New Zealand political discussion thread

[CumbrianLefty]

He's just trying to bait Jacinda into a response probably

[brucejoel99]

There are no words to express how stupid our incumbent President is.

[Pericles]

He's just trying to bait Jacinda into a response probably

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/08/jacinda-ardern-hits-back-at-donald-trump-s-patently-wrong-claim-of-covid-19-surge-in-new-zealand.html
She said it was "patently wrong" and "Obviously I don't think there's any comparison between New Zealand's current cluster and the tens of thousands of cases that are being seen daily in the United States,"

[brucejoel99]

He's just trying to bait Jacinda into a response probably

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/08/jacinda-ardern-hits-back-at-donald-trump-s-patently-wrong-claim-of-covid-19-surge-in-new-zealand.html
She said it was "patently wrong" and "Obviously I don't think there's any comparison between New Zealand's current cluster and the tens of thousands of cases that are being seen daily in the United States,"

Nice, she called Donald out on his bullsh*t (as we all should).

[Pericles]

Sorry I haven't updated this thread in a while. The Auckland Covid-19 cluster did grow to be the largest one with several mini clusters and around 180 cases connected to it. However it has now been contained, and most days in the last week had 0 new community transmission cases. So everywhere except Auckland is moving back to level one-no domestic Covid restrictions like mandatory masks on public transport or limits on gatherings. Auckland will remain at level 2 so there will still be limits on mass gatherings. Thankfully, the system has worked and so the new cluster did not become a second wave, there are many examples even as close as Melbourne that remind us of how it could have gone. Hopefully, people will still be vigilant and use the Covid Tracer app.

[CumbrianLefty]

i know that NZ has advantages other countries don't, but the record still looks impressive overall.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://thehill.com/policy/international/asia-pacific/517372-new-zealand-pm-apologizes-for-maskless-selfie-photo-i-made

https://twitter.com/NewstalkZB/status/1307887274265251840

With Elections less than a month away, could this hurt Ardern and Labour at the polls?

[CumbrianLefty]

Hmmm, it might if the Nationals didn't have rather bigger skeletons in that closet.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/new-zealand-pm-jacinda-ardern-marijuana-election-debate-b718765.html

During a heated television debate in the run up to the upcoming election, New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern admitted trying marijuana “a long time ago.”

.....

The PM has repeatedly deferred commenting on her experience with cannabis but has previously said: “I was a mormon and then I wasn’t.”

Both Ms Collins and Ms Ardern have issued support for the euthanasia proposal but only Collins has said she will vote against the legalisation of cannabis while also admitting she has never used the drug.

Supporters of Ms Ardern have said all voters deserve a right to privacy regarding the PM’s quietness on the topic.

I'm mildly curious how that will impact Labour at the polls on the seventeenth.

There's also a referendum on the legalization of cannabis that day. Any New Zealand insiders want to predict whether it will pass?

[Pericles]

No impact, and the referendum probably fails so cannabis remains illegal (it's currently down 38% yes-51% no).

[CumbrianLefty]

Might even help Ardern with some Greeny types?

[Pericles]

Mask and social distancing requirements will be gone in Auckland from 11:59 pm on Wednesday. This is the tenth consecutive day without community transmission in New Zealand. Jacinda Ardern said that there is an at least 95% chance that the Auckland cluster has been eliminated. So New Zealand is now entirely back to normal life, with the exception of the borders being closed.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/new-zealand-ruling-party-vows-ban-efforts-alter-sexual-orientation-n1242120

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s center-left government vowed on Monday to ban conversion therapy, which aims to change a person’s sexual orientation, if returned to power, as widely expected, in polls on Oct. 17.

The globally discredited treatment, which harms and stigmatizes members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans community has adherents in New Zealand, however.

A recent survey showed more than one in six respondents reported being subjected to the efforts of psychiatrists, psychologists or counsellors to stop them being trans or nonbinary, Labour Party leader Tāmati Coffey said.

“Conversion therapy has been linked to severe adverse mental health issues, including depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation – that’s why it will be banned under a re-elected Labour Government,” Coffey said in a statement.

“It is a practice that causes harm and is out of place in the kind, inclusive and modern country we are.”

Ardern’s Labour-led government, which is in a coalition with the Green Party and the nationalist New Zealand First Party, is widely seen as winning in the election.

So, does this help Arden and Labour in the October 17, election, and based on politics in New Zealand, how easy would this ban be to implement and enforce?

[Pericles]

Lmao.
Fox News host goes on rant about 'terrifying' Covid 'camps'
Ingraham claimed that New Zealand is throwing people into quarantine camps and that this was the end of personal freedom. In a further insult, she appears to mock the New Zealand accent-disgusting!

The quote of Jacinda Ardern that she was using was of course about managed isolation facilities for returning New Zealanders, who will indeed have to stay for 28 days rather than 14 if they refuse to be tested. We are not just rounding up and arresting people who refuse to be tested. Also, we don't really have 'rising case numbers', there are no outbreaks in the community and the new cases are from people returning from other countries (of course, Jacinda Ardern can't control whether New Zealand citizens catch Covid in other countries). On the bright side, at least Fox News is noticing us and our Covid response.

[PSOL]

How are the Nationals doing anyway?

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

How are the Nationals doing anyway?

