New Zealand

[prospector]

That is what happens when a relative newby to positions of power get trodden down by caucus of 17 led by Nanaia Mahuta, and that is only part of what is going to be surfacing in the next few months. Got to get all this new legislation through before the next election.

[OneHungLow]

Auckland surgeons are now being required to consider a patient’s ethnicity alongside other factors when deciding who should get an operation first.

When is this bloody world going to realize that ethnicity, colour, heritage, etc. mean bugger all, we are all members of the human race and should
all be treated equally.

+1

Well said.

The legislation is profoundly iniquitous, and downright foolish if you ask me, and I say this as a Guardian reader.

[FD2]

Like most newspapers the Guardian is like the curate's egg* - parts of it are OK - when they are not grinding their owners' axes too hard. Some good articles which need to be read to get a balanced view.

As for the legislation, I agree with prospector, I think there's more of this stuff coming before the election.

* A thing that is partly good and partly bad. The phrase comes from a cartoon in the British magazine Punch in 1895, in which a nervous young curate is having breakfast with a bishop. The bishop says 'I'm afraid you've got a bad egg there' and the curate, not wanting to upset the bishop, replies, 'Oh no, my Lord! … Parts of it are excellent!’

[OneHungLow]

* A thing that is partly good and partly bad. The phrase comes from a cartoon in the British magazine Punch in 1895, in which a nervous young curate is having breakfast with a bishop. The bishop says 'I'm afraid you've got a bad egg there' and the curate, not wanting to upset the bishop, replies, 'Oh no, my Lord! … Parts of it are excellent!’

Better to be a good egg like the curate than to be like the The Vicar of Bray.

From afar I am nonplussed by some of the government shenanigans in New Zealand that smack of injudicious zealotry!

[barkingmad]

Those who forget history and so on seems apposite for NZ these days?

“I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character”.
Martin Luther King, 28 August, 1963

If the current racist shenanigans in NZ are the legacy of the former Toothy Tyrant and her claim to be the only source of truth, then that poor country is in deep trouble.

Re: The Guardian newspaper, here’s a short history of that journal, by that journal, which might light up Monday morning or evening, depending on your Lat/Long;

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/ ... -200-years

Edited to add: Their fondness for the use of this ‘N’ word should haunt them forever when shouting PC and “woke” to us peasants;

https://www.theguardian.com/news/1964/j ... thearchive

[llondel]

Auckland surgeons are now being required to consider a patient’s ethnicity alongside other factors when deciding who should get an operation first.

When is this bloody world going to realize that ethnicity, colour, heritage, etc. mean bugger all, we are all members of the human race and should
all be treated equally.

The opposite should be required - treat based on need, ethnicity shouldn't be considered, whether it's bias for or against. Which is not to say it doesn't happen - also true of sex, where men and women get treated differently.

[Karearea]

Suspended transport minister Michael Wood has resigned as a Cabinet minister, after it was revealed his family trust held shares in Chorus, Spark, and the National Australia Bank that he did not declare.

Wood had made or been involved in decisions relevant to the sectors in which he held these undeclared shareholdings. The minister had already been under scrutiny for not declaring a conflict of interest related to his shareholding in Auckland Airport while working as transport minister.

"I have not managed this effectively, I take responsibility for it, and as such have submitted my resignation to the prime minister. I apologise to him and the public for this situation,” Wood said.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins called a sudden news conference on Wednesday afternoon to announce he had advised the Governor-General that Wood had resigned as a Cabinet minister. Wood was minister for transport, immigration, workplace relations, and Auckland issues. He was also an associate finance minister.

“Despite repeated requests from the Cabinet Office and myself for Michael to manage his shareholdings, he's repeatedly failed to identify, disclose and appropriately manage conflicts of interest,” Hipkins said. ...

Cabinet Minister resigns after further shareholdings revealed

[John Hill]

PM says Xi is not a dictator..

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... tor-remark

[FD2]

Nanaia Mahuta received ‘dressing down’ from Chinese Foreign Minister - reports

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/ ... UMA7E6M4Q/


Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta was subjected to a major dressing down from the Chinese Foreign Minister during her visit to Beijing in March.

The Australian reports that Mahuta copped an “epic haranguing” by her counterpart Qin Gang, quoting sources familiar with the incident.

The news comes as Prime Minister Chris Hipkins prepares to leave tomorrow for his landmark meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

A source told The Australian: “She was harangued for a whole hour.”

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity, said Mahuta pushed back on Qin’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ approach.

Another source told the outlet that the meeting was “robust”.


Hipkins was forced to navigate the tricky diplomatic waters between China and NZ earlier this week when he was asked if he agreed with Joe Biden’s recent description of President Xi as a “dictator”.

“No, and the form of government that China has is a matter for the Chinese people,” Hipkins told reporters.

“If they wanted to change their system of government, that would be a matter for them.”

[FD2]

Chippy & Emperor.png (251.47 KiB) Viewed 789 times

[Karearea]

A Christchurch business owner and tradies who performed a citizen’s arrest, tackling a thief to the ground after he allegedly stole motorcycle parts, are disappointed at the police response.

When Mike Creedy stopped to visit the motorcycle store about 3pm Monday, four men were running after an alleged thief. Creedy tackled him to the ground and phoned police.

“The guy was running down the middle of the street with an armload of stuff. I took a couple more steps and stopped him,” Creedy told the Herald.

“He put up a big fight. I just had enough. I put him in a headlock, sort of tripped him backwards and put him on the ground on his back. That was enough for the four guys, one on each arm and one on each leg to actually hold him down,” Creedy said.
“He kept yelling, ‘if the police come I’m going to go back to prison’.”

But police told Creedy and his workmates to “let him go”.

