Twerking For Daddy

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 pm, February 15th, 2016 - 148 comments
Categories: Media, Minister for Photo-ops, newspapers, scoundrels, social media lolz - Tags: , ,

The NZ Herald was so desperate for a good news angle to Key’s humiliation at the Big Gay Out it used, without attribution, an Instagram post from a young woman, DavinaRuby.

It appears to show the pervy PM reaching for her hair while grinning inanely. That should have been enough to give the Herald a reason not to publish, but no, they had to find somebody, anybody, who looked like they were happy to see Key. Sadly for Granny, rather than being an example of how, ahem, “many at the event were positive about the Prime Minister’s presence” it was actually a pisstake.

The Herald’s Instagram capture shows the caption “Me & my Valentine John 💕 “.

ponytailbgo2

 

Newsflash for Granny: that was a joke. Damn the young folk and their hard to get sarcasm!

I really have no idea why the Herald didn’t use the original Instagram caption instead, which is far more innocent, wholesome and indicative of the respect John Key enjoys everywhere he goes:

“We shelved a couple mdma pills and twerked for daddy”.

 

ponytailbgo

 

Tip of the hat to the Daily Indignation.

 

UPDATE: Comments are now closed. Cheers, ya’ll.

 

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148 comments on “Twerking For Daddy ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. sabine 1
    15 February 2016 at 7:13 pm

    bwahahahahahahahahahahahahah

  2. joe90 2
    15 February 2016 at 7:20 pm

    Spilled tea and tears!.

  3. Jenny Kirk 3
    15 February 2016 at 8:06 pm

    Unbelieveable ! if I hadn’t looked up the Herald link and seen it for myself !
    This guy – who we sadly call our Prime Minister – cannot keep his hands to himself.

  4. wild katipo 4
    15 February 2016 at 8:15 pm

    So Glitter Bomb John up to his usual hair antics…. it must be that there is a running competition between Glitter Bomb and his right hand man Dildo.

    I guess the pair of them felt they didn’t get much notice or traction among the Big Boys when they signed off the TTPA so now their trying to put NZ on the map by being the most ludicrous politicians this country – or any other country for that matter – has ever beheld.

    And judging by John Oliver and his brilliant endorsements of Dildo’s performance… I think the pair of them have certainly succeeded in putting NZ on the map fairly and squarely.

  5. darth smith 5
    15 February 2016 at 9:07 pm

    booed dido baggins and perv key at it again wait to john oliver sees this

  6. the pigman 6
    15 February 2016 at 9:07 pm

    All I see are his blokish remarks to his sports news audience about that “gay pink shirt”.

    Just goes to show what dishonest chameleon that nice man Mr. Keys is…

  7. mac1 7
    15 February 2016 at 9:59 pm

    “We shelved a couple mdma pills and twerked for daddy”.

    Boy, I had to reach for the Google to understand that one. Interestingly, the Herald photo in the link had the young lady saying she had “twerked for the police officer”.

    • Anne 7.1
      15 February 2016 at 10:07 pm

      Boy, I had to reach for the Google to understand that one.

      Me too mac1. Not for the first time here either. We belong to another generation…

  8. Muttonbird 8
    15 February 2016 at 10:37 pm

    When I read that instagram post on the day it said, “straight after this shot he asked to pull my ponytail”, or similar.

    Something weird going on.

  9. TopHat 9
    16 February 2016 at 7:58 am

    If there’s one person that could benefit from a dose of mdma, it’s Jkey.

  10. mary_a 10
    16 February 2016 at 8:21 am

    Pervy slime much!!!! Yuk!

  11. vto 11
    16 February 2016 at 8:41 am

    I don’t actually completely understand the “daddy” component of the twerking comment. Is she suggesting some sort of incest?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 11.1
      16 February 2016 at 8:50 am

      Why don’t you get on her Instagram feed and ask her? Surely you’d relish another chance to display your difficulty with gender issues.

      • vto 11.1.1
        16 February 2016 at 9:01 am

        Yes there are certainly difficulties with gender issues in this world. It keeps cropping up doesn’t it.

        I will keep highlighting them for those of you who are unable to see.

        … now post your most witty one-liner in response big manwoman

        • One Anonymous Bloke 11.1.1.1
          16 February 2016 at 9:03 am

          I’m serious: why don’t you ask her? Or shall we mansplain it? 🙄

          • weka 11.1.1.1.1
            16 February 2016 at 9:10 am

            OAB, fuck off with the useless gender politics and misuse of mansplaining. The original question was valid.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 11.1.1.1.1.1
              16 February 2016 at 9:19 am

              The original question was leading and disingenuous. I see that you deem me worthy of attack. Got more rank hypocrisy where that came from Weka?

              I’m done discussing this with you.

              • weka …
                16 February 2016 at 9:34 am

                I’m calling you out on misusing gender politics for your own agenda OAB. If you see your role here as a pre-emptive police whose jobs is to bash anyone whose past comments mean they are forever damned, that’s up to you, but if you continue to misuse concepts like mansplaining as part of that agenda, then expect to get criticised.

                “The original question was leading and disingenuous.”

                Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. You have no way of knowing (and I say that knowing full well vto’s history on gender issues, I’ve probably had more arguments with him about that than you). As I said, the question itself is valid, irrespective of vto’s motivations for asking it.

                “I see that you deem me worthy of attack. Got more rank hypocrisy where that came from Weka?”

                I’m not attacking you. I’m telling you off for your behaviour. Remember the conversation a few days ago where you were having a go at someone for not understanding the difference between a personal attack and criticsing behaviour? Further, your behaviour is evident in your comments here, I’m not mindreading to see what your motivations are before you express them.

