"It's the end of NZ Music Month today. For decades, many of us have fought to create a space for Maori within an industry that was a microcosm of a society which saw Maori as `the other,' - not quite as good as the majority. Inconvenient. We wrote songs in English to rattle the cage. We wrote songs in te reo considered provocative simply because of that. A handful of us called for boycotts then awards to specifically celebrate Maori artists & their art. Because no matter how hard everyone tried, te reo was absent from the mainstream awards. There actually was a time when my band was the only one that pulled haka performers up onstage - next to the bass & drummer. We (literally) waved the tino flag at the very first Womad concert in NZ - then took te reo, haka, flags, taonga puoro, music & politics offshore. When I attended the APRA Silver Scrolls, Taite Awards & AMA events last year, I was amazed to see how many artists are naturally, cleverly & beautifully incorporating those elements into their songwriting & performances - like it's actually NORMAL. Singing in te reo...is now normal. Looking Maori is now...NATURAL. Being Maori is now...ALL GOOD. Waving a flag is WHAT WE DO. Tangata Tiriti delivering mihimihi & collaborating is HOW WE ROLL. We don't have to pretend to be something we're not any more. The funny thing is that the music industry carries on, it has not imploded. Non-Maori artists are collaborating, celebrating & basking in stories, sounds & songs from these islands as well - not feeling any less or even threatened. So are audiences. Because music is reflecting where we are as a society now. And that's kind of nice. A big shout out to all our allies & champions who enrich this place & have become part of a movement for change. We're on a roll. It's tough going sometimes but we're picking up the baton from those who have fought before, on behalf of those yet to come. So get out of the way, partypoopers & plonkers - you can't stop a movement."

❤️ @moanatribe.bsky.social "Get out of the way... you can't stop a movement" 💯 #HowWeRoll #TeReo #ToitūTeTiriti

Here's today's train tour scribble after reading this headline about Andrew Tate - 'one in six boys aged six to fifteen have a positive view of andrew tate' x x x five in six boys think andrew tate is a prick the headline reads: one in six boys aged six to fifteen have a positive view of andrew tate the headline does not read: five in six boys think andrew tate is a prick prefer riding their bike into town with their mates than listening to a grown up angrily shout through a screen five in six boys think their mum is alright roll their eyes when she hugs them will remember the sound of her laugh when she's gone five in six boys have baked biscuits or muffins do not want to strangle a girlfriend, think rape is abysmal, want love, think love is confusing, do not want a fist in their face five in six boys think their dad's jokes are occasionally funny, have a friend who likes the same music they like, worry about the look of their bodies in swim shorts love the feeling of crying from laughter five in six boys feel nervous about holding the hand of a crush privately cry when a person they fancy doesn't fancy them back without seeking to hurt them five in six boys are worried they'll fail their exams feel stupid sometimes, are scared by the thought of the future five in six boys think flowers are beautiful will not use the word beautiful will be bullied if they use the word beautiful about flowers still, five in six boys said thank you for dinner helped take the plates to the kitchen smile when a kitten curls up on their lap sleep sounder when someone who loves them plants a kiss on their forehead or just quietly whispers goodnight

I absolutely love this poem by @holliemcnish.bsky.social – 5 in 6 boys think Andrew Tate is a prick

Some folk are happy to have big families?! Such a weird thing to concern yourself with?

Doctors have sex too! And I imagine access to birth control maybe limited in Gaza? Also they may have adopted some, given they may have friends or family who have died? I don’t understand why you can’t see how they could end up with 10 kids!

Yes you can. My friend has 7 children and is a working doctor. I have 4 children myself, also a working doctor. If I chose to have 10, I could!

‼️ 210,000 Māori Silenced:
Committee Delivers Harshest
Punishment in Parliament History.

#NZPol #ToitūTeTiriti

"KAIHAKA MĀ MARANGA MAI ! TUESDAY 20th MAY. 3:30 PM. PARLIAMENT GROUNDS. TOITU TE TIRITI."

"3.30 PM - ASSEMBLE. 3.45 PM - GUEST SPEAKERS: ERU KAPA KINGI- TOITU TE TIRITI, TANIA WAIKATO- TAMAKI LEGAL, KASSIE HARTENDORP - ACTION STATION, RIPEKA LESSELS - NZEI. 4.10 PM - TOITU TE HAKA. TOITU TE TIRITI."

#ToitūTeTiriti T O I T Ū T E H A K A 20 May
info and updates @toitu_te_tiriti

“You do have to marvel at a political class and media ecosystem that reacts more viscerally to a four-letter word than to the actual structural inequality it was being used to highlight and the people that affects.” 📌

People Luxon's coalition government have gone after:

Māori
Women
Beneficiaries
Kids who just wanna eat lunches
State abuse survivors
Rape victims

People Luxon's coalition government have given heaps to:

Landlords
#NZPol

The House: Parliamentary privileges - Race as an aggravating factor? Analysis: Reactions and advice from Parliament's Clerk, Speaker and even the committee chair show it has recommended indefensibly harsh punishments.

