Throwing my weight around

By Vanessa Kururangi

I am a poet/creative writer. I don’t claim to know facts or statistics. This piece is offered purely as a creative response to recent (and historic) events, speaking to how women and girls are forced to navigate the World throughout their lives.

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Christmas Contributions Drive

Brothers and sisters, Comrades, it’s that time of year again when we pass the hat around so we can pay the bills over summer and buy beloved ones a tiny Christmas gift – if you want to support independent blogs who have done so much to counter the right wing bias of the mainstream media, then we need your support.

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Bok Tour reflection 2018

By Ross Meurant

Yes, the tour had a profound effect on my life.

Initially I couldn’t give damn about the Tour. I had better things to than traipse around the country looking after rugby players

But defeat of the police at Hamilton was a humiliation felt by the police and I was no exception. I wanted revenge. Therefore, I wanted the Tour to continue so the police could redeem.

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TWITTER WATCH: Politicising a death

Everyone seems to want to twist the tragic death of this young visitor to our shores into their own ideological frame work.

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Medicinal Cannabis Bill set to pass Parliament; patients celebrate ambivalently

By Chris Fowlie

“A lot of us also have mixed feelings at the moment. New Zealand is catching up with the rest of the world, but this new law has only delivered part of what we hoped for,”

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Calm down Duncan Garner

By Willie Jackson

To be honest, I haven’t seen such hateful commentary by ordinary Kiwis in a long time, and that deeply concerns me as a New Zealander more than it does as a Māori because we have to find ways to accept one another and live together in this country.

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Brothers – the Vigils are anti-male violence, not anti-male and the empathy of a Prime Minister

Jacinda’s apology captured all that guilt and shame and articulated it in a way that was raw and human, we are blessed to have her.

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Normalising The Unthinkable

By Chris Trotter

It is the privilege of artists to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable. Which is exactly what so many of them are doing in response to the deepening crisis of anthropogenic global warming.

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Why? What’s it to you?

By Lois Griffiths

“Well, actually…I like children!”

This is the response African-American novelist and poet Alice Walker gave when she was asked why she wanted to go to Gaza.

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On Human Rights – Declared, Upheld, And Otherwise

By Curwen Rolinson

The 10th of December marks the 70th Anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. It’s a pretty interesting document – not least because, if you peruse its contents, it contains an array of “rights” that have largely fallen by the wayside here in modern, neoliberal society.

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A breath of fresh spring air shows the way out of a dark age in education

By John Minto

The restructuring of state education proposed by the government working group led by Bali Haque, feels like a fresh breath of spring air after 30 years in the dark ages of Tomorrow’s Schools.

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Yesterday’s schools

By Dr Liz Gordon

Exactly 30 years ago, a taskforce headed by a supermarket magnate, and urged on by an ideological Treasury and rampantly privatising Labour Government, came up with a report on schooling that led to the Tomorrow’s Schools reports.

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I was wrong about Judith Collins – what the latest leak really says about the factions inside National

TDB understands there are 3 factions inside National, Faction Simon Bridges, Faction Judith Collins and a third faction. It is this third faction who are leaking in an attempt to destabilise Bridges to take power for themselves.

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A new political movement: Let’s just be honest – real climate change will require a political, social & economic revolution

Climate change and its impacts are far more dangerous than currently acknowledged and only a radical populist response can unseat the vested corporate interests that create the current political and economic inertia. As more and more climate events occur at faster and faster rates, voters will turn on the current hegemony, the question is who will harvest that anger and fear, the Left or the Right?

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Setting The Agenda View All →

On Human Rights – Declared, Upheld, And Otherwise

By Curwen Ares Rolinson 1 day ago

The 10th of December marks the 70th Anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. It’s a pretty interesting document – not least because, if you peruse its contents, it contains an array of “rights” that have largely fallen by the wayside here in modern, neoliberal society.

By Chris Fowlie 1 day ago

“A lot of us also have mixed feelings at the moment. New Zealand is catching up with the rest of the world, but this new law has only delivered part of what we hoped for,”

By Chris Trotter 1 day ago

It is the privilege of artists to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable. Which is exactly what so many of them are doing in response to the deepening crisis of anthropogenic global warming.

