Guns out Suns out – it’s The Nashy!

Just like I predicted – this fucking boofhead!

Nash dismissed from all ministerial portfolios

Napier MP and former Police Minister Stuart Nash has been dismissed from Cabinet, losing all of his ministerial portfolios.

It comes after Nash was found to have breached Cabinet rules again.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he learned of the breach about 5pm today. He called a press conference at 7pm.

There he told reporters he had been made aware of an email Nash sent in March 2020 to two contacts regarding a commercial rent relief package that Cabinet had considered.

“In the email he sets out both his opposition to the decision Cabinet reached and the position that other Cabinet members took.

“This is a clear breach of collective responsibility and Cabinet confidentiality.”

…just as I argued, Chippy needs to keep The Nashy on life support because if this fucking dickhead is DUMB enough to detail Cabinet decisions to donors, if he is as thick as two planks to go on ZB and boast about attempting to interfere with the Police over judicial issues – if he is this fucking stupid – just imagine the shit he’s told his Forestry mates?

It will all come out during the slash inquiry and Chippy has to keep The Nashy on until that happens AND THEN cast the Nashy out of the Party because my guess is the slash rage will go up after the inquiry, not come down.

Breaching Cabinet confidence to provide insight for donors is so outrageous.

Thank Christ the electorate are still reeling from the violence our activists caused at the Posie Parker fiasco to notice this.

We might need to get the Wokies to beat up some school children who painted a rainbow wrong if the Nashy keeps fucking up just to keep him out of the headlines.

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Oh this is just getting stupid now…

National Party leader Christopher Luxon demands Marama Davidson apologise to cis white men

“I think the bottom line is her comments were incredibly harmful generalisation of an entire group of people, they were wrong, they were offensive. What I haven’t heard from her or Chris Hipkins yesterday was an apology,” he said.

“What I think we need to hear now from Marama Davidson is an apology.”

“She should do it publicly and she should do it to the people that she hurt.”

He was asked if he saw any irony in calling for Davidson, a Māori woman, to apologise to white men over comments about violence.

“Why is that a funny statement? … I just think it’s a group she caused offence to, she made a sweeping generalisation, the comments were wrong, they were offensive, she gave a justification as to why she made them but she didn’t actually apologise.

…thank Christ Luxon is so ham fisted when dealing with this, by demanding Marama apologise to all White Cis Males, the issue has gone from dumb to farce.

Did Luxon demand Sam Uffindel apologise to everyone beaten by bullies?

Marama Davidson said on camera that as a Minister, she knew who caused the violence in the world, and it was white cis males.

This comment was met by a gasp and criticised immediately by every other political leader in NZ, except the Māori Party who were like, ‘Girl, same‘.

It’s come to light that Marama had been hit by a motorbike and so was in shock when she started hating on cracker in public, but the top 10 countries for crime are Venezuela, Papua New Guniea, South Africa, Afghanistan, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, El Salvador, Brazil and Jamaica, so for Marama’s claim that white cis men are the reason for the violence in the world to be correct, there needs to be huge organised teams of white cis men living as expats in Venezuela, Papua New Guniea, South Africa, Afghanistan, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, El Salvador, Brazil and Jamaica all coordinating vast crime waves to cause violence in those communities as a kind of competition league.

Look, cracker should get the blame for doing nasty shit, but when you add in a Billion Indians and a Billion Chinese, there’s no way that numerically white cis males can cause all the violence in the world.

It’s also deeply ironic that as Marama is saying all this, a Trans Gun person shot up a school in America and killed 6. 

On a scale of one to Alana Morissette, how ironic is it that Marama says this...

“I should have made clear in my comments that violence happens in every community. My intention was to affirm that trans people are deserving of support and to keep the focus on the fact that men are the main perpetrators of violence. I will continue to stand with my trans and non-binary whānau and support action to ensure that everyone can live their lives without fear of hate or discrimination.”

…when on the day of the protest, it wasn’t the Trans community facing violence and intimidation, they were doing the violence and intimidation!

Marama’s brainfart will certainly see a hit in the polls, but hopefully if Chris Luxon keeps fucking up the criticism by demanding stupid things like she apologises to every white cis male, National will make the issue seem clownish rather than offensive.

Let’s hope National’s hopelessness will eclipse Marama’s hopelessness.

We hold our breath as the Polls go out and hope that this isn’t Marama’s ‘Metiria moment’.

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Bugger…

Anti co-governance tour organiser determined to press ahead

The man behind a controversial anti co-governance tour is determined to press ahead with his planned talks in Auckland, despite the council last night cancelling his venue booking at the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall.

It’s the fourth North Island venue to pull the plug on event organiser Julian Batchelor in the last two months.

…this is disappointing for a number of reasons.