      • weka 11.1.2
        16 February 2016 at 9:03 am

        that was uncalled for and in no way helps with gender issues. Probably the opposite.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 11.1.2.1
          16 February 2016 at 9:08 am

          Read vto at 11.2.1.

          The way I see it is: here’s a man about to make a complete Joyce of himself, perhaps I can dissuade him. Now he’s actually given voice to the attack he had in mind from the get-go I guess it’s too late.

          • weka 11.1.2.1.1
            16 February 2016 at 9:12 am

            Perhaps he is about to do that. In which case deal with as he does, in a way that doesn’t reinforce fucked up macho politics memes in a discussion that probably invovles gender and sexual violence.

            And as always, there are other people in this thread than you and whoever you deem worthy of attacking, including large numbers of people reading and not commenting.

          • vto 11.1.2.1.2
            16 February 2016 at 9:21 am

            You fire off on these assumed and paranoid tangents all the time oab, pissing off pretty much everybody you engage with…

            You don’t seem to understand the point that was being explored. Did you note the way the initial question was phrased? It was so as not to immediately jump to conclusions (unlike yourself) and leave the door wide open in case the discomfort at the back of the mind was misplaced. Trp’s response below indicated some further uncertainty around the placing of the word “daddy”, so the question would seem to have some validity.

            … now, there you go, a whole bunch of sentences for you to dissemble into whatever you wish… fill yer boots goofball

            • One Anonymous Bloke 11.1.2.1.2.1
              16 February 2016 at 9:33 am

              It was a leading question. If you were serious about the answer you’d approach the author. Otherwise it’s all just a bunch of conjecture.

              • weka …
                16 February 2016 at 9:40 am

                I wouldn’t go to that Instagram post and ask out of the blue for an explanation, because I don’t know her and because it would be naff. I certainly wouldn’t suggest that someone like vto does that. Plus, you need an Instagram account to comment.

                It was a reasonable question. I bet vto isn’t the only person that read trp’s post and wondered the same. It’s normal to want to understand what posts on the standard are about, and it’s normal to discuss complex social contexts, including asking questions about contexts that are outside of one’s experience. Some people like to learn.

                I did my own conjecture below.

    • te reo putake 11.2
      16 February 2016 at 8:54 am

      Could be, but more like ‘who’s your daddy?’ at a guess. Either way, it’s a subtle way of calling Key a perve.

      • vto 11.2.1
        16 February 2016 at 9:03 am

        “either way”?

        If it is a reference to incest then it goes into the same category as Key’s sodomy-soap joke

        • Sabine 11.2.1.1
          16 February 2016 at 9:24 am

          no ‘Daddy” is not a reference to incest.

          Daddy, aka Sugar Daddy, usually refers to creepy older man hunting down younger women for sex or other erotic entertainment.

          In fact ‘Daddy’ was widely used in the 50.

          i mean seriously, we actually have to explain that?

          He is old enough to be her ‘Daddy’ and he is creepy as fuck with his sexual innuendo and his hair fetish that involves very young girls and young women. He is the quintessential “Daddy” ….be nice to me and it will not be to your harm.

          Be nice to me and it will be good for your career.
          Be nice to me and i will help you with your grades.
          Be nice to me and I will get you the job.

          Daddy. Sugar Daddy.

          • vto 11.2.1.1.1
            16 February 2016 at 9:33 am

            Yes I am well aware of the use of the term/s, and I don’t like it. Never have.

            To have the word Daddy associated with incest and sexual exploitation of young girls in such manner ……. can’t you see the problem????

            The fact it has been around since the 50’s means shit-all nothing.

            Ffs.

            • Sabine 11.2.1.1.1.1
              16 February 2016 at 9:49 am

              i not only can see the problem i was also at the receiving end of it.
              However, Daddy in this term does not apply to incest, it applies to older men attaching themselves to women who would be of the age of their daughters, and for a little money aka sugar daddy the girls may twerk.

              FFS.

              so please don’t insinuate shit.

              • vto …
                16 February 2016 at 9:55 am

                Same problem no matter if it relates to incest or sexual exploitation of young girls

                The use of the term “daddy” like this is outdated and offensive. Like so many other terms from the 50s.

                ffs again

                • weka …
                  16 February 2016 at 10:01 am

                  “The use of the term “daddy” like this is outdated and offensive. Like so many other terms from the 50s.”

                  To you. But not in the cultures that it’s been used in in this case.

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    16 February 2016 at 10:03 am

                    To you. But not in the cultures that it’s been used in in this case.

                    “Twerking for Daddy” contains inferences or insinuations that are not offensive to the culture of The Standard? Really?

                    • weka …
                      16 February 2016 at 10:24 am

                      I was talking about the culture that DavinaRuby posted in, and probably the cutlure that the song ‘Twerk It’ came from (if I am right that that’s where the term comes from).

                      I agree it’s a problem for the standard, but probably for different reasons than you and vto think.

                      I’ll also add that I see references on ts all the time that conflate sex and violence and there is very little comment on those.

                  • vto …
                    16 February 2016 at 10:14 am

                    Sheesh weka, talk about opening up a can of worms…..

                    I think you are off the mark there.

                    Who gets to define what is offensive? The majority culture prevalent at the time/circumstance is what you seem to suggest, and I don’t think that has any credibility whatsoever…

                    watch out for the worms squirming out of the can soon ……..

                    like – men at some men’s sports clubs, mouthing off some other shite from the 50s. Is that ok? Does that have some cred?