By The Daily Blog 3 days ago

It’s not often I agree with the National Party on mental health issues, but the announcement late last week by Police Minister Stuart Nash that extra training for police recruits in mental health issues had been scrapped, had me searching for my blue cardigan for the first time in many years.

By John Minto 3 days ago

The restructuring of state education proposed by the government working group led by Bali Haque, feels like a fresh breath of spring air after 30 years in the dark ages of Tomorrow’s Schools.

By The Daily Blog 3 days ago

Exactly 30 years ago, a taskforce headed by a supermarket magnate, and urged on by an ideological Treasury and rampantly privatising Labour Government, came up with a report on schooling that led to the Tomorrow’s Schools reports.

By John Minto 3 days ago

Yesterday the Fiji Times reported Prime Minister Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama attended a memorial service at Qana in Southern Lebanon to remember the Fijian soldiers who died as part of United Nations peace keeping missions in Southern Lebanon.

By Curwen Ares Rolinson 6 days ago

A thought that’s been gestating in my head these past few days about the Yellow Jackets “political moment”, is how … I guess you could say that “populism” looks like *very* different things to different people.

National’s disgusting and despicable fear mongering over medicinal cannabis

By Martyn Bradbury 11 hours ago

The only thing worse than the Greens celebrating this pathetic nothing is National trying to manufacture monsters that simply don’t exist.

By Martyn Bradbury 1 day ago

Jacinda’s apology captured all that guilt and shame and articulated it in a way that was raw and human, we are blessed to have her.

By Martyn Bradbury 2 days ago

…poor old Simon, he can’t stop leaks in his party and he can’t catch a break from the Polls.

By Martyn Bradbury 4 days ago

TDB understands there are 3 factions inside National, Faction Simon Bridges, Faction Judith Collins and a third faction. It is this third faction who are leaking in an attempt to destabilise Bridges to take power for themselves.

By Martyn Bradbury 4 days ago

As someone who has gone to almost every Hero and pride parade and has loved taking my Daughter to show her what inclusion looks like, I fear 2019 might be a lot less friendly and far more aggressive so I think I’ll sit this one out until the Rainbow Community has sorted it out.

By Martyn Bradbury 6 days ago

Surely a political Party who hid harassment claims and then weaponised them against one of their own and then had a hand in having that person sectioned under the mental health act would have such rigorous ethical standards that they would never manipulate personal circumstances for political gain.

By Martyn Bradbury 6 days ago

The Workplace relations law was always a watered down meaningless bit of nothing that simply took the Union movement back 10 years to before National had stripped them bare. There isn’t anything modern or empowering about this legislation, it is a whitewash lip service to the union moment to look like something has been done when really very little has changed.

By Martyn Bradbury 6 days ago

At some stage NZ is going to be forced to pick sides between America and China and the side we should pick is our own.

TWITTER WATCH: Politicising a death

By Martyn Bradbury 12 hours ago

Everyone seems to want to twist the tragic death of this young visitor to our shores into their own ideological frame work.

By Martyn Bradbury 4 days ago

…the irony is that if anyone approached the employers of the Wellington Twitteratti and complained about their online bullying they would scream all day about being doxed.

By The Daily Blog 7 days ago

The 2018 JMAD New Zealand media ownership report finds that the New Zealand print newspaper market has shrunk considerably. The combined circulation of the four largest newspapers plus 15 regional ones declined almost nine percent from September 2017 to September 2018. Since 2012, circulation of the NZ Herald has dropped 36 percent.

By Martyn Bradbury 2 weeks ago

A very compelling and well argued piece from Rachel Stewart in relation to the anger the trans argument manages to spark off.

By Martyn Bradbury 2 weeks ago

The group behind the expulsion of the Police at Pride have some interesting ideas on crime and punishment that are worth investigating, but their position on child rapists is, how do I say this politely, well, ummmm, ‘interesting’…

By Martyn Bradbury 3 weeks ago

Smearing Facebook critics as linked to Soros and hating Jews is charming but if anyone else had pulled a stunt like this, they would be gone, Facebook somehow manages to remain untouched.

By Martyn Bradbury 3 weeks ago

Pride has come before a fall.

By Martyn Bradbury 3 weeks ago

As the wider and older Rainbow Community look to their legacy of inclusion being over run by a new generation of millennial activists who want to exclude, the wider issues of ongoing injustice against Trans people and how to fight for their human rights on social media platforms algorithmically fuelled by subjective outrage olympics remain unanswered.

