Jolisa Gracewood

Simeon Brown MP Labour’s COVID-19 restrictions were some of the most stringent in the world, and Kiwis paid the price. New Zealanders remember not being able to visit loved ones in hospital, struggling to secure a managed isolation spot just to return home, and keeping their kids home from school for months on end. Aucklanders felt this more than most, with Labour’s decisions leading to the region spending more than six months in lockdown – the longest of any region in the country. The uncertainty, the isolation, and the toll it took on families, small business owners, and communities were all a result of decisions made during that time. Those decisions had a significant impact on everyday Kiwis, and it is important we take the time to fully understand why those decisions were made, so that any future response properly weighs the health and economic needs of all New Zealanders. Our Government expanded a Royal Commission Inquiry into the COVID-19 response, and yesterday we received their final report. The Prime Minister has asked me to lead the Government’s response to its recommendations – because New Zealanders deserve answers, and we are committed to making sure the lessons of that period are never forgotten.

#NZpol I’m not liking the tone or angle he takes with this. It feels like foreshadowing pushing negative views "because it was Labour".

This would be rewriting the past to suit election-year politics.

Many of us warned that the second "add-on" phase looked to include political motivations,

1/n

A country surrounded by the ocean, with active geothermal zones, buffeted by winds and basking in sunshine should not be relying on tanker loads of oil, gas and coal shipped half way across the world to run its energy network.

Sup chat this is Slouching Towards Bethlehem with your boy The Rough Beast, and it looks like today’s stream could be a big one, as some of you might’ve already seen there are rumors going around social media that the hour has come round at last, so we’re gonna get right into it

Metaphor du jour

Hello, I’m a community organiser who doesn’t read the news much.

I organise actions with volunteers. I train them to have important conversations. I identify trends within these connections.

But I don’t read the news that much.

If you can’t take the onslaught, take action instead. Volunteer!!!

Screenshot of a social media post by a verified account named David Seymour reading, “Our dinner for Persian freedom fighters was well timed. Let freedom reign this time.” Below the text is a photo of a dining table set with plates, glasses, and a vase of flowers beside large glass doors. Outside the doors hang several green-white-red flags with lion-and-sun emblems. A folded cloth sits on a countertop in the foreground.

Let's not forget that Seymour called New Zealand's first Iranian born member of parliament, a woman whose parents fled the regime as dissidents, a "menace to freedom" resulting in her needing extra security as threats increased

He directed contributed to her being hounded out of public life

A very long game…!

Yep. For years and years! Had started to think it would never happen (esp once they started repeating words), but stuck with it out of sheer idiotic determination. And voilà! 😅

Gonna need a new silly little starting word…

Finally!

Wordle 1,716 1/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Gosh! Who was she chasing away?

I arrived on the shores of Aotearoa over 12 years ago. Every year there have been cuts to public research and redundancies of public researchers. I cannot overstate how dire this is and how much of our future we are losing.
Public research is one way we look after one another. It matters. #NZPOL

'I wish we had a lockdown every year': NZ's surprising Covid confessions When a podcast about NZ’s pandemic years asked people about the lockdowns, there were some curious admissions.

A really good read. Seems far more nuanced than much of the revisionism we've been hearing from some quarters. Looking forward to listening to the podcast. #NZPol

Common Peephole     She came from Greece, she had a faulty socket. Her eye fell out, she couldn’t stop it.   That’s when I caught her eye. Brian Bilston

Pulp poetry.

Radical ideologues have been rampaging roughshod over the New Zealand economy and society for the last two years, delivering worse outcomes for everyone other than themselves and their rich mates.
#nzpol

I bet!

Stunning! 💝

We're probably getting pretty close to 700 science jobs lost over this term of government, directly linked to reforms/cuts. And believe me: the country wasn't overflowing with them to start with.

I'm sure the tourists from cruise ships would be very upset to see schoolkids getting hit by cars. That's the only demographic super-entitled and sorted Chris cares about.

Student road patroller hit at crossing becomes 5th child run over on school run this month The latest child casualty was on morning duty when they were struck by a car.

Is it just me that thinks if the cars were going through store fronts instead of children there'd be something from this govt about it?

But since it's people's lives and not businesses livelihood they're quiet.

Since their policies create the situation, they're quiet.

Deafeningly quiet.

#nzpol

Great to see a substantial essay on @pipadam.bsky.social's work, "Audition" (her latest) in particular.

"Her work is now beginning to reach the US audience it deserves..."

Being nice to trans people really did turn out to be a load bearing part of liberal democracy ey

I hate the messaging about “providing reassurance” to parents and the community, given by the school and police.

I don’t want to “feel better” about kids getting hit by cars, I want school streets, blanket lower speeds around schools, and harsher penalties for drivers.

Ministers continue to make decisions on fast-track projects after parties take donations linked to applicants One political scientist believes such donations to political parties could be perceived as creating a conflict of interest but official advice disagrees.

Just your daily reminder that Chris Bishop is both the chief fundraiser for the National Party election campaign and needs major donations, and the decision maker giving businesses access to the fast track process. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

The death of Heather Preen: how an eight-year-old lost her life amid sewage crisis In 1999, Heather Preen contracted E coli on a Devon beach. Two weeks later she died. Now, as a new Channel 4 show dramatises the scandal, her mother, Julie Maughan, explains why she is still looking f...

Maughan believes that public ownership of the industry is vital. “Water is a life force; we can’t live without it and public health will suffer if you’re more concerned about profit.”
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A confronting read, esp with the 💩 we’re currently wading through here. #nzpol
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Ministers say 'tough on crime' working as new figures unveiled Minister says a tough on crime approach has driven a significant drop in the number of victims.

Ministers say 'tough on crime' working as new figures unveiled reveal cutting violent crimes against women out of the mix skews the data to enable bullshit rhetoric. #nzpol
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

One cat on top of a cat scratchy box with her paw out, about to whack another cat in the head while the dim one sits obvious inside the box.

Three cat Thursday. With added sass from Judi.

A black hole - on closer inspection actually a fluffy black cat who’s made himself perfectly smooth and spherical on his favoured sheepskin rug. One triangular ear (and is that a tiny glistening fang?) gives the game away.

Currently detecting regular vibrational pulses from a nearby black hole … 🕳️ …

Could be signs of intelligent life - any astrophysicists able to advise? #nzpets

The Government is currently negotiating an Enhanced Border Security Partnership with the US Department of Homeland Security that would grant US agencies, including ICE, automated, direct access to New Zealanders' biometric data and identity records.

This is my Tom Holland Lip Sync Battle. Always want to repost the most efficient traveller article when I see it