                    (….. you must excuse me I need to rush out now for some chores)

                    • weka …
                      16 February 2016 at 10:26 am

                      Well I disgree with the analysis that this is a 1950s reference. I think it’s a very modern one.

                      As for who gets to define offense, we all do. There are no absolutes. For me the problem isn’t offensivess so much, it’s whether harm is being done. That often goes hand in hand with offense, and it’s a more interesting conversation IMO.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  16 February 2016 at 10:01 am

                  vto notice how some people get to define when things are a problem or when they are offensive, and when they are not. But you don’t.

                  • vto …
                    16 February 2016 at 10:09 am

                    Yes.

                    It is a historic and ongoing problem for TS

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      16 February 2016 at 10:12 am

                      Another reason why people find the political left hypocritical and disingenuous. Your offence isn’t genuine and doesn’t matter but theirs is, and does.

                    • weka …
                      16 February 2016 at 10:28 am

                      Who exactly has said that vto can’t say what offends him? Please link. Otherwise I think you are making shit up.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      16 February 2016 at 10:36 am

                      Sorry weka, you can duck and dive on this but as you see from just above, vto agrees with my point.

                    • weka …
                      16 February 2016 at 10:42 am

                      If you are referring to me I think you are both mistaken. I don’t have a problem with vto being offended by the term (nor Sabine), their offense if understandable. All I’ve done is pointed out that in other sectors of society the offense is understood differently.

                      btw, you’re the one ducking and diving. If you can explain what you mean, what are you doing here?

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      16 February 2016 at 11:53 am

                      I was here to support the point VTO was making ffs, how is that somehow not obvious?

                    • weka …
                      16 February 2016 at 6:34 pm

                      You were implying things that turned out to be wrong.

                • miravox …
                  16 February 2016 at 10:32 am

                  I’m with vto that the use of ‘daddy’ in this context can be offensive. Not because it offensive to men, although I accept that he has a right to be offended on that score.

                  But because of the connotation that ‘daddy’ (or ‘uncle’ – real or stylised etc, etc) can give a ‘girlie’ (using 1950s language) a lolly and she’ll do anything for him i.e. a girlie can be bought for sexual gratification. It’s way beyond time for this notion to disappear. Using it may be empowering for the individual and very funny, as here, but in a wider context it may normalise the sexualisation of young girls.

                  However, suggesting the term in this context is about incest was disingenuous and inflammatory, I reckon. It’s pretty much impossible not to have come across the term being used for rich old men using their money to make out with younger women – in return looking after the girls financially as [they wished] their fathers did.

                  • weka …
                    16 February 2016 at 10:44 am

                    And yet the connections with incest are clear. Might want to ask survivors of incest about that 😉

                    This is a very complex conversation, lots of factors and interpretations involved.

                    • miravox …
                      16 February 2016 at 10:58 am

                      “And yet the connections with incest are clear”

                      Well… it was more that I think vto put the comment up in a disingenuously, not that there in no connection between the term and incest.

                      In this instance, doubt the intention of the caption was to suggest incest, but rather, a sugar daddy. I object to the term precisely because is may normalise the sexualisation of young girls. I’m pretty aware that close relatives and ‘father figures’ are likely to be involved when that happens.

                    • weka …
                      16 February 2016 at 11:15 am

                      Here’s what vto said originally,

                      “I don’t actually completely understand the “daddy” component of the twerking comment. Is she suggesting some sort of incest?”

                      Are you saying that vto did in fact understand the comment and was simply beign inflammatory with his question?

                      Because I didn’t understand the phrase as used in the post and had to go and look it up. I wanted to see where it came from culturally in order to understand what the person who used it might have been meaning, as opposed to people here. That’s why I took vto’s question at face value.

                      I didn’t take ‘daddy’ = ‘sugar daddy’ so much as just being part of the vernacular in the US, particularly in Black culture, and thus where that’s overflowed to here. To me it was more akin to Bill’s definition posted below (a daddy is a girl’s boyfriend or husband who looks after her).

                      I do agree that there are problems with that for all sorts of reasons, which is most likely why DavinaRuby was using it.

                    • Sabine …
                      16 February 2016 at 11:15 am

                      Weka I can’t answer to your comment above as there is no reply button.

                      You said to CV : ” If you are referring to me I think you are both mistaken. I don’t have a problem with vto being offended by the term (nor Sabine), their offense if understandable.”

                      Firstly, I am not offended by the term.

                      Secondly, I only offered other alternatives of the meaning of “Daddy” to VTO as I found the link between ‘Daddy” in the context of the image and the full phrase used by DavinaRuby to be quite clear, and found it a stretch that it would insinuate incest. ( i think we should leave the daughter of the PM out of his business in NZ as she clearly won’t have nothing to do with it, considering that she does her own thing altogether overseas). DavinaRuby is not related to the PM so incest is not coming into play.

                      Thirdly, i do agree with you that the term may be offensive to some, but it may not be to others especially the younger generation that may use the term completly differently than us.

                      Fourth, the term has been around for a while, and i only pointed that out.

                      Fifth, i do find the caption appropriate as clearly the Herald was trying to put up a show for the PM to make him look like he was appreciated and welcomed at the event, and thus ‘pimped’ an image the Herald has literally stolen from an Instagram page.

                      And this was another case of much to do about nothing.

                    • weka …
                      16 February 2016 at 11:19 am

                      Thanks for clarifying Sabine, I think there has been some general confusion happening in this thread.

