and 2018, the number of billionaires it took to equal the wealth of the world’s poorest 50 percent fell from 380 to 26.
Capitalism over the 20th century has managed to free itself of it's traditional constraints. Organised labour and socialist politics has been stifled and undermined for the last 50 years. The untried system is eco-socialism.
best we get on with testing other systems then, pronto. Because no-one who is taking climate collapse seriously believes that the capitalist global economy will survive what’s coming if we don’t change.
Raworth had the imagination to see how it could be different. She’s far from alone, but if you want a system that looks like something to leap to from where we are, this isn’t too shabby.
that's not realistic though. We're nowhere close to having CCS tech available on the scale that would be needed and with sufficient testing and safety built in.
Just as important, that conceptual approach to the problem is the same kind of thinking that got us in this shit in the first place. It comes from the idea that humans are separate from nature and that the world is basically a resource bank for us to use as we please. We're hard up against the reality that this is not true, that in fact we are deeply embedded in the natural world and everything we have comes from that and is dependent upon it. Hence the solutions are also embedded in nature.
Nature is as realistic as it comes. There are whole sectors now working with nature, because it stops us shitting in our own nest, but also because it's easier and more efficient. Using very expensive (in $, carbon, ecology terms) infrastructure and inputs to grow dairy in hot, dry climates is working against nature. Instead we can grow things in those climates that do well there. Likewise, shipping tomatoes to the other side of the world is just fucking daft because it works against the natural flow of energy inherent in seasons and distance, when we could eat local and seasonal instead. These are not difficult things to understand or do.
It's an almost unsolvable problem, we are so dependent on the system that allows our planet to support most of use in a reasonable civil functioning society, that massively cutting carbon with out collapsing this society is so far eluding our leaders,
This is largely a social/political/psychological problem. We have the methods to drop GHGs and create sustainable societies that give us good lives. Our lives will look very different, but they don't have to be bad.
Most mainstream leaders lack the imaginative skills to see a different path than BAU or collapse. There are other people doing this work though, for a long time, creating processes and structures that will help with the transition. When we listen to them, we see hope rather than hopelessness, and we see a pathway for actions that we can all take instead of getting stuck in powerlessness and despair.
It’s not close to being unsolvable, we have the social tech to change our minds.
Absolutely. We have long imagined different ways of living, but now we imagine the status quo of late capitalism is eternal and There Is No Alternative. Those who profit from inaction are happy to promote climate nihilism. We can change our minds through education, agitation and organisation:
As the great American labor organizer and socialist Mary Harris ‘Mother’ Jones said: “Sit down and read. Educate yourself for the coming conflicts.”
Restoring wetlands and planting additional raupō in them can be effective filtering the water as well as sinking carbon. In healthier waterways the raupō can be a food source also.
Not yet, additional research needs to be done, action needs to start now though.
More accurate assessment of sequestration rates and additional sources of sequestration (e.g. soil carbon, wetlands, and tussock) may be recognised in the system in the future.
The evidence makes me fatalistic about death & global warming, but I won't give up.
Correlates of belief in climate change: Demographics, ideology and belief systems [October 2022]
Climate change is clearly more an ideological issue than anything else. Liberal as opposed to politically conservative people accept the idea that climate change is real and primarily man made whilst conservatives reject this view. As a consequence, the former advocate a range of radical changes in society while the latter strongly reject them. Perhaps it is this factor that accounts for the finding: that is, because the “solutions” to climate change are so radical, conservatives find it easiest to reject the possible cause. This hypothesis may be tested by asking people about the beliefs in the efficacy and indeed morality of climate change interventions.
According to the theory, the near-endless sociocultural variety that characterizes human life across time and space is in part produced by interactions among adherents to four “elementary” ways of organizing, perceiving, justifying, and experiencing social relations, labeled egalitarianism, individualism, hierarchy, and fatalism. Each of these “ways of life” consists of a particular mode of organizing social relations and a supporting cultural bias, including views of nature, human nature, time, space, risk, technology, etc. Douglas derived these ways of life by assigning “high” and “low” values to two fundamental social dimensions: “grid” (i.e., the extent to which ranking and stratification constrain the behavior of individuals) and “group” (that is, the extent to which an overriding commitment to a social unit constrains the thought and action of individuals).
What's interesting is the up-front-ness about problematic issues in his past (being an idiot at uni, alcohol abuse, etc.).
This looks like the Uffindell legacy – hiding issues from the media/public (even suppressing them at the selection committee level) *will* come back to bite you.
Also, the clear change in candidate selection (in what is a pretty white-bread rural electorate) from the 'boys in suits' Tauranga line-up.
All the details can be got out of the way now I suppose. When James Meager is elected a backgrounder on his part of the 'swathe of newbies in the House' won't be needed.
Well, it looks like a straw-in-the-wind towards increased diversity in their caucus.
Hamilton selection will show if it's an isolated instance, or a trend.
While I recognise that you despise anything coming from National – we will, at some point, have a National-led government again – and surely it's a good thing if their representation is broader, rather than narrower.
I agree about the eventuality of a Nact Govt at some stage.
However John Key. like this candidate, James Meagher, also came from State house and one parent family and it did not seem to imbue him with an especial knowledge and sympathy for life's battlers. There are a group of people who, once 'getting there', want to pull the ladder up so others cannot follow them.
we will, at some point, have a National-led government again
Although that is the conventional wisdom, as the quality of their policies and personnel continues to plummet, a series of resounding defeats could force an evolutionary change to a more competent and charismatic party – a kinder, gentler bunch of lying cryptofascists.
Well, it could – but record level defeats for either National or Labour have historically been followed by a rebuilding, rather than an extinction.
Given the neck-and-neck polling ATM – (the party is scoring well, even if the leader isn't) it doesn't seem at all likely that National is going to curl up and die.
Their voting demographic have grown-up grandchildren by now; perhaps, like a particularly noisome fart, they will (excruciatingly slowly) fade away to being merely an unpleasant memory, as toxic and invisible as bovine eructation.
No, you said representation was broader with the selection of Meager. I pointed out with evidence that Meager eschews such representation. He actively dismisses it.
Your position illustrates the Nats' idea that any brown face will do. Actual representation does not come into it for them, or for you.
Meager also comes from a solo-parent family, state-house background, and some pretty significant experiences of poverty.