The first is the cowardice of Auckland Council and the NZ Police. If there is a threat to safety, then the Police and the Council have the obligations to maintain order. Shutting it down is weak.

The second is the success of the counter protests in these debates. To date, counter protestors have managed to actually challenge much of this evangelical rednecks Helter Skelter race war fetish with the facts.

The third is that it deprives me of attending and giving this religious race baiter a piece of my free speech and explaining to the crowd that he is a snake oil merchant trying to turn them against their fellow Māori Brothers and Sisters.

There are legitimate reasons to be concerned about Co-Governance and a debate is required, but what Batchelor is trying to grift is a race war and his bigotry needs challenging in a way that answers the debate rather than censors it.

The manner in which peaceful counter protestors were able to dismantle Batchelor without using violence is a lesson the Left desperately needs to learn again after the weekend.

This debate should have gone ahead. Pushing it underground is where the real danger is.

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When I led protests back when I was at University, I took on enemies who could fight back.

I took on Auckland University.

I took on the Education Ministry.

I took on the Police (lots).

I took on the Government (many times).

I also took on the Mass Surveillance State (once was enough).

I also carry the scars of those battles with real power because that’s what happens when you take on real power, it fights back, so I’m not going to be lectured to by the current crop of snowflake woke protestors who are all screaming the weekends Thugs Veto assault of  Posie Parker and the chasing of her from the public square was some kind of fucking victory, because it was not!

Watching so many I respect on the Left tie themselves in knots on Twitter trying to justify the violence at the protest on Saturday is disappointing and beneath the collective mana of the Left.

All those being triumphant over assaulting Posie Parker are telling the rest of NZ is that you are prepared to use violence and intimidation anytime you disagree.

The woke have no comprehension how this Thugs Veto is playing outside their echo bunkers to the wider electorate.

Mob rule isn’t protest.

Emotionally, protestors on the day resembled every single person ever bullied at school for being different.

They came for cathartic revenge.

Because woke activists now rely on echo bunkers and cancel culture, they have lost the ability to persuade.

I have many self declaring feminist women who privately tell me they have real misgivings with some of the Trans woke dogma but are terrified of saying anything because the Fourth Wave Feminists, non-binary activists and trans ally vegan mommy bloggers rip them to pieces on social media.

Posie Parker is what happens when we censor and the mob attack on her weakens the Left’s moral high ground.

The Left should be championing free speech, not limiting it and when we do protest, it should be to win over people, not beat them up.

We may have won the Thugs Veto Battle last weekend, but we’ve lost the Free Speech War tomorrow.

In the end, it wasn’t the Trans community who were in danger, it was Posie Parker and that’s exactly what she wanted.

Expect ACT to jump in the Polls because they are the only real winners here!

5 years ago I warned the middle class woke not to start a free speech culture war because it would inadvertently trigger the dormant political fault line of ACT.

The middle class woke activists ignored me, started their free speech culture war and ACT went from .7% to 12% now!

That represents the most explosive political polarisation New Zealand politics has ever seen!

The Woke can’t help but hand ACT political ammunition and they’ve been doing it for 5 years now!

Let me be as clear as I can be to the wider political Left, if we get dragged into a Culture War by these Woke Cultists, we will get torn to pieces in the election.

Comrades – Your enemy isn’t a woman who says stupid shit about Trans people in a public park, your enemy are the Banks, Oil Companies, Billionaires and Property Speculators who continue to pillage this country while we are bickering over the narcissism of petty difference!

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The rich of New Zealand love ACT’s inflammatory anti-Māori rhetoric, the latest donations list show very wealthy Kiwis flocking to ACT’s call to put the Treaty of Waitangi to a referendum to limit Māori Treaty aspirations.

ACT want a new Treaty Principles Law to redefine the courts’ principles of the Treaty based on nothing more than a referendum using ACT negotiating with itself rather than Māori to determine how the Treaty should now be interpreted.

The idea that ACT could negotiate on behalf of Māori as to how the treaty should be interpreted and then take that to a referendum is the sort of race war baiting nonsense Trump likes to inspire.
To see so many wealthy individuals donating cash for this far right race baiting policy is deeply revealing about how frightened rich people in NZ are of Māori being more than indigenous people to steal land from.

ACT recently raised almost a million from the wealthiest of New Zealanders;

ACT’s big money donors:

Gary Lane $50,000
Chris Meehan $50,000
Graeme Edwards $50,000
Murray Chandler $100,000
John Buchanan $100,000
Mike Thorburn $50,000
Graeme Hart $100,000
Trevor Farmer $100,000
Christopher & Banks $100,000
Nick Mowbray $100,000
Brendan Lindsay $50,000
Peter Vela $50,000
Jenny Gibbs $50,000

This money is on top of a war chest that is reported to be $4million in donations.

