Ed Hyde

Protections for transgender, non-binary and intersex people won't be added to Human Rights Act, government says

tikatangata.org.nz//news/protec...

This government needs to be voted out yesterday

Wellington south coast, u may have heard already but there’s a health risk with the sewage spill and weather warning tomorrow, that the sewage is going to be aerosolised in the sea spray 🤢😷

Why covid-19 is “a vascular disease masquerading as a respiratory one” Covid-19 is not just a respiratory infection. Cardiovascular symptoms are seen in both acute and long covid. Katharine Lang reports on what we’ve learnt since the onset of the pandemic Cardiovascular...

Source: www.bmj.com/content/392/...

Welcome to year seven of COVID

I’m sure nothing can go wrong

I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.

Sounds like putting unfettered AI into healthcare might be a bad idea

if there's one positive thing you can say about Christopher Luxon it's that he lights up every room he leaves

AI’s role in paying women less It appears even AI chatbots are contributing towards the gender pay gap. A study last year found that the bots often advise women and other minorities to ask for significantly lower salaries than men....

AI systems are trained on data that is socially informed not just cold "facts" (ie all of attitudes & stereotypes that support ongoing inequalities based on gender, race, sexuality etc) unsurprising AI chatbots are advising women & minorities to ask for less pay #nzpol
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

Wonder what it’s like being friends with someone complicit in enabling the murder, kidnapping and horrific treatment of thousands of people across the US and then blatantly lying about it, maybe NZ’s media should ask about that 🤔

This post calling Noem her friend is still up on Judith Collins facebook by the way, and there really aren't ANY good reasons at this point as to why NZ media aren't constantly pressuring her about it

This kind of rhetoric was once the domain of fringe groups like Voices for Freedom, but NZ First now represents those fringe groups in parliament

This is embarrassing and we are fucking doomed.

'Unelected globalist bureaucrats' - Peters praises United States' WHO withdrawal The United States has officially exited the WHO, a year since President Donald Trump gave notice via executive order.

The parable of the scorpion and the frog has been superseded by the parable of Winston Peters poisoning Aotearoa NZ until it dies, simply because he cannot help but support whomever seems most beneficial to him, rather than the people of New Zealand.

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Last time we had Australian wildfire smoke drift across NZ it did this to our skies & then we had covid...

Roy's Peak, Wānaka NZ

You know what? This year has actually gotten off to a pretty low-key, no breaking news, stress-free start wait nevermind

Literally how a government falls in an episode of Doctor Who

BREAKING NEWS: Adjudicated Rapist Donald Trump Defies Congress to Keep Investigative Files That Could Incriminate Him a Secret Take even one step back from what is happening today in Washington and you’ll see that the Epstein Files remain the subject of the most audacious far-right hoax of this century.

(🚨) Today is a day that should live in infamy.

BREAKING: The High Court of New Zealand has granted PATHA’s application for interim relief, declaring that the Crown should not take any steps to enforce the incoming ban on new prescriptions of puberty blockers to transgender children and young people. More to come:

Screenshot of page 20 of the report. Too much text to reproduce in full here. "Preparing for an Al-enabled future As we look to the future, it's clear that Al will be a key enabler of a smarter, more responsive Public Service. As Al continues to evolve, we must actively learn from leading jurisdictions, stay receptive to emerging practices, and remain agile in adapting to new insights as they arise. By responsibly harnessing its potential, we can improve productivity, reduce administrative burden, and deliver better outcomes. Improving services and freeing up public servants to focus on higher-value work Al offers practical solutions to long-standing challenges. It can automate repetitive tasks, streamline information retrieval, and support analysis, freeing up staff to focus on higher-value work. For example, 20,000 UK civil servants took part in a trial using generative Al tools to support their work. The initial findings indicated time savings equivalent of almost two working weeks per person, per year. On the front line, Al can improve service delivery by reducing wait times, directing requests more efficiently, and helping people to quickly get the information they need. While Al offers tremendous value it is important to acknowledge its limitations and risks. These include, for example, the need to assess the outputs of Al as it can introduce bias, and struggle with nuance of particular contexts. This means human oversight and judgement is vital to harnessing the benefits of Al while also countering the risks associated with unfettered use of the technology. These challenges underscore the need to equip the Public Service with the capability to harness Al responsibly and transparently. Doing so is essential for maintaining public trust, which is a cornerstone of the social licence that enables the Public Service to operate. ... A 2025 survey identified over 270 Al use cases across the public sector, more than double the number from the previous year.

The Public Service Commission has just published its three-yearly 'State of the Public Service' report.

www.publicservice.govt.nz/news/state-o...

This is its page on 'AI'. Prepare for more public service redundancy rounds if they carry on like this.

Rights Aotearoa Rights Aotearoa is NZ's leading NGO focused on promoting and defending the universal human rights of all Kiwis.

If you look at www.rightsaotearoa.nz you will see everything we have done this year: media releases, opinions, newsletters, submissions, letters, and more.

If you like my work, you can tip me an Xmas coffee directly at:

Paul Thistoll
03-0547-0039160-001

Blue graphic with black font. Header reads Healthcare shouldn't make you sicker. Body text reads: we're calling on the Ministry of Health and hospital leadership to restore clean air and N95 protections in all Healthcare settings across Aotearoa NZ. In a box, there is bulleted text stating SARS-COV-2 is still disabling patients and staff. 1 in 5 children develop long term symptoms. Healthcare workers have some of the highest Long Covid rates worldwide. Everyone deserves safe Healthcare. Read the open letter. Sigh your name before thd deadline. Mask up NZ and Aotearoa Covid Action.

A grim anniversary today - six years since the first identified Covid case.
In Aotearoa, we were lucky to have leadership that listened to the science in the early phases of the pandemic, saving thousands of lives.
However, subsequently we have not applied the science that

Help us support 60+ families over Christmas As our pōhutukawa bloom, we are asking you to help hope bloom in Gaza for our precious families.

It’s freezing in Gaza and people need food/clothes. Emily Writes is raising funds to help 60 families. We are gonna have lots of Christmases in our future - let’s give these families a fighting chance: chuffed.org/project/1589...

There is tremendous power and integrity in understanding how much there is to lose, and, with the platform and capacity you have, voicing strong dissent.
Great to see this from RANZCOG.

Important news NZ peeps! Great to see PATHA challenging this terrible ban.

BREAKING: PATHA has filed an urgent injunction in the high court seeking to prevent the puberty blocker ban from coming into force, as part of an urgent judicial review we are seeking to overturn the ban entirely.

Gender Affirming Healthcare: A Decision for Clinicians, Patients and Whānau - RANZCOG RANZCOG is concerned about New Zealand's recently announced ban on puberty blockers for young people seeking gender affirming healthcare.

ranzcog.edu.au/news/gender-...