New Zealand political discussion thread

[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?

[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?

[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?

[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".

[NewYorkExpress]

So, New Zealand and Australia are going at it over a duel citizen who was caught on the battlefield supporting ISIS, and whom Australia wants to deport to New Zealand.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has accused Australia of "abdicating its responsibilities" amid a row over a woman accused of having links to the Islamic State (IS).

The woman is facing deportation to New Zealand after being caught entering Turkey from Syria with two children.

But Ms Ardern says the dual national should be sent to Australia.

The 26-year-old held both Australian and New Zealand citizenship until Canberra revoked it last year.

However, Ms Ardern pointed out that the woman - who the Turkish Ministry of National Defence has identified as a member of IS - had not lived in New Zealand since she was a child.

"They left New Zealand at the age of six, were resident in Australia from that time, became an Australian citizen, left from Australia to Syria, and travelled on an Australian passport," she said.

She summed up by saying: "New Zealand frankly, is tired of having Australia exporting its problems."

[NewYorkExpress]

Jacinda calls opposition leader Judith Collins a "Karen" as debate on hate speech laws gets heated.

A hate speech debate turned heated in New Zealand's Parliament on Wednesday when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern suggested the country's opposition leader was a "Karen."

The insult, popularized last year by an internet meme, broadly refers to an entitled White woman who is unafraid to use her privilege to make unreasonable demands.

Parliament had been debating New Zealand's hate speech laws, with Ardern's government proposing harsher penalties for inciting discrimination and violence. The proposal comes in response to the deadly 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks. A Royal Commission inquiry afterward concluded the law did not adequately deal with hate speech and hate crime, and recommended stronger measures.

But the proposed changes have been sharply criticized by opposition parties, who argue it would infringe on freedom of speech and that existing laws are sufficient.

......

Collins reiterated her opposition to the law in parliament Wednesday, arguing it would "shut down debate on hate speech."

"I disagree with that statement," Ardern replied. "I also, as it happens, disagree with (Collins') statement on Twitter, that somehow it will become illegal to call someone a 'Karen.' That is absolutely incorrect, and I apologize, that means these laws will not protect that member from such a claim."

https://twitter.com/JudithCollinsMP/status/1409733416547864577

[NewYorkExpress]

Jacinda Ardern has apologized for the 1970's dawn raids targeting Pacific Islanders.

Beginning in 1974, New Zealand police armed with dogs woke up Pacific Islanders who allegedly overstayed their visas at dawn, pushed them into police vans for questioning, then often deported them and placed their children in state care homes. The early morning operation became known as the "Dawn Raids."

Nearly 50 years later, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Sunday formally apologized for those raids and the lasting hurt they have caused. Ardern expressed the government's "sorrow, remorse and regret" over the raids.

New Zealand welcomed thousands of Pacific Islanders after World War Two to help fill a labor shortage. There were more than 65,000 Pacific Islanders in the country by 1976. But an economic crisis later caused unemployment to rise, and migrants were blamed.

Along with raids at homes, workplaces, schools and places of worship, police targeted non-white New Zealanders by forcing them to carry a passport at all times. Pacific Islanders were disproportionately impacted by the raids, even though most visa overstayers were from Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

[NewYorkExpress]

Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni had a Zoom interview with Radio Samoa interrupted by her son flashing a carrot shaped like a penis.

Working from home might offer advantages for parents who can't commute and want more flexibility. The downside? Your kid might fly a phallic-shaped carrot around in the back of your Zoom meeting.

That's exactly what happened to New Zealand’s minister for social development, Carmel Sepuloni. While doing a live Zoom interview with Radio Samoa in Manukau, New Zealand, her child rushed through the door waving around a carrot.

Sepuloni was in the middle of answering a question, and before she could make it clear that waving a carrot around on camera wasn’t a good idea, her son had already flashed the unusually shaped vegetable.

https://twitter.com/CarmelSepuloni/status/1432178595112251401

[NewYorkExpress]

The Maori Party has a petition out that calls for New Zealand's name to be changed to Aotearoa.

New Zealand's Māori Party has launched a petition to change the official name of the country to Aotearoa, its name in the te reo Māori language.

The campaign also calls on the House of Representatives to restore the Māori names for all towns, cities and place names, according to a statement announcing the petition on Tuesday.
"It's well past time that Te Reo Māori was restored to its rightful place as the first and official language of this country. We are a Polynesian country -- we are Aotearoa," reads the statement, which calls for the renaming process to be completed by 2026.

"Tangata whenua are sick to death of our ancestral names being mangled, bastardised, and ignored. It's the 21st Century, this must change," it reads. Tangata whenua means "people of the land," but is used to refer to the Māori people in general.

Fluency in the Māori language fell from 90% in 1910 to 26% in 1950, according to the statement.

"In only 40 years, the Crown managed to successfully strip us of our language and we are still feeling the impacts of this today," said the party.

https://twitter.com/Maori_Party/status/1437662632958304267?s=20

https://twitter.com/dbseymour/status/1437558204980817922?s=20

[NewYorkExpress]

Congratulations on your second dose, but I really don't think New Zealand should open to Americans ever again. My country is depraved, and there's a solid floor of 30% that won't get the vaccine no matter what.