MUST READ GUEST BLOG: Vanessa Kururangi – Throwing my weight around

By The Daily Blog 12 hours ago

I am a poet/creative writer. I don’t claim to know facts or statistics. This piece is offered purely as a creative response to recent (and historic) events, speaking to how women and girls are forced to navigate the World throughout their lives.

By The Daily Blog 1 day ago

Yes, the tour had a profound effect on my life.

Initially I couldn’t give damn about the Tour. I had better things to than traipse around the country looking after rugby players

But defeat of the police at Hamilton was a humiliation felt by the police and I was no exception. I wanted revenge. Therefore, I wanted the Tour to continue so the police could redeem.

By The Daily Blog 1 day ago

“Well, actually…I like children!”

This is the response African-American novelist and poet Alice Walker gave when she was asked why she wanted to go to Gaza.

By The Daily Blog 3 days ago

To be honest, I haven’t seen such hateful commentary by ordinary Kiwis in a long time, and that deeply concerns me as a New Zealander more than it does as a Māori because we have to find ways to accept one another and live together in this country.

By The Daily Blog 4 days ago

Teachers and our kids deserve better. Next to being a parent, teaching is the toughest and most undervalued societal role. Teachers deserve more. They nurture the mind’s which become our nations future.

By The Daily Blog 7 days ago

I’ve attached an article below. It’s American and a bit dated but it rings true in this country TODAY. Read it and you’ll understand how Serco and our own government have screwed us. Then join us in the MARCH ON PARLIAMENT 1PM 6 DEC 2018 to ask the question …

By The Daily Blog 7 days ago

Have been asked a lot lately about how this Office was set up. So have written background piece –
This Office was set up as a result of the experiences of Tā Mark Solomon and Dame Tariana with climate change on their iwi.

By The Daily Blog 7 days ago

It didn’t get much coverage on our TV News but an estimated 15,000 Aussie students staged a school strike last Friday to tell their politicians they had to do a lot more about Climate Change.

The Liberal Agenda – RIP Geoff Murphy – you taught me everything about being a Pakeha New Zealander

By Martyn Bradbury 1 week ago

With Goodbye Pork Pie, Sleeping Dogs, Utu & The Quiet Earth, Geoff Murphy taught me what it was to be a Pakeha New Zealander.

By The Liberal Agenda 2 weeks ago

WHAT: Water Protest

WHERE: Cathedral Square, Christchurch

WHEN: Saturday at 12 PM – 2 PM

By Martyn Bradbury 3 weeks ago

Michael Moore is one of our generations great American documentary makers. Academy Award winning Fahrenheit 9/11 remains one of the top grossing docos of all time so when one of the first pundits to predict Trump would win makes a new documentary on why Trump won, it becomes necessary viewing for anyone who cares about American politics.

By Martyn Bradbury 3 weeks ago

I was waiting for Actors Equity to condemn Pop Up Globe as heteronormative patriarchal sexual symbolism and demand the entire franchise be renamed Shakespeare Strap-On.

By Martyn Bradbury 4 weeks ago

The brutal and illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine should be denounced every possible chance we are given, and in a NZ music scene devoid of politics and focused on the vapid, Upper Hutt Posse reminded us, as Lorde did, that music can be far more powerful when its critical.

By The Daily Blog 1 month ago

Alex Pirie has recently been diagnosed with advanced cancer. He is starting chemotherapy to prolong life. He would like to have the opportunity to spend time with his wife, friends and tick off his bucket list. Alex is an incredible mentor and is incredibly deserving.

By The Liberal Agenda 1 month ago

We have a new Minister of Broadcasting, Media and Digital Communications but what’s he going to choose – RNZ+, TVNZ, combine it all together or just push everything online?

By The Liberal Agenda 2 months ago

A bittersweet tribute to the World’s smallest dolphin will be held at Muriwai Beach this Saturday 27 October at 2pm. Māui and Hector’s dolphins are only found in New Zealand – they’re one of the rarest dolphins in the world and they’re probably found at a beach near you. Māui and Hector’s Dolphin Defenders NZ […]

Malcolm Evans – Air NZ strike

By Malcolm Evans 8 hours ago

Malcolm Evans – Air NZ strike