                      (in a long thread like this, the best way to reply is to scroll up to the first available reply button in direct line above the comment you are responding to. That way your comment ends up in the same subthread rather than in another one).

                    • miravox …
                      16 February 2016 at 6:57 pm

                      “I didn’t take ‘daddy’ = ‘sugar daddy’ so much as just being part of the vernacular in the US, particularly in Black culture, and thus where that’s overflowed to here.”

                      Now…. about Miley and Nicky and the misappropriation of black culture… 😀 😉

                      But yeah, you’re probably right. I can’t believe vto didn’t know the sugar daddy term and he could have just as easily used that to make his point.

                      DavinaRuby can use the term however she likes on her own post and it is funny. That doesn’t make it not offensive though, humour of this type always offends someone, usually it has been against women and it’s interesting to see the shoe on the other foot and it made me think about that.

                      However trolling the herald was pretty slick – and deserved. I admire that.

                    • weka …
                      16 February 2016 at 7:09 pm

                      I hadn’t realised that the Herald had linked and so the title was changing each time, lol.

                      Re offensiveness, yes, this is why I think it’s better to look at issues in terms of what they damage or what harm is caused. If we frame it as no-one has the right to not be offended we miss the conversations where something that is offensive is also damaging. Key yelling at the opposition that they support rapists and murderers was obviously highly offensive to the women who walked out and for very valid reasons. I don’t want to see that dismissed on the basis that it’s merely ‘offensive’ but find ways to have a deeper conversation.

                      I found it pretty thought provoking too.

                      Best reads I’ve found on Black culture in the past week have been around Beyonce’s performance at the Superbowl and her new video. I learnt a lot there. Can’t claim to get the Miley reference though 😉

                    • miravox …
                      16 February 2016 at 7:19 pm

                      “Can’t claim to get the Miley reference though “
                      The short story….

                      http://time.com/4064315/nicki-minaj-miley-cyrus/

                      Yes- Beyonce’s explicit entrance into the race politics and the reaction to that is absolutely fascinating.

                  • JanM …
                    16 February 2016 at 2:09 pm

                    In love with all
                    Those boys who call
                    On young cuties
                    But now I find
                    I’m all inclined
                    To keep my mind
                    On my duties
                    Since I’ve begun to share
                    In such a sweet love affair

                    Though I’m in love, I’m not above
                    A date with a duke or a caddie
                    It’s just a pose, ’cause my baby knows
                    That my heart belongs to daddy

                    When some good scout, invites me out
                    To dine om some fine fin and haddie
                    My baby’s sure, his love is secure
                    Cause my heart belongs to daddy

                    Yes my heart belongs to daddy
                    So I simply couldn’t be bad
                    Yes I’m gonna marry daddy
                    Da-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ad
                    If you feel romantic laddy
                    Let me warn you right from the start
                    That my heart belongs to daddy
                    And my daddy belongs to my heart

                    (written in 1938 by Cole Porter – sung by Marilyn Munroe, Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald among others – has all sorts of connotations)

              • Colonial Viper …
                16 February 2016 at 9:55 am

                Daddy, aka Sugar Daddy, usually refers to creepy older man hunting down younger women for sex or other erotic entertainment.

                OK then Sabine. But that’s only half the relationship. How would you describe the younger woman who accepts those gifts, money, cars, apartments, holidays, fine dining, lifestyle, etc.

                And bear in mind that the “younger woman” you describe might be 20 or 30 years younger than the man – but she is a woman who might be in her 30s or 40s, while the older man is in his 50s or 60s. She is younger – but she is not young.

                • weka …
                  16 February 2016 at 10:02 am

                  From a political perspective, there are issues where there are power differentials, both in the individual situations and in the society that they occur in.

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    16 February 2016 at 10:09 am

                    Of course there are power differentials. That’s what society is. There is a list a mile long extending over centuries of powerful male politicians and younger women who have been in relationships; marriages, affairs, relationships of convenience, arrangements, whatever.

                    But the issue here is that some people are giving a pass to a ridiculous and offensive post title as if it is not, just because the target of the post is a politician that you happen to despise.

                    • weka …
                      16 February 2016 at 10:16 am

                      “But the issue here is that some people are giving a pass to a ridiculous and offensive post title as if it is not, just because the target of the post is a politician that you happen to despise.”

                      Just so I can understand what you mean (because I haven’t seen that), can you please point to the comments where you think that has happened?

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      16 February 2016 at 10:20 am

                      The entire conversation here where you and Sabine are absolutely fine with keeping the post title “Twerking for Daddy” because it is appropriate and inoffensive.

                    • weka …
                      16 February 2016 at 10:48 am

                      But I haven’t said that CV and it’s not what I actually believe so I’m going to ask you to take a step back and try and check things out without running off with your own interpretations.

                      I don’t particularly agree with Sabine’s analysis although I certainly understand her feelings.

                      I also don’t necessarily think that the headline is inoffensive, but I took it as a media headline referring to an actual event, rather than trp simply putting up something that would offend people. From his comments below I think he was probably a bit thoughtless about it. But as I said, I think the problems I see are different than the ones you and vto see.

                      btw, I didn’t actually realise that this conversation was about whether the headline was appropriate or not, and whether it should be kept or not, until just recently. I thought we were talking about the Instagram usage, and most of my comments on this page have been in response to that (and what trp reported). Maybe I missed something.

                • Sabine …
                  16 February 2016 at 10:14 am

                  actually from experience

                  i hated the advances older man made to me when i was a homeless pretty teen. And did not go with it.
                  i also know a few women who had relationships with older man that got them into appartments, through their studies, and sometimes ended in marriage.

