New Zealand's liberal blog. @norightturnnz@mastodon.social That PGP key expired a long time ago
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Finally writing my submission on National's voter suppression bill. was going to argue that our democracy is worth spending the money to resource the electoral commission properly. Then I see that closing emrolment early will cost $5M, to save $2.4M. So they're paying to wreck our democracy!
Just plugging numbers into DriveThru's POD calculator, you can get a 32-page small B&W softcover for £1.98, and a 64 page for £2.44. Either of which is more than enough space for a simple rpg.
Wendy sounds like David Seymour #AlienEarth
I'm not sure it's widely known that you *own* the books you buy on Audible. They don't make it easy for you to keep listening to them. There's an app called OpenAudible that allows you to download/convert them to mp3 and if you're tech, AudioBookshelf lets you host your own server.
Labour aren’t the life raft they think they are. I talk more about this over at my substack: yeehawtheboys.substack.com/p/labours-fe...
Subtle but important quibble with @henrycooke.bsky.social's piece on the methane target: he says "National voted for the [Zero Carbon] Act but signalled its opposition to the methane target, and campaigned on reviewing it." ...1/3 www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
Or, if you have a wiki account, you can validate it - check the work! - here: en.wikisource.org/wiki/Index:W...
Now proofed on Wikisource: "Wild, Wild heart" - an NZ romance novel by Rosemary Rees. Its... surprisingly good, with a clash of class in NZ's 1920's colonial society. Unfortunately, it has a horse with a racist name. You can read it here: en.wikisource.org/wiki/Wild,_W...
Contact has been pushing this idea of a Fossil Corp for a while, but strangely no-one wants to buy it. Because who the hell would pay anything for stranded assets with no future. If the govt wants to boost energy security, set up an SOE to build solar and batteries and crash prices.
The US president trafficked & raped underage girls, the evidence is overwhelming, everyone knows it, and this country's elites & institutions are so broken, so insular, so decadent that we can't even bring ourselves to state it clearly, much less do anything about it. Contemptible & pathetic.
Let's say there were 10 homeless people and you put each one in a flat. 10 - 10 = 0 - seriously Chris Bishop really says 10 - 10 = 10. The amazing Chris Bishop has invented a completely new mathematics.
Shame Jones' interjections ATM make it very clear that he is pro-genocide in Gaza #nzqt
The real problem here is that Bishop doesn't want to spend money on anything other than rich people. And he certainly doesn't want a broader policy to end homelessness of mass house building, rent controls, and higher wages.
Chris Bishop: "providing emergency housing doesn't reduce homelessness" Oh FFS #nzqt
Order in the House ostensibly requires at least a pretense of respect between MPs. This is the reason they're not allowed to opnely call each other liars or racists. Getting people's pronouns right - and not deliberately misgendering them - seems even more basic to order.
Brownlee: "I'm almost tempted to require everyone in the House to post their pronouns so everyone gets it right" Please do. And sanction people for misgendering. #nzqt
Brownlee's double standards on full display today. just said that Winston, who was told to withdraw and apologise some comments yesterday, but efused to, is in the clear. Contrast this with his one week ban on Chloe Swarbrick for doing the same. Brownlee is a biased hypocrite #nzqt
Gaza West Bank Lebanon Yemen Syria Iran Iraq Tunisia Qatar All attacked and bombed by Israel in the past year. Insane. Rogue state.
Cancelling carbon units unused is a win (kindof, long-term). But its not how the system was expected to work, and it means the regime has less and less control over the mechanism which is effectively its only climate policy.
ETS auction again gets no bids. Another 1.5 million tons of carbon in the pile, to be cancelled at the end of the year if unbought. www.etsauctions.govt.nz/public/aucti...
I hope the powers that be understand that they just made this his most famous art piece.
So: thankyou to @beefaerie.bsky.social for doing this work, even if there isn't the traditional reward at the end of it. It needs to be done.
There's more than one way to fix this problem, and Labour should be clear about how it wants to balance the various approaches. Also, it crosses over with many other portfolios. They can't just not think about it. They need to have a serious policy to be regarded as a serious party.
...which is both a disincentive for them to put in fruitless work, and for other people to care what they think. They're irrelevant. Except they're not. Its important work. Even with a Green minister, Labour will be contributing to policy, so they need something to contribute...
It must suck to be Labour's climate spokesperson - and not just because of the small-target "strategy" whch prevents them from saying anything. Coalition dynamics means the Greens will demand and get that portfolio, so they'll never get to be the minister...
Given his contributions to ethics, I assume its a joke about the trial for Pride.
Some of it at least is in the Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill. Submissions on it closed last month. www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/governm...
Fuck Stuart Fash #nzpol
So today in Parliament Winston used blood quantum to say people weren't "real Māori", and Shane Jones yelled the reason we aren't recognizing Palestine statehood is because "we don't like terrorists". FFS.