The very rich of NZ are donating huge amounts to a far right Party who is promising to implement the most radical cuts to the State since Rodger Douglas while mutilating race relations between Māori and Pakeha.

The 2023 election is shaping up to be the most important of our generation.

First published on Waatea News.

NZ was at the top of International Achievement in Literacy in the years before Tomorrow’s Schools.

Tomorrow’s Schools saw schools encouraged to compete with each other rather than the collaborative environment under the previous Education Boards.

The reforms saw the end of dedicated educational advisers – including advisers in Reading and Mathematics. These advisers shared knowledge with teachers and also arranged for teachers to share their practical ideas.

Tomorrow’s Schools also saw the end of three year Teachers’ Colleges and placed teacher training at universities – this training was more academic and lacked practical experience and limited focus on many subject areas.

Next with the introduction of neoliberal market forces ideology New Zealand saw the growth in inequality which was to the advantage of schools in high decile areas. The inequality gap has put stress on families resulting on far more behaviour problems facing already stressed teachers.

Add to this the technocratic New Zealand Curriculum Framework introduced by National’s Lockwood Smith which placed impossible assessment and documentation demands on teachers.

In 2007 the Labour Government introduced a more teacher friendly curriculum but before it could be established National returned to power and introduced National Standards which, time has shown, had a negative effect on learning along with a narrowing of the curriculum.

These National Standards in literacy and numeracy required endless assessment and documentation and in the process sidelined the creative aspects of learning. This toxic assessment has, for many teachers, destroyed their love of teaching.

Additionally, according to Johann Hari, in his book ‘Stolen Focus’, worldwide students are increasingly distracted by modern information technology.

Oh, and one more thing, since the demise of Tomorrow’s Schools there is no system of keeping track of kids (usually from difficult home environments ) who don’t even attend school!

That’s what has happened since the Tomorrow’s Schools reforms. 

And now National are proposing National Standards Mark 2!

If they are ever introduced they will take primary education back to the 1930s. In those days class levels were called Standards and students tested in the ‘three Rs’ – those achieving the Standard were passed on to the next class (Standard) and those who failed held back.

Luxon and Stanford are taking us back to the past – just when we need a curriculum to develop the diverse talents and passions of all students.

Who will want to be teachers in such a toxic environment?

Bruce Hammonds is an Education Academic 

A Marama Davidson Hate Crime

Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.

The Editor doesn’t moderate this blog,  3 volunteers do, they are very lenient to provide you a free speech space but if it’s just deranged abuse or putting words in bloggers mouths to have a pointless argument, we don’t bother publishing.

EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist language, homophobic language, racist language, anti-muslim hate, transphobic language, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, Qanon lunacy, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics, 5G conspiracy theories, the virus is a bioweapon, some weird bullshit about the UN taking over the world  and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.

20 March 2023 {Main source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group (PMG):

https://www.nad.ps/en/violations-reports/daily-report NB:The period covered by this newsletter is taken from the PMG’s 24-hour sitrep ending 8am the day after the above date.}

We shall always do our best to verify the accuracy of all items in these IOP newsletters/reports wherever possible [e.g. we often suspect that names of people and places that we see in the PMG sitreps could be typos; also the translation into English seems rather odd ~ but since we, sadly, do not speak Arabic, we have no alternative but to copy and paste these names from the PMG sitreps!] – please forgive us for any errors or omissions – Leslie and Marian.

Israeli Army

occupies family home

Israeli Occupation

news-media control

Israeli police and settlers’

mosque violation

Night peace disruption and/or

home invasions in UN refugee camp

and 6 towns and villages

16 raids including home invasions

20 taken prisoner

Home invasions: 04:20, al-Yamoun – evening, Zeita.

Peace disruption raids: dawn, Anata, dawn, Abu Dis – 09:30, Qarawat Bani Zaid – 04:15, al-Bireh – dawn, Silat al-Harithiya – dawn, Ta’anak – 11:20, Hajjah – 11:20, Qat village – 03:20-06:15, Qalqiliya – 00:10-06:55, al-Bithan – 01:40-02:55, Nablus – 11:05-13:15, Irtas – 05:05, Doha – 05:05, al-Duheisha UN refugee camp.

Palestinian missile attacks: none.

Home invasions – 3 residents taken prisoner: Jenin – 04:20, Israeli Occupation forces, firing rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters, raided al-Yamoun and invaded a number of homes, taking prisoner three people.

Home invasions and occupation: Tulkarem – evening, Israeli forces occupied, for use as a military post, the second and third floors of a house (home to two families) in Zeita.

Israeli Occupation news-media control: Jerusalem – the Israeli Occupation closed the office of a company that provides news and production services to the official Palestinian news media and also summoned the staff, journalist Layali Eid, Lana Kamela, Firas Hindawi, Yazan Haddad and Walid Qamar, to report for interrogation.