Yes but as I said further up John Key had these life circumstances and his time/leadership in the Nats did not seem to be different as a result. In fact in the olden day Nats there would have been a caring for the underdog more than you see now – thinking Duncan McIntyre, Ralph Hanan, Jack Marshall.
Not really as his work history and contacts with Paula Bennett, Chris Bishop and Michael Woodlouse are evidence of current and recent work, and generally you try to move on from an environment, or at least don't stress it in word picture of oneself. So it seems to me that these are proud moments where he learned much to help him on his journey.
The Bennett/Woodhouse/Bishop links are troubling to me and put him fairly and squarely into the standard Nat selection regime.
His view of a safety net could be taken as meaning bare minimums, reluctantly given by an intrusive Govt Dept with the slack picked up by philanthropists (a la Nicola Woods) giving to the ‘deserving poor’.
" In fact in the olden day Nats there would have been a caring for the underdog more than you see now – thinking Duncan McIntyre, Ralph Hanan, Jack Marshall."
I would add Tom Shand to that list. A conservative minister who was controversial from time to time, but who also showed compassion for the 'working class'. My old Dad, a long time Labour supporter certainly seemed to think so.
I also think past National ministers like Brian Talboys and Don McKinnon were principled political operators and even old 'Kiwi Keith' despite his affectations, was an even handed prime minister.
Yes Tom Shand, yes I knew there was a Minister of Labour in there too but could not remember his name. Agree about Brian Talboys, Don McKinnon and Keith Holyoake too. Different breed from the current crowd but as someone said on here MMP has meant that the more liberal side of the Nats have gone elsewhere…..
Yes, but I'm sure you'll prefer to believe Stuart Munro.
You are very sure of yourself – Stuart certainly has a lovely turn of phrase.
Their [the National party party] voting demographic have grown-up grandchildren by now; perhaps, like a particularly noisome fart, they will (excruciatingly slowly) fade away to being merely an unpleasant memory, as toxic and invisible as bovine eructation.
we will, at some point, have a National-led government again
– Belladonna @3.4.1
Yes it did,the increased liquidity meant there was two much money chasing too few assets,the high asset appreciation created a wealth effect,with excess leverage expanding the debt markets.
Here the RBNZ increased its balance sheet by 50% over the last 2 years,
and concomitant we saw housing jump through the roof,as leveraged asset inflation started and house values appreciate by 500b$ ,forced by both weak lending rules and policy changes.
Yeah I'd prefer a tax on carbon, one on carbon used in producing tradeable goods would "incentivise" a decarbonisation. The money going to fund renewables in the developing world.
More than a million dead Americans and the partisan effort to divert from Trump and the Republican party's disastrous response continues.
But the findings published on Thursday, while interim, bore only Mr. Burr’s signature. And in relying largely on existing public evidence, rather than new or classified information, the report came as something of a letdown even to those who supported its conclusions.
“One can only conclude from the circumstances that they met an impasse,” said Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University, referring to his disappointment that Republican and Democratic staff members working on the inquiry have not yet released a more complete, bipartisan report. https://archive.ph/GBfDW (nyt)
With an unhealthy population America was going to be hit hard no matter who was in charge.
Early on, responses from blue states like New York seemed to be left wanting, and Trump was used to point the finger at. Hard to know how warranted that was.
The public health response was also led by high profile dem scientists, not Trump. If you are to blame Trump then you must also blame them.
A white guy who speaks a bit of Mandarin sitting in a dark office called the Bat Cave on the east coast of the US professes to understand a secret language which only the Chinese politburo uses.
"Overwhelmed by the costs of construction, Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy on March 29, while its corporate parent, Japan’s Toshiba Corp, is close to financial ruin [L3N1HI4SD]. It has said that controls at Westinghouse were “insufficient.”
Still it will be operating by 2023,despite delays and overuns and the higher cost of electricity in the US will shorten the payback.
It would make a big difference to Poland emissions which at present is mostly coal for electricity and combined heat,and is the worst in Europe (followed now by czech,netherlands and germany as the sad 4 polluters)
Going on past performance of nuclear construction it is highly unlikely it will be operational by the initial projected date…the cost is also guaranteed to blow out….and it is unlikely to impact coal and lignite power peoduction in any meaningful or timely manner, but that is not a problem that Poland is alone in facing.
And then there is the problem of future energy demand for mitigation, Im of the opinion that nuclear is whole of life energy net negative
Yes and no,this time the US government is behind it,as is the canadian government with their small reactor programme which was announced this week.
Germany has spent 1/2 a trillion dollars replacing nuclear with solar,wind and biomass (which still emits co2 at a higher then coal rate) and now has significant issues with energy costs rising 42% and food 20% in the last 12 months.It has moved from a current account creditor to a debtor very fast,so all subsidies are now debt funded.
It will take (estimated) 10 trillion euro to replace gas and coal in Germany alone,as well as a significant investment in transmission,and problematic issues with getting peakload generation.
Nuclear is only a part of a solution,and it does provide good baseload,where in use.
No denying its base load capability, but it is slow and energy intensive to construct (not to mention highly technical, with a dearth of capability), maintain and with at best 70-80 year operational lifespan exceedingly energy intensive for decommission and mitigation…the fact the US gov is supportive solves none of those issues.
Twitter is a disaster clown car company that is successful despite itself, and there is no possible way to grow users and revenue without making a series of enormous compromises that will ultimately destroy your reputation and possibly cause grievous damage to your other companies.
I say this with utter confidence because the problems with Twitter are not engineering problems. They are political problems. Twitter, the company, makes very little interesting technology; the tech stack is not the valuable asset. The asset is the user base: hopelessly addicted politicians, reporters, celebrities, and other people who should know better but keep posting anyway. You! You, Elon Musk, are addicted to Twitter. You’re the asset. You just bought yourself for $44 billion dollars.
[…]
What I mean is that you are now the King of Twitter, and people think that you, personally, are responsible for everything that happens on Twitter now. It also turns out that absolute monarchs usually get murdered when shit goes sideways.
"The man was in such deep distress,"
Said Tom, "that I could do no less
Than give him good advice." Said Jim:
"If less could have been done for him
I know you well enough, my son,
To know that's what you would have done."
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
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When they show you what they are – believe them. NSFW.
https://odysee.com/@Skirt_Go_Spinny:7/Wrong-Ans-Only-1:b
It'll be good to see if the TWAW crowd will bring themselves to watch and come to the realisation current definition of transwomen includes these men.
