Could you get a more crisp difference between Judith and Jacinda?
Jacinda announces a beautiful idea like celebrating Matariki as a public holiday while Judith was announcing another bullshit war on drugs.
Because you know, every war on drugs has been such a screaming success.
If you are so petty to not see the beauty in a gift like Matariki, I genuinely despair for you.
This is a moment of celebration, that a purely Māori cultural ritual can be shared & embraced by all is the very best promise of the Treaty.
This is a rare glow of joy at a dark time.
The Venn Diagram of people who hate Matariki being a public holiday, those who get REALLY angry whenever Neve is mentioned and those who call the Prime Minister ‘Cindy’ is a perfect circle.
In my experience I’ve found that those NZers currently bitching about making a ‘Māori thing like Matariki’ a public holiday are also the first people to strip their shirt off after a couple of beers to do a Haka.
Crusher wants to use the State to crush.
Jacinda wants to use the State to be kind.
What you value most, crushing or kindness, will shape your vote.
I want to believe the majority of us want kindness and I am setting my sail to that Northstar.
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Ya! we need inclusion with all races not just one over the other because that will brig bitterness to others left out of the “kindness circle’. so stamp out ‘gender and discrimination’ politics please.
When you say “all races” does that mean we get the public holidays of the Chinese, Africans, Eskimo, Slavs etc.
Only myopic kiwis think there are two races
Not ‘myopic” but constitutional as anyone educated in Aotearoa knows, our nation was founded back in 1840 on a bicultural foundation recognising both Maori & non-Maori cultures.
If you want to celebrate some other festival, say Diwali, then go right ahead & get sufficient people who want that to harangue a political party to do so. Just a word of advice. Aotearoa has only 2 holidays based upon Maori culture, far short of the 50% one would expect, so go after one of the xtian ones there are so many of them. Easter is especially long and costly, so hassle pols into chopping one day off easter to give to whatever you want to celebrate.
Why would one expect 50%? Based on what calculation?
Latest stats show European descent 70 percent, Indigenous Māori 16.5 percent, Asians 15.3 percent, non-Māori Pacific Islanders 9.0 percent.
So if there were say 100 public holidays, 50 of them should be Māori Public Holidays? Or should it be 16? Or should it be 100 New Zealand Public holidays – none based on race.
Matariki declared a public holiday, with expert advice on the exact dates applicable each year, is a sign Aotearoa is maturing.
The British Monarchy, The Christian religion, and what province you happen to live in, all seem to be good enough reasons for public holidays…so lets add Matariki. The usual whingers appear to be Māori bashers, moaning SME operators–who would get two years to prepare–National Party die hards, and ACT’s David “Incel” Seymour who says public holidays are associated with fascist states! Sod off the lot of you.
And ACT announces a dropping of benefit levels to pre covid days, an immediate stop of payments to superannuation fund and a stop of Government subsidy to Kiwisaver .
Meanwhile Charter schools, Private partnership schools will be reintroduced and get tax payer funded support, go figure?
While they’re at it, the government can scrap the phony, and totally inappropriate, Christmas and Easter holidays, and replace them with something authentic and meaningful for this part of the world.
Christmas is nothing more than a Romanised version of the Northern Hemisphere midwinter festival -celebrating the ‘death and rebirth of the Sun’- and Easter is the Romanised version of the pagan equinox festival celebrating the ‘awakening of nature’ in the Northern Hemisphere. Neither have anything to do with Christ, not that NZ is a Christian nation. Both have been morphed into festivals of outrageous consumption by the anti-environmental forces that dominate NZ society.
Yea at long last.
Matariki is a specific Aotearoa/NZ event, recognising and celebrating something special that belongs to us here in Aotearoa/NZ. We non Maori might finally learn something about our clearly defined location in the Pacific.
Let’s celebrate Matariki as a united country, with the respect and focus it deserves.
Yea at long last.
Matariki is a specific Aotearoa/NZ event, recognising and celebrating something special that belongs to us here in Aotearoa/NZ. We non Maori might finally learn something about our clearly defined location in the Pacific.
Let’s celebrate Matariki as a united country, with the respect and focus it deserves.
Let’s be frank…we know where you come from Martyn.
If it had been the other way round, Jacinda does war on drugs and Judith does Matariki, you would have hailed Jacinda for being visionary and caring and then caned Judith for politicising Maori custom.
We have long figured out that Jacinda will do anything to be more popular. Anything. At any cost.
Over fermented, putrid, malodorous, parasite ridden, Tory effluent, seems pretty much all that Herman is shovelling!
Affordable housing? Oh, wait… no difference…
Proposing a free holiday at the cost of employees in order to get votes is not what I call leadership
Trying to influence border officials for your husband’s personal gain or tugging on a waitresses ponytail is?