Israeli police and settlers‘ mosque violation: Jerusalem – 08:00, settler militants, escorted by Israeli police, invaded the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and molested worshippers.

Occupation settler violence: Ramallah – 22:45, Israelis, from the Beit El Occupation settlement, stoned passing vehicles at the al-Mahkama checkpoint.

Raid – 3 taken prisoner: Jerusalem – dawn, Israeli Occupation forces raided Anata and Abu Dis, taking prisoner three people.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 09:30, Israeli forces raided Qarawat Bani Zaid, taking prisoner one person.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 04:15, the Israeli Army raided al-Bireh, taking prisoner one person.

Raids: Jenin – dawn, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Silat al-Harithiya as well as the village of Ta’anak.

Raids: Qalqiliya – 11:20, the Israeli military raided and patrolled the villages of Hajjah and Qat.

Raid: Qalqiliya – 03:20-06:15, Israeli soldiers raided the city.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Nablus – 00:10-06:55, Israeli Occupation forces raided the village of al-Bithan, taking prisoner one person.

Raid – 3 taken prisoner: Nablus – 01:40-02:55, Israeli forces raided the city, taking prisoner three people.

Raid – rubber-coated metal bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters: Bethlehem – 11:05-13:15, Israeli troops, firing rubber-coated metal bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters, raided and patrolled the village of Irtas.

Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – 05:05, the Israeli Army raided Doha, taking prisoner two people.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – 05:05, the Israeli Army raided the al-Duheisha UN refugee camp, taking prisoner oneperson.

Restrictions of movement (19): 16:15, entrance to the village of Nabi Saleh; one person taken prisoner – 19:00, entrance to the village of Burqa – 19:35, entrance to the evacuated Homesh settlement – 10:55, Beit Furik checkpoint – 08:40, entrance to Aqraba – 08:55, al-Muraba’a road junction – 21:20, Surra village road junction – 18:30, Za’tara Junction checkpoint – 16:15, northern entrance to Jericho – 16:15-17:20, southern entrance to Jericho – 15:40, western entrance to Hebron – 17:20, entrance to Dura – 17:20, in Sa’ir – 20:30, near the al-Mahwal roundabout in the Old City of Hebron – Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing closed – al-Mantar-Karni crossing closed – al-Shujaiyeh crossing (Nahal Oz) closed – Sufa crossing closed – al-Awda Port closed.

Numbers relating to other people reportedly taken prisoner:

Tulkarem 1, Nablus 1, Salfit 1, Hebron 1.

[NB: Times indicated in Bold Type contribute to the sleep deprivation suffered by Palestinian children]

19 March 2023 {Main source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group (PMG):

https://www.nad.ps/en/violations-reports/daily-report NB:The period covered by this newsletter is taken from the PMG’s 24-hour sitrep ending 8am the day after the above date.}

We shall always do our best to verify the accuracy of all items in these IOP newsletters/reports wherever possible [e.g. we often suspect that names of people and places that we see in the PMG sitreps could be typos; also the translation into English seems rather odd ~ but since we, sadly, do not speak Arabic, we have no alternative but to copy and paste these names from the PMG sitreps!] – please forgive us for any errors or omissions – Leslie and Marian.

10 acts of

settler violence – racism

2 abductions – aged 14 and 15

Mosque and church violations

Night peace disruption in

6 towns and villages

1 attack – 28 raids

2 injured – 2 abducted

21 taken prisoner

Peace disruption raids: 14:55, Beit Ur al-Tahta – 19:35, Kharbatha Bani Harith – 19:35, Ein Ayoub roundabout – 01:00, Israelitroops raided and patrolled Sinjil – 04:00, Arura – 01:25, Tayasir – 01:15, Zeita – 15:00 and again at 22:10, Azzun – 18:15, Jit – 18:15, Kafr Laqif – 10:10, Deir Sharaf – 10:10, Qusin – 11:10, Qabalan – 14:05, Asira – 16:00, Hawara – 16:20, Beita – 16:20, Jama’in – 16:20, Urif – 16:20, Asira al-Qibliya – 16:20, Einabus – 16:20, Madama – 16:20, Odala – 22:35, Nablus – 20:35, Beit Jallah – 20:35, al-Khadr – 20:35, Doha – 06:30, Deir Samit.

Palestinian missile attacks: none.

Israeli settler terrorism: Nablus – 16:05, Israeli Occupation settlers opened fire towards shops, on both sides of Hawara High Street.

Israeli police and settlers‘ mosque violation: Jerusalem – 08:00, settler militants, escorted by Israeli troops and police, invaded the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and molested worshippers.

Israeli Army child abductions: Jerusalem – evening, Israeli Occupation forces, in the Silwan neighbourhood, abducted two children: Adam Ashraf Zaytoun (aged 14) and Omar Ibrahim Abu Mayyala (aged 15).