Excellent, & a vital read for Tues 20th. "There was surprise & shock over the recommended punishments for Te Pāti Māori MPs, which seemed both unprecedented & extreme. In retrospect... The committee report now appears partisan, indefensible & open to attacks of racism." www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

screenshot from IG @nzctu - "PROTECT PAY EQUITY. AUCKLAND, FRIDAY 16TH MAY, 3.30PM Girls Just Wanna Have Funds Protest Rally General Library, University of Auckland Bldg 109, 5 Alfred Street. ROTORUA, FRIDAY 16TH MAY, 3.3OPM Protest outside Todd McClay's office 1301 Amohau Street. WELLINGTON, FRIDAY 16TH MAY, 1.00PM Protest outside Nicola Willis' Office 34 Johnsonville Road. CHRISTCHURCH, FRIDAY 16TH MAY, 1.00PM Protest outside Vanessa Weenkink's office The Exchange. NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi."

#PayEquity Protests TODAY Friday 16 May
@nzctu.bsky.social

"Turns out you can have it all. So long as you’re prepared to be a c... to the women who birth your kids, school your offspring and wipe the arse of your elderly parents while you stand on their shoulders to earn your six-figure, taxpayer-funded pay packet."

This is Andrea Vance in The Press.

A smiling Luxon with the text "Happy Mother's Day. Which I think is 10% less valuable than Father's Day."

@jordanriversnz.bsky.social
Thanks for the accurate content.

PM: let's control social media for young people.
Young people: you got other things to worry about. "Like the salary of women".
The kids are ok!

"We’re not just getting mad, we’re getting organised."

👏 Chlöe Swarbrick, NZ Greens co-leader 💚
@chloe.swarbrick (5pm, 26 April 2025)

Politicians want to choose who treats you At Sunnynook Primary School, we were made to stand in silence for ANZAC Day. I thought I understood the sacrifices and the reasons for our remembrance. Today, I wonder if those often-elevated lessons ...

#NZHealthCrisis Health professions want to retain ability to set & uphold high standards of care. But to #CoC "upholding standards of care requires meaningful investment in healthcare - so why do that when you could simply lower standards?" @reneeliang.bsky.social northandsouth.co.nz/2025/04/23/p...

ACLU Asks Court To Make Trump Administration Bring Everyone Back From El Salvador Prison The petition expands those covered by the ACLU's request to all migrants held at the CECOT megaprison, not just those at risk of being sent there.

The petition expands those covered by the ACLU's request to all migrants held at the CECOT megaprison, not just those at risk of being sent there.

FFS, this boils my piss. What happens when the “need” is identified as disproportionately the needs of Maori and Pacifica? Of course ACT will challenge the response.

That Police Minister Mark Mitchell's office said sharing profoundly racist material on his official Instagram account was "an honest mistake" is illuminating, but not for the reasons Mitchell's office thinks.

Speaker: Te Pāti Māori haka defence 'a complete nonsense' While the debate about tīkanga in Parliament rolls on, the Privileges Committee and Te Pāti Māori both refuse to budge

".. I don’t think that any one group inside New Zealand should be insisting that their way of doing things is the most appropriate for all of them.”
- Speaker Brownlee, without a hint of irony

linkedin post screenshot: Ken Cheng - I want to connect with you, emotionally) Al will never be able to write like me. Why? Because | am now inserting random sentences into every post to throw off their language learning models. Any Al emulating me will radiator freak yellow horse spout nonsense. 1 wiite all my emails, That's Not My Baby and reports like this to protect my data waffle iron 40% off. 1 suggest all writers and artists do the same Strawberry mango Forklift. The robot nerds will never get the better of Ken Hey can | have whipped cream please? Cheng. We can tuna fish tango foxtrot defeat Al. We just have to talk like this. All. The. Time. Piss on carpet

unfollowing everyone on linkedin except this guy

Fuckin' men telling me which totally non-threatening people I "should" feel threatened by is always a political winner. Piss off Winston et al #nzpol

Chloe smashing it once again.

Note to chippy - don't say anything to divide the left on this issue and make division the story.

#nzpol

The Economist Democracy Index - Wikipedia

We are in the top 6.6% of the globe’s population living in a full democracy.

Yes you read that correctly. Only 6.6% of the world live in a full democracy.

Pricks like David Seymour and his atlas funding arm are trying to corrupt our democracy.

We need to show him the door.

#nzpol

Stan Walker- Mō Āke Tonu- featuring Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke (official video) YouTube video by Stan Walker

✨Stan Walker, ft Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke✨
Mō Āke Tonu video just dropped & it is EPIC. Filmed at Rangiriri Maiorooro (Rangiriri Pā trenches, 1863) #Waikato #Tainui #TeRunangaONgaatiNaho Written during Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, Stan wanted a msge for all Indigenous peoples www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpyF...

But as a society we seem incapable of talking about risk factors for violence against women that aren’t screens. A father who votes ACT and genuinely believes men are oppressed and women are to blame, a grandfather who calls Jacinda Ardern or Tory Whanau a whore, an uncle who hates queers…Are these men not more of an influence on a child than Andrew Tate?

I'm pleased that the Netflix series Adolescence is prompting so much public discussion of this issue, but disappointed so much is simplistic 'ban smartphones' takes. This from Emily Writes was a refreshing change

open.substack.com/pub/emilywrites/p/his-da...