The irony of criticising Act (for beingAct) when Golriz Ghahraman and the Green Party have succeeded on dismantling women's rights and hounding out heretics from the party to do so.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018711720/green-member-s-transphobic-article-sparks-outrage-among-party
For those who can handle reading an article so hateful, it was republished (without self-righteous erasure) on the Public Good website:
https://www.publicgood.org.nz/2019/09/02/solutions-that-are-fair-to-everyone/
So, criticism of David Seymour is shooting fish in a barrel – enjoy the amateur sport if you like.
The Green Party has been no friend to women and girls. A slippery target, but a foe to females because of gender ideology in many countries – including ours.
(Also, lacklustre on climate change, but that's another discussion)
Unfortunately, Labour is no better. I was interested to see that the "celebrations" of 25 years of Rainbow Labour were cancelled recently through "lack of interest". As Rainbow Labour (which I helped establish) now is totally committed to gender ideology and has turned its back on the same sex attracted people it was formed to promote and serve, it is no wonder that many of us were not going to put ourselves through the exercise.
The co-opting of the LGB community is one of the many egregious acts of gender ideology.
The LGB support is a thin facade, it has been cannibalised from within.
Visubversa, I've got a very small project with an Australian woman, collating NZ specific links regarding the impact on women's rights of legislation and policy changes.
If you are interested, just reply in the affirmative, and I'll ask weka to connect us.
Molly, my eyesight is not good these days, so there will be others better able to help than me.
All good.
(Will just search some of your comments on here, and see if there are any that can be mined for the purpose. Keep on posting..
)
👍
Since you mentioned it 😉 they're not. They have a really good suite of policies on climate aimed at shifting the Overton Window, and they're culturally committed to transition. They're also stymied by the Labour vote, because Labour are dragging the chain the climate. If the Greens had serious governmental powers, we'd be in a completely different position and we could be leading the world on transition.
I find it odd when people diss the Greens' performance or policies (not sure which you were doing here). But it's like the realities of parliament don't exist and they almost never factor into the criticisms. Meanwhile Shaw and his team, and the other Green MPs, with the small amount of power they have, have been changing government culture from the inside. This is gold. In government departments, the thinking and policies are being changes to prepare for transition.
It's not enough obviously, and Shaw says this frequently. He also says that they/we need people outside of parliament to act strongly and boldly as well.
I know we disagree on this weka. I don't have the same perspective as you, and have articulated why a few times. I keep up with the Green policies, and when offered by their surveys – submit my opinions directly to them on proposed or current policies.
I think that's all I can reasonably do as a member of the public in terms of the focus and the policies of the Greens.
To bring the conversation back to the issue of Green Party policies in various countries, it is worth noting that the meeting this week in NSW, reported by Catherine Karena between parents of ROGD children and politicians, was not attended by any Green Party politicians. They declined to attend.
https://twitter.com/KatKarena/status/1585236938143199233?s=20&t=FyfMZD5PZPVKHGGLyOQcJA
I you believe the GP are lacklustre on climate, but I don't know why, and certainly not in the context of the issue I raised about the realities of parliamentary process and power.
I could search my comments on this and repost, but TBH don't really see the necessity.
Sabine often has the same criticisms I do of the Greens, so if you really want to know, I am often in accord with her thoughts as well.
If the Green Party take note of their survey results they will already have my input. Despite previous voting choices, they are presently not the party for me. That loss is no doubt compensated by the increase in party votes by those to whom they now appeal, so it's probably not much of a loss in terms of the Green Party representation.
That’s a sound political Green Party position to be in.
I'm not bothered by you not voting for them, nor that they are not the party for you. What interests me here is the running of anti-Green lines, on climate, when they are the leading edge for NZpol on this. It's not that they're perfect, it's that they're what we have and we don't have much else, at a time when we're entering of the biggest crisis any of us will ever face.
Critiquing the Greens is important. But I'm not seeing that. Certainly Sabine's position doesn't stand up to scrutiny. I know she doesn't like the Greens, and the reasons are probably legitimate for her (so again, don't vote for them, they're not the party for her).
But the politics matter a great deal, people exploring what their antipathy means in real terms in the real world. If people are going to run ant-Green lines without an analysis or debating it, I can't see how this is much different from GI allies doing what they do in the gender wars.
eg, this from a month ago.
Let me break that down,
What attitude? Which people? Which adverse effects?
They vary on this a fair bit, they used to do it more, they got gun shy after Turei's ousting, they're visibly upping their game since Shaw was challenged over the co-leadership.
This is a deeper political point that's worth looking at, but needs an explanation. I'll be wondering how much of it is them spread too thin, or what other explanation there might be.
such as? 🤷♀️ They get criticised for not showing how they are different from Labour, and then when they do, they get criticised.
such as?
this one we agree on
I'm not saying you have to put any energy/time into this. I'm saying that while you believe you are giving a clear political analysis for your position that the GP are lacklustre, what I see is comments that reaffirm your antipathy and dislike (and disdain), but without explanations or political analysis.
same in this comment,
.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27-09-2022/#comment-1912500
Which was in a thread I started about what would happen if the GP went full Turei.
Both you and Sabine didn't engage with my opening question, but instead spent time talking about your dislike of the Greens. Bugger all analysis of the problems with the GP, lots of declaratory statements that they are wrong and/or wanting.
I thought both Sabine and I did respond in essence to that post, but also see that we responded to other comments to that thread that may have redirected away from your original question.
So, in regards to the Green Party going full Turei.
I repeat what I said in the thread.
I can't see it happening, if I consider their actions in this regard, rather than their words:
I continue to think this was a direct response to your question. (Moreso than many others on the thread.) If you don't agree, then write it off as irrelevant.
Just because it remains my opinion, doesn't make it either a convincing or relevant one for others. I'm OK with that.
I don’t think it’s irrelevant at that time, people can diverge from topics. But I didn’t ask in that tweet thread if it would happen, I asked what would happen if they did go full Turei. Which is relevant here, because it’s the same issue of playing out people’s ideas to see how they might work in the world, in this case in parliament and nzpol.