Israeli Army assault with stun grenades and tear gas canisters: Jerusalem – 20:00, fired in the al-Tur neighbourhood.

Israeli Army assault with rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters: Jerusalem – 02:20, fired in al-Eizariya.

Israeli Army population-control – mosque violation: Jerusalem – the Israeli Occupation banned a resident, Aida Al-Sidawi, from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque for a period of one week.

Israeli Army population-control – mosque violation: Jerusalem – the Israeli Occupation banned a resident, Fatima Khader, from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque for a period of one week.

Israeli Army population-control: Nablus – 21:55, the Israeli Army closed the shops on both sides of the Hawara High Street.

Occupation settler violence – church violation: Jerusalem – morning, two settlers invaded the Gethsemane Church and menaced a clergyman as well as another person: Hamza Ajaj.

Occupation settler stoning: Ramallah – 20:15, Israeli Occupation settlers, at the entrance to the village of Beitin, stoned passing vehicles, smashing the windows of a number of them.

Occupation settler violence – assault and injury: Ramallah – 20:20, Israeli settlers, by the roundabout at Ein Ayoub, assaulted and injured one person: Moamen Al-Masry.

Occupation settler violence: Ramallah – 22:00, Israeli settlers, near the entrance to Ni’lin, attacked a vehicle with five people onboard.

Occupation settler stoning: Nablus – 16:25, Israelis, from the Shavei Shamron Occupation settlement, stoned passing vehicles on the main Nablus-Jenin road.

Occupation settler stoning: Nablus – 17:25, Israelis, from the Yitzhar Occupation settlement, stoned nearby passing vehicles.

Occupation settler stoning: Nablus – 21:10, Israelis, from the Yitzhar Occupation settlement, stoned passing vehicles on the nearby bypass road.

Occupation settler stoning – racist insults: Nablus – dawn, Israeli Occupation settlers raided Salfit, slashing the tyres of ten motor vehicles and spray-painting racist insults, in Hebrew, on the walls of houses.

Occupation settler stoning: Jericho – evening, Israeli settlers, stoning vehicles on the al-Ma’arjat Road, injured one man,Munir Ahmed Abdullah Mur, and caused his wife to lose consciousness.

Occupation settler raid: Bethlehem – 22:20, Occupation settlers blocked the entrance to the village of Beit Sakkara.

Raid: Ramallah – 14:55, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled Beit Ur al-Tahta.

Raid: Ramallah – 19:35, Israeli forces raided and patrolled the village of Kharbatha Bani Harith.

Raid: Ramallah – 19:35, the Israeli Army closed the Ein Ayoub roundabout, near Ras Karkar.

Raid: Ramallah – 01:00, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Sinjil.

Raid: Ramallah – 04:00, the Israeli military raided and patrolled Arura.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Tubas – 01:25, Israeli soldiers raided the village of Tayasir, taking prisoner one person.

Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Tulkarem – 01:15, Israeli Occupation forces raided Zeita, taking prisoner two people.

Raid: Qalqiliya – 15:00 and again at 22:10, Israeli forces raided and patrolled Azzun.

Raids: Qalqiliya – 18:15, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the villages of Jit and Kafr Laqif.

Raids: Nablus – 10:10, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the villages of Deir Sharaf and Qusin.

Raid: Nablus – 11:10, the Israeli military raided and patrolled Qabalan.

Raid: Nablus – 14:05, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled Asira.

Raid – surveillance: Nablus – 16:00, Israeli Occupation forces raided Hawara, stormed a number of shops and seized their surveillance-cameras.

Raid: Nablus – 16:20, Israeli forces raided and patrolled Beita, Jama’in, Urif, Asira al-Qibliya, Einabus, Madama and Odala.

Raid: Nablus – 22:35, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the city.

Raid: Bethlehem – 20:35, Israeli troops raided Beit Jallah and al-Khadr.

Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – 20:35, the Israeli military raided Doha, taking prisoner two people.

Raid – 3 taken prisoner: Hebron – 06:30, Israeli soldiers raided the village of Deir Samit, taking prisoner three people.

Restrictions of movement (28): 10:00, tightened procedures at the Jaba checkpoint – 20:15, tightened measures at the al-Mahkama checkpoint – 11:30, entrance to the village of – Ein Siniya – 20:15, Halamish settlement roundabout – 20:20, entrance to the village of Nabi Saleh – 21:35, al-Taybeh road junction – 17:00, Shufa checkpoin closed – 15:00, road connecting Jayyous and the village of Nabi Elias – 08:05, al-Muraba’a road junction – 16:10, Shavei Shamron, Beit Furik and Hawara checkpoints, closed – 20:25, entrances to Aqraba and the village of Majdal Bani Fadil – 16:15, entrances to Jama’in, Deir Sharaf, Urif, Einabus and the al-Muraba’a road junction – 21:30, northern entrance to Bruqin – 16:15, Za’tara road junction checkpoint closed – 17:10, northern entrance to Tuqu’ – 08:50, entrance to al-Fawar UN refugee camp – Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing closed – al-Mantar-Karni crossing closed – al-Shujaiyeh crossing (Nahal Oz) closed – Sufa crossing closed – al-Awda Port closed.

