I've just realized where I've heard of this LG reform model before. It's the Mayoral Forum model without the regional council. In my experience it can become a place where individual over reach becomes the norm....a risky move given how little TA Mayors often know about regional council matters.

It is absolutely critical to democracy that communities directly own their water infrastructure but also unimportant that those same communities get to decide how they look after our environment? If cognitive dissonance could be harnessed for fuel then we could all live happily ever after

‘Last roll of the dice’: Hills Hats, a 150-year-old family business forced to crowdfund to survive Wellington’s ‘freefall’ www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3608...

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Went for a walk on the farm. Farmer G invited me to climb over a fence. Put my foot and all my weight on a piece of wood.....that had a nail sticking up out of it...... nek minute. Bloody sore actually. Tetanus jab tomorrow. Argh.

This is why politics needs the public and what the future of democracy can look like. I visited Eupen two years ago and stood in the chamber. You can see a new idea of democratic legitimacy appearing... www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/w...

This, by @giacgrassi.bsky.social, remains one of the simplest and best climate visuals

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I really loved this conversation with @georgemonbiot.bsky.social - I've thought about it lots ever since. Hope you enjoy it too! youtu.be/3xx6lNFx8tI?...

"Warming is going to exceed 1.5°C. We are heading into “overshoot” within the next few years. The world is going to become more turbulent and more dangerous. So, what comes after failure?" Some thoughts from Johan Rockstrom & me 10 years after Paris Agreement. theconversation.com/the-world-lo...

“The implications extend beyond trans young people. When governments override established clinical practice without evidence and when minority groups become targets of restrictive medical policy, it sets a precedent that should concern everyone.” 👇👇👇

Good statement from the HRC. tikatangata.org.nz/news/ban-on-...

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Report finds a quarter of women abused by partner “Until such time as men realise that they don't own their women, nothing's gonna change," #nzpol

GOOD NEWS! Researchers at the University of Exeter have found that getting vaccinated against shingles- a painful and debilitating condition that can flare up years after infection from varicella zoster virus- not only LOWERS the risk of infection, but can also PROTECT against Alzheimer’s disease!

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The people who make Shein's clothes labor for ten to twelve hours per day (in violation of China's labor laws), some up to seven days a week, and earn as little as 15 to 30 cents per t-shirt.

There’s a moment in every party’s governing term when realisation slowly dawns that it has lost any agency it once had with those who put it in power. #nzpol

One in three women have experienced sexual assault. Men, know that likely third of the women you know see men through a lens of distrust and fear. And some of the men you know have done these things. Nearly a third of women face partner or sexual violence: WHO www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...

And yet...here we are

Your 'bonus moment of doom' for today: "When the planet heats up beyond 1.5 degrees, the impacts don't get just slightly worse. Scientists warn that massive, self-reinforcing changes could be set off, having devastating impacts around the world." www.npr.org/2025/11/19/n...

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The 'Dirty Ashtray' was given to NZ at the biennial meeting of Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. NZ's citation is "for trying to portray their current tobacco control plan as a success when in reality since COP10 they've reversed world-leading reforms," and many other factors.

The NZ Prime Minister has a grotesque definition of success if he thinks rising numbers of prisoners is a good thing. Quite aside from the vast cost — money that could be spent better on health or education — think of the lives ruined, both by crime and imprisonment. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Stevenson said the country would see "really rapid increases in poverty" if it did not tax the rich. "I think if you don't do anything, if you leave the system as it is, then wealth inequality will increase very rapidly. #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

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I have followed Gary Stevenson for a while. He makes the wealth inequality discussion clear. 30 with Guyon Espiner: Economist Gary Stevenson on why New Zealand should tax the rich www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

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"Citizens Assemblies should be a no brainer" 🙂🙂 youtu.be/l9dZAl7kNPA?...

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Petition for men to stop enabling predatory behaviour in every sphere of life and start calling their mates out and for our justice system to stop being sympathetic to perpetrators and for media to stop writing articles just asking questions about women daring to raise their voice - in every sphere.

NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected. And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.* Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:

I think @bryceedwards.bsky.social has really nailed it here www.linkedin.com/posts/bryce-...

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As New Zealand Minister Hon. Simon Watts heads to #COP30, here's some remarkable new information from an Official Information Act response I received today. 1/-

Nearly half of NZ top 50 companies increased their climate pollution. Biggest increase from the biggest polluter - Fonterra businessdesk.co.nz/article/poli...

Whoa boy ‘controversial’ doing a lot of heavy lifting there. ‘Almost universally unpopular and condemned by legal and constitutional experts’ was obviously too long for the headline. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Reflecting on how democratic society relies on trust between governments and their agencies and the public. When this breaks down, what are we left with other than authoritarianism? And some flowers to balance the smell of despair.

"Schools reported that term-time holidays were their main attendance challenge, especially in high socio-economic communities where 88 percent of teachers said it was the biggest problem compared to 49 percent in low socio-economic communities." www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

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Crikey! Power bill daily rate about to go up over 50%. Meter rates not really changing. To make me feel better they're offering a total of 11% discounts for various loyalty etc things. Ouch.

Palmer asks Parliament: What’s the rush? ‘That is not a democratic process, that is a shambles,’ former PM says of truncated debates on vital legislation #nzpol

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✊🏽 #nzpol m.facebook.com/story.php?st...