(I wrote posts during the 2017 election and Shaw was completely beside Turei all the way through. He stood up repeatedly and said he supported her. I don’t know what happened inside the party away from the public eye, but in public the party didn’t abandon her (apart from the two Mps who went rogue on caucus)
What sank Metiria was not the policy – it was the absolute political bungling that accompanied its' delivery. Imagine the difference if Ann Hartley (the child's paternal grandmother) had been standing on that stage beside Metiria and had backed her up her by saying something like "yes, we supported Metiria and we would have given our last dollar to help her with our first grandchild, but the punitive clawback regime of Social Welfare means that she would have been no better off". The media focus than would have been on the policy, not on the benefit "fraud".
As it was, the Hartleys were absolutely blindsided and as every journo in the country knew about the connection, they were persecuted for days. This also led to the Election "fraud" charges as the media pack were digging into the living arrangements at the time which led to the fact that Metiria had registered to vote at a place where she was not living. It was the house in New Bond St that the Hartleys had actually purchased for Metiria and Paul to live in – but the relationship did not survive.
It was basic political bungling – absolute amateur hour stuff, and how any Party could let their co-leader do it is beyond belief.
OK. My opinion is that they are lacklustre. My opinion of their policies can be dismantled.
Because I don't want them to fail, I refrain from more than a cursory discussion on one or two points, on this left wing site.
Climate change as a priority means that ALL decisions and policies need to consider the impact on every other policy and issue.
As someone pointed out the other day, transition requiring the use of mined minerals, means that a blanket opposition to mining is no longer able to be supported, because the priority of climate change means that sometimes mining is the cost.
This disconnection regarding climate change impacts, continues where it suits.
One example of a feted policy that I don't support is the Clean Car rebate:
https://www.greens.org.nz/transport_to_drive_down_emissions
"Kiwi families will be supported to make the transition to low-emission alternatives through the establishment of the Clean Car Upgrade, a scrap-and-replace trial, with funding from the Climate Emergency Response Fund.
Transport to drive down emissions
A frankly middle-class initiative that ignores the reality of lower-income households, and their financial and alternative transport options. And consequential time poverty.
In terms of climate change, the NZ built environment and housing affordability crisis, means that an assumption that walkable neighbourhoods and urban cycleway networks provide a commuter or required transport option, rather than a recreational asset, is not evidenced.
A considerable amount of transition resources and project proposals relate to this, but in many cases, this is not a transition project. It is a community asset for recreation and well-being – but not transition.
The hard choices that face us all with regards to climate change, are not being faced at all by an approach that treats transition as a supplementary issue, not the overriding priority. Climate change is either THE overriding policy consideration, or it is not.
Their failure to propose, or even publicly discuss a National Policy Statement on Climate Change that would have an immediate effect on local and regional planning documents and decisions, is acceptable for the National party but can be critiqued for an environmental one.
That's about all I wish to comment on, as an example of my withdrawal of support. If you want to raise a particular policy that you find good, I can comment on whether I agree or not.
thanks for this, this gives me a better idea of what the issues are for you, cheers.
Much of what you say in this comment I agree with.
Not sure if you mean all mining, or mining under conservation land. But here’s where I am at: We should already have a moratorium on all mining (not just conservation) except for that needed for essentials. We should be reclaiming metals from landfill and other dump sites, and we should be building expert level and subsidised systems for reuse, upcycle, recycle, as well as dropping demand.
How many people in NZ do you think believe what either of us just said?
What do you think would happen if the Greens released such a policy? I think the first thing that would happen would be a bunch of MSM articles quoting David Seymour and such that the GP are cranks and have lost the plot. Some MSM would attempt some analysis of the policy, and I think it would help shift both understanding and the Overton window on resources use a bit. It probably wouldn’t lose the Greens their place in parliament next year. But if they released a suite of policies like that, they might.
Which brings me to this: do you believe that political parties should develop policy independent of what is politically viable in NZ? Because that’s kind of what it sounds like, that the Greens should on principle develop policy that is true to climate action even if NZ isn’t on board and it means they leave parliament in 2023.
And if it’s not that, if it’s more a grey area, where the Greens should be realistic about the politica situation but should speak out more strongly, I agree. Hence my Full Turei question.
Which party has a policy of having all government departments consider climate in their policy development?
The "not all men" crowd slide effortlessly from "this never happens" to "that is only one person, you can't judge them all by that", to "do you spend all day trawling the internet over this – you must be obsessed".
A good but long (1 hour) interview was recently posted between Helen Joyce and Winston Marshall.
(Didn't realise till after the interview he gave with Richard Dreyfus, that he was a member of the band Mumford & Sons, that had to leave after causing a Twitter storm with a book recommendation.)
It's worth a watch, or a listen if you have the time:
https://youtu.be/o8b6b2i_LH0
What a fantastic interview.
I loved how Helen Joyce summed up the toilet issue, which is always downplayed by trans activists. Women need privacy, dignity and safety …then as another cleanliness! True to life examples of helping an elderly person in a toilet which means the door is open and this is not regarded as problematic except now it will be as men are able to use the toilets. The happenings of periods happening suddenly and the sad one that I did not really know and that is that many miscarriages occur in toilets. Plus the hiding out example.
Then there is ghastly link from Visubversa. So many wrong answers. So much truth in the headings.
Helen Joyce made mention of the male sex drive that meant that they want to call themselves women, many of the examples in the wrong answers link would be very frightening to many women using female toilets. They look dressed up, threatening and clearly obviously still men, who shouldn't be in women's toilets.
To me it is men who should be more welcoming to these men who choose to dress as women. Or if that is unsafe then make toilets that these men can use. Just don't force women to use them as well. I have seen urinals (for men) and then a unisex toilet for men and women. So where is the privacy, dignity and safety there?
Yes, I agree.
Have you read Helen Joyce's book:
Trans : when ideology meets reality?
It's a very well considered book. The audio book sounds like a good car journey listen.
On a lighter note, what happens to women after they pass the age when Elvis Presley croons – "You are so young and beautiful…"?
https://twitter.com/Ilivefree6969/status/1586202123233988608?s=20&t=kvKsMmfjDeg7Cv4JopO3ww
I also loved seeing the other woman laugh.
Winston Marshall also did a great interview with James Dreyfus who was cancelled from Dr Who because he supported JK Rowling.
A great watch with an excellent interviewer and great actor & person of integrity.
i am most likely biased towards quiet, thoughtful, well educated people able to debate but I have not seen, in all the time of following this issue this kind stuff from the other side.