                  There is a fair amount of abuse in these relation ships as clearly the power balance is out of whack in many cases. But then there are also a lot of relationships that have been consented too.

                  The worst ‘daddy’ in my life was my step father. The last advance he made was on the day my mother died. That was abuse, abuse that lasted for many many years and started when i was 11.

                  My sister however met her husband when she was 21 and he was 50. They have been married for almost 20 years now.

                  make of that what you want.
                  But to insinuate that ‘twerking for daddy’ implicitly means incest, in my books is going to far, and i have been on the record as to my not liking nor respecting the PM.

                  “Daddy” as well as “Mamma” have been used since a long time, and twerking for Daddy in my books only means that the Herald is using her to be putting up a show for the PM to show that he has cred with the younger generation, aka ‘twerking for Daddy’ , That in itself is enough humiliation for a man who pretends to not only be beloved by all, but also as someone who can get it for free anytime. Remember the Ladies in National Circles all offering their ponytails for him to pull?

                • Bill …
                  16 February 2016 at 10:26 am

                  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=daddy

                  Nothing to do with biology and not necessarily to do with finances. As insults go, that instagram eviscerates.

                  By some of the discussion here, some peeps might need to get out more 😉

                  • Anno1701 …
                    16 February 2016 at 11:12 am

                    some peeps might need to get out more”

                    +1000 to this

                    the girl was trolling, she had no other motivation than ” teh lulz”

                    • Sabine …
                      16 February 2016 at 11:18 am

                      no the Herald stole her image of her Instagram page to promote something without her permission.

                      It is her image and her instagram page and she can do with it as she wishes.
                      If anything the Herald is responsible, not the owner of the image and instagram page.

                    • Anno1701 …
                      16 February 2016 at 11:26 am

                      “no the Herald stole her image of her Instagram page to promote something without her permission”

                      exactly, which is why she was trolling (by changing the caption a number of times )

                      The herald are idiots for linking instead of just taking a screen cap, they walked right into it.

                      I say good on her personally !

            • Colonial Viper 11.2.1.1.1.2
              16 February 2016 at 9:54 am

              The fact it has been around since the 50’s means shit-all nothing.

              Unless people are suggesting that family relationships were much more innocent in the 1950s.

              • Sabine …
                16 February 2016 at 10:26 am

                i can’t reply to your above comment on where you insinuate that the post title is ok and I have no issues with it.

                for the record, I have no issue with it.
                I am not the one that made the post, i am not the one that made the caption, i am not the one that tried to score brownie points by appropriating an image without consent and put it in the public domain.

                You might want to direct you ire at the young lady that captioned that image in the first place.
                Then you might want to direct your ire at the Herald for appropriating the image and thus making it public for larger audiances.
                You then may direct your ire to the person who posted the thread.

                But no, i have no issue with the post title, as in my younger years, ‘Daddies’ have often asked me to do even worse. And you know what, they all very much looked like dear leader, middle to upper class, white, well to do and really really badly fucked.

                In fact I think the threadtitle should be ‘ twerking for a mal baise’.

      • Skinny 11.2.2
        16 February 2016 at 9:17 am

        I remember at a Sabin hosted economic forum during the last election the old boys club of Key and Joyce turned up with young pretty teens kitted out in Natcorp blue tee shirts. It was creepy watching these grown men proudly showing off in front of what looked like a bunch of school girls. Most of the local crowd were scratching their heads in bewilderment what’s with the cheerleader squad Mike?

    • weka 11.3
      16 February 2016 at 9:22 am

      “I don’t actually completely understand the “daddy” component of the twerking comment. Is she suggesting some sort of incest?”

      I’m guessing it’s a reference to the song ‘Twerk It”, which in its own context doesn’t equate twerking for daddy with incest.

      http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/v/vic/twerk_it.html

      But from reading the Instagram comments it’s looks like Key is considered an arse and damaging NZ, and probably creepy (“creepadelic”), so I’d guess that DavinaRuby was also impying that Key is at least a sleaze in her post and original comment about Valentine’s Day.

      Irrespective of whether she intended that or not, Key being equated with incest fits the general image of his place in rape culture, so it’s a pretty interesting piece of social media.

      Also a major mistake by the Herald putting up a selfie of a young woman with the PM as a middle aged man and calling it a Valentine’s Day photo. Or perhaps that wasn’t as unintentional we are assuming 😉

      • vto 11.3.1
        16 February 2016 at 9:36 am

        Thanks for the always thoughtful response weka. It leaves me in discomfort, as explained in response to sabine above.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 11.3.1.1
          16 February 2016 at 10:01 am

          You’re offended by it, I get that. It’s very difficult for me to accept that your ire is entirely genuine; I’ll try and put that aside for a moment.

          Freedom from being offended isn’t a human right. If it were, we’d all be living according to Garth McVicar’s rules, which I’d find grossly offensive.

          Have you got anything other than your personal sense of unease? To put it another way, how many jokes can you think of that aren’t going to trigger negative associations for someone?

          DavinaRuby’s comments poke fun at a familiar face,
          Oh no, I used poke and face in the same sentence.
          It’s so hard negotiating language in this narrow ravine.

  12. Roflcopter 12
    16 February 2016 at 9:02 am

    It appears to show the pervy PM reaching for her hair while grinning inanely.

    Get your eyes checked, his hand is on her shoulder.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 12.1
      16 February 2016 at 9:04 am

      What a pity that with this Prime Minister, it’s necessary to check.

    • ianmac 12.2
      16 February 2016 at 9:12 am

      Though should the PM be touching a girl anyway?