Numbers relating to other people reportedly taken prisoner:

Jerusalem 5, Ramallah 1, Jenin 2, Tubas 1, Nablus 2, Bethlehem 1, Hebron 1.

[NB: Times indicated in Bold Type contribute to the sleep deprivation suffered by Palestinian children]

On Saturday morning, I was hit by a motorcyclist who struck me at a pedestrian crossing. The person who hit me was part of a convoy of motorcyclists.

A short time after the incident, I was confronted by a representative from the far-right and conspiracy theory website Counterspin who was filming me walking down the road before accosting me with inflammatory questions. A clip of that video is now circulating online and is being used to distract from a broader conversation about the causes of violence in Aotearoa.

Still in shock, I was not as clear in my comments to the conspiracy theorists Counterspin as I should have been.

Violence is unacceptable in any community and as the Minister responsible for Aotearoa’s first ever plan to eliminate family violence and sexual violence, I am committed to an Aotearoa where all people are safe and can live peaceful lives. My top priority is to support, protect and believe all victims and survivors of violence.

Women are overwhelmingly more likely to be victims of family violence and sexual violence at the hands of men. It is also important to acknowledge the disproportionate impact violence has on our rainbow whānau and diverse communities.

I should have made clear in my comments that violence happens in every community. My intention was to affirm that trans people are deserving of support and to keep the focus on the fact that men are the main perpetrators of violence.

I will continue to stand with my trans and non-binary whānau and support action to ensure that everyone can live their lives without fear of hate or discrimination.

I will not be commenting further at this time.

The Government’s decision to introduce ‘mass arrivals’ legislation goes against the values we all share of Aotearoa as a place where all people are treated fairly, the Green Party says.

“It is a human right for people escaping harm to arrive at any border, by any means, to seek asylum. When families arrive in Aotearoa the very least they should expect is that they will be treated with dignity,” says Green Party refugee spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman.

“The Government is today extending the power to detain them without charge or trial, without the right to be heard, rather than honour our commitment to uphold people’s basic rights to safety and fairness.

“The legislation is especially upsetting because it is unnecessary. We are not facing large numbers of boats carrying asylum seekers entering New Zealand waters. It is a conscious political choice to go down this route for no reason, and goes against who we are.

“This is the first time in our political history that a Government has made the humanity and rights of asylum seekers an election year issue. One of the greatest dangers the legislation poses is that it can be used by certain groups to stoke fear and division.

“We simply cannot turn an issue of human rights into political division. The Government needs to unequivocally support the right to asylum and the right not to be detained without trial. This Bill is a step backwards for human rights in Aotearoa.

“We are extremely concerned that Ministers are introducing this legislation before committing additional resources to ensure there is capacity for courts to process asylum claims and suitable accommodation while claims are being considered.

“New Zealand has a history of detaining asylum seekers in prisons, where they have suffered violence and abuse. Today the Government has acknowledged prisons will still be used for asylum seekers under this Bill.

“The Green Party will use every possible opportunity to ensure a fair and efficient asylum process based on human rights. This will show that when people are in harm’s way, we’ll do the right thing,” says Golriz Ghahraman.

The Green Party is disappointed in news that NZ Petroleum and Minerals has just granted an offshore oil and gas exploration permit to Greymouth Petroleum.

“We must stop oil and gas exploration once and for all. The Government needs to close the loophole through the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill currently at Select Committee” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for energy and resources, Julie Anne Genter.

“The latest IPCC report makes it clear that we can no longer continue to burn our fossil fuel reserves.

“We have only a few years left to take the necessary action to limit warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, or face catastrophic, destabilising weather events.

“The Green Party has been calling for the Government to close the loopholes in this ban since it was introduced in 2018.

“Oil and gas exploration should have stopped decades ago. The Government should be sending a clear signal that time’s up for fossil fuels.

“The Government should also adopt Eugenie Sage’s member’s bill to ban any new coal mines anywhere in New Zealand and protect conservation lands and waters from any new coal, gold and other mines,”

“The only way to confront big problems we face with the urgency they demand is to have more Green MPs, and more Green Ministers in the next Government,” says Julie Anne Genter.

Hon David Parker

Minister of Revenue

A law passed by Parliament today exempts employers from paying fringe benefit tax on certain low emission commuting options they provide or subsidise for their staff.

