good riddance to Minister Judith Collins, who orchestrated the present gutting of New Zealand's science funding establishment
I've not seen or heard any coverage today that mentions this tiny detail, affecting 100s of millions of public dollars and endangering NZ's entire intellectual community
A coworker took this from her apartment. I haven't seen a crowd this size before. Maybe the first Women's March? But it was much much warmer that day. ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA!
#nzpol Data released by Stats NZ today shows that the cost of living rose at its fastest rate for 18 months. Prices rose for 80% of items in the CPI basket, meaning growth in prices was broad-based. Minimum wage workers are now facing a 3rd year of real terms cuts in wages. A thread
🧵
If anyone has been following along with the ManageMyHealth breach, this 2024 inquiry into its security (including integration into Te Whatu Ora's health identity portal) may be interesting. Disappointing that the request was only partially satisfied, and late.
fyi.org.nz/request/2638...
Here's an end and start of year round up of performing arts in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Partial, but we've had a good crack.
flatcityfieldnotes.com/2026/01/02/r...
Aw thanks @ladyhorrors.bsky.social:
“There was a lot of admiration for Canterbury Repertory Theatre’s The Hound of The Baskervilles – strong leads, good design and direction, zesty script”
And thanks for reporting whispers from quiet corners. May decision-makers take note!
#Ōtautahi #theatre
a ha!
My punishment in Tartarus will be reformatting an enormous works cited list of annoying non-conventional references only to have the editors change the style guide just as I'm finishing #academicsky
My nephew is dyslexic and his high school offers an alternative learning track for students like him.
My sister called the school yesterday to confirm she'd like him enrolled in that programme and was told it might not be available next year because the new curriculum doesn't include it. 😱😱
#nzpol
That's so nice! Ty for sharing.
How has it been?
Another plug for Ōtautahi 4 Palestine's big fundraising event at A Rolling Stone Dec 13 - speakers from 5, musicians from 9, an art auction, raffles, solidarity --- & lots of promo work being 'mysteriously' filtered out by anti-Palestinian algorithms. Pls share www.instagram.com/otautahi4pal...
E.g. is the issue big picture (underdeveloped conceptualisation or structure), sentence level clarity, a good throughline, good synthesis and explication etc... Each have different fixes so extensive wordsmithing might not be a good use of your time
Ask what's wrong (and what 'wrong' means in your context) so you have actionable things to prioritise and work through, as generic 'fix this' is not good for students who are still learning + means supervisors are seeing things the student can't, and it's helpful to know. What does right look like?
Desperate for ads on Instagram to stop calling me babe
Fantastic win for Uber drivers and Workers First Union. This has been a long time coming (way too long - in the courts since 2022), but common sense has prevailed. Let's hope Van Velden doesn't pull the rug out underneath them with new contractor legislation... www.1news.co.nz/2025/11/17/s....
text reading "Uber drivers win. Multibillion dollar rideshare company Uber has lost their final anti-worker appeal in the Supreme Court."
text reading "Now we will: Pursue the 1,000s of claims of owed backpay that have already been lodged Pursue worker entitlements like annual leave and holiday pay for Uber drivers Pursue a collective bagreement, allowing Uber drivers to formally join a union. Workers' rights for Uber drivers! As in many other countries, such as the UK."
text reading "Brooke van Velden's ERA* bill would be a stab in the back of this court decision. She must now stop the ERA Bill, or deliberately undermine Aotearoa's law and justice system in a Trumpian-dictator move - for her friends at Uber." There is a graphic of Brooke holding a stabby stabber with money swirling around her. Small text reading "*Employment Relations Amendment"
Our heartfelt congratulations to all of our Uber members and the four drivers - Nureddin, Julian, Bill and Mea’ole.
It is not easy to stand up and speak out about a multibillion dollar multinational corporation that controls almost every aspect of your livelihood. You have done it. And won!
#uber
Colourful wildflowers have sprung up in more than 30 locations across Christchurch, thanks to the sowing of 62kg of seeds.
I spoke with Ihab today, it's winter in Gaza, his tent leaks and his children lack clothing suitable for the weather, if you can spare some money to help I know it will be very much appreciated
gofund.me/f3c9b468
Conservatives claim that structural racism does not exist while simultaneously creating innovative new forms of structural racism like banning discussions of the concept.
I talked with Sam Brooks about reviewing and he edited it down in a way that made me sound very concise. It's paywalled but that's because this is work and it's how creatives eat so if you like Sam's work in arts journalism please consider supporting.
dramatic-pause.ghost.io/how-i-review...
Canopy cover in this city is fucked and there's p much no incentive to get people to do better even given the impacts on things like microclimate / heat / drainage
I really want to be a YIMBY but it's hard when the ppl who've knocked down an old house across from us presumably to put in townhouses have also ripped out all the garden's mature trees including 5 v large established fruit trees, which they will no doubt 'replace' 'like for like' with lancewoods.
Honestly, the IPCA report into the police (mis)handling of the McSkimming case makes for jaw-dropping reading.
But it’s 135 pages long so I’ve read it for you.
Here’s my report on one of the most serious failures of integrity in modern policing history⬇️⬇️
The Celebrity Traitors UK final! The graceful storylining! The impeccable editing!
it uses AI to detect when AI is being used to make AI sound more human
The arms race continues