You have a warped sense of leadership.
Andrew. You don’t have many mates here but they grease To each other. Your points are valid. I thought Martyn’s blog was shit stirring because if he believes a Matariki holiday is more important than a good policy to fight meth I’m pretty disappointed. National’s policy is not a crushing policy but one that is supported by those trying to fight the massive meth problem in this country. I call the difference between the two parties in this instance, substance compared to vote catching.
New view, are you greasing Andrew’s pole?
Meth is already being fought, saying your going to do more is just electioneering, common sense I would have thought. Matariki is a new initiative which gives it way more substance than the continual fight on meth. But at least you’ve greased Andrew up.
Bert this Government shelved a similar policy three years ago and replaced it with nothing. You tell me how this Government is fighting meth. Obviously the huge problem doesn’t affect you Bert. And you’re pretty busy greasing Jacinda’s poll. But make sure you get good value out of Matariki Bert.
We are probably fighting methamphetamine already, so policy promising that is hardly impressive. And National must be the only party promising no change to the tax system. There are many good suggestions being made in that area.
A conversation in any rural pub anywhere in AO/NZ.
“Yeah but if you give them Meoris too much say they’ll end up running the show and you know what that’ll mean? It’ll mean that we dumb, ugly, money fetishist colonials will get our meal ticket fuckin’ clipped mate.
That judith collins, aye? She’ll fuckin’ sort things out. Her and her Chinese husband. He’s a good bugger and likes a bit of porn too Braw, haw,haw,haw,haw! ! None o’ them fuckin’ leftie Meori cunts. Just us good ol’ dodgy, exploitative, manipulative, bullshit artist, fuck-you-over-in-a-heart-beat salt of the earth types aye? ”
Vote National! They’ll fuck the country and rip you off while they do it but they’ll sort things out mate.
“Maaate… Pop up another Natzo hoarding!” Show thim who’s boss? Get things done! Sort things out! Roll the sleeves up! Get stuck in! ”
Later in the year…
“Oh Fuck! Gale? Our interest’s just gone up to double figures and the natzo’s are ‘in’ too !?????
Alright then. I’m off to blow my brains out. Kids? Don’t look ‘cause there’ll be no fuckin’ around neither.
Matariki mid- winter solstice holiday ….great idea !
And you make it sound like it’s a good thing? Worse recession in possibly a century, businesses closing down, people getting laid off or still not to full pay, and the Prime Ministers big announcement…Hey let’s have a holiday!
What was her business experience again?
Statutory holidays.Aussies have 14 days, Japanese have 15 days, we have 11. India bless them, have 21.
UK – 8
Germany – 9
USA – 10
So what?
I have no problem with including a statutory day in the middle of the year, but this is their policy announcement? Before an election? Of course people are going to love, hey who doesn’t want another day off on their employer…disgusting vote buying it’s almost criminal. I should start a political party with a policy of a 3 day work week
And I should start a party that would have you working longer hours, no lunch breaks and fewer sick leave and holidays.
Nope, parties called National and ACT already advocate for that.
Disgusting is giving out private personal details e.g. Paula Bennett, Michelle Boag, Hamish Walker and Michael Woodhouse. See the pattern here all right wing politicians.
Disgusting when used with vote buying is ridiculous, like saying” I will not raise GST” or ” I will build 10 bridges”
Were they both criminal offenses?
Get a grip of yourself BG.
A public holiday and incorporating Maori new year is great. Totally support.
However, when Jacinda says “I’ve heard the rallying calls of making Matariki a public holiday” I’m confused, I’ve never heard that many calls rather just suggestions but if she can hear those calls with her supersonic hearing how has she not heard the deafening screams for welfare reform? Because she’s ignoring them.
As for welfare reform the greens could have refused to vote for covid benifit rates unless all core benifits were raised or at the very least the winter energy payments were extended till next october and Labour would have had to do it or the covid benifit wouldn’t have happened and middle class Karen’s would be experiencing Winz for the first time, by voting in favor the Greens have created a disgustingly two tier system and most people will think that’s the normal rate and welfare isn’t so bad. I actually think there will never be welfare reform now because of this and the greens could have used this opportunity to get their coalition promises met.
Yay for the public holiday, boo that the most vulnerable people in NZ are gonna lose $40-60 a week at the same week their rents go up.
Genuinely screwed whoever gets in
Not forgetting our completely dysfunctional health system along with the lack of access to welfare funding for long term health issues.
So yes I agree the Greens should have held out over then covid benefit.