There the debate is as we know 'no debate', yelling and picketing and being obscene at the SUFW meetings, lots of 'lady dick' and other stuff to get you on side,
Is there anyone for the trans issue who can explain quietly about why they should be able to go to female toilets, compete against born females in sport therefore potentially wiping out born women's sport etc?
Perhaps Winston Marshall could do an interview?
100 % Molly.
Greens and Labour have thrown women and girls under a bus
Women is now purported to be a "right wing" term, intended to alienate – impregnatable people from their bodies, Harper Magazine, October 2022 issue:
No impact, my impregnatable friends, no impact.
https://twitter.com/ripsintolabels/status/1586080458835922944?s=20&t=kvKsMmfjDeg7Cv4JopO3ww
And in riposte "denying women their identity (as a voting majority) is designed as a trojan horse to divide and conquer (into diverse self-interested individuals) resistance to right wing authoritarianism".
The first stage was to equate the social gospel as socialism to promote prosperity religion – making idols of a wealthy elite class as inequality grew.
Pull your head in, SPC.
This excusing of the dismantling of women's rights by referring to "right-wing" rhetoric is not convincing or persuasive.
The word woman is taken. The word women is taken.
Keep your cervix havers, menstruators, impregnatable people, and non-males in your lexicon if you wish. They indicate a complete disregard for women, and by your words you will be known.
In your haste to react you have both misunderstood and misrepresented my post.
Apologies for that.
Can you be clearer? Your riposte came across as dismissive of a concern that the current left political position is not supportive of women's rights.
… and a redirection into class analysis, in terms of inequality…
There have been two obvious moves by the American political right in recent decades.
1. to attack the social gospel as socialism, to promote prosperity religion – making idols of the wealthy elite (including some pastors, aka Brian Tamaki bling here) as inequality grew.
2. and of course to promote self-interest (libertarianism, economic and otherwise) rather than group/class/community solidarity.
This includes undermining unity among women – given women are a voting majority. Thus each effort to divide and conquer solidarity/here women is a trojan horse to weaken resistance to right wing authoritarianism.
So I saying that the claim made in the magazine article is wrong in fact.
It is in common cause as women that resistance to right wing agendas for social control can best be made.
"It is in common cause as women that resistance to right wing agendas for social control can best be made."
So, wasn't too far of the mark in my comment, which was about left-wing support for women's rights being focused on dismissal of right-wing rhetoric.
The same can be said in regards to the left-wing:
It is in common cause as women that resistance to left wing agendas for social control can best be made.
Of course, that is predicated on women being able to retain the right to accurately name themselves as a political and distinct class, and be allowed to organise without left-wing censure and dismissal.
The Harper article claimed the identification of those capable of bearing children as women was part of a right wing agenda for social control. And I said no, given unity of a group/class was essential to avoid being subject to such social control. It is not in the identification as women but their promise keeper mentality and desire to determine women’s fertility (access to health care/family planning/lack of concern for poor families etc).
If bitterness between women (over womens ID) undermines common cause, the political right will the ones that take advantage.
"If bitterness between women (over womens ID) undermines common cause the political right will the ones that take advantage."
I see… bitter women not understanding political class which will result in the political right benefitting.
Let's ignore the complete disregard of the other consequences for women, and consider that your comment is the sole focus.
What do you think the response of the political left should be to this threat?
I cannot make sense of the part in italics. And I said bitterness between women on the ID issue.
The political left have a problem. If they go by the polling the strongest support for transgender rights comes from women. Until this changes what can they do?
@SPC
"The political left have a problem. If they go by the polling the strongest support for transgender rights comes from women. Until this changes what can they do?"
Well, perhaps don't rely on outcome directed polling of the deliberately mis or un informed, but on the 73% that submitted to the self-id legislation that were ignored. The number of submissions was well into the thousands.
(Unfortunately, I can't find the Facebook link to this data by SUFW as I am not a Facebook user. But they undertook an analysis of the submissions received and this figure was against the legislation as proposed.)
And, you know, they always have the choice of doing the right thing – even on the left.
Submissions were against civil unions etc. They are not indicative, apart from how many are motivated to make a submission against a proposed change – to demonstrate a strongly held position.
Don't put that bit in when campaigning for change.
I've seen no indication that any of the parties in parliament will review the decision to go with self-identification. Locally it's for now a matter of flow on effect, as to prison policy etc (and the impact of decisions made by the NHS on local practice)..
"Submissions were against civil unions etc. They are not indicative, apart from how many are motivated to make a submission against a proposed change – to demonstrate a strongly held position."
Yet surveys are?
"I've seen no indication that any of the parties in parliament will review the decision to go with self-identification. "
So?
The removal of the words describing the reproductive capabilities of females is required to uncouple the reproductive process from the concept of "womanhood". Men who demand we call them women can perform "femininity" – some well, some appallingly badly, but what they cannot perform are women's reproductive functions. Therefore, those functions must be separated out from the concept of womanliness in order that these men can completely occupy and own the word "woman".
This is not left or right – it is Gender Ideology.
One could quibble that not all women can have children, but sure those born female are of the biological form for doing so.
Originally it was women's groups who called for gender equality (they women can and should be able to do anything/whatever career etc). So they are on the back foot on the issue, and while generally support gender ID, they must have concerns about the consequences of self ID and the "assertive" dick on two legs – opportunity for women and women's safety has been their thing.
The British slow process for adult ID system screens that out to some extent. Maybe there should be a campaign to end self ID for those who abuse it.
"One could quibble that not all women can have children, but sure those born female are of the biological form for doing so."
Not really seeing how "one could quibble", it is a material fact that not all women can have children. Of those that do, they are unquestionably women.
Originally it was women's groups who called for gender equality (they women can and should be able to do anything/whatever career etc).
And the problem with this is?
"So they are on the back foot on the issue, and while generally support gender ID, they must have concerns about the consequences of self ID and the "assertive" dick on two legs – opportunity for women and women's safety has been their thing."
There's a series of assumptions here:
"The British slow process for adult ID system screens that out to some extent. Maybe there should be a campaign to end self ID for those who abuse it."
The conflation of sex, with an arbitrary gender identity IS in itself an abusive process.
How gracious of you to suggest that women begin a campaign to reintroduce the notion that women is not a costume for just any man, but only the nice ones. I'll ponder that – but have a couple of suggestions of my own.
