Orator of Uncertainty
@uncertainoratory.bsky.social
Interested in all things civic and cricket. Also cats.
Good to see The Post editorial (paywalled) call out a key tension in the PM’s response to date. If he truly believes that Winston Peters’ comments are racist, but will not dismiss him (or even require an apology), then the clear inference is that Ministers in his Cabinet are allowed to be racist.
Editorial: Luxon’s impotence makes him prime minister in name only
Winston Peters can remove Christopher Luxon whenever he wants, but it seems it’s not the other way round.
thepost.co.nz
Pleased to hear @henrycooke.bsky.social ask essentially this question at post-Cab and quote the relevant sections of Cabinet Manual. Unfortunately, the PM’s answer was a complete cop out, but the question was a good one.
Orator of Uncertainty@uncertainoratory.bsky.social · 5d agoA better question for MPs and media, I think, is “Are Winston Peters’ comments consistent with the standards of conduct required by the Cabinet Manual?” Or “Is making racist comments consistent with your expectations of Ministers?”
And with time on the clock still!
More laws rushed through Parliament under urgency than any term since 2008
The coalition government has passed more legislation in one go under urgency than any other Parliament since at least 2008, raising concerns that public scrutiny of proposed laws is diminishing.
rnz.co.nz
🧵 This may be a smidge niche for something that ultimately boils down to “Is it okay for Ministers to do/say racist things?” But I think that “confidence” - while commonly used - is the incorrect test for journos to focus on.
Luxon says Peters’ comments were racist – but backs him as minister
Winston Peters has denied that his comments about a Chinese-born MP were racist.
nzherald.co.nz
Last night, Women in Sport Aotearoa, alongside InsideOut and the Clare Foundation launched a new toolkit for community sports providers to support the participation of transgender and nonbinary people in sport. Filling the gap created by the deletion of the previous guidance by the Minister of Sport
100%. And I do wish Charlie's attitude here - that the FSU is reasonably frequently acting in bad faith and/or with an explicit conservative political agenda - was a bit more common in our press pack. FSU often presented as honest brokers. They are not.
Charlie Mitchell @comingupcharlie.bsky.social · last wk.Wow, it’s as if the FSU uses the language of free speech selectively to shield favoured speakers and ideas from scrutiny, who could have predicted this www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361...
SMDH at Stuart Nash piping up with “the Labour Party left me” like he’s Jim Anderton reborn, when actually he was dismissed from Cabinet for leaking confidential Cabinet information to donors after earlier having to resign because of inappropriate involvement in independent Police matters.
NZ First doesn’t yet seem to have published list of candidates, but pretty sure their photo has Alistair Boyce - owner of the Backbencher, and the spokesperson for the odious “Better Wellington” local government campaign in 2025 and the Islamophobic pamphlets in 2024.
Somewhat surprised how little attention ACT’s policy of Ministers directly appointing public service Chief Executives has received. Guess the focus has been on the “smaller government” framing. But it’s really constitutionally significant and can see it getting traction with current partners.
Amazing how this piece says "the left and the right" and the quote is clearly: "I think the right tends to cancel more aggressively using legal and political means, and I think that's where we see a difference." So the false equivalence he warns about repeats! www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
How cancel culture tactics on the left and the right threaten free speech
While the left uses rhetoric, the right cancels 'more aggressively' with legal and political tactics, says a media freedom advocate.
rnz.co.nz
Why the supreme court was not ‘totally out of line’ in its climate case ruling
Why the supreme court was not ‘totally out of line’ in its climate case ruling
The judges acknowledged that Mike Smith’s claim faced serious obstacles. But they thought it deserved a trial....
thespinoff.co.nz
a glaring omission from much of the convo about the Delaney Hall labor and hunger strike imo is the fact that *these people shouldn't be laboring in the first place* this is slavery, & even the 13th Amendment's 'punishment for a crime' exception doesn't apply! ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...
The Delaney Hall Strike Is Exposing a Massive Thirteenth Amendment Crisis
The Delaney Hall Strike participants haven’t been convicted of anything—and are still being forced to work for nothing.
ballsandstrikes.org
Luxon’s attempt to refocus the media is constitutionally misplaced. Confidence is the lifeblood of government. And the media have a legitimate interest in interrogating changing dynamics in confidence.
Dunno, shit might’ve sailed on this one fellas…
Despite the ongoing death and suffering in Gaza, it's fallen out of the news. So today, @thenation.com is devoting its full website to stories from Gaza, written by reporters who have been there. Very proud of the magazine today. www.thenation.com/article/worl...
A Day for Gaza
Today, The Nation is turning over its website exclusively to stories from Gaza and its people. This is why.
thenation.com
Rob Reiner made some great movies but he was also unafraid to speak the truth, and was one of the public voices who knew you don’t squander your platform, and only got louder about opposing evil fucks as he got older. Legend.
Rangi Wickliffe has been one of the main voices in Aaron Smale’s coverage of the abuse of children in state custody. Rangi died this week.
The boy who ran
newsroom.co.nz
The Paediatric Society of NZ - representing the clinical field most relevant here - have released maybe the strongest statement of all the medical bodies: “puberty blockers are an established, safe, reversible, and life-saving treatment option”
PSNZ responds to government announcement on puberty blockers
paediatrics.org.nz
BREAKING: PATHA has filed an urgent injunction in the high court seeking to prevent the puberty blocker ban from coming into force, as part of an urgent judicial review we are seeking to overturn the ban entirely.
A story Stoppard told several times, in several places:
Early advice from officials that recommended New Zealand recognise Palestine as a state was ultimately ignored by the Government.
Foreign affairs officials advised recognition of Palestine
Early advice from officials that recommended New Zealand recognise Palestine as a state was ultimately ignored by the Government.
dlvr.it
Paywall lifted: At every turn, the Govt has opted for whatever would actually lead to more pollution and a warmer world – even if it costs more, jeopardises NZ’s reputation, overturns a campaign promise or clashes with the Govt’s other priorities. The long retreat: newsroom.co.nz/2025/11/07/g...
Govt's climate strategy: Let it burn
Comment: The Government has relentlessly pursued policies that boost climate pollution – even if they cost more or jeopardise NZ's reputation, Marc Daalder writes
newsroom.co.nz
Shouldn’t be shocked, but still was. Proof - if more was required - that National are aggressively uninterested in trying to achieve our Paris targets or in bipartisanship. Hopefully people treat them with the credibility that they deserve on both counts (i.e. none).
Newsroom NZ@newsroom.co.nz · 9mo agoIt took more than a year of painstaking cross-partisan negotiation to land the Zero Carbon Act. Now, the Govt is gutting it unilaterally, Marc Daalder reports
It took more than a year of painstaking cross-partisan negotiation to land the Zero Carbon Act. Now, the Govt is gutting it unilaterally, Marc Daalder reports
Gutting of Zero Carbon Act crashes bipartisan climate consensus
newsroom.co.nz