I agree with you, Martyn. I am personally terrified of National winning, but I take the view that the majority of New Zealand are kind, good people who will follow Jacinda’s lead (and they must actually get up and go and vote also, of course). National will immediately have the support of leech landlords, bastard bosses and all manner of other rich sociopaths who would vote for a party that will CUT benefits, health and many other well meaning policies, never mind having a horror like Judith Collins at the helm.It would be a sad indictment on NZ voters if they saw Collins as a better bet. As for the “business” argument, Labour has done an adequate job economically, even, dare I say it, a good job so far. They and our Honourable PM rightly deserve another 3 years. I hope the majority of voters see it that way, regardless of the skewed National party fuckwit right wing propaganda. Jacinda Ardern is an awesome brand for New Zealand, both here and worldwide. Do not let the “Tall Poppy” syndrome destroy that.
NZ was heading towards a recession before Covid, so not sure where you got they have done a good job.
Ironically Labour and National were neck and neck in the polls in March and let’s face it, Covid was the best thing to happen to Labour. Wall to wall coverage from a paid off complicit media, all their gross inadequacies glossed over, MPs told not to front to any media that dared not to toe the party line, no need to release policy because people love us. I thought elections were a debate on ideas, and the Jacindas big idea…let have a new holiday
“NZ was heading towards a recession before Covid, so not sure where you got they have done a good job.”
Evidence, facts, please, not sure where you plucked that from!
Thanks Bert, he plucked that out of his/her ass. @Bg – firstly Labour and National were not neck and neck in March, Labour was still leading, albeit by a few percentage points. Secondly, we were not heading for a recession before covid. The opposite actually – the Labour books were in good shape and we were in surplus, which helped when the pandemic came. And thirdly, as for complicit media, it is quite obvious that the media is right-wing National biased. I have found, on average, for every 3 positive National mentions, there is 1 negative (or downplayed) for Labour. I am glad that most people are aware of that these days. The trolls can hate all they like, everywhere they like, but they will not destroy the goodwill and the genuine personality of the Rt Hon Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Celebrate Matariki is a great idea but one more holiday is another expense that employers do not need so let’s do away with Queens birthday. . Unions are asking for 10 days sick leave . In itself a good idea but once again the employer is being hit. The extra sick days should be covered by the state at say 80% of normal wages if the normal wages is more than the living wage .
A war on meths seems a good idea to me as if marajuana is made legal the meths market will grow.
Check out the Green parties ACC policy .
Totally support acknowledging something that defines us more as a 21st century pacific nation but i would have thought Adern’s dismissal of an extension to the paltry 5 days sick leave we get as having more impact in the current pandemic enviroment than another public holiday.
But full marks for their political feel good strategy.
Matariki….made up nonsense, was an actual thing but in no history books was it ever stated it was ‘celebrated’, it was recognised but not for planting or any romanticised reasons.
Change of seasons etc or some such nothing truly worth celebrating but hey….let’s pretend!
We probably didn’t get around to celebrating Christmas until a few centuries after Christ was born. I think it was in the 4th century AD Better late than never, I suppose. Same with Matariki. I will have to start preparing my haangi.
So we are facing the biggest crisis in 100 years and Jacinda’s first big policy is another holiday. Let that sink in – not child poverty, housing or health. Another fucking holiday…..
But hey while boxer (i.e business) is on their knees why not let Napoleon kick us in the balls. Snowball is busy tucking the into his lunch thinking how smart he is and squealer is about to trot along and tell us we should be thankful for the kick being team 5 million and all……FMD it’s quite clear serious policy is beyond Jacinda. It was too hard first time around so let’s just give the masses some more lollies.
FFS What’s next? A $50 warehouse gift voucher for all citizens?
We could always go back to the dark ages and arts of the 9 years of National when people lived in cars, people lived below the poverty line and hospitals were run down. But that’s okay because National built roads.
What next, chip implants and skin markings to tell everyone you earn less than the minimum wage?
I think you’ll find those issues haven’t disappeared under Labour and in fact most have worsened. As for ‘chipping’ i’m sure if St Ash and Chippy had their way this would already be implemented.
Name calling, how old are you, 5?
And they most certainly have got better.
Remember National ran them down. Now where did all the money disappear when the economy was a “rockstar”?
“A New War on Meths” is code for “Unleashing turbo-powered surveillance on every Kiwi”. (And a few other things such as arming the police, and re-empowering Serco and building new private prisons.)
Please wake up, people. Even if you are usually more to the “Right”, do you really want the massive surveillance into every aspect, every detail of your life, that Madame Wong-Tung represents? Wake up! Even many of her own party jumped ship at the sight of her brazen take-over. What that woman says and what she actually means, are two very different things.
There’s still time to regain some clarity as to the person being listened to (by some). Check it out here
Scratch that! Its only a ‘Pledge!’ Just like the 2017 Housing, Homelessness and Poverty Crisis were …. dont hold yah breath!
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