Why not begin a campaign for men to accept non-conforming males in their spaces and protect them from abuse, so that women don't have to invest energy in reclaiming legal and policy protection for women's single sex spaces.
And while you are at it, find another term for transwomen.
The word woman is taken. The word women is also taken.
Excellent Molly. I too think that men should fix the problem that other men, when they are dressed/identifying as women have with access to toilets. I said just up the thread a little
"To me it is men who should be more welcoming to these men who choose to dress as women. Or if that is unsafe then make toilets that these men can use. Just don't force women to use them as well. I have seen urinals (for men) and then a unisex toilet for men and women. So where is the privacy, dignity and safety there?"
SPC the Helen Joyce interview is worth watching for clarity. Women do not stop being women because they have or never have used their biological evolutionary reproductive apparatus they are born with. Just as men do not stop being men ditto.
It’s grim reading. It’s almost as if those who’ve been demanding immediate action are motivated by the inaction of our supposed leaders of our society:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/477621/climate-change-un-warns-key-warming-threshold-slipping-from-sight
Just Stop Oil
It's an almost unsolvable problem, we are so dependent on the system that allows our planet to support most of use in a reasonable civil functioning society, that massively cutting carbon with out collapsing this society is so far eluding our leaders,
Get it wrong and a decent in to the brutal barbaric societies of old is not far a away.
The descent is locked in, only changing our societies priorities now will prevent barbarism. If our society wasn’t purely motivated by the pursuit of profit, more action would be happening. Inaction is justified as preserving the ‘economy’.
Great cartoon.
Perhaps the government should implement a windfall tax on ANZ's $2.3 billion profit where the proceeds are tagged specifically for CC measures and nothing else?
The same for the other banks too.
Bring back the horse and buggy.
Yeah look forward to the international conferences on how to deal with horse shit and dead horses in the street.
But you know even reductio ad absurdum can offer insights.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-first-global-urban-planning-conference-was-mostly-about-manure
"Get it wrong and a decent in to the brutal barbaric societies of old is not far a away."
The 'descent' has already started. It just gets worse from here.
it definitely will get worse if we're fatalistic about it and give up. We have a choice instead to act to create something better.
I prefer realistic, ever cent of carbon tax should be going to solving fusion power and carbon capture, shit if you could find away to remove carbon while turning in to a profitable resource, capitalism would solve the problem.
Don’t you think if there was a profitable way of doing it they’d be doing it already? Capitalism created the problem, there is no incentive within capitalism to solve it.
Carbon capture is only profitable with a globally enforced carbon price that rises and a falling cap on emissions. This requires governments to implement.
Technological research is best performed by government funded universities and crown labs that are not restrained to commercial applications.
Our system of global capitalism enforces artificial scarcity, waste and unequal distribution of the resources of the world. There are superior ways of distribution than pure profit motivation.
Distribution by need for one.
Capitalism requires external pressures to constrain and direct it (read regulation) at the very least, and certainly cannot solve the problems of unequal distribution that it is fundamentally responsible for. This is demonstrated with the wealth of the world being concentrated into the hands of smaller and smaller groups of people year on year.
https://inequality.org/facts/global-inequality/
I have no problem with regulating capitalism, it's just tool after all.
It also needs balancing with socialism,
I just see so much danger in dismantling it for some untried system,
Capitalism over the 20th century has managed to free itself of it's traditional constraints. Organised labour and socialist politics has been stifled and undermined for the last 50 years. The untried system is eco-socialism.
best we get on with testing other systems then, pronto. Because no-one who is taking climate collapse seriously believes that the capitalist global economy will survive what’s coming if we don’t change.
https://time.com/5930093/amsterdam-doughnut-economics/
Raworth had the imagination to see how it could be different. She’s far from alone, but if you want a system that looks like something to leap to from where we are, this isn’t too shabby.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut_(economic_model)
that's not realistic though. We're nowhere close to having CCS tech available on the scale that would be needed and with sufficient testing and safety built in.
Just as important, that conceptual approach to the problem is the same kind of thinking that got us in this shit in the first place. It comes from the idea that humans are separate from nature and that the world is basically a resource bank for us to use as we please. We're hard up against the reality that this is not true, that in fact we are deeply embedded in the natural world and everything we have comes from that and is dependent upon it. Hence the solutions are also embedded in nature.
Nature is as realistic as it comes. There are whole sectors now working with nature, because it stops us shitting in our own nest, but also because it's easier and more efficient. Using very expensive (in $, carbon, ecology terms) infrastructure and inputs to grow dairy in hot, dry climates is working against nature. Instead we can grow things in those climates that do well there. Likewise, shipping tomatoes to the other side of the world is just fucking daft because it works against the natural flow of energy inherent in seasons and distance, when we could eat local and seasonal instead. These are not difficult things to understand or do.
This is largely a social/political/psychological problem. We have the methods to drop GHGs and create sustainable societies that give us good lives. Our lives will look very different, but they don't have to be bad.
Most mainstream leaders lack the imaginative skills to see a different path than BAU or collapse. There are other people doing this work though, for a long time, creating processes and structures that will help with the transition. When we listen to them, we see hope rather than hopelessness, and we see a pathway for actions that we can all take instead of getting stuck in powerlessness and despair.
It’s not close to being unsolvable, we have the social tech to change our minds.
Absolutely. We have long imagined different ways of living, but now we imagine the status quo of late capitalism is eternal and There Is No Alternative. Those who profit from inaction are happy to promote climate nihilism. We can change our minds through education, agitation and organisation:
https://climateandcapitalism.com/2019/07/27/20-essential-books-on-marxist-ecology/
– Rosa Luxemburg
https://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1915/junius/ch01.htm
Grow trees beside deep lakes. Fell them, sink them; carbon sunk, right there.
Restoring wetlands and planting additional raupō in them can be effective filtering the water as well as sinking carbon. In healthier waterways the raupō can be a food source also.
THE HUMBLE WETLAND – A CARBON SUPERHERO? – https://www.waternz.org.nz/Resources/Attachment?Action=Download&Attachment_id=5202
Farmers are doing that but apparently it's not going to be recognized in the new wake eka noa
Not yet, additional research needs to be done, action needs to start now though.
https://hewakaekenoa.nz/faqs/
If you want you can make a submission that supports continued research and their inclusion in the scheme: https://consult.environment.govt.nz/climate/agriculture-emissions-and-pricing/consultation/
The evidence makes me fatalistic about death & global warming, but I won't give up.