“Many employers already subsidise the commuting costs of their staff, for instance by providing car parks,” Environment Minister David Parker said.

“This move supports more environmentally-friendly modes of transport used to commute to and from work including public transport, bicycles, electric bikes, scooters and electric scooters.”

The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2022-23, Platform Economy, and Remedial Matters) Bill (No 2) will also require digital platforms to collect and return GST on supplies of certain services, including ride-sharing, food and beverage delivery and short-stay accommodation.

“Those who sell such services through apps are often able to do so without charging GST, giving them an advantage over traditional suppliers,” David Parker said.

“Locally-owned businesses competing against the large, often overseas-based digital platforms will welcome this change.

“The measures passed by Parliament today will level this playing field, but without requiring sellers to register for GST.

“One submitter, representing hundreds of small businesses, told us that the uneven GST treatment when it comes to app-based accommodation providers had been a source of frustration for some of their members. These changes will help remedy that.”

David Parker said the newly passed legislation contained other measures that will be welcomed by business.

“An ongoing issue for businesses, particularly smaller ones, has been the GST apportionment rules. They were overly complex and so imposed compliance costs. The changes we’ve made will improve fairness and make the rules less onerous.”

Hon James Shaw
Minister for Climate Change

A major investment by Government-owned New Zealand Green Investment Finance towards electrifying the public bus fleet is being welcomed by Climate Change Minister James Shaw.

“Today’s announcement that NZGIF has signed a $50 million financing deal with Kinetic, the biggest bus operator in Australasia, to further decarbonise public transport is good news,” James Shaw said.

“New Zealand Green Investment Finance says the money it is making available should fund more than 150 zero-emissions buses and associated infrastructure.

“Switching another 150 buses to run on electricity instead of diesel will help us meet our carbon budget, by preventing more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of the assets, helping make sure New Zealand families live in a safe, clean and healthy environment.

“Cyclone Gabrielle and the other extreme weather we’ve experienced this year show why it is so important we cut climate pollution.

“Last week, the International Panel on Climate Change warned that the world is still not doing enough to prevent dangerous levels of climate change and said that we need to move quickly to get emissions down.

“New Zealand is committed to limiting climate warming to no more than 1.5 degrees, which means changing the way we do things.”

James Shaw said the switch to electric buses would also help save lives by cutting air pollution.

“Every year in New Zealand, 2200 adults die prematurely and 13,200 children suffer from asthma because of air pollution caused by diesel burnt in cars, trucks and buses.

“There is no downside to investing in efficient, clean public transport, and I am pleased to see NZGIF doing the job we set it up to do.”

New Zealand Green Investment Finance was established by the Government in 2019 as part of the Green Party’s Confidence and Supply Agreement with the Labour Party.

It’s job is to accelerate investment that will cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions. So far it has made 16 investments worth a total of $360 million and has another $200 million worth of investments in the pipeline.

As of 30 June last year, the total estimated lifetime emissions reductions as a result of NZGIF’s investments was 580,000 to 710,000 tonnes.

Investments to date include:

• Investing in solarZero, which provides solar energy for homes, businesses and schools on an “as-a-service” basis so there is no upfront cost for solar panels and batteries.
• Helping Tnue finance a new low-emissions fertiliser plant near Taupō.
• Working with New Zealand Post to provide finance to help its contractors transition to electric vans.
• Helping electrify public transport through investments in Zenobē, as well as the new Kinetic investment.
• Finance to help CentrePort with decarbonisation projects, including replacing diesel container transfer vehicles with electric vehicles.

New legislation passed by the Government today will make it harder for gangs and their leaders to benefit financially from crime that causes considerable harm in our communities, Minister of Justice Kiri Allan says.

Since the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 came into effect police have been highly successful in freezing criminal assets, at times restraining nearly four times the global average annually.

“The passing of the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Amendment Bill in Parliament today will see this Act strengthened even further,” Kiri Allan said.

“Police has had considerable success under the CPRA regime. As a result organised criminals are now structuring their affairs to avoid their illegally obtained assets being seized, by putting the property in the names of their associates.”

Under the new provisions, if it’s shown that an associate of an organised criminal group couldn’t have funded their assets legitimately, they will be required to prove to the court how they came to possess them, or face having them frozen.

“We’re going after gang leaders and the facilitators of organised crime and hitting them where it hurts – their pockets – by taking their properties, cars, bikes and bling.

“We’re focusing on effective solutions, not empty slogans and policies. We’re building upon what we know works and are continuing to back police in their effective work in seizing criminal assets.”

The proposed amendments are estimated to return an additional $25 million annually into the Proceeds of Crime Fund. The fund is used to invest in programmes that target organised criminal activity, and address crime-related harm, including the drivers of crime.