      • Bob 12.2.1
        16 February 2016 at 9:42 am

        http://www.study-body-language.com/Touch-body-language.html

        “Where to Touch?

        It’s a hard question, but I will do my best to answer:

        In general, your contact should feel casual, neutral and brief if that’s someone you barely know. Remember that by touching someone you invade their personal space for a moment, and if they don’t like it or trust you enough yet – your touch would feel alien and unpleasant for them. So you can apply a brief touch to a neutral part of the body like the hand, elbow or shoulder to “test the waters” and watch how they react.”

        • One Anonymous Bloke 12.2.1.1
          16 February 2016 at 10:11 am

          Another good way to touch someone you’ve never met before is to hold out your hand in the “shake?” position and maintain eye contact. If they don’t shake your hand you can bet they don’t want you touching them anywhere else either.

          Just a little tip you may find useful.

          • Bob 12.2.1.1.1
            16 February 2016 at 1:03 pm

            Thanks OAB, I do find that useful when greeting someone, however it looks a little formal when posing for a picture together though. In contrast, no physical contact at all seems very distant and cold when asked for a photograph.
            Shoulder-to-shoulder, arm around shoulder, or hand on shoulder all seem fine to me, but turns out I am actually just a pervert who is almost certainly about to pull someones hair, according to the vast majority of comments on this thread that is.
            Maybe that is why Andrew Little didn’t get much coverage at the event, he was too scared to touch anyone for fear of being called “pervy” and all his pictures just looked cold and distant to print…

            • One Anonymous Bloke 12.2.1.1.1.1
              17 February 2016 at 8:43 am

              Ah, so it doesn’t matter that you have to check where the Prime Minister’s hands are, because Andrew Little!

              All those photos and videos of the Prime Minister’s predatory behaviour around young girls don’t count because Andrew Little!

              So much personal responsibility on display.

    • te reo putake 12.3
      16 February 2016 at 9:49 am

      You could be right, roflcopter. It’ss a photo, not a video so we don’t know where his hand went next. But that touching doesn’t make it much better, imo. It just reminds me that the odious pro rape group who made the news a couple of weeks ago emphasise the importance of light physical touch to cement the false trust aspect of their ‘seduction technique’. John Key is simply not someone to be trusted near young women, as we learned last year.

    • savenz 12.4
      16 February 2016 at 11:41 am

      Hands of the teens PM!

      The girl should lay a complaint about granny stealing her image for their rag.

      P.s to Granny, that’s what happens when you fire all your real reporters – those left just sit in front of computer pasting government releases – and making shit up – and then your former business rag looks like what it is, crap advertainment and propaganda for cronies.

      At least we got a laugh out of this one.

  13. Tarquin 13
    16 February 2016 at 9:05 am

    Imagining something happening just makes you look sad. What did Andrew Little do on the weekend apart from not get mentioned? There is no such thing as bad publicity, Key is the winner yet again, this just plays into his hands.

  14. opium 14
    16 February 2016 at 9:41 am

    Nice $170 Tommy Bahama pink shirt.Don’t imagine he will ever wear it again.

    • Puckish Rogue 14.1
      16 February 2016 at 9:52 am

      Lets be honest here, if John Key wore a dark blue shirt you’d criticize him for that as well

  15. Sabine 15
    16 February 2016 at 11:04 am

    question to LPrent, some comments have reply buttons others not? why is that so?

    it is very confusing.

    • weka 15.1
      16 February 2016 at 12:10 pm

      Once a subthread gets very long there are no more reply buttons. This is because if there were eventually the thread would get very skinny and the words wouldn’t fit in in a way that can be read.

      I explained above in a reply to you how to use the reply buttons in such a thread so that you stay in the right conversation. It’s not hard once you get the hang of it.

      http://thestandard.org.nz/twerking-for-daddy/#comment-1134026

      • Sabine 15.1.1
        16 February 2016 at 12:17 pm

        oh dear, you are speaking to a luddite.
        i will try and get this right, but make no promises.
        🙂

        thanks.

        • weka 15.1.1.1
          16 February 2016 at 12:29 pm

          Find the comment you want to reply to, and scroll upwards until you see the first reply button and use that, easy 🙂

          • marty mars 15.1.1.1.1
            16 February 2016 at 12:41 pm

            sometimes it pays to use the @weka or @vto to ensure the correct person is addressed especially true when someone else has commented after the one you want to reply to

            have a practice above 🙂

            • weka 15.1.1.1.1.1
              16 February 2016 at 12:50 pm

              good point. I find quoting people very helpful too so I don’t have to scroll up to see what someone is referring to.

          • sabine 15.1.1.1.2
            16 February 2016 at 6:09 pm

            now this i can understand 🙂

  16. reason 16
    16 February 2016 at 11:40 am

    But how would a dark blue shirt look johnny ‘gay’ ???? …. the answer is it wouldn’t

    Or are you just twerking around with that comment Puke ? 🙂

    one of those go shelve a minty moments ……

    • Puckish Rogue 16.1
      16 February 2016 at 4:10 pm

      People think hes wearing a pink shirt as pink is now (rightly or wrongly) associated with the LGBT community and hes getting flack for it

      If he’d worn a neutral colour shirt (like dark blue) he’d get flack for wearing it and not wearing a pink shirt

  17. Colonial Viper 17
    16 February 2016 at 11:57 am

    If the political left think that pushing a Twerking for a “Pervy PM” angle against “dirty old man” John Key is going to help prevent a 4th term for National, it has another think coming.