So, anyone know anything about Caleb Riddick? Running for mayor, and has basically nothing on google. Substandard has reported he supports Māori wards, and he doesn't look immediately like a cooker, but I want to be sure before preferencing him
Luxon "I did that".gif
Stuart Nash, guy who leaked confidential Cabinet info to businessmen, now selling "private connections and access" to NZ - boasting it's who you know that matters in this country. This comes after NZ First approved golden visas #nzpol #kiwi www.nashkellyglobal.com
Those meetings will have minutes, which is something I guess someone should ask for. Meanwhile, I'm off to the Ombudsman about the extension. It seems like a deliberate effort to thwrt public participation in the planned later consultation process.
Good point. And I've submitted it to @theprogressreport.co.nz so others can see it.
Actually, looking back, it was "all written submissions received so far". But they say this six week "consultation" is for ten documents. Which smells like bullshit.
The lead boat of the Sumud Flotilla, known as the Family Ship, was attacked by Israeli drones around 11.30am our time while anchored off Tunis An incendiary device was dropped and caused a fire According to a Kiwi on one of the other boats no one was hurt Yet another crime in international waters
The government has no plan to manage this crisis. More job losses are being announced every day, and the government does not seem to recognise the growing scale of the challenge. Thousands of working people and their families are paying the price. Do you feel back on track yet?
More interesting to me is why they're delaying my request for submissions (from people they approached) for six weeks for "consultations" when they have already refused yours.
But it does look like they sought views "in confidence". Whether that will hold up is another question, of course, because such promises are inherently limited by the OIA.
Problem 1: an agency can't withhold the name of an _organisation_ "to protect the privacy of natural persons". Organisations ahve no privacy rights whatsoever.
Did they explicitly offer confidentiality when soliciting your submission?
My local body voting papers have arrived, so I guess I need to do the research and work out who absolutely not to vote for in PN...
Emily Tesh's Chetwood Academy seems to be just another posh private school which teaches magic as a standard part of the curriculum.
#nzpol Data released by Statistics New Zealand shows that the labour market is even more bleak than feared, with the loss of more than 10,000 jobs in just three months. The data shows that there are more than 50,000 fewer jobs than in December 2023. A 🧵 www.stats.govt.nz/information-...
On NRT: A clear message - norightturn.blogspot.com/2025/09/a-cl...
If they're put in that position, they'd probably back national.
Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori all want different things. But there's plenty of common ground between them, and a shared agenda can easily be constructed. They are natural allies. Two of the parties recognise this. Labour doesn't. So why should we vote for spoilers?
Aotearoa is highly fortunate to have a Law Commission that cuts through culture wars with evidence. The Ia Tangata report gives Parliament a clear path: make explicit what's implicit in our Human Rights Act. My piece on why this blueprint for dignity matters: thespinoff.co.nz/society/09-0...
Reality hidden by headline: Kiwis must accept lower quality public services to pay for the $2 billion the government gave to their friends, the landlords, while also factoring in corporate hand outs for tobacco and fossil fuel, and the money pissed up the wall for no ferries.
Totally Zohran-pilled now 😂 I’m hoping the Labour Party or Greens are taking notes #NZPol 📝
Well, basically. If you want real change, vote for Greens or TPM. if Labour doesn't like the hand we deal them, that's Labour's problem.
There's a mastercard ad in that...
A major party wanting to govern can pay its coalition partners in Ministers, or it can pay them in policy (usually both). If it refuses to do either, it can pay in obstruction of its agenda until it grows a fucking clue. Labour saying "no Ministers" means either big policy concessions, or sabotage.
And, from the FYI version, no-one bothered to think about what might happen with the domain name afterwards. Fucking clownshow.
And of course: if you want Labour to work with TPM, the answer is to force them, by making sure that Labour needs them to gain a majority. Ditto the Greens. If Labour tries ruling them out, well, we can see how that works when they try passing legislation.
Labour signals it doesn't want to be in government www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
(They explained, but didn't bother to provide the requested documentation. Not sure if I care enough to complain about that)
MCH's response to is NZ History site being taken over by Kazakh online gamblers: "it's all DIA's fault" www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
The solar farm just outside of CHCH Airport will be only 1.1% the size of Lakes Tekapo & Pukaki combines, but will produce the same amount of power as the first 3 dams on the Waitaki system! AND you can still farm around & under solar farms if you want to.
"Back to basics" seems to be used heavily by VFF stealth candidates; I'm avoiding any candidate who uses it.
Usual police "fuck you" response to notification that their website bank account details for paying fines fail confirmation of payee checks.
NEW – Red-green parties win Norway election: NRK #norwayelection www.nrk.no/norge/rodgro...