“We’ll continue to focus on steering the most vulnerable people – teenagers and young people – away from a life with gangs. We know that early intervention, rehabilitation, and reintegration is the best way of reducing the harm caused by gangs,” Kiri Allan said.

Notes:

– Since 2019, police have restrained more than $156m in assets and forfeited more than $44.5m in assets related to organised crime groups and gangs.

– In 2021, a report by the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force, found NZ Police were estimated to be seizing around 8 percent of criminal proceeds annually. The global average was 2.2 percent.

– Other changes included in the bill passed today include:

– A new court power that will mean criminals based overseas who have assets in New Zealand will face losing those assets, unless they can provide proof within two months that they obtained their property legally;

– Allowing funds in KiwiSaver schemes to be subject to civil forfeiture orders, eliminating the potential for criminals to hide illegal funds in their KiwiSaver;

– Amending a technical gap, which will allow the Official Assignee – the government body that manages assets restrained under CPRA – to hold seized property longer than 28 days while the court considers an application for a restraining order.

Security guards have made their voices heard and now have enough signatures to initiate a Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) for workers in their occupation.

Since the Fair Pay Agreements Bill was passed in October 2022, more than 1000 security guards across Aotearoa New Zealand have put their signature forward in support of a Fair Pay Agreement.

E tū, the union for security guards, will send the initiation document on their behalf to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on Wednesday.

A Fair Pay Agreement sets minimum pay and conditions for workers across whole industries or occupations by way of bargaining between unions and employer representatives.

E tū delegate and security guard Rosey Ngakopu, who has been campaigning for Fair Pay Agreements for the past four years, says she’s excited it’s finally time to initiate an agreement.

“It’s an awesome feeling – all our hard work has paid off. Fair Pay Agreements will mean we’ll be able to address industry issues in a collective conversation and find possible solutions.

“FPAs are about raising the standards of our working conditions, lifting our pay, skills and training, and making sure we have everything we need on site to work safely and with dignity.

“I can’t wait to get around the bargaining table and start negotiating.”

Annie Newman, an Assistant National Secretary of E tū, says the initiation is a momentous occasion for security guards – one of the most positive changes for these workers in decades – by giving them a say in the conditions for all security guards across the country.

“Our members tell us that they want improved health and safety, more participation in decision-making, and of course, decent wages,” she says.

“Being able to negotiate on these issues in good faith through Fair Pay Agreements, which our members have fought hard for, will be life-changing for security guards.”

A Fair Pay Agreement will also stop the frequent ‘race to the bottom’, so employers can’t compete by paying the lowest wages to win a work contract, as all workers would be paid the same base starting rates, Annie says.

Security FPA initiation day event

Minister of Workplace Relations, Hon Michael Wood, E tū officials and members will give short speeches outside Parliament on Wednesday morning to mark the occasion.

When: Wednesday 29 March 2023
Where: Outside New Zealand Parliament House, 1 Museum Street, Wellington
Time: 9.15am (for a 9.30am start) to 9.45am

There will be opportunities for photos with E tū members and the Minister. An E tū official and member will also be available for interview.

The Maritime Union says Ports of Auckland is back on track and there is no need to “mess with success.”

The Union was responding to news of a review of the Ports of Auckland by Flagstaff Consulting Group being funded by the Mayor’s office.

Maritime Union Auckland Branch Secretary Russell Mayn says the history of the Ports of Auckland in recent decades provides one lesson.

“When there is pragmatic management that works with the workforce, and focuses on getting the basics right, we get a successful port.”

Mr Mayn says stated goals for the Ports of improving safety, operating performance and return on assets are all positive and are all being achieved.

He says the turnaround of the Ports performance in the last year has been remarkable.

“The Ports of Auckland is rapidly improving dividends, it has dumped the failed automation project, it has transformed the workplace culture by working with the Union, and it has taken leadership in areas like health and safety.”

My Mayn warns that part-privatization or multiple operators in terminals elsewhere often led to a destructive process.

“Wages, conditions, and health and safety become bargaining chips, and it would move us further away from the integrated, focussed plan we need for New Zealand ports.”

Mr Mayn says it is not a good time to introduce further uncertainty around New Zealand’s major import port.

“New Zealand will continue to experience shocks to its supply chain, whether from extreme weather, pandemics, or a volatile global situation, and we need to be firming up our capability.”

Mr Mayn says Mayor Wayne Brown has in the past expressed his concern about the performance of the Ports of Auckland, which was reasonable since the previous management and Board had made many errors.

Likewise, there was a widely agreed need to develop other ports in the northern region to cater for the growing freight task.

“However, our view is the Ports of Auckland is now on an extremely promising trajectory which will deliver dividends to the people of Auckland while maintaining its important strategic role in the supply chain.”

“We need to let the Ports do its job.”