“The police asked if he had any weapons and I said ‘not that I can see’. I’m disappointed in the police. We had the guy, he could have been prosecuted, but he got away scot-free.

“We just stepped back and let him go and he took off down the street,” Creedy said. ...

NZ Herald: Christchurch police tell tradies to let robber go after citizen’s arrest

[prospector]

I think that this article speaks for itself with the results of many of the labor parties aspirations

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national ... ec3d&ei=14


""Māori power company Nau Mai Rā under fire as consumers shocked by sharp rise in bills, communication failures
Tuesday

By Anastasia Hedge

Customers with huge electricity bills are being left in the dark, unable to connect with their provider Nau Mai Rā as the invoices keep rolling in.
But now some have tripled, and customers want to know why.

Nau Mai Rā customers are billed weekly and the money comes out via direct debit.

One customer, Wiki, noticed something was wrong when her weekly bill suddenly shot up to $275.

"One week our power was ridiculous, it was $275. I don't know how. We're a low-income family so it didn't go out and we were overdrawn in our account. Then the next week they tried to take out even more. At the end of the month, we had $1596 owing."
The business launched in 2019 as the first kaupapa Māori power company in Aotearoa and had been praised for using its company profits to help struggling customers pay their power bills.""

[Karearea]

Just coincidence I was about to post this article which has nothing to do with the above:

New Zealand seeks to exterminate predators to save native birds

Every last rat, apparently.

[FD2]

FRIENDS AND PARTNERS https://www.thepress.co.nz/a/politics/3 ... xi-jinping

Chris Hipkins met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, with the Chinese President declaring that “China always views New Zealand as a friend and a partner”.

It is the first visit by a New Zealand Prime Minister since Covid-19 and took place against a backdrop of increased geostrategic competition in the region since the pandemic.

“Your visit this time is very meaningful, I’m also aware, that the international community, especially countries in our region, have been following your visit very closely,” Xi said.

As Sid James might have said, "Not half."

[Karearea]

"Keep New Zealand green: don't tell them anything" said the old joke.

A prominent Dunedin science teacher is among those shocked an advance version of the draft school science curriculum contains no mention of physics, chemistry or biology.

The so-called "fast draft" said science would be taught through four contexts - the Earth system, biodiversity, food, energy and water, and infectious diseases.

It was sent to just a few teachers for their feedback ahead of its release for consultation next month, but some were so worried by the content they leaked it to their peers.

Teachers who had seen the document told RNZ they had grave concerns about it. It was embarrassing, and would lead to "appalling" declines in student achievement, they said. ...

Otago Daily Times: 'Where's the physics and chemistry?': Shock over leaked draft of science curriculum

[Karearea]

Kiri Allan, currently NZ's Minister of Justice, Minister for Regional Development

Kiri Allan remains a senior minister in Chris Hipkins’ Cabinet but her future is uncertain until they can have a discussion next week about concerns over working relationships in her office.
The Prime Minister was careful not to frame that meeting as her career hanging in the balance, but he also said it would be premature to make a judgment until he had heard from her, and he didn’t express confidence in her when asked directly.

Otago Daily Times: Hipkins to meet Allan face-to-face over MP's future

Meanwhile, the Mayor of NZ's capital city, Wellington:

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau says she was “tipsy” when she skipped the bill at a popular restaurant but has no regrets about supporting local hospitality.
In a statement, Whanau said she “strenuously denies” claims about drunken behaviour including asking a waiter “do you know who I am?” after being cut off.

Otago Daily Times: Mayor says she wasn't drunk

[FD2]

"Keep New Zealand green: don't tell them anything" said the old joke.

A prominent Dunedin science teacher is among those shocked an advance version of the draft school science curriculum contains no mention of physics, chemistry or biology.

The so-called "fast draft" said science would be taught through four contexts - the Earth system, biodiversity, food, energy and water, and infectious diseases.

It was sent to just a few teachers for their feedback ahead of its release for consultation next month, but some were so worried by the content they leaked it to their peers.

Teachers who had seen the document told RNZ they had grave concerns about it. It was embarrassing, and would lead to "appalling" declines in student achievement, they said. ...

Otago Daily Times: 'Where's the physics and chemistry?': Shock over leaked draft of science curriculum

Conventional science seems to have been replaced by piffle waffle!

[OneHungLow]

"Keep New Zealand green: don't tell them anything" said the old joke.

A prominent Dunedin science teacher is among those shocked an advance version of the draft school science curriculum contains no mention of physics, chemistry or biology.

The so-called "fast draft" said science would be taught through four contexts - the Earth system, biodiversity, food, energy and water, and infectious diseases.

It was sent to just a few teachers for their feedback ahead of its release for consultation next month, but some were so worried by the content they leaked it to their peers.

Teachers who had seen the document told RNZ they had grave concerns about it. It was embarrassing, and would lead to "appalling" declines in student achievement, they said. ...

Otago Daily Times: 'Where's the physics and chemistry?': Shock over leaked draft of science curriculum

Conventional science seems to have been replaced by piffle waffle!

One wonder what people like Ernest Rutherford, Maurice Wilkins et al would have made of educational travesty?

[OneHungLow]

One wonder what people like Ernest Rutherford, Maurice Wilkins et al would have made of educational travesty?

One also wonders what English teachers might make of my grammatical travesty!

[prospector]

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national ... 3536&ei=10

"I think that's the language that most New Zealanders speak and we want to make sure they understand that, but we should also have te reo there as well because it's a really important language and we want more New Zealanders speaking it."

He said while more people should be encouraged to learn the language, "there is also a large proportion of New Zealanders that have not been raised with te reo, and have no association or understanding of it".

He only thinks that is the language most NZ people use?