That number is much higher than that. Republicans make up about 45% of the country. 100% of Republicans will never get vaccinated for COVID.

[NewYorkExpress]

Jacinda Ardern's three year old daughter, Neve interrupted a national address on COVID-19

Working from home can be tricky for parents, even when you're the prime minister of New Zealand.

On Monday night, Jacinda Ardern was giving the nation a live update on changing Covid restrictions when she was interrupted by off-screen calls for “mummy.”

"You're meant to be in bed, darling," Ardern told daughter, Neve, 3.

"Pop back to bed, I'll come and see you in a second."

“Sorry, everybody,” Ardern said as she turned back to her national audience. She laughed off the interruption, following up with, "Well, that was a bedtime fail, wasn't it?"



Ardern, who has been praised for her clear and frequent communication with the public throughout the coronavirus pandemic, joked that she thought she had found a safe time to broadcast.

“Does anyone else have kids escape like three, four times after bedtime?” she asked, noting that fortunately, her mother was there to help.

Toward the end of the eight-minute livestream, Neve could be heard again, wondering what the hold-up was.

“I'm sorry darling it is taking so long,” Ardern said before cutting the livestream short to give bedtime another try.

[NewYorkExpress]

The Maori have told anti-vaccine protesters to stop using a Haka.

A Maori tribe has told anti-vaccine protesters in New Zealand to stop the use of a famous haka "immediately".

The Ka Mate haka is hugely popular as it is performed by national rugby team the All Blacks before every match.

The Ngati Toa tribe, which has legal guardianship of the haka, issued a strong notice after protestors performed the war dance during demonstrations last week.

The notice comes as vaccination rates among the Maori people have been low.

Just 61% of eligible Maori people are fully vaccinated and 77% have received their first dose. This is short of New Zealand's targeted rate of 90% among its eligible population.

"Ngati Toa condemns the use of the Ka Mate haka to push and promote anti-Covid-19 vaccination messages," said its chief executive officer Helmut Modlik in a statement.

[NewYorkExpress]

The New Zealand Supreme Court has ruled that the voting age of eighteen is discriminatory.

New Zealand's Supreme Court has ruled that the country's current voting age of 18 is discriminatory, meaning parliament must discuss whether it should be lowered.

The case was brought by campaign group Make It 16, which wants the voting age reduced to include 16 and 17 year olds.

"This is history," Make It 16 co-director Caeden Tipler said.

The group argued that young people should be able to vote on matters affecting them, such as climate change.


The issue must now be brought to parliament, after the court ruled that New Zealand's minimum voting age of 18 was inconsistent with the country's Bill of Rights - which gives people who are 16 years and over the right to be free from age discrimination.

The ruling does not mean that the voting age will definitely be lowered.

[NewYorkExpress]

The Government is working on a law that would tech companies to pay to share local news content.

New Zealand’s government proposed new legislation Sunday that would require major tech companies to pay for local news content that they share on their platforms.

In a news release, New Zealand’s broadcasting and media minister, Willie Jackson, said the proposed legislation will be based on similar laws implemented in Canada and Australia and will be designed to act as an incentive for digital platforms to reach voluntary deals with local news outlets.


“It’s not fair that the big digital platforms like Google and Meta get to host and share local news for free. It costs to produce the news and it’s only fair they pay,” Jackson said in a statement.

“New Zealand news media, particularly small regional and community newspapers, are struggling to remain financially viable as more advertising moves online. So it is critical that those benefiting from their news content actually pay for it,” Jackson added.

Jackson said lagging income at media companies has led to a significant decline in the number of journalists at news outlets and reduced production of local news content.

[NewYorkExpress]

Jacinda Ardern caught on a hot mic calling a minor party leader an arrogant prick.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has become the latest leader to fall victim to a hot microphone, after her comment that the leader of a minor opposition party was an “arrogant prick” was picked up and broadcast on parliament television.

During question time in the house on Tuesday, the leader of the libertarian Act party, David Seymour, asked Ardern if she could “give an example of her making a mistake, apologising for it properly, and fixing it”.

Responding to the question, Ardern acknowledged that managed isolation – a key, but controversial, component of New Zealand’s Covid-19 response – had been difficult on the public, but added she stood by the work the government had done over the past term.

After ending her reply, Ardern sat down next to her deputy, Grant Robertson, and quietly said “such an arrogant prick”.

[NewYorkExpress]

Justice Minister Kiri Allan resigned after being criminally charged in a car crash in Wellington.

New Zealand's Justice Minister, Kiri Allan, resigned Monday after police charged her with reckless driving.

Allan was involved in a car crash on Sunday in the capital city Wellington, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said.

She was detained at the central police station and released four hours later.

Police have charged her with careless use of a motor vehicle, as well as refusing to accompany a police officer.

She was handed an infringement notice after breath analyzers detected excess alcohol content.