Wow

Right when the debate was first scheduled Bishop was worried about it interfering with Budget week. He said this on Friday the 16th www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Govts failing to accept Waitangi Tribunal recommendations or ensure legislation complies with BORA is nothing new. What is different about this govt is that it again and again openly says it doesn't care about findings against it and makes no attempts at all to address the concerns raised. #nzpol

Please consider signing this petition. Urgency is massively misused in AoNZ, perfectly & jaw-droppingly demonstrated this week by the current government.

Meanwhile, on the other issue pushed by its coalition partner National is hoping slips through while everyone is distracted, the cab paper & consultation response for the reg standards Bill has been released in the wake of its approval for introduction. Remarkably, it is LESS popular than the TPB.

“Mōrena to everyone except Stephen Rainbow. Please make a complaint about Rainbow using the form I've linked. Once they receive a certain number of complaints it becomes an issue that they must investigate..” ~ @wellywahine.bsky.social Here: tikatangata.org.nz//resources-a...

As a Jewish kiwi (albeit completely lapsed), I will clearly say that I couldn't agree with you more. Rancid Rainbow should have been fired yesterday.

I am informed that HRC have a duty to act if they received 7 or more complaints about a topic so if any of you have capacity you can do so here: [email protected]

As a Muslim kiwi I will clearly say that the NZ chief human rights commissioner is a threat to our lives here in Aotearoa New Zealand and his reported words in the media are is basically inciting violence against a community that has already paid with their lives because of racism like his.

Also, Standing Orders don’t address the point but speak to permissible languages.

Curious question. What legislative instrument, if any, designates our country's name as "New Zealand"? 🤔

Was it Rima Nakhle who just made that incredibly ungracious and rather spiteful comment to Dr Ganesh Nana?

RNZ syndicating barely veiled pro-Musk 'analysis' that for some strange reason pushes this 'immigration' line without attributing it to the far-right figures who manufactured it... I don't know who is making the editorial decisions, but this is fifth column, shit

stop using substack

CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) has provided real-time data and analysis about disease outbreaks and emerging health threats without a break every week since 1960. Until today.

Pressure is working! The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dog National despite Luxon's efforts to shirk responsibility for letting it get this far. Luxon has now ruled out a referendum should ACT get to the coalition negotiations again #ToitūTeTiriti

Good graph to see how the US doesn't work. They spend way more public money on health than we do with far less coverage. www.statista.com/statistics/2...

Incredible that David Seymour made zero mention of Māori in the part of his speech subtitled “NZ’s origin story: A nation of immigrants”, but still managed to make plenty of digs at Māori in the part about the mediocre “tribe.” I refuse to get used to this nasty, divisive and racist rhetoric.

This government: access to abortion won’t change under us Also this government: Under the HNZ restructures, we’re downsizing the team who oversee the operational side of abortion services nationwide, to a barely-existent 0.5FTE

Sexual binary? Nah, it never existed in the first place.

Why is a minor coalition partner giving State of the Nation speeches? Why is ANYBODY in NZ giving State of the Nation speeches?

Oh ffs. If anyone thinks the private health system provides all the services that the public system does, or that having to negotiate with your insurance company to get ANY service is a better alternative, I have a bridge to sell you.

Kia ora e hoa mā. I'm looking for some quotes (by Māori, not by 'early European observers') about what Māori society was like in the pre-colonial era. Does anyone know of any good ones?

the biologists made a bunch of noises. "We don't know how to tell you this," they said. "But see, we don't know for sure." I was like HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW And one of them was like, "No one has really bothered to study human women."

Who made this 🤣

They are complicit.

Vaccines are stunning

And where the “heart” cannot be reached, the ideological statement always goes to the benefit of the doubt - if we don’t know, we must not convict. It becomes a very effective discursive tool for racism, because the assumption is that meaning requires the mediation of intent, rather than just form

I often come back to Jane Hill’s excellent book “The Everyday Language of White Racism” and her point that “folk” ideologies of racism emphasize a nebulous, unknowable, and always somehow not racist underlying essence of actions. Here we are again.

Something we need to do in Aotearoa. The tobacco tax cut was theft FROM US. The landlord tax cut was theft FROM US Children get slop so the rich can get richer? We can stop this bullshit, the coalition are already on the ropes in the polls.

If anyone's interested, I did a quick write up/profile of some of the new Waitangi Tribunal appointees under this government #Maori #Kiwi

In short, Crump's writing over many years indicates attitudes on, & perceptions of Māori, to put it mildly, very much at odds with the Tribunal's raison d'être. There is *zero evidence* in the study of Crump's output that he can or will advance, in any meaningful way, the Tribunal's role, & work.

And while I'm not accusing MP Tama Potaka of being a neo-nazi or subscribing to violent extremist ideology, this appointment does however vastly strengthen what's very clearly a design to undermine New Zealand's democratic firmament led by the country's leading disinformation, & far-right networks.

This excellent post by @mountaintui.bsky.social has some vital background on Philip Crump, recently appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal. Studied his tweets, & some of his Substack columns dealing with Māori-related issues yesterday, to determine how t/his appointment would impact the Tribunal.

As the changes keep coming, Simeon Brown replaces Lester Levy with Leo Molloy

Changing the Minister of Health from Reti to Simeon Brown doesn’t bode well for Māori health. Reti was bad but Simeon is undoubtedly worse.

I feel sick. First we had former ACT party leader Richard Prebble, now we have Ron Mark (who campaigns on his opposition to 3W) and “conservative blogger” and ZM pundit Philip Crump. Why TF is Stuff calling this a refresh when it’s clearly intended to destroy the institution?

Hard to overstate just how much of the tech industry’s horrifically dystopian present grew right out of its transparently misogynistic past

Meta Deletes Trans and Nonbinary Messenger Themes www.404media.co/meta-deletes...

And yet more examples from @sambiddle.com

What’s permissible on Meta now. Importantly, and though not mentioned in article, likely that even on appeal, this content will never be actioned since it’s now official policy to allow this speech. | Inside Meta’s dehumanizing new speech policies for trans people www.platformer.news/meta-new-tra...

There’s nothing organised or strategic about the staffing cuts within Health NZ. They’re just slashing staff, hoping to figure out what work it’s possible to keep doing later. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3605...

The latest job cuts proposed by Te Whatu Ora (a week before the affected roles go on mandatory leave for 2-3 weeks) involves cutting the central maternity team from 6 (previously 15 or so) people to 1. One. One person to oversee our maternity system. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Help please. I found a notifiable weed in Belmont Regional Park. Who do I report it to?

Absolute CORKER of a speech in the urgent debate from @barbedmonds.bsky.social on the genuinely shocking HYEFU - which shows that the govt has ripped away relief for families to give money to their mates. We TOLD the Minister that tax cuts were unaffordable, and sure enough - they are. #nzpol

“The power he gives himself is extraordinary in its scope and potential.” One of the scariest, accurate and bluntly clear articles written to date about David Seymour, in my opinion. This needs to be widely read - and the content widely reported in the media. open.substack.com/pub/mountain...

#BHN So let me get this right…a $13b gap in their projections as they give $14b in tax breaks and $3b in landlord benefits Who’s going to tell her? #nzpol

👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 #nzpol

Um… isn’t the “crisis hotline” for “perceived threats” in the US called 911? But sure, create a special bypass for the ultra rich. Hard to believe this a genuine response to the frustration of extreme wealth inequality causing differential access to basic services 🤦🏻‍♀️

It's also incredibly clear that the Government and Ministry do not feel they are engaged in discrimination by exploring restrictions for one population that do not apply to the rest - I look forward to that confidence being challenged in a court.