Clumsy solutions and climate change: A retrospective [27 October 2022]
According to the theory, the near-endless sociocultural variety that characterizes human life across time and space is in part produced by interactions among adherents to four “elementary” ways of organizing, perceiving, justifying, and experiencing social relations, labeled egalitarianism, individualism, hierarchy, and fatalism. Each of these “ways of life” consists of a particular mode of organizing social relations and a supporting cultural bias, including views of nature, human nature, time, space, risk, technology, etc. Douglas derived these ways of life by assigning “high” and “low” values to two fundamental social dimensions: “grid” (i.e., the extent to which ranking and stratification constrain the behavior of individuals) and “group” (that is, the extent to which an overriding commitment to a social unit constrains the thought and action of individuals).
Big puff piece in the media about the National candidate for Rangitata.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/130268530/timing-is-everything-the-rise-of-aspiring-politician-james-meager
What's interesting is the up-front-ness about problematic issues in his past (being an idiot at uni, alcohol abuse, etc.).
This looks like the Uffindell legacy – hiding issues from the media/public (even suppressing them at the selection committee level) *will* come back to bite you.
Also, the clear change in candidate selection (in what is a pretty white-bread rural electorate) from the 'boys in suits' Tauranga line-up.
All the details can be got out of the way now I suppose. When James Meager is elected a backgrounder on his part of the 'swathe of newbies in the House' won't be needed.
A self-described obnoxious, loud-mouth libertarian lawyer who cut his political teeth in Bennett's office. Nope, no red flags there.
Woodhouse!! Birds of a feather….???![frown frown](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/confused_smile.png?x42494)
It's National's attempt to brown-wash their caucus. Only got it half right.
Well, it looks like a straw-in-the-wind towards increased diversity in their caucus.
Hamilton selection will show if it's an isolated instance, or a trend.
While I recognise that you despise anything coming from National – we will, at some point, have a National-led government again – and surely it's a good thing if their representation is broader, rather than narrower.
I agree about the eventuality of a Nact Govt at some stage.
However John Key. like this candidate, James Meagher, also came from State house and one parent family and it did not seem to imbue him with an especial knowledge and sympathy for life's battlers. There are a group of people who, once 'getting there', want to pull the ladder up so others cannot follow them.
we will, at some point, have a National-led government again
Although that is the conventional wisdom, as the quality of their policies and personnel continues to plummet, a series of resounding defeats could force an evolutionary change to a more competent and charismatic party – a kinder, gentler bunch of lying cryptofascists.
Well, it could – but record level defeats for either National or Labour have historically been followed by a rebuilding, rather than an extinction.
Given the neck-and-neck polling ATM – (the party is scoring well, even if the leader isn't) it doesn't seem at all likely that National is going to curl up and die.
Their voting demographic have grown-up grandchildren by now; perhaps, like a particularly noisome fart, they will (excruciatingly slowly) fade away to being merely an unpleasant memory, as toxic and invisible as bovine eructation.
Nice try. Broader representation is about just that, representation. Meager offers none of that because, in the words of the writer;
So, for Meager and the National party, a little bit of brown is enough to pretend those who they pretend to represent are represented.
Sucked you in, though. Which is clearly not difficult!
Ah, yes, the Willie Jackson and Kelvin Davis theme – you're only 'real' Maori if you agree with us politically.
No, you said representation was broader with the selection of Meager. I pointed out with evidence that Meager eschews such representation. He actively dismisses it.
Your position illustrates the Nats' idea that any brown face will do. Actual representation does not come into it for them, or for you.
Meager also comes from a solo-parent family, state-house background, and some pretty significant experiences of poverty.
Diversity isn't just racial.
Though, I think that he probably represents a hefty chunk of urban Maori – many of whom are also not connected with their whakapapa.
Or, do you honestly think there is no difference between Meager and Uffindell and the 3 other candidates from the Tauranga by-election?
Yes but as I said further up John Key had these life circumstances and his time/leadership in the Nats did not seem to be different as a result. In fact in the olden day Nats there would have been a caring for the underdog more than you see now – thinking Duncan McIntyre, Ralph Hanan, Jack Marshall.
So, do you also, see no difference between Meager and the National candidate quartet in Tauranga?
Not really as his work history and contacts with Paula Bennett, Chris Bishop and Michael Woodlouse are evidence of current and recent work, and generally you try to move on from an environment, or at least don't stress it in word picture of oneself. So it seems to me that these are proud moments where he learned much to help him on his journey.
The Bennett/Woodhouse/Bishop links are troubling to me and put him fairly and squarely into the standard Nat selection regime.
His view of a safety net could be taken as meaning bare minimums, reluctantly given by an intrusive Govt Dept with the slack picked up by philanthropists (a la Nicola Woods) giving to the ‘deserving poor’.
I would add Tom Shand to that list. A conservative minister who was controversial from time to time, but who also showed compassion for the 'working class'. My old Dad, a long time Labour supporter certainly seemed to think so.
I also think past National ministers like Brian Talboys and Don McKinnon were principled political operators and even old 'Kiwi Keith' despite his affectations, was an even handed prime minister.
Yes Tom Shand, yes I knew there was a Minister of Labour in there too but could not remember his name. Agree about Brian Talboys, Don McKinnon and Keith Holyoake too. Different breed from the current crowd but as someone said on here MMP has meant that the more liberal side of the Nats have gone elsewhere…..
Still, no hurry eh?
According to Stuart Munro, above, all is not lost. We may never again see a National-led government.
And according to Belladonna @3.4.1, all is lost?
Still, no hurry eh?
Yes, but I'm sure you'll prefer to believe Stuart Munro.
You are very sure of yourself – Stuart certainly has a lovely turn of phrase.
Still, no hurry eh?
Definitely 'no hurry for me', but you would have picked that up already.![wink wink](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/wink_smile.png?x42494)
Yea, aka "charity" . As in, cold as…
Also noted there, the old Victorians (Dickens "Oliver Twist")
Not for nothing were the nacts known as the "New Victorians" ( Ruthless Ruth Richardson, Don Brash etc; and ilk)
IMO Cold as charity…their eyes (and heart ) as hard as industrial diamonds
Why we must fight back now to keep their poisonous claws off NZ !
Unite against nact !!
Interest rates up.
Bank profits up.