Poorly, I’d imagine. They typically lose seats when the special votes are counted. We’ll know in a bit under a week how bad things turn out for them. Collins might stick around for a bit, but I can’t see her leading them in three years’ time. I’m guessing that the Nats will be in shambles for the next three years.

You just hate to see it.

[Pericles]

Jacinda Ardern has announced her new cabinet.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300147743/the-full-list-of-prime-minister-jacinda-arderns-new-cabinet

Grant Robertson is Deputy PM, which makes sense as he's the defacto deputy despite not being Labour's Deputy leader (the line is that Kelvin Davis voluntarily withdrew from being Deputy PM). Chris Hipkins is Minister of the Covid-19 Response (new portfolio) and Education, while Andrew Little is Minister of Health. Nanaia Mahuta will be Minister of Foreign Affairs, the first woman in the role. Phil Twyford, who bungled Kiwibuild, has been removed from Cabinet and lost his remaining Transport role. Howvere, David Clark is back as Minister of Statistics and State Owned Enterprises. Epidemiologist Ayesha Verrall is joining cabinet in an associate health minister role.

This seems like a good cabinet, and I'm excited to see this majority Labour government get to work over the next three years.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

I heard about Davis’s speech and how it was poorly received. Is there any other reason why he’s not taking the Deputy PM position? I get why WINston was Deputy PM last time around.

[Pericles]

I heard about Davis’s speech and how it was poorly received. Is there any other reason why he’s not taking the Deputy PM position? I get why WINston was Deputy PM last time around.

Not specifically that speech but generally he isn't seen as a good media performer.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

Collins holds on.(for now) Shane Reti named as Deputy Leader of the National Party.

[Pericles]

Collins holds on.(for now) Shane Reti named as Deputy Leader of the National Party.

Reti is a good choice, he has been one of National's strongest performers this year. Here is a good article on it. Reti has not totally ruled out becoming leader in the future, so he might have ambitions for Collins' job. For now though, everyone is biding their time.

[Pericles]

So New Zealand now has a case of the South African variant in the community. It has been discovered that the person was in managed isolation and caught it directly from someone else there, and then developed symptoms after their 14-day isolation was over. This person did all the right things, they scanned QR codes with our Covid tracer app and got a test when they developed symptoms. So far, they are the only case, so it's not really community transmission. Contact tracing should be pretty easy, it is worrying but we have the systems in place to deal with it. So right now restrictions haven't changed and we're still in normal life enjoying our summer, but if the situation escalates I trust the government will act quickly. This has caused a big spike in usage of our Covid tracer app, scanning had been low as people were getting complacent, so if this case is contained then it might even be a good thing.

[NewYorkExpress]

The New Zealand Government is proposing a new school syllabus that takes a fresh look at Maori and British colonial history.

New Zealand's government on Wednesday proposed that all children learn the history of Māori people and British colonization in a set course that teachers must follow, ending a system where schools choose how those subjects are taught.

Supporters of the change say the country's history as currently taught tends to gloss over atrocities against indigenous people during colonization, while critics say the new curriculum would fail to present a balanced view of the past.

"Let us teach it, let us learn it and let us remember it. Let us share our history with every student in every school...," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said as she released a draft of the course, which she plans to introduce next year.

Māori, who account for about 15% of New Zealand's population, were dispossessed of much of their land during colonization by Britain. Thousands of Māori protested for civil and social rights in 2019, and have criticized successive governments for not doing enough.

Speaking on a visit to the site of an 1846 battle between the British and Māori at Ruapekapeka, Ardern called on the public for feedback on the draft, which supporters say reflects a renewed recognition of Māori history and culture.

The proposed curriculum includes the arrival of Māori in New Zealand, early colonial history, immigration and colonization of New Zealand and the Treaty of Waitangi -- a founding treaty that was signed between representatives of the British Crown and more than 500 Indigenous Māori chiefs in 1840.

[NewYorkExpress]

MP Rawiri Waititi was ejected from parliament for not wearing a tie.

A leader of the Maori Party has been ejected from the New Zealand parliament for not wearing a tie.

Male MPs can only ask questions in the debating chamber if wearing a tie. Speaker Trevor Mallard twice prevented Rawiri Waititi from asking questions.

"It's not about ties, it's about cultural identity mate," Mr Waititi said while exiting the chamber, local media reported.

He has called ties "a colonial noose" and wore a greenstone pendant instead.

After being stopped for a second time, Mr Waititi continued with his question until Mr Mallard ordered him to leave the chamber.

Mr Waititi called Mr Mallard's treatment of him "unconscionable", adding that he was wearing "Maori business attire".

[Pericles]

I'm not sure whether parliament should have a rule to wear ties, but I think this argument is silly. I'm inclined to agree with Waititi's predecessor as the Waiariki MP (he is still in parliament as a list MP apparently)-

Representing the people of Waiariki as their MP is a privilege. A responsibility no one should take lightly. Your job is not about you. You are there to represent our people, to help our people – to be the loud voice of our people.
👔
You are not there to fight with the speaker about ties. That kind of politics serves no one but yourself.
✊🏽
While you are having a standoff with the Speaker, Labour’s Maori Caucus will be over here getting Maori histories taught in Kura next year, getting ready to celebrate our first Matariki public holiday, and urgently passing Maori Wards legislation through Parliament.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/02/tamati-coffey-slams-rawiri-waititi-for-fighting-with-speaker-trevor-mallard-about-parliament-s-tie-rule.html