    • Sabine 17.1
      16 February 2016 at 12:05 pm

      it is funny.
      yes it is. The Herald was trolled by a young women whom they stole an image from and you have an issue with us here at the Standard. You should direct your ire at the Herald in the first instance, then maybe you want to address the young women who initially posted and captioned the image and see what she has to say to you.

      Maybe you should write a letter to the Editor demanding that they employ better journalists at the Herald lest they descend to gutter politics stage.

      In the meantime people need to laugh. Among all the misery, the people that loose jobs, have to die in pain because medicinal aid is refused to them on a whim, and so on and so on we have to laugh every now and then, lest we become miserable mal baises as they are.

      • marty mars 17.1.1
        16 February 2016 at 12:16 pm

        I spose at least he didn’t blame labour.

        I’ve enjoyed reading the comments showing the wide gap between the youf and our commenting team. I’m pleased the gap is there and I’m really happy to have some of the youfish sayings going right over my head – they are for them not us/me.

      • Colonial Viper 17.1.2
        16 February 2016 at 12:40 pm

        Oh I have no problem with the idea that the Granny Herald has transformed from a pro-National pro-big business broadsheet into a pro-National pro-big business tabloid of trivia.

    • Olwyn 17.2
      16 February 2016 at 12:19 pm

      I don’t think anyone believes its a clincher – it is being discussed only because the NZH’s attempted counter to Key’s being booed (seemingly a cosy, friendly selfie) has turned out instead to involve Key being mocked.

      • Colonial Viper 17.2.1
        16 February 2016 at 12:41 pm

        Oh yes we can certainly enjoy John Key being caught out as a pervy laughable old man yet again.

        New Roy Morgan should be out next week.

        • weka 17.2.1.1
          16 February 2016 at 12:56 pm

          You are missing the point CV (not sure if that’s intentional or not). It’s not John Key being laughed at, it’s John Key the Prime Minister of NZ that’s being ridiculed precisely because he has bought the position into disrepute by his own ridiculous and often inappropriate behaviour. You might not think it’s inappropriate, plenty of people do. And I don’t think they should shut up because your political analysis is that the common man like JK or don’t care about it. This isn’t about garnering votes, it’s about addressing something in the culture that is just plain wrong. That we also get to enjoy Key’s humiliation is just a bonus.

        • Sabine 17.2.1.2
          16 February 2016 at 1:05 pm

          You are correct, we all should clutch our pearls and faint.

        • Olwyn 17.2.1.3
          16 February 2016 at 1:13 pm

          Depends on the weight you give to such things I guess. A young woman making fun of the PM is hardly the first step toward a just and caring society. But it is a little bit amusing when the NZH stuffs up on the fanzine front.

        • North 17.2.1.4
          16 February 2016 at 10:07 pm

          CV – sounds like your default is “Key Rides High !” Why ?

  18. adam 18
    16 February 2016 at 12:17 pm

    Creepy John – strikes again.

  19. greywarshark 19
    16 February 2016 at 12:24 pm

    Old fart joke. The signwriter’s boob. ‘Honest car – Used John dealer.’

  20. Magisterium 20
    16 February 2016 at 1:10 pm

    This is the best Standard thread of all time. OF ALL TIME.

  21. te reo putake 21
    16 February 2016 at 1:12 pm

    Hi, y’all. Just wanted to thank the commenters for some excellent debate. The post took an unexpected turn, as often happens, and it was interesting to read the opinions. Sadly, I’ve got little net access for the next couple of hours, so won’t be able to comment much. However, seeing as I chose the post title, I’m interested to know what was considered offensive about it. I see it as a straight precis of the instagram post and thus, inoffensive in its own right. If there is a genuine argument that it is offensive, I’d be keen to read it, because I take real care with the titles, as I’m sure regular readers know.

    • Sabine 21.1
      16 February 2016 at 1:14 pm

      no offense was taken.
      still think the picture and the caption is funny.

      cheers for the laugh.

    • vto 21.2
      16 February 2016 at 2:39 pm

      trp ” I’m interested to know what was considered offensive about it.”

      The word “daddy” is used in a derogatory way, in particular with sexual overtones.

      If you aint a daddy yourself perhaps you wont understand.

      The offense is entirely genuine and always has been with this term

      ……

      • te reo putake 21.2.1
        16 February 2016 at 5:34 pm

        Cheers, VTO, though that doesn’t really address why the headline is offensive. The concept of sugar daddies, or bad dads in general, yes, but not the title of the post. I think all of us have the right to be offended at the behaviour of men who expolit women. This is a male problem and it deserves every bit of opprobrium that it gets. We live in a world where men dominate and when there is any hint of balancing the scales, women get shouted down.

        We men really need to get to get over ourselves.

        • vto 21.2.1.1
          16 February 2016 at 9:10 pm

          And that is exactly where your old jalopy swerves off the road and into the ditch….

          just like labour
          perhaps you should leave
          things might come right for them

          • Colonial Viper 21.2.1.1.1
            16 February 2016 at 9:22 pm

            nah mate, the people and the organisation as it stands today are a perfect fit for each other.

            • weka 21.2.1.1.1.1
              16 February 2016 at 9:31 pm

              Yes, and you should let them get on with it and do something constructive with your time instead.

            • vto 21.2.1.1.1.2
              16 February 2016 at 9:32 pm

              Yep I begin to see what you have been on about..