But it wasn't long ago there were people on here claiming they "were not connected".
Exxon posted a $31 Billion profit, the highest in their 152-year history but apparently that's easily explained by “Biden made the gas prices higher.”
Interest rates down,increased liquidity,loose fiscal management,there was a time people said that this would not increase inflation.
It didn't.
It took reduced supply and supply chains failures along with excess profit taking to get inflation going again.
Previously inflation stubbornly failed to do what it was told, and rise.
Yes it did,the increased liquidity meant there was two much money chasing too few assets,the high asset appreciation created a wealth effect,with excess leverage expanding the debt markets.
Here the RBNZ increased its balance sheet by 50% over the last 2 years,
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/series/reserve-bank/our-balance-sheet
and concomitant we saw housing jump through the roof,as leveraged asset inflation started and house values appreciate by 500b$ ,forced by both weak lending rules and policy changes.
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/series/economic-indicators/housing
https://www.interest.co.nz/property/87961/adjusting-inflation-gains-house-prices-past-four-years-are-actually-nothing-special
Some of the highest annual rises were at times of veryhigh interest rates.
That was 2017 and the driver was immigration.
Not just then. Series goes back to the 60's.
Exactly. Deflation is regarded by many as bad as inflation, and governments were desperately trying to get 'a little' inflation back.
Comparing Musk to Trump, their talent is marketing and grift, not competence.
https://twitter.com/JessicaLBurbank/status/1586013006923603969?cxt=HBwWgoCl7aeb04IsAAAA&cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjcw%3D%3D&refsrc=email
So he profits from carbon credits!!all you need to know about the usefulness of carbon credits right there
Yeah I'd prefer a tax on carbon, one on carbon used in producing tradeable goods would "incentivise" a decarbonisation. The money going to fund renewables in the developing world.
https://twitter.com/danielpetty/status/1586037848636936194
https://www.propublica.org/article/senate-report-covid-19-origin-wuhan-lab
More than a million dead Americans and the partisan effort to divert from Trump and the Republican party's disastrous response continues.
But the findings published on Thursday, while interim, bore only Mr. Burr’s signature. And in relying largely on existing public evidence, rather than new or classified information, the report came as something of a letdown even to those who supported its conclusions.
“One can only conclude from the circumstances that they met an impasse,” said Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University, referring to his disappointment that Republican and Democratic staff members working on the inquiry have not yet released a more complete, bipartisan report.
https://archive.ph/GBfDW (nyt)
With an unhealthy population America was going to be hit hard no matter who was in charge.
Early on, responses from blue states like New York seemed to be left wanting, and Trump was used to point the finger at. Hard to know how warranted that was.
The public health response was also led by high profile dem scientists, not Trump. If you are to blame Trump then you must also blame them.
got a tl;dr?
https://twitter.com/charlesornstein/status/1586039035432210432
A white guy who speaks a bit of Mandarin sitting in a dark office called the Bat Cave on the east coast of the US professes to understand a secret language which only the Chinese politburo uses.
Definitely a lab leak…
With an able assist from the former Human Services assistant secretary for preparedness and response under President Donald Trump.
Poland selects Westinghouse for Nuclear power project,6 reactors.
https://twitter.com/MorawieckiM/status/1586077189920854016
https://twitter.com/SecGranholm/status/1586082302534111232
How confident are you that it will be operational in 2033?
Well within the frame of similar builds in UAE,
https://www.enec.gov.ae/barakah-plant/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-westinghouse-nucle-idUSKBN17Y0CQ
"Overwhelmed by the costs of construction, Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy on March 29, while its corporate parent, Japan’s Toshiba Corp, is close to financial ruin [L3N1HI4SD]. It has said that controls at Westinghouse were “insufficient.”
Still it will be operating by 2023,despite delays and overuns and the higher cost of electricity in the US will shorten the payback.
It would make a big difference to Poland emissions which at present is mostly coal for electricity and combined heat,and is the worst in Europe (followed now by czech,netherlands and germany as the sad 4 polluters)
Going on past performance of nuclear construction it is highly unlikely it will be operational by the initial projected date…the cost is also guaranteed to blow out….and it is unlikely to impact coal and lignite power peoduction in any meaningful or timely manner, but that is not a problem that Poland is alone in facing.
And then there is the problem of future energy demand for mitigation, Im of the opinion that nuclear is whole of life energy net negative
Yes and no,this time the US government is behind it,as is the canadian government with their small reactor programme which was announced this week.
Germany has spent 1/2 a trillion dollars replacing nuclear with solar,wind and biomass (which still emits co2 at a higher then coal rate) and now has significant issues with energy costs rising 42% and food 20% in the last 12 months.It has moved from a current account creditor to a debtor very fast,so all subsidies are now debt funded.
It will take (estimated) 10 trillion euro to replace gas and coal in Germany alone,as well as a significant investment in transmission,and problematic issues with getting peakload generation.
Nuclear is only a part of a solution,and it does provide good baseload,where in use.
No denying its base load capability, but it is slow and energy intensive to construct (not to mention highly technical, with a dearth of capability), maintain and with at best 70-80 year operational lifespan exceedingly energy intensive for decommission and mitigation…the fact the US gov is supportive solves none of those issues.
Quite the opener to a great read.
You fucked up real good, kiddo.
Twitter is a disaster clown car company that is successful despite itself, and there is no possible way to grow users and revenue without making a series of enormous compromises that will ultimately destroy your reputation and possibly cause grievous damage to your other companies.
I say this with utter confidence because the problems with Twitter are not engineering problems. They are political problems. Twitter, the company, makes very little interesting technology; the tech stack is not the valuable asset. The asset is the user base: hopelessly addicted politicians, reporters, celebrities, and other people who should know better but keep posting anyway. You! You, Elon Musk, are addicted to Twitter. You’re the asset. You just bought yourself for $44 billion dollars.
[…]
What I mean is that you are now the King of Twitter, and people think that you, personally, are responsible for everything that happens on Twitter now. It also turns out that absolute monarchs usually get murdered when shit goes sideways.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/28/23428132/elon-musk-twitter-acquisition-problems-speech-moderation
In the spirit of Ambrose Bierce,
ADVICE, n. The smallest current coin.
Andrew Mitrovica has some advice for that nice Mr Putin: Here’s what Putin needs to stop losing: A good columnist | Russia-Ukraine war | Al Jazeera