Anyway, here’s @thejuicemedia.com on how the Albanese government has taken a giant shit on FOI laws youtu.be/n6O7gHI5YKA
Quite a thing —> Banksy painted a mural on the Royal Courts of Justice in London in opposition of recent protest crackdowns. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Cut public service jobs, get fewer public services, AND economic downturn as unemployment goes up I don't understand how many times we have to do this before people start to understand that a successful society INVESTS in itself rather than cuts itself to shreds? AUSTERITY MAKES EVERYTHING WORSE
This is genuinely what a Labour government thinks terrorism looks like in the UK right now and I'm losing my god damn mind
Reading it now. enjoyable so far.
Depaywalled archive.is/nsghk
Any wikipedian in PN who is a good photographer want to go and grab a picture of Highbury's new pouwhenua? I took one today, but its not very good. An image would be the perfect thing to illustrate the suburb's wiki page www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
When a Govt is so intent on supporting Israel’s genocide it starts arresting their own people - doctors, nurses, priests, pensioners - as “terrorists” for wanting peace, it shreds its legitimacy. It’s UK Labour now but look out because we have Minns, Wong, Marles, Albanese and co all watching here.
Why? Well, for starters, 300 ICE agents have been moved to Chicago, leaving only about 300 in LA County which is about what we had before Trump took office. Why are they leaving? Because LA made their jobs TOO FUCKING HARD. LA Organized. LA sat on corners outside Home Depots with radios. 5/
I have some significant experience in corporate performance measurement. My assessment of the likelihood of achieving these targets is *somewhat more pessimistic*... The "non-softball" targets have no zero chance. An auditor would have a fucking stroke. #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Leaving the Paris Agreement would make New Zealand poorer, not richer, and do little to alleviate pressure on farmers to clean up their act. newsroom.co.nz/2025/09/08/t...
Looking at the history of Aotearoa, any reasonable person would have some misgivings. So its perfectly understandable that kiwis aren't really keen on overt patriotic displays outside of a sporting context.
Government-mandated flag-shagging is the government telling us how we should feel about our country. And that's not something a democratic government should do.
"Tussock Land" and "The Tracks We Tread" - both on wikisource.
Does this mean you had to read mountains of Sad Boner Professor-lit as research?
Chris Bishop’s fast track law is designed so that applicant’s false information cannot be challenged by the public during the consenting process and hence a consent can be given based on fake information
And the whole thing was revoked in 1985 by the lange government. And good riddance to it! paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/C...
Winston's political role-model Muldoon retreated into flag-shagging as well. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/C...
Even that seems a bit... demostrative. (So is knowing the words, TBH) Kiwis don't do overt patriotism. That's... foreign.
Kiwis don't "salute our flag", because that's American (not to mention kinda fashy). So why should new kiwis be any different?
me IRL
Headline of the year
Or you could use a service which pays tax. Its not like there aren't non-criminal alternatives.
If you use Uber, you're robbing Aotearoa. Don't support tax cheats
$20mil is a huge amount for the Fund, and a pittance to the govt. This ain’t about saving money or balancing the books or whatever bollocks NactF want you to think. This is a deliberate and sustained attack on science, scientists, and the entire concept of thinking and knowledge.
Pakistan is a great example of the global solar boom and shows why petrostate politicos are freaking out! Solar is doing more to address energy poverty than any power tech! Expensive fossil fuels cripple poor nations e360.yale.edu/features/pak... #energysky
Doctors are concerned the Healthy Futures Pae Ora law change will stop health workers speaking out about things they think are detrimental to healthcare and the public. My Stuff #cartoon today #NZpol #PaeOra #HealthNZ #PublicHealth
neither national nor labour are willing to acknowledge the obvious, devastating truth: so long as new zealand and australia maintain a single labour market, wages (and taxes) must rise massively to match pay for doctors, nurses, teachers, police, builders, and other skilled workers in australia
David Lammy is a war criminal. Our new Deputy Prime Minister has spent his time in government assisting Israel’s genocide and backing a bloody coup in Syria. We want this criminal government gone and you can help us do it.
A 3000 vote majority (vs 40 at the 2023 election) seems like a pretty good endorsement. I guess Labour needs to try harder.
Next week I should probably do the "who to vote for in Palmerston North" post, but I feel like I don't have enough data.
Protest works! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
Well that's a useful data-point. I'll put him in the "do not preference" pile.
I think I was suspicious of but still wondering about Fitzgerald. (This election I'm going to be suspicious of any non-incumbent. I know where the incumbents stand. Where people have nothing on them, no preference, because they're probably cookers)
Oh, and Glen Williams is the ACToid, so a racist knuckle-dragger.
So, MAGA-hat Nazi-salute National candidate, the cooker founder of the local angry ratepayers group, and two other weirdos. But also: I don't think I'll be bothering to preference anyone who wouldn't say. Because they're clearly trying to hide their views, and fuck them.