              Also interesting to compare the offense taken on the title to this post, to the offense taken on the title to this post http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-03022016/#comment-1127960

              The left are never going to get there…

              • marty mars …
                16 February 2016 at 9:51 pm

                It was the photo mate – ‘daily review’ is okay by me. Just so we are clear – I’m a daddy and I was not offended by the title of this post – I actually got the reference and the wit of it. Perhaps you just are out of touch on this one. and before you go off half cocked – take 5 minutes to seriously consider my sentence before this one I BEG you.

                • vto …
                  16 February 2016 at 10:03 pm

                  Yes yes I know… will try to avoid ……

                  I realise what the photoshop was. The difference in approach by all and sundry between that offense and this one is worth consideration though, in the context of the hypocrisy charge that is so often levelled against the left. A charge that cripples the left in the eyes of so many others imo… cripples it

                  Don’t know that a decent answer will come of it, but there it is…

    • weka 21.3
      16 February 2016 at 5:44 pm

      I took the post (and title) as reporting a current event, so it’s not offensive to me. I get that it’s confrontational though (and let’s be honest, you do like to push that boundary 😉 ) and that some people are going to feel offense and that we’re still not that great at talking about this kind of thing here. We did well to not descend into the usual, so maybe there is hope for us yet.

  22. Davina Ruby 22
    16 February 2016 at 3:15 pm

    I used the term daddy as a joke regarding the term sugar daddys please stop your war.

    • Karen 22.1
      16 February 2016 at 4:52 pm

      Thank you Davina.

      I thought what you did was hilarious and very smart. Well done.

    • vto 22.2
      16 February 2016 at 4:57 pm

      Sure, that much is clear, however you are clearly unaware of the offense caused.

      You do realise similar terms used over countless years, and considered inoffensive and used as “jokes”, have transpired to in fact be offensive. They are now frowned on – particularly around these parts. There are many such examples of this (with genders reversed of course) – surely they don’t need pointing out do they doris?

      • McFlock 22.2.1
        16 February 2016 at 5:49 pm

        Which terms?

        The interesting thing about the term “sugar daddy” and suchlike is that they are used, by definition, to describe people in positions of extensive socioeconomic power, rather than to belittle already marginalised groups.

        It’s use also references the power dynamics of the “traditional” family.

        You might well find the term offensive, but that doesn’t mean that you’re being marginalised. Equalised, maybe. There’s a massive difference between calling a man (even a father) a “sugar daddy” and calling a woman a “gold digger” or a “slut”.

        • vto 22.2.1.1
          16 February 2016 at 9:07 pm

          Who said anything about being marginalised? It was about discomfort at the term and offense.

          And who the fuck has “extensive socioeconomic power”? Certainly not me – why would you raise that? It is not applicable, not one iota.

          Good pinhead dancing though pinhead

          • McFlock 22.2.1.1.1
            16 February 2016 at 9:45 pm

            You made the argument that there were “many such examples of this (with genders reversed of course).

            So what are these “genders reversed” now-offensive terms? Because I think you’ll find that every single one of these terms illustrates a completely different power position to that described by a woman referring to a man who is not her father as “daddy”

            • vto 22.2.1.1.1.1
              16 February 2016 at 9:47 pm

              See last comment. You’re repeating yourself.

            • vto 22.2.1.1.1.2
              16 February 2016 at 9:55 pm

              a woman referring to another man, who is not her father, as “daddy” is creepy

              don’t care what you think, don’t care the history of the term

              what do you think they mean by using the word “daddy”? When they are having sex? when they are having a secret affair? when he is buying her off?

              what is the woman actually getting at? what does she mean?

              try thinking

    • weka 22.3
      16 February 2016 at 5:39 pm

      Thanks for dropping by and clarifying Davina. I thought it was funny and sharp too. Don’t worry about the arguing here, it’s what we do.

    • te reo putake 22.4
      16 February 2016 at 5:54 pm

      Hi, Davina Ruby, and thanks for popping in over here at the Standard.

      I imagine this whole thing has been a pretty weird, unexpected experience for you. I hope there are no downsides and you enjoy your 15 minutes of fame. With only a couple of minor exceptions which you should ignore, everyone here that has commented has seen the funny side of your instagram post. We don’t often get that much agreement across the political divide on this blog. Usually, as you’ve spotted, it’s kind of like a war.

      So thanks for giving us a good laugh. On top of the Stephen Joyce dildo thang, you’ve helped make this the funniest week in NZ politics for a very, very long time.

    • sabine 22.5
      16 February 2016 at 6:06 pm

      thank you for confirming that. 🙂
      T’was hilarious and a good laugh.

    • miravox 22.6
      17 February 2016 at 3:55 am

      Thanks Davina – best comment all day.

      Don’t worry about a war – this is just exploring ideas – you should see what happens when the ideas are already fixed 😉

  23. vto 23
    16 February 2016 at 9:51 pm

    [Deleted. Obviously. TRP]

  24. North 24
    16 February 2016 at 10:02 pm

    Daddy’s looking more and more the cheesy middle-aged ‘watch that fulla’ wanker. It’s hilarious. He’ll probably recover but only momentariIy I’d say. Crosby Textor’ll find a brand new “panda is this year’s black !”. Maybe when he’s Richie’s best man. Oh what tragi-drama. All hopes dashed ! Sob sob……

  25. te reo putake 25
    16 February 2016 at 10:14 pm

    Comments are now closed. This war has stopped.

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    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    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 icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    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 ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    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, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    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 ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    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 Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    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 ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    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 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    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 Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    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-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    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 announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    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 ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    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, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    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 ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    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 KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    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 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    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 ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    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 ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    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 ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    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 ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    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 Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    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; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    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 ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    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 ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    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 ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    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. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    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 ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    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 PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

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